Hurricanes land Max Pacioretty and Dylan Coghlan for future considerations

Today has been a day that the Carolina Hurricanes have invested heavily into their roster. But their biggest heist of the day is by far Don Waddell stealing two valuable players from right under the nose of the Vegas Golden Knights. Dylan Coghlan and Max Pacioretty are Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for the cap space they take up. That’s that, there’s nothing going back to Vegas. It’s a heist.

Let us start with Dylan Coghlan. A young right-handed defenseman, he is the sweetener in this deal for eating all of all seven million of the Pacioretty deal. So, this 24-year-old Canadian defenseman is still a work in progress. I’m not sure if he will be in the lineup consistently or if he’ll be in the press box, but he is an exciting addition in his own right. I really like this addition by itself.

However, the meat of this deal is Max Pacioretty. Former captain of the Montreal Canadiens, Pacioretty is one of the best goal scorers in the NHL when he’s healthy. This is the big-name winger the Canes had been hunting for. We know that the Hurricanes needed to bulk up their attacking threats, but this is a major statement of intent from Waddell, Tulsky, Yorke, and the front office.

To get a player with the quality of Pacioretty for free is just theft. That is illegal in 48 states theft. If the organization can figure out a way to keep the 2007 first-round pick in the lineup, he’s going to make this team so much better. He’s got one year left at $7 million which isn’t great for someone that only has one year left. However, you gave up nothing to get him. If he’s awful, you didn’t part with anything for him.

This is such a good trade for Carolina. It’s been a day of big additions. This is a deal that undoubtedly makes the team better not just now, but in the long run with the addition of Coghlan. We know that Pacioretty is going to address most of the scoring needs the team has, and Coghlan is going to be a player we look at further down the road. Maybe he becomes an impact player right away, but it is unlikely.

Question for Cardiac Cane readers: What do you think of this trade?