Remembering The Biggest Trade Deadlines in Hurricanes History: Starting From Scratch
The "Dark Days" continued for the organization, signaling one of the most remarkable shifts in franchise history with several star players being moved.
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.
2016
If you've been around this team for a long time, you remember where you were when one of the biggest deals in franchise history went down. This deadline, in general, was two days of non-stop action. February 28 and 29 would mark the end of an era for Hurricanes hockey.
After making the big trade, which I'm saving for last, earlier in the day, the other big deal they made on the day before the deadline involved Kris Versteeg being sent to the Kings for Valentin Zykov and a conditional 5th in 2016. Versteeg scored five points in 14 games for the Kings before adding two more in a five-game loss to the Sharks. Zykov never got the chance to showcase his offensive upside, scoring 11 points in 24 games across three seasons before being placed on waivers in 2018. The condition placed on the pick were never met.
On deadline day, the Canes made two more trades. First, they trade John-Michael Liles to Boston for Anthony Camara and two picks. Liles scored six points in 17 games to finish the season and then stuck around for one more year before retiring after the 2016-17 season. Camara has yet to make it to the NHL. With one of the picks, the Canes selected goalie Jack LaFontaine 75th overall in 2016. There was a lot of hype surrounding him coming out of Minnesota.
Being billed as the goalie of the future, he signed his entry-level contract in the middle of the college season in 2022 as injuries ravaged the team in the net. He made his debut in relief, allowing two goals on three shots. In his first start nine days later, he allowed seven goals on 38 shots. He hasn't played in the NHL since then. The other pick the Canes received, a 5th Round pick in 2017, was used to push Vegas to select Connor Brickley during their Expansion Draft. Their other trade that day was a minor swap, sending Drew MacIntyre to Chicago for Dennis Robertson. Neither has played in the league to this point.
The big trade that everyone remembers was the Eric Staal deal. Owning almost every offensive record for the team during their time in Raleigh, the Canes traded their captain to the New York Rangers for Aleksi Saarela and two 2nd Round picks. His days with the Rangers yielded little as Staal scored just six points in 20 games and was held scoreless as New York was eliminated in five games. He'd sign with Minnesota in the offseason, where he'd undergo a career resurgence with the Wild.
As for the Canes' return in that deal, Saarela played one postseason game in 2019, but never suited up for the team in the regular season. The two picks they received were in 2016 and 2017. The 2017 pick was used on Luke Martin, who never played for the Canes. The pick the year prior was traded to Chicago with a pick in 2017 for Teuvo Teravainen and Bryan Bickell, who'd just won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2015. Bickell's harrowing story is well-documented. He was forced to retire from hockey in 2017 after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, but not before providing a lasting memory in his final game. The most impactful part of this entire trade continues to be Teravainen. He's in his eighth season with the team and is the one reason why I don't think this trade was a complete bust for the organization.
2017
After the whirlwind that was the 2016 deadline, 2017 was far less emotional. The Canes were still active but not on the same level as the year before. They made three deals in the lead-up to the deadline. The first was a throwaway trade. The Canes sent Keegan Lowe to Montreal for Philip Samuelsson. Neither played for the teams they were traded to, though Lowe made his NHL debut with Edmonton the following year.
As for the trades that mattered, the first came about a week before the deadline as the Canes traded veteran Ron Hainsey to the Penguins for Danny Kristo and a 2017 2nd Round pick. To that point in his career, Hainsey had never played postseason hockey, meaning he'd get his first taste of it with Pittsburgh. After just three points in the regular season, Hainsey scored eight points in the postseason as the Penguins won their second straight Stanley Cup. Kristo never played for the Hurricanes, while the pick they acquired went to Vegas for Trevor van Riemsdyk and a late-round pick.
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A few days before the deadline, the Canes made their final trade, shipping Viktor Stalberg to the Ottawa Senators for a 3rd Round pick in 2017. Stalberg managed just four points in 18 games to finish the season before adding two assists in 17 postseason games as the Senators were eliminated by Hainsey and the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Canes traded the pick they'd received, 90th overall, to the Chicago Blackhawks for goalie Scott Darling. While he'd been great in his role in Chicago, Darling couldn't translate that in Raleigh. He posted a .887 save percentage and a 3.20 GAA in 51 games before being traded to Florida for James Reimer.