Hurricanes Trade away Julien Gauthier for Ranger’s Joey Keane

The Carolina Hurricanes have traded away their best AHL forward to the New York Rangers for Defender Joey Keane in a head scratching trade.

The Carolina Hurricanes have finally traded for a defenseman. Just not one we could have anticipated. In return for Joey Keane, a 20 year old prospect defender, the Canes are sending the New York Rangers Julien Gauthier, perhaps the most exciting prospect in their system currently.

I am trying to figure out the angle here and am struggling to find one. This was a one for one swap.

Trades down at the prospect level aren’t surprising as players are trying to make the NHL, they push to be placed on rosters with more opportunity to break into the big team. The New York Rangers, who are rebuilding could absolutely use Gauthier in their lineup come next season, and he might find himself with some extra NHL ice time before this season is said and done.

Keane on the other hand is going from one log jammed defense to another. For him this was just a move down the AHL standings from the number two in the Atlantic Hartford Wolfpack to the number four Charlotte Checkers.

To be fair the Rangers fans are very high on Keane and are saddened to lose him as we are to lose Gauthier. in his 49 games this season with the Hartford Wolfpack, his first season in the AHL, he has eight goals and 22 assists for a very solid 30 points for a blue line, stay at home, defender.

More from Cardiac Cane

• 2023 Southeast Rookie Showcase: Takeaways from the Canes’ Strong Showing in Florida
• Week Two Coverage Of College Hockey In NC
• Derek Stepan Ends His On Ice Career As A Hurricane
• The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
• Noesen Ready To Provide Depth For Canes

The biggest question is, why make this trade at all? This doesn’t seem to help the Carolina Hurricanes who are in a dog fight for their lives.

For one, there have been concerns about Julien Gauthier at the NHL level, he didn’t make it out of training camp this season and his few games for the Hurricanes didn’t seem to go very well with guys like Brian Gibbons getting the nod over him eventually.

This takes us to the second point, Gauthier would have to be on a one way contract next season, meaning that he would have to clear waivers to be sent back down to the AHL. On top of that he would be exposed during the Seattle expansion draft with no exemption. Requiring protection.

Keane on the other hand is still on his ELC and would be exempt from the upcoming draft and he retainable for years without needing to send him through waivers. Waddell seems to know that Gauthier isn’t going to work out and is looking to get some return on him of at minimum equal value. Remember what happened with Valentin Zykov?

The truth is, we might never know some of the real reasonings behind this trade. Will it be the only trade we see this season? Who knows.

Question for CC readers: Who won this trade, the Hurricanes or Rangers?