Wrapping up the Carolina Hurricanes’ player profile articles, in this piece, I’ll give some quick thoughts on how each player that was either traded or acquired by the Hurricanes mid-way through the year, performed this season. I won’t be discussing Sami Vatanen, as he didn’t play a game with the Hurricanes and may never.
ERIK HAULA
Haula got off to a great start with the Hurricanes and was fitting in great, however, he was inconsistent to end the year and I'd imagine his expiring contract was a key factor in his departure as well. He still made for a decent option down the middle but would probably perform best on the third-line, behind two centers who can carry a lot of the load. For what Carolina paid to get him though, he was a solid addition for the Hurricanes.
LUCAS WALLMARK
I thought it was too bad to see Wallmark go but at the same time, if it meant acquiring Vincent Trocheck, he was expendable. He had upped his production, which was very solid for a bottom-six center and still just 24 years old, he could’ve been around for a while and had the potential to move up the lineup. Giving up Wallmark to get Trocheck made sense but Florida certainly got a quality, young forward in the deal.
VINCENT TROCHECK
Acquiring Trocheck was a massive win for the Hurricanes. They had been lacking a true second-line center and weren’t getting much secondary scoring on top of that. Trocheck can score goals, is still relatively young and still has term remaining. I imagine he’ll be spending a lot of time next year playing with Martin Necas and look for the two of them to become a great duo on the second line.
BRADY SKJEI
Even with the Hurricanes’ injuries on defense, I was a bit surprised to see Skjei as the player the Hurricanes traded for. He has some defensive flaws but he performed well in his limited stint with Carolina before the season was paused. I imagine he’ll take over a top-four role next season, likely to be paired with Brett Pesce and with quite a bit of term left on his deal at a reasonable price, he was a solid addition.
Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted on Saturday):
Carolina's roster after the trade deadline was ______________ than it was before the trade deadline.
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