While the focus of the NHL Draft is to welcome the newest crop of prospects to the league, the front office is always looking to make moves. The draft floor always has rumblings about potential moves being made. Some of them are earth-shattering. Others are merely to improve draft positioning and asset management.
The Carolina Hurricanes have completed many memorable draft day deals over the last 28 years. Some have altered the very fabric of the organization. Ahead are five of the biggest, along with the context and ramifications for each of those moves. As always, we start with a few honorable mentions that just missed the final list.
Honorable Mentions
2000: The Hurricanes made a pair of deals in 2000. The first saw them acquire Sandis Ozolinsh and a pick for a package including Nolan Pratt and the 14th pick. This deal didn't have much of an impact on either team. The second deal was a picks swap with Atlanta to acquire the 97th pick in the draft. With this pick, the Hurricanes drafted "The Secret Weapon" Niclas Wallin.
2005: On the surface, the Hurricanes trading Jeff O'Neill to Toronto for a 4th-round pick in 2006 isn't very remarkable. When adding in a little extra context, it becomes a little more meaningful. The Canes never used the pick they received. Instead, they packaged it to make a deal at the 2006 trade deadline, acquiring Doug Weight from the Blues on their way to a Stanley Cup victory.
2024: This is more of a "see how it pans out" deal. At last year's draft, the Hurricanes traded out of the first round by sending the 27th pick to Chicago for a pair of second-round picks at #34 and #50 overall. With those picks, the Canes selected Czech defenseman Dominik Badinka and Russian winger Nikita Artamonov. Both have incredible promise, so time will tell how wise this decision was.