[sureLoss]

LeBrun on Carolina's depth on defense:

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/1...trade-deadline

"I think everyone is always looking for D and we feel comfortable with our depth there," Hurricanes GM Ron Francis told ESPN.com Thursday. "We're always looking at all options to make our team better; if that's an area of strength and you can address an area of weakness, we'd certainly look at those possibilities."

My guess is that the Hurricanes would potentially move a young defenseman, whether that's an NHL player or prospect, if it netted them a front-line center. That's the premium target Carolina would like to find over the next 5-6 months.

Carolina's D, if you're Colorado or any other team drooling for a young blue-liner, has a lot to like: Brett Pesce, 22; Jaccob Slavin, 22; Noah Hanifin, 20; Ryan Murphy, 23; there there's Haydn Fleury, 20, having a nice AHL season, Trevor Carrick, 22, another AHLer perhaps ready for the NHL next season; and 18-year-old junior Jake Bean coming up the ranks.

Colorado would not be alone, of course, in looking at Carolina's D depth. I mean, who doesn't need a good young D? The Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets and Detroit Red Wings are just some teams on that list.