Carolina Hurricanes General Manager Jim Rutherford says he is exploring 2 options for defensemen, one being a free-agent, the other available for a middle round draft pick. Oleg Tverdovsky appears to be the free-agent, but the one that would have to be acquired via trade could be Buffalo's Alexei Zhitnik.
It makes sense for it to be Zhitnik. He plays a similar style to Tverdovsky, and with the Sabres recently acquiring Andy Delmore, the need for Zhitnik diminishes. Zhitnik has also been linked in trade rumors ever since last season's trade deadline. Zhitnik is 30 years old, and while not posessing great size, has good leadership skills and produces well offensively.
If General Manager Jay Feaster is looking for a solid veteran defenseman without having to re-rout the team, Zhitnik is a solid option, and for a middle round draft pick would be a very good option for the Lightning. It also seems like something Feaster would be interested in, as he turned down a deal to acquire Roman Hamrlik from the Isles for Alex Svitov or Nikita Alexeev. Feaster also acquired goalie John Grahame for a 4th round pick in 2004 last spring.
Note: Again, purely speculation that Zhitnik is the one Rutherford is referring too, but all signs point to this. Buffalo is re-building, and after acquiring Andy Delmore, Zhitnik becomes less needed. If Feaster has a chance to pull the trigger on a trade like this, he should immediatly.
