Remembering The Biggest Trade Deadlines in Hurricanes History: Starting From Scratch
By Ben Huffman
2015
It was evident early in the first year under Bill Peters that things weren't good for the Hurricanes in 2014-15. By the start of the new year, the team was firmly in the cellar of the division, and while their play would improve marginally in January and February, they were surefire sellers at the deadline. They didn't wait until March 2 to get the ball rolling.
The team's first move was to trade pending UFA Andrej Sekera, who had scored 44 points the year prior, to the Los Angeles Kings for defenseman Roland McKeown and a conditional 1st Round pick. Sekera didn't have the same scoring touch with the Kings, putting up four points in 16 games. McKeown was a player I remember many saying was close to cracking the lineup, but he only played ten games with the Canes in 2017-18, picking up three assists. Because the Kings missed the playoffs in 2015, the pick the Canes received was pushed to 2016. It landed at 21st overall, and the team selected Julien Gauthier. His time with the Hurricanes was short-lived, earning an assist in five games before being dealt at the 2020 deadline.
Later that same day, the Canes struck a deal with the Jets, sending Jiri Tlusty to Winnipeg for two draft picks, a conditional 6th in 2015 and a 3rd in 2016. Tlusty had scored 23 goals during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, but he never reached those heights again. He scored a respectable eight points in 20 games for the Jets before going scoreless in the postseason. The 6th-round pick turned into a 5th with the Jets making the playoffs, but neither Spencer Smallman nor Matt Filipe, who the team selected with the other pick, ever made it to the NHL.
Their final trade in 2015 was small by comparison. Longtime Canes defenseman Tim Gleason was sent to division rival Washington for Jack Hillen and a 2015 4th Round pick. Gleason contributed two assists in 17 games with the Capitals before adding an assist in 14 postseason games in what would be his final NHL stop. Hillen played just three games with the Canes before retiring in December. The draft pick, 93rd overall, was used to select goalie Callum Booth, who hasn't reached the NHL.