In one of the most active trade deadlines in team history, the Carolina Hurricanes went out and acquired three big-name players: center Vincent Trocheck and defensemen Brady Skjei and Sami Vatanen.
The Canes first acquired Trocheck at around 10 a.m. before their scheduled practice and the other two moves came later in the afternoon before the 3 p.m. deadline.
The Carolina Hurricanes acquired Trochek, a right-handed centerman from the Florida Panthers for forwards Erik Haula, Lucas Wallmark, prospect Eetu Luostarinen and defensive prospect Chase Priskie.
“We essentially gave up four players for him,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “Two prospects who we think highly of too. We gave up a lot to get a player that we think fits exactly what we’re about and fits a need that we definitely had. That’s why these deals hurt. You have to give up something to get something.”
In Trocheck, Carolina is getting a play-driving forward capable of playing on both sides of the ice. His speed makes him a prime candidate to play alongside Martin Necas and Nino Niederreiter on a second line. Trocheck also has a right-shot that can be instantly deployed on the struggling second power play unit.
“I don’t think anybody likes playing against him,” said defenseman Jake Gardiner. “He’s one of those guys he kind of does it all. Defensively, offensively. He’s just kind of a pest out there. He finishes his checks and is kind of annoying to play against so he’s a guy you definitely want on your team.
In addition, Trocheck’s contract is a reasonably priced $4.25 million AAV through 2021-22 giving the Canes another top center for an extended stretch
“Vincent brings elements of skill and competitiveness that fit the mold of the style we want to play,” said general manager Don Waddell in a press release. “He’s a right-handed center who is excellent in the face-off circle. With two years left on his contract after this one, this fills a need for our roster for this year and moving forward.”
The biggest piece heading out is Erik Haula. Currently with 12 goals and 10 assists, Haula hasn’t quite worked out in the Canes lineup. Coupled with a reaggravation of the knee injury that sidelined him for months in 2018, Haula was a risk that seemingly never quite paid off.
There also was the rumors that Haula and Brind’Amour were at odds, making it seem unlikely that he would resign after this season. Moving him out for another shot at a potential top center is a huge plus.
Wallmark was at his ceiling as a bottom-six center and Eetu Luostarinen’s ceiling is similar. The real sweetener was former Hobey Baker Award finalist Chase Priskie, but Carolina has so many defensemen and defensive prospects that the move works fine.
Sami Vatanen was acquired for forward prospect Janne Kuokkanen, AHL defenseman Fredrik Claesson and a conditional fourth-round pick.
Vatanen, currently on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, is a right-handed defenseman who has, however, been on the decline for a few years now. As a pending unrestricted free agent, he is purely a patch to hold the Hurricanes ship together with the huge losses on the blueline.
“Sami is a player that fits our system well,” said Waddell. “His skating, vision and puck-moving skills will help us out in all facets of the game. We expect him to return to the lineup in early March.”
Kuokkanen was once a top prospect for Carolina, but the Finnish winger has matured with just too crowded of a top-six at the NHL level. It will be a good restart for him, where he should be able to make an impact in New Jersey.
Claesson was a budget defenseman that the Hurricanes offered a two-way contract after training camp where he was a camp invitee and he has spent the entire season down in Charlotte.
Brady Skjei was acquired for the lower of the two 2020 first-round picks that Carolina owns. Skjei is signed at an AAV of $5.25 million through 2023-24 and has a modified-NTC that kicks in for the 2021-22 season. The left-shot defenseman is regarded as a skilled puck mover, but has struggled defensively.
“Brady is a big defenseman who checks all the boxes,” said Waddell in a press release. “He’s an excellent skater, he’s competitive, he can move the puck and he can defend. He’s under contract through the 2023-24 season, so this is another acquisition that helps us immediately and in the long-term.”
Lost in the excitement, numbers and speculations is the humanity of the trade deadline. For some it’s a journeyman role. A short stop on the ever-moving train. But for some, they have to tear out the roots they’ve laid and move away from the places they’ve called home. It isn’t an easy thing to be traded.
“We lost two of our brothers in there and that’s the hard part about today,” Brind’Amour said. “That’s the hard part about the business in general whenever stuff like that happens, it’s just that today is magnified. Everything is going on.”
For players, it can be even harder.
“It’s never easy, never fun,” Martinook said. “I’ve spent two years with [Wallmark], these guys longer, and [Haula], a year with him. Get to know them, get to know their families, what they’re all about and to just have them taken away… Obviously, you’ll still see them around, but it’s not the same. Wish those guys the best of luck and definitely sad to see two friends go.”
But that is the business of the NHL. Friends can become enemies and vice versa. Even Andrei Svechnikov looked like he was going to drop the gloves against Skjei just Friday, a whole 72 hours before he was acquired by the Hurricanes.
At the end of the day, the Canes management did what they saw was in the team’s best interest and it will be a short waiting game before we see if these changes will pay off.
