Jay Harrison Trade Opens Floodgates on Carolina Hurricanes' Defensive Rebuilding

Taking advantage of a woeful injury situation in Winnipeg, Carolina Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis made the first in-season trade of his GM career on Thursday.

James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail provided details of the trade:

The 'Canes will also retain about $375,000 of Harrison's $1.5 million salary cap hit, which runs through the end of the 2015-16 season, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet:

The move comes just hours after the Jets announced that Mark Stuart would join fellow defensemen Zach Bogosian, Tobias Enstrom and Jacob Trouba on injured reserve.

While the return is minimal for the 'Canes, it is nonetheless something—a statement which cannot be said for many of the team's recent player dumps. The team now currently holds eight draft selections in next June's NHL draft.

That number is likely to increase soon.

Dave Sandford/Getty Images

Although it's been the stagnant offense—which has scored just one goal in six straight games—at fault for most of the Hurricanes' ongoing six-game losing streak, the defense holds far more promise in the trade market.

"Hurricanes GM Ron Francis is trying to move a couple of his defencemen. Carolina really has a decision to make on this front because the club just can't get anything going," wrote Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.

As Francis's massive "for sale" sign is hoisted above PNC Arena, juicy target Andrej Sekera and less appealing veterans John-Michael Liles, Ron Hainsey and Tim Gleason could all see their names shopped around far outside of Raleigh.

Scott Audette/Getty Images

Sekera, who has been arguably Carolina's best blueliner since his arrival from Buffalo in June 2013, sports an extremely affordable $2.75 million cap hit and could emerge as one of the trade market's biggest names in the coming months.

When speaking with The Fan 590, Francis has expressed interest in re-signing the 28-year-old, but with Sekera as a pending unrestricted free agent next summer and expected to be at the top of the free-agent defenseman list, Francis will also likely seek to avoid Jim Rutherford-esque death by hesitancy and deal Sekera before that time comes.

Philadelphia, Minnesota and Calgary could all be interested.

The 'Canes would almost certainly need to retain some of Liles' $3.875 million cap hit if dealt, but he's been perhaps underutilized on the power play in Raleigh and could provide a spark elsewhere.

Nashville, Minnesota and Florida are all playoff contenders with struggling power plays and ample cap space.

Hainsey would be a quality third-pairing option in most places and isn't too overpriced at $2.83 million. He, too, could draw some moderate interest.

Gleason was back in elephant form in Carolina's most recent loss to Montreal and would be a body dump at best, with retained salary and a conditional seventh-rounder—and some sort of impossible condition—coming back.

USA TODAY Sports

All of this expected activity would open up the Hurricanes defense for a new generation—2014 first-round pick Haydn Fleury, 2011 first-round pick Ryan Murphy (who needs to establish himself at the NHL level soon), late-blooming AHL stalwart Michal Jordan (10 NHL appearances this year, still zero points) and others.

Fleury's scoring pace with the Red Deer Rebels (WHL) is down slightly from last season, yet he'll still be projected to take over an NHL roster spot next autumn.

Murphy can't seem to stay up at the NHL level but has proven himself as a prolific playmaker in the AHL. His time to make the leap full-time will surely come soon enough.

Jordan has been serviceable, if not outstanding, with the 'Canes over the past month. He's earned some patience from the coaching staff and front office.

Outside of those three, 2012 fourth-rounder Trevor Carrick could also be a dark horse to watch in the development of the Hurricanes' defensive youth. 

Unless the 'Canes launch themselves on a torrid and miraculous winning streak before the New Year arrives, Thursday's Harrison deal could foreshadow many more headlines of the same type coming out of Francis' office as the 2014-15 season progresses.

Contract and salary-cap information courtesy of CapGeek.com.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more or follow him on Twitter.