Trade Rumors: Elliotte Friedman Speculates on Potential Athanasiou Trade With Hurricanes

In his weekly 31 Thoughts column at Sportsnet.ca, Elliotte Friedman speculated on what he saw as a potential trade between Detroit and Carolina.

Trade that might make sense only to me: something around Justin Faulk from Carolina to Detroit for Andreas Athanasiou.

You can read the full article here, although there isn’t any more writing on the above.

First of all, this doesn’t read as him talking about something he’s been hearing. So, it should be clear that this seems a lot more like speculation than reporting on chatter around the league.

Secondly, this isn’t a trade that I would be happy with. Early in his career, Faulk seemed to be on the trajectory of first pairing NHL defenseman. I don’t think that’s the case any longer.

Faulk is better than anyone we currently have on defense, but that’s not saying that much. I think that Athanasiou’s potential is enough to bring more of a return. I could of course be completely wrong.

As much as I don’t want it to be true, I think it’s more likely that Athanasiou leaves Detroit in the next year or two somehow than he stays. But, I think that the return should be more than Justin Faulk.

What do you think?