Hurricanes shake up lineup, trade for Trocheck, Skjei, Vatanen
The Carolina Hurricanes, intent on staying in the fight for a Stanley Cup playoff spot this season, made some major moves on the NHL’s trade deadline day.
The Canes first obtained forward Vincent Trocheck from the Florida Panthers on Monday. Later, just before the 3 p.m. trade deadline, they added defensemen Brady Skjei of the New York Rangers and Sami Vatanen from the New Jersey Devils.
“We believe in the guys we have here but we thought we needed to strengthen us at certain positions,” Canes general manager Don Waddell said Monday. “We come out of this feeling really good about the players we added. Overall, it’s a strong message that we’re here to win.”
The price was steep for Trocheck. The Canes traded away centers Erik Haula and Lucas Wallmark, defensive prospect Chase Priskie and forward Eetu Luostarinen.
To get Skjei., 25, the Canes gave up a first-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Carolina has two in the first round and the Rangers will get the lesser of the two, Waddell said.
Vatanen, 28, was acquired for forward Janne Kuokkanen, defenseman Fredrik Claesson and a conditional 2020 fourth-round pick.
Vatanen will give the Canes another right-hand shooting D-man but has not played since Feb. 1, when he bruised a leg blocking a shot. Vatanen is on NHL injured reserve and the Canes expect him to be in the lineup in early March.
The addition of Skjei and Vatanen help shore up a blue line missing injured defensemen Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce, who suffered a shoulder injury Saturday in the game against Toronto. Waddell said Hamilton and Pesce both were placed on Long Term Injured Reserve on Monday, allowing the Canes the salary-cap flexibility to pursue the deals.
Trocheck, 26, has been a team leader for the Panthers and a steady offensive producer, although his numbers have dipped the past two years because of injuries. The Pittsburgh native has 10 goals and 26 assists in 55 games this season but scored a career-high 31 goals and finished with a career-best 75 points in 2017-18.
“It’s my first time being traded and I spent my whole time in Florida, so saying bye to those guys is tough,” Trocheck said on a Monday media call. “At the same time, I am very excited to get to Carolina. I’ve heard nothing but great things from guys who have been in the organization. Definitely looking forward to a fresh start.”
Trocheck suffered a broken ankle in November 2018 after a collision with Canes forward Ryan Dzingel, then with the Ottawa Senators. That limited him to 55 games last season. He was injured again in October after blocking a shot.
“The injury (in 2018) obviously I had a little bit of a setback,” Trocheck said. “Then, the injury I had earlier this year. But for the last month or so I’d say I felt back to my normal self in a sense of kind of playing with speed and doing the things I used to do. At this point I feel like I’m 100 percent.”
Trocheck has two years remaining on his contact at $4.75 million a season. Haula is due to become an unrestricted free agent after the season and Wallmark a restricted free agent.
“We’ve keyed in on getting a right-hand shot center for a long period of time,” Waddell said. “I think it’s a trade that strengthens us down the middle, not just this year but going forward because he’s got a couple of years left on his contract.
“And we wanted to make sure we addressed our defense, which we feel very strongly that we did.”
Skjei, who at 6-3 and 210 pounds will add size to the Canes lineup, has four years remaining on his contract at $5.25 million a year.
“Brady is a big defenseman who checks all the boxes,” Waddell said. “He’s an excellent skater, he’s competitive, he can move the puck and he can defend.”
Vatanen, who is making $4.875 million, will be a UFA after the season. New Jersey retained half of his salary, and should he play 12 games in the regular season, the fourth-round pick sent to the Devils will become a third-rounder, Waddell said.
Haula was obtained in a trade last summer from the Vegas Golden Knights after missing most of last season with a serious knee injury. After a hot start this season, he was slowed by injuries. Wallmark has been the Canes’ fourth-line center much of this season but has moved up in the lineup when needed.
“That’s the hard part about today and the hard part about the business in general,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Monday. “We’re getting a really good player back, so that’s the positive of it. The negative is you lose two people that have been a big part of what we’ve been doing here. We gave up a lot to get a player that we think fits exactly what we’re all about and fills a need that we definitely have.”
The Canes in August signed Priskie, a former Quinnipiac defenseman, to a two-year entry-level contract and considered him one of the top defensive prospects in their system. Luostarinen, a second-round draft pick by Carolina in 2017, made his NHL debut and played eight games for the Canes early this season before being assigned to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL.
Trocheck was a third-round pick by Florida in 2011 and has played with the Panthers since the 2013-14 season. He said the Canes were a “tough team to play against” and that he should easily transition into the system installed by coach Rod Brind’Amour.
“They play a fast-paced game and I think that’s kind of where I fit in,” Trocheck said. “I play with speed. I play a fast game, pretty north-south. I think that’s the reason they brought me in, to play that fast style of hockey.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 10:37 AM.
