Hurricanes strengthen by adding Kuznetsov
Two of the busiest teams not in Las Vegas at the NHL’S trade deadline Friday were Florida and Carolina, who met in the Eastern Conference final last year in a series the Panthers swept the Hurricanes.
After acquiring scoring winger Jake Guentzel from Pittsburgh late Thursday, Carolina kicked off the action Friday by adding center Evgeny Kuznetsov in a trade with Washington. The over-riding objective for Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell was adding more offense to a team that combined to score just six goals against the Panthers in the playoffs last year.
“Guentzel was obviously the premier goal-scorer on the market in our opinion, and the price was right,” Waddell said in a deal that included Carolina giving up a conditional first-round pick.
Guentzel has topped 20 goals in each of his past seven seasons and scored 40 twice.
Kuznetsov, 31, gets a chance for a fresh start after enduring off and on-ice struggles the past five years in Washington.
The Panthers followed suit. Two days after landing scoring winger Vladimir Tarasenko from Ottawa, Florida added depth and leadership in landing Buffalo’s Kyle Okposo. Buffalo acquired minor-league defenseman Calle Sjalin in a deal that provides the 35-year-old Sabres captain a chance to compete in the playoffs in what could be his final NHL season.
The Boston Bruins became the last of the top contenders in the East to add, getting three-time Cup champion Patrick Maroon from Minnesota for young forward Luke Toporowski and a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick.
The Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers added blue-line depth by acquiring Chad Ruhwedel from the Penguins. They also got center Jack Roslovic from Columbus. In other moves:
■ Winnipeg completed separate trades with New Jersey, acquiring forward Tyler Toffoli and defenseman Colin Miller.
■ Nashville, which holds one of the West’s two wild-card spots, got forward Jason Zucker from Arizona for a sixth-rounder this year.
■ Philadelphia shored up its depleted defense by acquiring veteran Erik Johnson for a fourth-round draft pick in a deal with Buffalo.
■ Tampa Bay added hard-hitting defenseman Matt Dumba in a trade with Arizona.
■ The Devils swapped goalies, acquiring Kaapo Kahkonen from San Jose for Vitek Vanecek. New Jersey also acquired goalie Jake Allen from Montreal for a conditional thirdround pick.