Connor Hellebuyck to the Carolina Hurricanes just got a real number attached to it, and it's a steep one.
Matt Larkin and Anthony Di Marco floated Carolina as a possible landing spot in their DailyFaceoff piece this week.
Their proposed package, reportedly approved by two NHL team executives, sends Alexander Nikishin, either Brandon Bussi or Pyotr Kochetkov, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and two first-round picks to Winnipeg.
That's a lot to give up for one goaltender, even one with a Hart Trophy on his resume and a track record of elite regular season numbers.
Nikishin posted 33 points last season, 11 goals and 22 assists over 81 games, while playing a full workload on Carolina's blue line.
Losing a young, productive defenseman like that would sting for a team built to win right now.
Carolina finished last season 53-22-7 for 113 points, second overall in the entire league under Rod Brind'Amour.
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Proposed Connor Hellebuyck trade package is completely insane
The Hurricanes already have solid options in net. Bussi posted a .893 save percentage across 39 games, while Kochetkov added a .898 mark in a smaller sample.
Trading away one of them still leaves Carolina with a capable option, but it thins out a position that hasn't been the problem.
Kotkaniemi, meanwhile, put up just 9 points in 42 games last season, a cap hit of $4,820,000 that Winnipeg would be taking on in a change-of-scenery move.
Two first-round picks on top of all that is the kind of price only a true difference-maker justifies.
Hellebuyck would undeniably raise Carolina's ceiling in a market already built for a deep, sustained playoff run this season.
But giving up a promising young defenseman, a capable backup and two firsts is a gamble even for a team sitting this close to true Cup contention.
Whether Eric Tulsky is actually willing to pay that price is the real question nobody outside the Carolina front office can answer right now, and Winnipeg still has to sign off too.
Would you give up Alexander Nikishin and two first-round picks for Connor Hellebuyck?
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