The Carolina Hurricanes upgraded their offense by acquiring forward Vincent Trocheck from the Florida Panthers for Erik Haula, Lucas Wallmark and two prospects.
The 26-year-old Trocheck has 10 goal and 36 points this season. How did each general manager do in this trade?
Hurricanes get: F Vincent Trocheck
Panthers get: F Erik Haula, F Lucas Wallmark, F Eetu Luostarinen, D Chase Priskie
Carolina Hurricanes: B+
That Trocheck was made available at the trade deadline had many surprised. He's 26, he's a consistent scorer (about 0.65 points per game in three of the past four seasons) and he's on a very good contract, with a $4.75 million cap hit through 2022.
But he hasn't delivered on the promise of the 31-goal, 44-assist performance he had in 2017-18, which was the second season of his six-year deal. He was seventh on the Panthers in goals scored above average (0.307 per 60 minutes of play) over the last two seasons. Though Trocheck drives play -- Florida got 52.66% of the shot attempts with him on the ice -- the Panthers had an .885 save percentage with him on the ice, putting him in the bottom six of all NHL players this season for on-ice save percentage.
Where does he slot in on the Hurricanes? Sebastian Aho holds down the top line. Trocheck could slide in with Nino Niederreiter on his wing. But where Trocheck will help is on the power play, which is already pretty good (eighth in the NHL). He has 4.48 points per 60 minutes of power-play time over the past two seasons.
Trocheck was a prime candidate for a change of scenery. His overall game fits with what the Hurricanes like to do, and he bolsters them in the middle. And as one source familiar with the Panthers told me: "Trocheck is the kind of player you'll really notice in the playoffs." (Why you might not have noticed him yet: He's played just two playoff games in his career.)
Something else to consider with Trocheck: He's right-handed, and Martin Necas is one of their only right-handed centers. So this certainly changes that depth.
Florida Panthers: B-
Why trade Trocheck? Panthers beat writer George Richards sees this as a "wake up the players" move, as the only movable member of the team's core is shipped out during a 3-7-0 floundering for Florida.
The good news is that Florida got a decent haul for him. Haula, 28, is an instant-offense player who can play in the middle or on the wing. He has 22 points in 41 games this season. If he's healthy, he can help, especially in driving offense to the net. If anything, he was underutilized with Carolina, which acquired him last summer from Vegas. He's skated 15:51 per game on average, down from his ice time in 91 games in Vegas (17:15).
Wallmark, 24, has 23 points in 60 games. He was a spare part, skating 12:49 per game, down from 14:48 on average last season. He can help drive play in a bottom-six role, and with four goals scored above average this season, he can punch a bit above his weight.
As for the prospects, ESPN analyst Chris Peters writes:
"The Hurricanes have tremendous depth in their prospect system and didn't deal any of their top prospects in this trade. Chase Priskie is a talented two-way defenseman who was among the best players in the NCAA last season. As an AHL rookie, he's been especially productive and has shown poise with the puck. He is a right-shot defenseman, which always seems to be at a premium. Formerly drafted by the Caps, he signed as a free agent with the Canes in the summer. He may have been frustrated by the logjam on defense, especially having not earned the call-up after Dougie Hamilton went down. There's a clearer path to playing in the NHL with the Panthers, who do not have much depth on the blue line.
"Eetu Luostarinen was a 2017 second-round pick in his first season in North America. He got into eight games with the Canes and has shown really well in the AHL this season. He has a big frame, moves decently well and could potentially help the Panthers as early as this season. There's no one skill that will wow you, but he can handle the NHL physicality and make some plays."
It's a trade that can help the Panthers now, as they are tangling with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the third seed in the Atlantic Division. If they weren't married to Trocheck, and clearly they weren't, they don't have to be married to Haula (an unrestricted free agent) or Wallmark (a restricted free agent). Priskie addresses the thinnest part of the Panthers' prospect pool, and who knows with Luostarinen. At the moment, this isn't larceny for the Hurricanes. But if Haula is a pure rental, Priskie doesn't develop and Trocheck regains that 31-goal form with the Canes, this trade could look a lot more lopsided. The bottom line: If Carolina's front office wants your guy, maybe it's best to hang on to that guy.