Carolina Hurricanes: LIVE Trade Deadline Day coverage

Today is one of the most exciting days in the NHL calendar: Trade Deadline Day! Keep checking back as we follow all the rumors, not only for the Carolina Hurricanes but across the league.

Today we’ll keep a live track on deals around the league, how they affect the Carolina Hurricanes, and whether the Canes have missed out on a doozy.

Here are the latest deals:

Today’s biggest deal – from a Carolina Hurricanes perspective at least – was the decision by GM Don Waddell to keep Micheal Ferland for the playoff run. Whether he re-signs with the team or walks, and whether he was worth keeping or not, Waddell won more points today by keeping Ferland than he would have in adding players via trade.

We’re delighted that Ferly is staying for the season – and hope that he gets to see playoff hockey in Raleigh!

WINNER: CAROLINA HURRICANES FANS

The Colorado Avalanche threw a token 2020 3rd rounder Dale Tallon’s way to acquire Derick Brassard, who has really fallen off a cliff this season. He’ll do well in a sheltered third line role, and is one of the few deals done today we’re not jealous of.

WINNER: NEITHER

In case NHL fans are wondering what happened to Peter Chiarelli, it turns out he kidnapped Paul Fenton, skinned him alive, and now wears his face while pretending to be the GM of the Minnesota Wild. After giving the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Victor Rask, Fenton today gave the Nashville Predators his best forward – Mikael Granlund – in exchange for a guy Preds fans had practically given up on in Kevin Fiala. Sound familiar?

WINNER: NASHVILLE PREDATORS

One we’re very jealous of. We made the case for the Carolina Hurricanes acquiring Marcus Johansson only a few days ago, and at this price we’re at a loss as to why the Canes weren’t all-in on the guy. The Bruins made a big gain, and have made the Canes’ job tougher down the stretch as this definitely improves their offense, and they will pick up more points as a consequence. The good side for the Canes? Our penultimate game of the season is our final home game, against the Devils. We could be in for a treat.

WINNER: BOSTON BRUINS

In one of today’s strangest deals, the Pittsburgh Penguins added renowned dreadful defenseman Erik Gudbranson, giving fans of the Vancouver Canucks their best trade deadline day in years. Tanner Pearson will be a good addition to the Canucks’ top six, while Gudbranson promises to ruin whatever good work his fellow Pittsburgh defenseman do.

This is another good deal for the Canes – a playoff rival for some reason downgrades their team.

WINNER: VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Another huge move, this time by the Nashville Predators in acquiring power forward Wayne Simmonds from the Philadelphia Flyers. Considering Ryan Hartman cost the Preds a 1st round pick last year, and he’s been a huge disappointment, this isn’t that big a price for a guy who was at the top of my wish list.

The Carolina Hurricanes face the Predators once, but face the Simmonds-less Flyers twice – both in the last five games of the season, when the Flyers will be out of the playoff picture and the Canes hopefully still in a playoff spot. This trade could help the Canes nearly as much as the Flyers.

WINNER: NASHVILLE PREDATORS

Perhaps the best rental on this year’s trade market, the Vegas Golden Knights secured the services of Mark Stone for a very reasonable price. Oscar Lindberg is a 3C at best and, while Erik Brannstrom has huge potential. the 2020 2nd round pick isn’t the pick the Senators should have been getting.

To make matters worse for Sens fans, it appears that Vegas have an extension in place with Stone: 8 years and c.$9m AAV for one of the best all-round forwards in the league. Sens fans don’t deserve the hand they’re being dealt with by GM Pierre Dorion and Owner Eugene Melnyk.

Sadly, the Carolina Hurricanes have zero games left against the Binghamton Senators.

WINNER: VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS

The Carolina Hurricanes made a trade! It’s about as minor a trade as you can get, but it’s not nothing. The Canes have, in two separate transactions, acquired former Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks forward Tomas Jurco from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jeff Skinner makeweight, Cliff Pu. Both deals were for the infamous ‘future considerations’, but mean that Canes fans no longer have to look with regret at Pu’s performances in the AHL and ECHL and can instead feast their eyes on Jurco.

