How the NHL trade deadline helped the Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina Hurricanes fans everywhere can rejoice as they landed a star player in Jake Guentzel, who can help them win in so many ways. Guentzel isn’t ready to play yet, but it won’t be long until fans see him in a red and white uniform, providing more offense for Carolina. 

Just how valuable was Guentzel to his former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins? Check out the following statistics and you will find out: Pittsburgh is just 5-7-1 without him, and they have scored just 34 goals in those previous 13 games, giving them an average of 2.62 goals per contest.

Sure, the Penguins scored four or more times in six of those 13 games, but from February 29th onward, they have just 10 goals. So you can see just how much they are missing Guentzel, and it gives you an idea of how well he will serve the Hurricanes. 

A few additions helped the Carolina Hurricanes at the NHL trade deadline 

At the first of the month, the Hurricanes helped the Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Ilya Lyubushkin from the Anaheim Ducks by retaining a portion of his contract and receiving a 2024 sixth-round pick for their efforts. They also shipped Cade Webber for a 2026 sixth-rounder on March 7th before pulling off the blockbuster deal for Guentzel. 

They also may have struck gold with Evgeny Kuznetsov, who they flipped a third-round pick in 2025 to acquire. Kuznetsov was in the follow-up portion of the Players Assistance program at the time of the trade, and he was cleared for in-game action in Saturday’s big win over the New Jersey Devils. 

If Kuznetsov can remain on the right track, and if Guentzel plays the same way he did in Pittsburgh, then there is no question that the Carolina Hurricanes helped themselves at the 2024 trade deadline. With Kuznetsov back in action and Guentzel set to return sooner than later, we won’t need to wait long to see if that becomes the case.

(Information provided by Cap Friendly)