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Sitting in the basement of the Eastern Conference (with a record of 17 – 24 – 9 at the time of me writing this) and having already shipped out – and brought in – three players; the Carolina Hurricanes will be sellers at the upcoming February 27th NHL trade deadline. So far the rumors have included Tim Gleason (linked to the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, and Chicago Blackhawks), Bryan Allen (also linked to the Philadelphia Flyers), Tuomo Ruutu (linked to the Detroit Red Wings) and of course Alexei Ponikarovsky who was just shipped off to the New Jersey Devils last week. One name that I haven’t heard mentioned despite having a career year (which makes him at perhaps the peak of his trade value) is defenseman Jay Harrison.

For teams looking to add a depth defenseman (a guy who can fill that number 3 – 5 role) I’d be baffled is Jay Harrison wasn’t at least somewhere on their “list of guys.” Standing at 6’4” and tipping the scales at a bit over 210 lbs Harrison has that prototypical build you associate with an NHL defenseman. This season Jay has averaged 20:46 minutes per game with 1:51 (TOI/game) of shorthanded time and 1:59 (TOI/game) of power play time. He’s been able to play (and has played) in all situations for the Hurricanes and I think that’s what makes him a very valuable commodity for teams looking to add some depth.

I’ve mentioned this before, but Harrison brings that proverbial grit to the backend. Last season he was second among Hurricane players in fights and was second in total number of hits among Carolina defensemen. This season he has been credited with 63 hits, which ranks him in the top ten for Hurricane players (and top three among defensemen.) He’s also second among all Hurricane players in the blocked shots category (85) and while his minus -5 record isn’t flattering to his defensive ability it’s important to take into accound that only three players on the Hurricane roster are “plus” players.

While all that is good enough alone, and could possibility be merit on its own for teams to take notice of him, I think what truly raised his trade value is offensive play. Harrison has scored 5 goals and picked up 5 assists in a little over a month and a half – to put some perspective on that, it ranks him among the top 5 goal scorers in that time period. Looking at his overall offensive record Harrison has 7 goals – which puts him in the top 4 among all defenseman in the NHL – and 12 assists. Just take a second to think on that. Fourth among all NHL defensemen in goals, and he’s played less games then those he’s tied and those above him.

With a $700k cap hit next season (and about the same this season) Harrison isn’t going to financially handcuff any team – if he turns out to play great then you get him next season at a steal, and if he turns out to be a bust then you can send him to the minors or easily make another trade to rid yourself of his contract.

Now it goes without saying that Harrison isn’t without his flaws. I wouldn’t say he’s a fast defenseman – although I wouldn’t say he’s noticeably slower then anyone the Hurricanes have on their backend (could be a credit to being able to position himself well.) This offensive flash could be just that, a flash, when you consider that this season he’s scored more goals then the rest of his career combined (the same can be said for his assists.) With only 170 NHL games under his belt (150 with the Hurricanes) at the age of 29 Harrison hasn’t really established himself around the league yet.

So like all players you need to weigh the pros against the cons. I think if your looking at it realistically (if your looking at bringing in Jay Harrison) you take him on because of his defensive ability as a depth guy, who is currently playing very good offensively (which may or may not transfer over to your team.) The Flyers, Bruins, and Blackhawks aren’t looking to add Tim Gleason to their roster because of his offensive ability – so wouldn’t it make sense for one or two of those teams to look at Jay Harrison and go “he’s cheaper and can chip in offensively.” Or how about a team like the Ottawa Senators who look like they’ll be making the playoffs this season and could benefit by adding some depth to their backend.

I guess it all comes down too what other teams are willing to part with and what the Hurricanes feel Jay Harrison is worth. If all you can get is a late draft pick (round 3+) then the smart move is to just hang onto him, but what if a first round pick is up (e.g. 25th – 30th overall) would you part with Harrison for that?

What would it take?

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