The Carolina Hurricanes finished off their night with a trade for another defender, one who is world famous and will be in the lineup tomorrow.
Well folks. Today has been quite a wild and crazy ride for the Carolina Hurricanes on this Trade Deadline day.
If you would have told me yesterday or a week ago that the Canes would acquire three new NHL Players, trade away prospects, picks, and current players, I may have called you crazy.
One of the biggest trades from today though is the acquisition of Brady Skjei from the New York Rangers. The Carolina Hurricanes gave up a first round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft to acquire Skjei.
Jeff Gorton and John Davidson confirm that the Rangers have traded Brady Skjei to the Carolina Hurricanes: pic.twitter.com/XbmwWGEECf
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) February 24, 2020
The first round pick will be whichever is the lower between the two the Hurricanes currently have. Meaning that if Toronto dives after that embarrassing loss to a zamboni driver, the Canes would retain that pick. Not a bad condition.
On the first round pick in the Brady Skjei trade: Carolina will have the option of deciding which of their own or Toronto’s they give NYR before the draft. So will keep the higher of the two.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 24, 2020
Brady Skjei was drafted 28th overall in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft. Since drafted, Skjei’s entire NHL career has been with the New York Rangers. At just 25 years of age, Skjei has 112 points (25G, 87A) in 307 NHL career games.
This season, Brady Skjei has managed to notch eight goals and 15 assists, for a total of 23 points. He is currently on pace to finish the season with 33 points though, which would be his second highest point-getting season.
Skjei is a good fit for the Carolina Hurricanes who are currently without leading defenseman Dougie Hamilton. With Dougie being gone for most likely the remainder of the season, Skjei is a good addition to help on the defensive front for the Canes.
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Although, it is not yet known which defensive pairing Skjei will play with, many are suggesting a Skjei and Edmundson pairing. Another suggestion is that Brady Skjei be paired with another newly arrival for the Canes in defenseman Sami Vatanen. Either way, whoever Skjei will be paired with on the Hurricanes, it will be exciting to see him in some brand new Red and Black gear.
Although, the Canes did trade away a first round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, whether this trade is more of a win for the Hurricanes or for the Rangers remains to be seen. Should Brady Skjei fit in well with the Hurricanes and keep producing like he is this season, I don’t see why this trade would be a loss for the Hurricanes.
Skjei could also help the Canes make a playoff run this season and hopefully another deep push like last playoff season, But Skjei should at least be able to help make up for the scoring and point totals that the Canes had in Dougie Hamilton before his injury.
It will also be interesting to see who the Rangers draft in the 2020 Draft next season in regards to this trade, so it is hard to tell at this point which team won this trade. In the short term, obviously the Canes are the winners in acquiring a talented defenseman to help them get back to the playoffs. But in the long term… well we will just have to wait and see.
Also, the Saturday Night Live clip of huge hockey fan and Chance the Rapper lookalike Lazlo Holmes adds a bit more of an argument on why the Hurricanes won this trade. If you haven’t seen this fantastic video check it out here.
Question for CC Readers: What do you think about the acquisition of Brady Skjei? Do you think he could help the Canes make a playoff push this season?