Sami Vatanen
The first of two defensemen that the Hurricanes acquired, Sami Vatanen fills two major needs on the team’s blueline. Even when you consider his status as a rental, it’s quite shocking how cheap the Canes got him.
The package going to New Jersey consists of prospect F Janne Kuokkanen, minor-leaguer D Fredrik Claesson and a conditional 4th round draft-pick, which can be as high as a 2020 3rd round pick.
Vatanen, who is actually currently injured, is projected to return early in March according to Don Waddell. As such, the conditions on the pick is based on how many regular season games Vatanen plays for the team. If he plays less than 5, no pick is traded. Between 5-12 is a 4th, and 12+ is a 3rd.
Kuokkanen is a guy that some people had high hopes for, but he was a Ron Francis-regime pick, and has never really caught on with the new management. He’ll be 22 soon, and, with the influx of young talent into the Carolina Hurricanes organization, was facing an uphill battle to catch on in Raleigh. This trade will give him a fresh start, and better opportunity in New Jersey.
As far as Vatanen goes, he’s a right-shot defenseman, which the Carolina Hurricanes really lack with both Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce on IR. Vatanen is a good puck-mover, and is primarily an offensive guy but doesn’t give much up defensively. He’s a fine two-way presence, and will greatly help the top powerplay unit where Jaccob Slavin has struggled.
That Vatanen goal was nasty though pic.twitter.com/I73zu3lytj
— Devils on MSG (@DevilsMSGN) October 31, 2019
Unfortunately, while he looks like a great fit, Vatanen is most likely just a rental for the team. He’s scheduled to be a free agent on July 1st, and will likely command a raise on his current $4.875M AAV – and will likely come in somewhere around $5.5M or higher on his next deal. The Canes can’t afford that with the money already tied up in their D group.
In the Canes’ press release, Don Waddell offered the following on Vatanen:
"“Sami is player that fits our system well,” said Waddell. “His skating, vision and puck-moving skills will help us out in all facets of the game. We expect him to return to the lineup in early March.”"
Vatanen, who is 28, has 5 goals and 18 assists in 47 games for the New Jersey Devils this season. He’s averaged over 21:00 of ice time in each of his last six seasons, so he can play big minutes for the Carolina Hurricanes if necessary. All in all, he’s a great add, and fills a huge hole on the right-side of the Canes defense in the short-term.