Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Sami Vatanen from New Jersey Devils

As the NHL Trade Deadline was drawing to a close, the Carolina Hurricanes landed their much needed right-handed defenseman in Sami Vatanen.

Carolina Hurricanes fans were rightfully nervous as the minutes ticked off the clock approaching 3:00pm est. With about a half hour to go, the Hurricanes still hadn’t addressed the gaping hole on the back end. Enter Don Waddell and Eric Tulsky, both riding magnificent steeds like the kings they are.

In true rental fashion, the Hurricanes acquired pending unrestricted free agent Sami Vatanen from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for prospect winger Janne Kuokkanen and defenseman Fredrik Claesson, along with a conditional 4th round pick in 2020 that can become a 3rd rounder.

The first order of business is to address that the conditions of the fourth round pick are contingent on Vatanen’s health and the number of games he plays down the stretch. Vatanen blocked a shot near the end of the game against the Dallas Stars on February 1st, and he hasn’t suited up since. Though, he has participated in morning skates and done some off-ice work.

In 47 games played on the season, Vatanen has 23 points (5 g 18 a). He was arguably New Jersey’s most productive defenseman this season before his injury. Prior to being acquired by New Jersey, Vatanen made a name for himself in Anaheim as a two-way defender that is slightly stronger on the offensive side of the puck.

Check out this well-timed jump on to a loose puck. He beats the defender wide, takes it to the net, puts it on his backhand, and with one slick move beats Curtis McElhinney.

His numbers might appear underwhelming at face value considering he was earning an average of 21:45 TOI prior to his injury, but it’s mostly a result of playing for a Devils team that has been searching for a solid identity most of the season. That average TOI is good for his second highest in his career behind the 22:45 he got in 2017-2018 with the Devils.

Assuming good health, Vatanen will slot into one of the Carolina Hurricanes power play quarterback roles. For New Jersey, he averaged 3:02 of power play time which led all Devils defensemen. This should allow Jake Gardiner to man the other unit and Jaccob Slavin to return to his usual defense-first duties.

As Vatanen’s career has progressed, he has steadily started in the defensive zone more frequently. Any concerns about his overall defensive prowess should be assuaged by the fact that he’ll likely line up next to Slavin at even strength when he’s fully healthy. Though he averaged 1:57 per game in shorthanded TOI before his injury, I wouldn’t expect to see him get much time on the penalty kill with Carolina.

Even for an underachieving Devils team, Vatanen has averaged 1.1 primary assists per 60 mins TOI. He’s a solid playmaker from the back end, and he’s generally successful at getting his shots on net with a 47.4% thru rate.

I won’t go as far as to say the New Jersey Devils got fleeced in this trade, but the Carolina Hurricanes definitely didn’t give up as much as they could have to rent Vatanen and his sense of humility.

In Kuokkanen, the Devils are getting a 21-year old left wing with exceptional hockey IQ and two-way capabilities. On the season for Charlotte, he has 42 points (12 g 30 a) in 52 games. For the better part of a month now, he’s been arguably Charlotte’s best forward. He’s a smart player that tends toward the playmaking aspects of the game. While he’s not much of a finisher, you’ll rarely see him make mistakes. His pace is acceptable, too.

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Realistically, Kuokkanen wasn’t going to get a shot with the Carolina Hurricanes. Even with three full AHL seasons to his name, he was too far buried on the depth chart. Kuokkanen does have NHL upside. I think he could translate to a middle-six winger, but he’d ideally fit into an NHL third line if he stays his course. He’s much more likely to get NHL minutes sooner with New Jersey.

Fredrik Claesson isn’t much more than a 7th defenseman at the NHL level and a career first pair guy at the AHL level. In 150 career NHL games, he has 26 points (6 g 20 a). Last season, he played 37 games with the New York Rangers and tallied two goals and four assists. Though, he also sported a mere nine takeaways to his 31 giveaways.

As for this season with the Charlotte Checkers, the Swedish defender has 19 points (3 g 16 a) in 47 games played. He had himself an alright training camp and preseason, but didn’t do nearly enough to make the Carolina Hurricanes’ roster out of the gate. For the Devils, he’ll be an option but not much beyond that.

To recap, the Carolina Hurricanes did well to address their need for a defender without paying too much, even if he ends up being only a rental. The Devils did well for themselves with regard to Kuokkanen’s potential and the conditional 4th round pick. Claesson is indeed a player that was a part of this trade.

The condition?

So basically as long as Vatanen gets healthy in time to help the Carolina Hurricanes make the playoffs and plays enough to get the Canes through a deep run, The Devils see a draft pick that might get better.

Question for CC Readers: What do you think of the Canes’ trade that landed Sami Vatanen?