Jurco has some NHL pedigree, posting 22-28-50 in 201 career games, but is mainly an addition for the Charlotte Checkers. He will bolster the Baby Canes’ offense and has 50 goals and 56 assists in 163 career AHL games.

WINNER: CAROLINA HURRICANES

The Columbus Blue Jackets want all the rentals, apparently. Not content with acquiring Matt Duchene, Ryzn Dzingel and Keith Kinkaid, they have now also acquired one of the higher-profile defensemen on the open market, Adam McQuaid. I’m not a McQuaid fan, but he provides truculence in abundance and likes to lay a hit or three every game. He’s the kind of cheap, solid depth that contenders generally acquire at the deadline.

WINNER: COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

This one won’t pull up any trees, but the Montreal Canadiens made a slight improvement to their forward depth with this 1-for-1 trade with the Arizona Coyotes. Jordan Weal is a guy who has never quite reached the heights his talents promised, but he’s played 153 games over his four years in the NHL, posting a respectable 20-24-44 in the process.  Michael Chaput has just five assists in 32 games this season, so Weal’s 4-7-11 in 47 games between Philadelphia and Arizona is an improvement.

WINNER: MONTREAL CANADIENS

This was one of the big ones – and for the second year running, the Winnipeg Jets went out and splashed their assets on a big-name top six center. Kevin Hayes is an excellent acquisition for the Western Conference powerhouse, and will benefit from playing with a talented cast of scorers and playmakers around him.

The Rangers get a solid player back in Brendan Lemieux, but crucially get another good pick for their rebuild. The biggest loser in this deal? Poor Henrik Lundqvist. He’s seeing his team’s best players move on, and he’s committed to staying until the bitter end.

Sadly, the Canes have already completed their season series against the Rangers, and so this may actually wind up helping the Canes’ rivals down the stretch.

WINNER: BOTH

The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired goaltender Keith Kinkaid from the New Jersey Devils for a pick that no-one will remember in 2022. This is the third big move by the Blue Jackets, after their acquisitions of Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel, and for a throwaway cost is a very astute move. Kinkaid has won nearly half his starts in his 132-game career, and sports a decent .906% save percentage which has actually been harmed by playing behind this season’s train-wreck Devils team. The BJs will now be backstopped by Sergei Bobrovsky and Kinkaid – that’s not a bad tandem at all.

It’s going to take some doing with all that extra talent for the Carolina Hurricanes to reel in the Blue Jackets – perhaps Don Waddell is going to surprise us with our own trade deadline day acquisition?

WINNER: COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

The addition of a goal scorer of Gustav Nyquist‘s caliber would have been a nice touch by GM Don Waddell. While it wasn’t to be, the good news is that Nyquist has gone out West, and will bolster a Sharks team that has gone all in this year, Columbus-style. Any deal that weakens an Eastern Conference team and bolsters a Western Conference team is fine by us, and this deal won’t have too much of an impact on the Canes at all as we have already played our games against the Wings and Sharks this season.

WINNER: BOTH

This one was a surprise, as Brandon Montour was highly-regarded in Anaheim and still has huge potential to improve aged 24. He’s a solid 30-point producer, moves the puck well, and is under contract for next season at a very reasonable $3.39m AAV. The Ducks are in complete disarray – as we saw when we looked at potential deals with the Ducks – but it’s a surprise that Montour only cost a fairly standard defensive prospect and a 1st round pick. This was a strong pickup for the Sabres, and one that makes our final game of the season against them on March 16th more difficult.

WINNER: BUFFALO SABRES

I write this at seven in the morning, with no deadline day deals yet announced – but I hope you all have a great day, and that the Carolina Hurricanes make a sensible move to improve their options as they fight for that elusive playoff spot. Whatever happens, keep checking back throughout the day – and Go Canes!