Remembering The Biggest Trade Deadlines in Hurricanes History: Return to Relevance

After nearly a decade without postseason hockey, it took some massive changes to turn a struggling franchise into a consistent threat in the Eastern Conference.

Boston Bruins v Carolina Hurricanes - Game Four
Boston Bruins v Carolina Hurricanes - Game Four | Elsa/GettyImages
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2020

Sami Vatanen, Jaccob Slavin, Vincent Trocheck
Carolina Hurricanes v Boston Bruins - Game Two | Elsa/GettyImages

In recent years, Don Waddell has earned a reputation for not doing much at the trade deadline. This season is the outlier. Little did we know what was about to happen a few weeks later. The Hurricanes were incredibly active at the 2020 deadline, making three moves. He made one minor move a week in advance, sending former top pick Julien Gauthier to the Rangers for Joey Keane. Neither has done much at the NHL level.

On the day of the deadline, the Canes were working the phones. To start the day, the team acquired Vincent Trocheck from the Panthers for a package of four players, led by Erik Haula and Lucas Wallmark. Both Wallmark and Haula would finish the season with Florida and joined them in the bubble for the postseason, providing little production before both left in free agency in the offseason. Chase Priskie, one of the prospects involved, made his debut in 2021 and played four games that season.

The other player involved was Eetu Luostarinen. He's the only part of the return who contributed anything for the Panthers, and he is still part of the team this season. Trocheck played 135 games for the Canes during parts of the next three seasons, scoring 96 points. He added 15 points in 31 postseason games before signing a huge deal with the Rangers in 2022.

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