When the Hurricanes acquired defenseman Andrej Sekera in the middle of his four-year contract during the 2013 offseason, no one could've anticipated the offensive breakout he'd experience the following season. It was a rather harmless deal, sending defenseman Jamie McBain and a 2013 2nd-round pick to the Sabres for Sekera's services.
In seven seasons with the Sabres, Sekera had never scored more than four goals, and his career high in points was 29 in 2010-11. It was clear there was something of an offensive game there, but he truly turned it on in 2013-14, his first season as a Hurricane.
Playing top-pair minutes, Sekera exploded for 11 goals and 44 points in 74 games, topping 10 goals and 30 points for the first time in his career. He was helpful on the power play, tying Eric Staal for the team lead in assists with the man advantage (11). Sekera was named the third star of the week in late January after scoring six points in a trio of victories.
Comparatively, Sekera outperformed McBain by a wide margin. The former Hurricanes draft pick scored six goals and 17 points in 69 games in his only season with the Sabres. McBain exited in free agency that summer, signing with the Los Angeles Kings. Buffalo selected J.T. Compher 35th overall in 2012, but he never played for Buffalo. He was traded to Colorado in the Ryan O'Reilly deal in 2015.
The package received after trading Sekera failed to impress
Now entering the final year of his contract, the Hurricanes remained below the playoff line. Sekera's production had taken a step back to start the season, scoring two goals and 19 points in 57 games. However, the Hurricanes knew his services would be valuable to a contender. They found a dance partner in the Kings.
The Canes had a mini fire sale in the days before the 2015 trade deadline, with Sekera becoming one of the pieces sent away. From Los Angeles, the Canes received defensive prospect Roland McKeown and a conditional 1st-round pick, contingent on the Kings making the playoffs that season.
Sekera's numbers with the Kings after the trade remained down, scoring four points in 16 games as the Kings missed the playoffs by two points. This ensured the Hurricanes would receive Los Angeles' 1st-round pick in 2016. Sekera signed a massive six-year deal with Edmonton in the offseason, but he never experienced a season quite like he did with the Hurricanes in 2013-14.
While by no means the Kings' top prospect, Roland McKeown was highly thought of within the Kings' organization. They traded up to the 50th pick to selected him. With the Hurricanes, McKeown was ranked as the team's 4th-best prospect entering the 2015-16 season, according to ESPN. Unfortunately, he'd never become that in the NHL.
McKeown has pretty much been a career AHLer. He played 10 games for the Hurricanes in 2017-18, scoring three assists, but the majority of his time was spent in Charlotte. After winning the Calder Cup with the Checkers in 2019, McKeown was named the captain for the 2019-20 season. McKeown signed as a free agent with Colorado in 2021, and he saw NHL time with the Predators in 2022-23.
The Kings' pick in 2016 fell to 21st overall after they clinched a playoff spot and lost in the 1st round. With this pick, the Hurricanes selected forward Julien Gauthier. Like McKeown, this didn't pan out for Carolina. Gauthier played five games in November and December 2019 before the team dealt him in 2020 to the Rangers for Joey Keane.
Out of the return for Sekera, the Hurricanes received two players who combined to play fewer games than Sekera did with the Kings. It was a disappointing result after how well he played for the Canes during his short time. It's not as if the team wasn't adequately compensated for him. It just failed to materialize into anything substantial.