Trade rumors emerge after Utah Hockey Club keeps to healthy scratch intriguing forward Michael Carcone

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Julien Trekker
October 31, 2024 (1:49 PM)

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Trade rumors are starting to emerge after Utah Hockey Club kept the intriguing forward Michael Carcone out of the lineup for the past weeks.

Never drafted in the NHL, Michael Carcone, the 28-year-old forward, impressively managed to play 107 games with the Arizona Coyotes and Utah Hockey Club. Last year, he scored 21 goals in what looked like a breakout season for him.

Unfortunately, he struggled earlier this season, and the team has kept him off the lineup for the past weeks. Limited to three games, he couldn't add his name to the scoresheet yet. Now that he's off the lineup, a lot of rumors are emerging.

Elliotte Friedman shared the latest details on the situation, saying a sense of urgency is starting to grow in Utah.

Here's what he wrote on 32 Thoughts:

"Another update from last week: Utah's Michael Carcone hasn't played since Oct. 16, and that one's growing some urgency to it."

With one season left on his $775.000 AAV contract, Carcone could be an interesting player to target on the trade market. Teams looking to add depth to their bottom six ahead of the playoffs could be tempted to make an offer for his services.

However, before a trade happens, we should see him back in the lineup because teams will surely want to see him perform before acquiring him.

Utah could also be interested in keeping him around. When injuries inevitably strike the forward group, as it happened with the team's defensive unit, Carcone should get another shot. If he can bring the same level of engagement and offensive skills he brought last year, there's no doubt that he could be useful for Utah, or any other NHL team.