1. Primeau and a Pick for Brind’amour and Some Pieces
You guys should’ve seen this one coming.
Topping off my list is the fateful trade that brought longtime Carolina Hurricanes captain, and eventual bench boss Rod Brind’amour, to Raleigh.
This trade has some controversial overarching themes behind it that I won’t quite get into in this article, but suffice it to say that Rod Brind’amour wanted out of Philadelphia, and Keith Primeau wasn’t accepting any of the deals that Peter Karmanos was offering him.
Primeau ended up rejected Carolina’s contract offers of three years at $12 million, five years at $20 million, and two years at $7 million; Primeau reportedly turned down the $20 million deal because it would prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent at the time.
The Carolina Hurricanes would concede and ended up trading Keith Primeau and a 5th round pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft that would be used to draft Kristofer Ottosson at 148th overall for Rod Brind’amour, Jean-Marc Pelletier, and a 2nd round pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft that would be used to draft Agris Saviels at 63rd overall.
This trade, at the time, was widely seen as slightly confusing, but was one of those ‘both sides win’ kind of deals. Primeau got a contract he was comfortable signing, Brind’amour got a fresh start with Carolina, and both teams would go on to benefit in the short-term. In hindsight, though, this trade ended up being much more of a win for Carolina than for Philadelphia.
Ironically, Primeau ended up signing a 5-year deal in Philadelphia worth $22.75 million, and would eventually retire after the 2005-06 season after 6 decent seasons as a Flyer.
Rod Brind’amour, however, would go on to have a long and storied career as a Carolina Hurricane. He would be named Captain of the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2005-06 season, and would remain Captain until his retirement in 2010.
Not only did he lead the Carolina Hurricanes to their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history, Brind’amour would also go on to win the Selke Trophy back-to-back as a Carolina Hurricane in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Brind’amour would play 10 successful seasons with Carolina, and would announce his retirement on June 30, 2010.
Rod would take his place behind the Canes bench as assistant coach and in the front office as Director of Forward Development in June 2011, and would be named Head Coach of the Carolina Hurricanes in May 2018; his first year coaching, the Carolina Hurricanes would end their decade-long playoff drought and make it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Carolina Hurricanes would also make the playoffs the very next season, marking the second time in franchise history the Carolina Hurricanes would make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. This finally brings us to present day, where Rod Brind’amour is sure to be, yet again, a Jack Adams Coach of the Year Award candidate.
This trade is one of those cornerstone trades that can make or break a franchise, like I talked about earlier. While at the time, it was a moderate blockbuster, it now remains one of the most, if not the most, influential trades of Carolina Hurricanes history that is still making ripples felt to this very day.
The Carolina Hurricanes’ current system of hockey was molded by Rod Brind’amour; the standard to which every player is held, and how highly they are expected to perform is 100% a result of Rod Brind’amour being given the reins on how the on-ice product is run.
Well, there you have it. My list of Top 5 trades in Carolina Hurricanes’ history. Of course there are trades that should’ve been on this list, and I’m sure (given Don Waddell’s skill at the negotiating table) that I’ll have to update this in a year’s time or so. For now, though, I think this list encompasses the ebb and flow of talent that has shaped the Carolina Hurricanes that we know and love today.
Question for CC Readers: Which trade would you add to this list, and where would you add it?