Remembering The Biggest Trade Deadlines in Hurricanes History: The Pre-Lockout Days

The NHL trade deadline is always one of my favorite days of the year. Unlike in most sports, this day is often chock-full of huge moves as playoff contenders and hopefuls look to bolster their lineups to make a late push for the Stanley Cup. Sometimes, those moves pan out beautifully. Other times, they fall flat. Throughout their history, the Carolina Hurricanes have seen plenty from both sides.

With this year's deadline approaching, I thought it would be fun to revisit some of the most notable deadlines in the team's history since moving to North Carolina. To avoid making one long article, I plan to look at various eras of the franchise to help paint this picture. I won't be touching on every deadline because that's a lot of trades, some of which have little to no bearing on the team overall.

To kick things off, I've started with the early days of the Carolina Hurricanes. With the Hartford Whalers relocating and taking up a new identity, the franchise was looking to establish itself as a serious force. In its first seven seasons, the team experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. In Part 1, we'll cover the notable pre-lockout deadlines from 1998 to 2004.

1998

As is often the case, the best place to start is the very beginning. Two months before the 1998 deadline, the Hurricanes made a big deal with the Vancouver Canucks, acquiring Martin Gelinas and Kirk McLean for a package that included young 40-goal scorer Geoff Sanderson and goalie Sean Burke. Gelinas' contributions to the organization over the next several seasons are well-documented in the team's history books, including the series-clinching goal in the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals to send the team to their first Stanley Cup Final. McLean's tenure with the team wouldn't be as glamorous.

After eight appearances, Kirk McLean was sent to the Florida Panthers at the deadline for forward Ray Sheppard. While the Hurricanes failed to secure a playoff spot in their inaugural season, Sheppard's impact would be greatly felt the following season. En route to a division crown, Sheppard finished second on the team in goals (25) and third in points (58) as the Canes qualified for their first postseason.

In their series with Boston, Sheppard scored five goals in six goals, including the overtime winner in Game 2 to secure the team's first playoff win. He would depart that offseason, returning to the Panthers as a free agent. McLean made 37 appearances over the next two seasons for the Panthers, going 13-12-5 with a 2.85 GAA. The Canes aced their first deadline, making an impactful move to help push the team in the right direction.

2003

Following their magical run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2002, the Hurricanes failed to carry that momentum into the 2002-03 season. After a 15-15-5 start, the Canes went 3-25-4 between Christmas and the trade deadline, effectively making them sellers. They made two deals in the lead-up to the deadline. First, they moved Glen Wesley to Toronto for a 2nd Round pick in the 2004 Draft. Wesley recorded three points in seven games with Toronto and just one point in their postseason loss before returning to Raleigh in the offseason. He played four more seasons with the Canes before retiring in 2008.

The second deal the Canes made was a one-for-one swap with Colorado, sending them Bates Battaglia for Radim Vrbata. Battaglia didn't accomplish much with the Avalanche and was traded early the following season to Washington. He'd play two more years in the league with the Maple Leafs. He, along with his brother, would go on to win The Amazing Race in 2013. Vrbata, just 21 at the time of this trade, played his first full season in the NHL the following year, scoring 25 points in 80 games. He was traded early in the 2005-06 season to Chicago, and he'd go on to have a solid 16-year NHL career.

As for the pick the team received in the Glen Wesley trade, the Hurricanes wouldn't use it. On the night of the draft, which was taking place in Raleigh, the team traded that pick, 59th overall, and the 8th overall pick to Columbus to move up four spots. With the 4th pick, the Canes drafted Andrew Ladd. While he never turned into a superstar, Ladd played 16 years in the NHL. He won a Stanley Cup in his rookie season in 2006, won another with Chicago in 2010, and went on to become the captain of the Winnipeg Jets. He also greatly outperformed the two players selected by the Blue Jackets.

2004

The Hurricanes' struggles continued into the 2003-04 season as they were well outside of the playoffs once the deadline rolled around. While the team had been making moves before the deadline, including the addition of a certain Hurricanes Hall of Famer, the team's only deadline move sent longtime captain Ron Francis to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 4th-round pick in 2005. Francis made an impact for the Leafs, scoring 10 points in 12 games leading up to the playoffs. However, he contributed just four assists in 12 postseason games as the Leafs were eliminated, thus ending Francis' Hall of Fame career.

The pick the team received went on a journey. While Sportsnet did a great job of outlining the movement of every piece involved in the trade, the 4th Round pick was sent to the Blue Jackets. The Canes received a player and a pick in return. That pick, a 2006 4th Round pick, was sent to Chicago for Anton Babchuk and a 2007 4th Round pick. The pick in 2007 was part of a larger package that the team sent to St. Louis in January of 2006 to acquire Doug Weight. As a playoff rental, Weight scored 13 points in 23 games during the regular season before scoring 16 points during the team's run to the Stanley Cup in 2006.