Carolina Hurricanes: NHL Changes the Sami Vatanen Trade

The Vatanen trade that sent him to the Carolina Hurricanes has changed.

The Sami Vatanen Trade with the New Jersey Devils has undergone some transition that may help the Carolina Hurricanes keep their draft pick.

With the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ending the regular season and forcing many teams to reevaluate their trade deadline moves, the NHL has taken the time to change the terms of many trades to allow them to match the reality of the season.

One of those trades was the Sami Vatanen trade to the Carolina Hurricanes. Originally that trade sent prospects Fredrik Claesson and Janne Kuokkanen along with a conditional 2020 fourth-round pick to the New Jersey Devils.

The conditions of the pick were that it would automatically upgrade to a 2020 3rd round pick if Vatanen plays in 12 regular-season games, or if Carolina makes the playoffs and he plays in 70% of their playoff games.

With the strange circumstances surrounding the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, the terms of the trade had to change drastically. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman hockey analyst and Civil War general, the terms will now depend on the current best of five series with the New York Rangers as well as the rest of the playoffs.

Hold on to something folks because this is not a simple transaction.

Let’s start with the draft pick in general. For the Devils to get anything outside of the two prospects it already received, Sami Vatanen will have to play two games against the Rangers or 70% of the games afterward (with more stipulations on those games).

If the Rangers win the series and Sami plays two or more games (one more game in reality) then the Hurricanes have the choice of sending either a 2020 4th round pick or a 2021 4th round pick. It would be hard to imagine the Hurricanes not deciding to push it to 2021.

So what if the Hurricanes beat the Rangers? Then the matter becomes about upgrading the pick to a third-rounder. As long as Sami Plays 70% of the games after the Hurricanes beat the Rangers (regardless of how many games he plays against New York) then the Hurricanes will send the Devils a 2020 third-round pick.

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If the Rangers win the series and Sami plays less than two games (basically doesn’t play for the rest of the series) then the Hurricanes will not owe the New Jersey Devils any draft picks.

Easy right?

For those of you doing the math in your head, just note that all it takes right now is for Sami to be on the roster for game two for at least a fourth-round pick to be headed to the Devils.

After that, it will depend on if he remains healthy enough to continue being on the roster through the rest of the playoffs. 70% seems like a lot, but he seems to be at 100% right now. Expect the Devils to get a third-round pick if the Hurricanes get past the Rangers this week.

Question For CC Readers: Do you think this is a fair compromise after the shortened season?