Carolina Hurricanes: The Jack Johnson Trade Tree

Dennis Robertson traded again.

I did mention that Carolina acquired Dennis Robertson in the Tim Gleason trade. I did not mention what Carolina got back for him. That is because it’s a lot and it’s a reach to say that Robertson directly resulted in Carolina acquiring these players, but it’s a good trade for the Canes organization so I thought I’d include it.

Robertson was included along with Jake Massie and a 2017 5th that was shipped to Chicago in exchange for Joakim Nordstrom, Kris Versteeg with (2,200,000 retained), and a 2017 3rd round pick.

To this point, neither Massie nor Robertson has played at the NHL level. So, there’s not too much to talk about on the Blackhawks side of things. However, the Hurricanes acquired some very talented NHL players. This was very much a cap dump move for the Blackhawks, but it doesn’t mean Carolina didn’t get something beneficial from this as well.

Starting with Nordstrom, again, not a flashy player. However, an efficient bottom 6 forward. Someone capable of doing a sterling defensive job on anyone while bringing energy and physicality to a team, Nordstrom didn’t always have his scoring touch. However, this didn’t stop him from tallying 19 goals and 24 assists in 228 games for the Canes. Not headline-grabbing, not too bad though.

Moving to Kris Versteeg, when he arrived in Carolina, the better part of his career was behind him. I don’t think there’s any spice in that take. He was a great leader and really did show a lot of the kids how to play well with the puck at the NHL level. Versteeg did collect 11 goals and 22 assists in his 63 games with the Carolina Hurricanes, but by the end of the year, he was being flipped.

Versteeg was traded to Los Angeles for Valentin Zykov. Zykov struggled in Carolina for a long time. With only 25 games with the Canes, he collected4 goals and 11 points which aren’t anything to turn your nose up at. He wasn’t an outstanding player during his time with the Canes. And in the end, he would leave the team for nothing, being claimed on waivers by Edmonton.

Does your head hurt yet? Oh, we’re not done yet.

More from Cardiac Cane

• 2023 Southeast Rookie Showcase: Takeaways from the Canes’ Strong Showing in Florida
• Week Two Coverage Of College Hockey In NC
• Derek Stepan Ends His On Ice Career As A Hurricane
• The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
• Noesen Ready To Provide Depth For Canes

I mentioned there were picks involved with this trade. There’s a lot to go from here. The 2017 3rd rounder Carolina got became Keith Petruzzelli. Not a household name, he’s not made the NHL yet. But at less than 22 years of age, there’s still a lot of time with this pick for him to correct that as time progresses. Petruzzelli is a Detroit prospect.

The 2017 5th Carolina departed with? That became Kristoffer Gunnarsson. This is a player in the Vancouver system, not someone who sticks out as a sure-fire NHL player, at 24 years old, he’s never made the NHL, and his likelihood of making it is dwindling. Not really two players to be overly concerned about for fans reviewing these trades looking for players drafted from opposition’s picks.

So, all in all, this trade was massive for both teams. Not only did it allow the LA Kings to become a powerhouse in the west, but it forced the Canes to extend their rebuild, which is visible throughout the trade tree, even five, six, seven years later, they’re taking cap dumps trying to build for the future. It really changed both team’s directions, considering this was just before Carolina won its cup, and Los Angeles was still rebuilding.

Anyway, I need painkillers now for that headache.