The Carolina Hurricanes Trade Deadline Recap: Canes Have A Quiet Yet Smart Trade Deadline Day

The Carolina Hurricanes entered the day with high expectations from many. Many expected big names like Cam Ward or Jordan Staal to get moved. That did not happen, but the Carolina Hurricanes should be happy with their trade deadline.

The Carolina Hurricanes dealt salary cap nightmare Tuomo Ruutu today to the New Jersey Devils for Andrei Loktionov and a conditional third round draft pick. I think we all love Tuomo Ruutu, and we all appreciate everything he has done for the franchise on and off the ice, but his cap hit was way too much for what he was providing.

Andrei Loktionov is a young Russian centerman who has a bright NHL future. At 23-years-old, Loktionov is already an upgrade over Riley Nash as the Carolina Hurricanes’ third-line center spot, and he will be put on the Canes’ power play per General Manager Jim Rutherford.

"“Andrei is a young, skilled forward who will play on our power play. Tuomo was a good player for the Hurricanes and we thank him for his contributions to our organization over the past seven years.”-Jim Rutherford in the Carolina Hurricanes’ official release."

Andrei Loktionov is a great player to get for Tuomo Ruutu. I’ve been rough toward Jim Rutherford lately, but he did a great job of getting max value for Tuomo Ruutu. He could have easily gotten a late round draft pick for Ruutu, like he did for Jussi Jokinen at last year’s deadline, but  he took his time and got a good return for Ruutu.

The Carolina Hurricanes could have gotten pieces back for players like Ron Hainsey and John-Michael Liles, but they decided to go a different direction.

John-Michael Liles has another year left on his contract after this year. I was surprised that they did not part ways with him, but I still do not expect him to be on the team at the start of next season. Ryan Murphy should be able to take his place in the lineup.

It was reported that Ron Hainsey did get some interest from other teams, but the Carolina Hurricanes decided not to part ways with him. I think this is a sign that Jim Rutherford will try to resign him by the end of the season.

For the right price, I think signing Ron Hainsey for another year or two would be a good decision. He is a very good option for a top-four or top-six veteran defenseman for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Manny Malhotra was another name floating around today. His name was involved in some talk with the Chicago Blackhawks around noon on Wednesday according to ESPN Chicago.

"Source says Hurricanes’ Manny Malhotra has been associated with Blackhawks’ trade talks.ESPN Chicago ‏@ESPNChiHawks  March 5th"

Manny Malhotra would’ve been a good pickup for the Chicago Blackhawks, but the Carolina Hurricanes would’ve gotten close to nothing for him, so I’m ok with the Canes not dealing him. The Carolina Hurricanes still have the option to resign him for cheap this offseason.

Jay Harrison and Mike Komisarek were two names that did not come up. They are two bottom pairing defensemen at best, so there wasn’t much of a market for them, especially since there were plenty of them available.

Justin Peters was called up from his conditioning stint with the Charlotte Checkers today. Many thought that it was going to lead to a trade, but the reality was that the Carolina Hurricanes had to call him up because the time on his conditioning stint ran out. There were reports yesterday that the Carolina Hurricanes had an offer for the former second-round draft pick, but a trade never happened.

The biggest name from the Carolina Hurricanes on deadline day was goaltender Cam Ward. The Carolina Hurricanes decided to hold on to him. This was no surprise, because he was never asked to waive his No Trade Clause, and no one was ever willing to take on his big contract.

The Carolina Hurricanes have several options with Cam Ward. They can try to put him through waivers now, they can wait till the end of the season to either buy him out or trade him, or they can keep him for next year.

Mike Maniscalco, the host of the Carolina Hurricanes’ official pre and post game radio show, said he thinks there is a 75% chance that Cam Ward will start next season with the Carolina Hurricanes earlier today on 99.9 FM The Fan with Adam Gold and Joe Ovies.

He is probably right. There may not be many takers for Cam Ward this summer, and the Carolina Hurricanes shouldn’t feel pressured to deal Cam Ward. The Canes shouldn’t just give him away, especially since the Carolina Hurricanes have signed Anton Khudobin to a very affordable contract.

The Carolina Hurricanes were very quiet at the NHL Trade Deadline, but they did not make any bad decisions or questionable deals. Overall, the Carolina Hurricanes should be content with how the NHL Trade Deadline unfolded for them.

To those who are upset with the Carolina Hurricanes lack of moves on Tuesday and Wednesday, just remember that there isn’t always a market for everyone, and sometimes the deal just isn’t there. The NHL Draft is just around the corner, and the Carolina Hurricanes will likely look to make more trades at that time.