The Carolina Hurricanes Won the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline
After acquiring several key players via turtleneck sorcery, the Carolina Hurricanes easily won the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline.
I spent over 12 hours glued to my computer Monday updating our live NHL Trade Deadline coverage article.
I covered every single trade between every single team, and even threw in some of the more credible/valid rumors that were swirling around as well.
Needless to say, I was very aware of player movement as well as who won/lost certain trades.
The Carolina Hurricanes easily won this year’s trade deadline, after not making a move on deadline day for what seems like an entire decade.
I will preface all of this by saying that there are several NHL teams who did very well at the deadline. Notable moves around the league include (but are not limited to) Robin Lehner to the Vegas Golden Knights, basically every pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft to the Ottawa Senators, Jean-Gabriel Pageau to the New York Islanders, and Andreas Athanasiou to the Edmonton Oilers.
Aside from these, which are all solid moves, the Carolina Hurricanes acquired far more effective players without giving away any key pieces to their present or future.
Breaking down the trades, let’s dive into the Carolina Hurricanes’ first trade of deadline day – the trade that brought Vincent Trocheck to the Carolina Hurricanes from the Florida Panthers.
1. Trocheck to Carolina
This trade saw the Carolina Hurricanes acquiring veritable 2C Vincent Trocheck in exchange for F Erik Haula, F Lucas Wallmark, D Chase Priskie, and F Eetu Luostarinen.
At first glance, this looks like a gross overpayment, but let’s slow down and take a closer look.
Erik Haula was a pending UFA this summer, and was more than likely never going to re-sign with the Carolina Hurricanes. He also just hasn’t been the same since coming back from injury earlier this season. Aside from that, there were rumors swirling recently that Haula had trouble buying in to the Canes’ system, and he and Head Coach Rod Brind’amour had trouble seeing eye-to-eye.
The part of this trade that hurts the most is losing Lucas Wallmark. Wallmark was having a ‘coming out party’ of sorts this year. His effectiveness on both sides of the ice was blossoming, and he was really solidifying himself as a true replacement for Jordan Staal in the coming years.
Wallmark is a pending RFA, however, and would more than likely command a bit more salary than the Carolina Hurricanes would be interested in paying him moving forward, especially with other, more skilled players available on deadline day.
Both Chase Priskie and Eetu Luostarinen will have NHL careers, just not in Carolina. Both of them are about midway down a long logjam of skilled players, so neither of them really had a shot in the Hurricanes’ system, at least for the next few seasons. They’ll both be better off in the Florida Panthers’ organization in terms of getting to an NHL roster sooner rather than later.
This specific trade was a massive win for the Carolina Hurricanes when you break it down piece by piece. I’ve been watching Trocheck his entire NHL career, and have always been secretly hoping the Carolina Hurricanes would find a way to pick him up.
Trocheck is the perfect embodiment of the system Rod Brind’amour is implementing in Carolina. I will even go so far as to say Trocheck will fit in so well here, that he will eventually retire with the Carolina Hurricanes, though not for several years down the road. Buckle in, Caniacs. This was the acquisition of a lifetime for this franchise.
Now, on to the next trade acquisition for the Canes: Sami Vatanen.
2. Vatanen to Carolina
Sami Vatanen has been linked to the Carolina Hurricanes for several months now as a candidate to stand in for the injured Dougie Hamilton.
Vatanen himself is injured, but Don Waddell expects him to be back in early March or so.
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This trade is a bit more of a value trade for the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes sent prospect F Janne Kuokkanen and a 2020 conditional 4th round pick to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Sami Vatanen. The Devils retained 50% of Vatanen’s expiring contract as well.
The conditions on the 4th round pick are as follows: New Jersey receives a 2020 4th round pick if Vatanen plays in 5 regular-season games this season. The pick upgrades to a 2020 3rd round pick if Vatanen plays in 12 regular-season games this season, or if Carolina makes the playoffs and he plays in 70% of their playoff games.
This trade is easily a win for the Carolina Hurricanes as well. Kuokkanen has also had his NHL future with the Carolina Hurricanes in question, and was also a Ron Francis-era pick that Don Waddell and Tom Dundon seem adamant on clearing out. The pick is also a relatively negligible one, so this one is a bit more clear-cut in determining ‘who won’.
Now, for the final and most unexpected of trades the Carolina Hurricanes made on deadline day: the acquisition of Brady Skjei.
3. Skjei to Carolina
This one is obviously a no-brainer to rule in favor of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Brady Skjei has been horrifically mismanaged and underutilized in New York under the Rangers’ current defensive assistant coach Lindy Ruff.
Skjei has always had Top 4 potential, and immediately slotted into the top pairing alongside Jaccob Slavin last night against Dallas.
Skjei is a big body who fits perfectly into the Carolina Hurricanes’ system, and is the long-term solution in fixing the Canes’ wildly inconsistent defensive corps, even after Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce return.
The Carolina Hurricanes sent a 2020 conditional 1st round pick to the New York Rangers in exchange for him and nothing else.
The 2020 NHL Entry Draft is going to be talented and deep, but the good thing about the 1st rounder that the Canes sent the Rags’ way is that it will be the later of the two picks; meaning if the Canes’ pick ends up being, say, 28th, but the Toronto pick that the Canes own ends up being 14th, the Rangers would get the 28th overall pick.
This wasn’t necessarily a ‘steal’ per se, but it has the potential to be. If Skjei can return to his former glory, and rediscover what made him great in New York, he’ll easily be a mainstay in the Carolina Hurricanes’ defensive system for years to come.
So, there you have it. Three incredibly solid trades that fully showcase Don Waddell’s turtleneck sorcery when it comes to making deals. The Carolina Hurricanes won the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline simply because they acquired several high-impact players who fit the system so perfectly, without selling either the present or the future of the team.
light. Related Story. Every Hurricanes Trade This Past Year