Carolina Hurricanes Trade Haydn Fleury for Jani Hakanpaa

The Carolina Hurricanes closed out the trade deadline with a single move. Haydn Fleury to the Anaheim ducks for Jani Hakanpaa and a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NHL draft.

Just when you thought the Carolina Hurricanes would go quietly into the trade deadline, about twenty minutes past the actual deadline, this trade was announced. The roster for tonight’s game against the Detroit Red Wings was also seemingly set and it felt like this was going to be another year where the Hurricanes do nothing.

There doesn’t seem to be much to say about this one. The Carolina Hurricanes had a surplus of left-shot defenders and have made it clear early on that they wanted a right-handed defender. This trade is exactly what one would expect if you took everything Waddell said at face value.

There was also speculation that Fleury was on the trading block after being held out of the last game, a 5-4 shootout loss to the same Detroit Red Wings. But Canes fans chose to ignore it because it made more sense that it was simply giving the freshly healthy Jake Gardiner ice time in his return.

Turns out there was more than just some truth to the speculation. This certainly wasn’t the same splash that happened last year as the Canes loaded on defenders after both Brett Pesce and Dougie Hamilton fell to injuries. But does this trade make any sense?

For a certain angle, it just might.

Let’s break this down really quickly. The Carolina Hurricanes get a future pick, a 2022 sixth-rounder alongside Jani Hakanpaa (a pending UFA), and the Ducks get Haydn Fleury. No salary is retained in this move. The Canes get some more cap space (to do what with, who knows) and the Ducks get a defender signed for another season.

Fleury is an excellent player and one of the best young pure defenders in this league. This is going to be a tantalizing loss for the Carolina Hurricanes. Hakanpaa is a similarly good defender but doesn’t have any of the experience that Fleury has and has only amassed two points in 47 NHL games played.

So why could this be a beneficial trade for Carolina?

Waddell goes about his role as GM like a Roman general planning a conquest. He plays the thousand-year game. He has two things that are concerning him when it comes to this Carolina Hurricanes defense and he may have just solved both of them with this one trade.

The first thing that is concerning him is the upcoming Dougie Hamilton extension, which has been tabled to after the season. Hamilton needing a new contract just as young superstar Andrei Svechnikov needs one is not a fun place to be in.

More concerning, however, is the upcoming Seattle expansion draft. He can only protect three defenders when he has seven that are draft eligible. Now he is clearly going to defend Hamilton, Pesce, and Jaccob Slavin. That would leave Jake Bean, Jake Gardiner, Brady Skjei, and Fleury exposed. Fleury, a former Ron Francis pick, would easily be the choice for Seattle.

This trade moves Fleury out of Carolina prematurely but still gives Waddell something in exchange. I’m not talking about Hakanpaa, but about the 6th round pick in 2022. Something is always better than nothing.

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But we don’t know for a fact that Francis was going to steal Fleury from the Canes. It’s an educated guess, but it’s not a fact. For all we know, he was going to be a Carolina Hurricane in the 21-22 season anyway. Why is there still value in this trade? Because his $1.3 million contract goes with him clearing up cap space that could be used to pay Dougie Hamilton.

It all goes full circle. Right now the Carolina Hurricanes still have seven defenders and good enough depth to make a deep run in the playoffs. Hard to say if this was the best trade out there, but there is still good and bad to account for.

Thank you Haydn Fleury for all the best memories in both Charlotte and PNC Arena. Best of luck in Anaheim and your career moving forward. Perhaps you may just become a Hurricane once again in the future.

Question for CC Readers: How would you grade this trade?