Analyzing The Carolina Hurricanes Trades

The Carolina Hurricanes General Manager Ron Francis made a flurry of deals before the March 2nd trade deadline and the Hurricanes netted several draft picks and only one NHL player. They traded three veteran players in moves that seemed designed to dump salary and stock pile draft picks. It also signified that the Hurricanes are throwing in the towel on this season and getting some playing time for some of the younger players and see if they are going to fit into the Carolina Hurricanes future plans.

The Hurricanes traded Defenseman Tim Gleason to the Washington Capitals first. Gleason provided an element of toughness for the Hurricanes this season and led the team with 133 hits at the time of the trade. In return the Hurricanes got Defenseman Jack Hillen and a 2015 Fourth Round Draft Pick. In Hillen, the Hurricanes got a younger version of Gleason with the same skill set but not quite as tough. He has not shown the same willingness to drop the gloves when he has to as Gleason has. According to hockeyfights.com, Gleason has dropped the gloves 50 times in his career compared to once for Hillen.

The Hurricanes also traded Defenseman Andrej Sekera to the Los Angeles Kings for a prospect Defenseman Roland McKeown and a conditional First Round draft pick in 2015 or 2016. McKeown was the 50th overall pick by the Kings in 2014 and currently Captains the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League.

The last trade the Hurricanes made was trading Left Wing Jiri Tlusty to the Winnipeg Jets for two draft picks- A conditional Fifth or Sixth Round Pick in 2015 and a Third Round Pick in 2016.

The Hurricanes lost an element of physicality with the trade of Gleason and the Hurricanes are not a physical hockey team. Sekera was coming off a career year in 2013-14 when he scored a career high 44 points but he had struggled to find his game this season, scoring only 19 points in 57 games. Tlusty had appeared in parts of six seasons with the Hurricanes but was also having a tougher time fitting into Head Coach Bill Peters system.

The end result is that the Hurricanes traded three NHL veterans for one veteran, a prospect, and four draft picks. The plus/minus to these trades may not be known for several seasons as the Hurricanes are destines to miss the playoffs once again.

Taking Care Of The Leafs

The Carolina Hurricanes easily handled the Toronto Maple Leafs at home last night 4-1 to break a six game losing streak. The stars were many for Carolina. Justin Faulk had a Short Handed Goal and an Assist, Andrej Sekera had a Power Play Goal and an Assist, and Eric Staal and Nathan Gerbe had two assists a piece. Elias Lindholm finished off the scoring with his 8th Goal late in the Third Period. It was an impressive win and a badly needed win for the Hurricanes and came over a hot Toronto Maple Leafs team.