Heading into the 2006 offseason, the Carolina Hurricanes were riding high. They'd just won the Stanley Cup and were prepping to do it again in 2006-07. Right before taking the ice for their final home game of the preseason, the Hurricanes made a big move, aiming to find some cap flexibility while giving the Kings an NHL-ready defender and a top prospect.
Amidst an ordeal to sign 3rd overall pick, Jack Johnson, and failing to do so, the Hurricanes traded him with Oleg Tverdovsky to the Los Angeles Kings. In return, the Canes added forward Eric Belanger and young defenseman Tim Gleason before the season began.
Tverdovsky was about to begin his 11th NHL season after making his debut in 1995 with the Mighty Ducks. He broke out during his third NHL season, his second with Winnipeg/Phoenix, earning an All-Star nod in 1996-97. He returned to Anaheim before winning a Cup in 2003 with the Devils. He spent the next two seasons in Russia, opting to return to the U.S. and sign after the lockout with Carolina.
With the Hurricanes, Tverdovsky played 72 games during the regular season and scored 23 points. He made five more appearances in the postseason, including the team's 5-0 win in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. While he only played 2:20 in the game, it made him a two-time Stanley Cup champion, giving the Kings plenty of experience on the blue line.
Two players in this trade didn't stick with their new teams for long
While the Kings got experience and championship pedigree from Tverdovsky, the Russian defender wasn't used very much in 2006-07 by Los Angeles. He played just 26 games in the NHL that season, recording four assists. Once the season ended, he returned to Russia for a second time. He finished his career at home, playing six more seasons before retiring.
Eric Belanger wasn't around Raleigh for long either. After five good seasons with the Kings, including a career-high 37 points in 2005-06, Belanger's tenure as a Hurricane lasted only 56 games. He was decent, scoring eight goals and 20 points, before the team sent him to the Nashville Predators. The Canes received Josef Vasicek, whom they'd traded during the offseason for Scott Walker.
The only thing shorter than his time with the Canes was his time with the Predators. One day later, Belanger was traded again. In another one-for-one swap, Belanger was exchanged for Vitaly Vishnevsky. He was very good in Atlanta, scoring 15 points in 24 games. Belanger played 820 games across 12 seasons in the NHL with seven teams, recording 358 points.
Jack Johnson is still active almost two decades later
Following two successful seasons at Michigan, Jack Johnson finally turned pro, signing his entry-level deal with the Kings. He immediately became a big minutes guy on the back end, averaging well over 21 minutes in his rookie campaign. The scoring took a little longer to materialize, finally breaking 30 points during his third season in LA.
Johnson reached 40 points the following season, but his time with the Kings would come to an end in 2012, when he was sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jeff Carter. He spent the next long stretch of his career in Ohio, playing even more minutes. Johnson's production fluctuated throughout the years, reaching 40 points again with a few seasons under 20 points.
By the time he reached his early 30s, Johnson started bouncing from team to team. He did some time in Pittsburgh, went to the Big Apple, won a Stanley Cup in Colorado in 2022, signed in Chicago, was traded back to Colorado, and played last season back in Columbus. Now 38 years old, Johnson is a free agent, but he's well over 1,200 games into a very good NHL career.
Tim Gleason became a mainstay during his nine seasons in Raleigh
Coming to Raleigh at just 24 years old, Gleason was joining at a high point in the franchise's history. While he got to see one more good run, most of his time with the Hurricanes was on underperforming teams. His first season saw him play 57 games, scoring just six points. He was a little better in 2007-08, scoring 19 points, which would tie his high with the Canes.
After 12 assists in 2008-09, Gleason had his best moments during the team's opening series with New Jersey. In Game 2, Gleason scored his only playoff goal, beating Martin Brodeur in overtime to even the series. In Game 7, he famously kept the puck in the zone by going to a knee and sliding it to Joni Pitkanen before Jussi Jokinen's tying goal. He added the secondary assist on the series winner.
During his first stint with the Canes, Gleason played 491 games, recording 100 points. He was traded to the Maple Leafs on New Year's Day 2014, but a massive collapse prevented Toronto from reaching the playoffs. After being bought out, Gleason returned to the Canes, playing 55 games in 2014-15 before another trade. This time, he went to Washington, where he finished his career months later.
After retiring, Gleason returned to the Hurricanes organization as a special assistant and heading up defensive development in 2018. Following Dean Chynoweth's departure in 2021, Gleason joined former teammate Rod Brind'Amour's coaching staff. Since taking over the defense, the Hurricanes have the league's best penalty kill, more than three percent better than the next closest team.