Martin Hanzal was acquired by the Minnesota Wild from the Arizona Coyotes in February 2017. The 6’6 center did not have the best season of his career netting 20 goals with 19 assists for 39 points in 79 games this season. Hanzal is a solid two-way forward and teams who need defense could benefit from his skills. The Minnesota Wild have $11 million left in cap space and with some younger free agents to sign, they may let Hanzal hit the free agent market, come July. Here are three teams with some cap space that might be interested in him:
- Carolina Hurricanes
The up-and-coming Carolina Hurricanes are a young team that has a bright future ahead of them. They could benefit from a veteran like Hanzal especially after Bryan Bickell decided to retire. Hanzal is only 30-years-old but could be the perfect fit on the team’s third line, moving center man Derek Ryan to the fourth line. Hanzal would be paired up with Jeff Skinner and Lee Stempniak and with those two as his line mates; he would definitely be more productive. Besides being a two-way forward, Hanzal was also part of Arizona’s and Minnesota’s power play where he had a total of 5 goals, 4 assists for 9 points last season. The Hurricanes could benefit from his offensive skills on the power play since they finished 21st in the league.
- Arizona Coyotes
Just like Antoine Vermette came back to Arizona after being traded to Chicago, Hanzal could land with his former team this season. The current centers for the Coyotes are Derek Stepan on the first line, Christian Dvorak on the third line, and Nick Cousins on the fourth line. There is an opening on the second line for a center and that is where Hanzal would most likely play. His wingers would be Jamie McGinn on the left wing and Tobias Rieder on the right wing. Rieder and Hanzal were teammates from 2014 to 2016 and should already have chemistry. McGinn joined the Coyotes in 2016 when he was teammates with Hanzal for the 2016-2017 season. They both play a similar two-way game and would complement each other on the same line. Another reason to sign Hanzal would be to improve Arizona’s penalty kill. They finished 27th in the league and Hanzal was an effective tool on the penalty kill in Minnesota.
- Las Vegas Golden Knights
The Las Vegas Golden Knights are going to need depth players and Hanzal is someone that would work well with their team. His 6’6 figure would help power the second or third line and can be a key contributor to special teams. The Golden Knights need depth at the center position behind Vadim Shipachyov and Jonathan Marchessault and Hanzal is an option for depth. He not only is strong on the power play but can be used on the team’s penalty kill. The Golden Knights ended up drafting an offense made up of mostly depth players; with Hanzal’s offensive abilities, he could stand out amongst them all.
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