Report: Hurricanes trying to trade Jake Gardiner

According to a report from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Carolina Hurricanes are trying to trade defenseman Jake Gardiner. In his latest 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, Friedman reports that the Hurricanes are examining "trade options" for Gardiner.

Check it out:

Carolina continues to examine its trade options with Jake Gardiner.

The 30 year old defenseman has three years left on a contract that pays him just over $4 million annually. For what it's worth, he put up just four goals and 24 points in 68 games with the Hurricanes last season, his first season with the team. Prior to that Gardiner was a mainstay on the Toronto Maple Leafs' blueline for several seasons and put up a career high five goals and 52 points with the team during the 2017-18 season. It seems unlikely that he'll get back to that level of production, but there's reason to believe that he can still be a key offensive contributor in the right situation.

The problem, of course, is that Gardiner is overpaid. Not by a ton... but this is a COVID-19 world that we're living in and there aren't many teams around the NHL looking to add salary and term to their payroll right now.

So... with all that said... any takers?