Assessing winners, losers after trade deadline in NHL
Series of Hurricanes’ bold moves sends message they want to contend for Stanley Cup.
The Hurricanes entered the NHL trade deadline bruised and battered and looking for a lifeline.
They finished the day with a message to the rest of the league that they are ready to be Stanley Cup contenders after pulling off some of the most important trades of the frenzied period.
Carolina began the day by prying center Vincent Trocheck from the Panthers for forwards Erik Haula and Lucas Wallstrom plus prospects Chase Priskie and Eetu Luostarinen. Trocheck (10 goals, 36 points) has had a down season but is only two years removed from a 31-goal, 75-point campaign. At 26 and signed through 2022, Trocheck gives the Hurricanes a formidable center trio along with Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal.
General manager Don Waddell then acquired defenseman Sami Vatanen, an unrestricted free agent this offseason, from the Devils for prospects Janne Kuokkanen and Fredrik Claesson and a conditional fourth-round pick. He finished the day by trading for defenseman Brady Skjei, sending the Rangers a first-round pick. With Dougie Hamilton (fractured fibula) and Brett Pesce (upper body) out potentially long term, these two moves were imoffseason, perative if the Hurricanes, occupying the second wild-card spot, wanted to make a playoff push. Both are mobile blueliners who fit well with the Hurricanes’ up-tempo style.
The Hurricanes lost goalies Petr Mrazek and James Reimer to injuries in a game Saturday but did not address goaltending.
Here are the rest of the winners and losers of the trade period.
Winners
Penguins: They lost Jake Guentzel before the All-Star break and have loaded up at forward since. Besides finding a winger for Sidney Crosby in Jason Zucker, they brought in Patrick Marleau, Conor Sheary and Evan Rodrigues on deadline day. Marleau’s experience will help and Sheary played on the Penguins’ back-to-back Stanley Cup teams.
Oilers: One can joke about GM Ken Holland reuniting with former Red Wings Mike Green (for a conditional fourth) and Andreas Athanasiou (for Sam Gagner and two second-round picks), but the moves have logic, especially after he also added winger Tyler Ennis from the Senators for a fifthround pick. Edmonton is second in the Pacific Division, and it has played the year without enough quality wingers. Athanasiou, a restricted free agent this has the speed and offensive skills to mesh with Connor McDavid. Ennis should slot on the third line, while Green will give the Oilers experience and a power-play threat.
Islanders: Jean-Gabriel Pageau, with 24 goals, becomes the Islanders’ leading goal scorer. He’ll fit on the penalty kill that has had injuries to Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck. The Islanders gave up a first-rounder, secondrounder and potential third-rounder, but they’ve signed him to an extension for six years at a reasonable $5 million cap hit.
Losers
Blue Jackets: The Blue Jackets loaded up before last year’s deadline, though they lost their free agents during the summer. They are in the bottom five in the league in scoring and did nothing to improve that. Their acquisition of Devin Shore (four goals, career-best 13 goals) won’t help.
Sam Gagner: Less than two days ago, Gagner was playing on a line with McDavid, the game’s most dynamic player. Now, he will join the NHL’s worst team. His tour around the league continues; Gagner has now played for the Oilers (twice), Coyotes, Flyers, Blue Jackets and Canucks since being drafted by Edmonton in 2007.