The Carolina Hurricanes were not able to pull off their expected roster shakeup during the first round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft Friday night. They made up for it with a mega deal Saturday. General manager Don Waddell sent forward Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin to the Calgary Flames for defenseman Dougie Hamilton, forward Micheal Ferland and defensive prospect Adam Fox.
It’s been well-documented this offseason that Waddell and owner Tom Dundon were looking to shake things up for a team that has not made the playoffs for nine consecutive years. They did just that, pulling off the team’s biggest deal since acquiring forward Jordan Staal at the 2012 draft.
“We’ve gone nine years missing the playoffs,” Waddell told NHL Network. “We said in the offseason, we have new ownership here with Tom Dundon; we need to try to change up the culture a little bit. We had some very good assets and we needed to turn those into other assets. Obviously Dougie Hamilton led the league in scoring for defensemen, 17 goals. Ferland had a great year. This is going to make our hockey club better not just today but going into the future.”
Lindholm and Hanifin are both restricted free agents and will need to sign new contracts with Calgary (in an interesting twist, they’ll join former Canes head coach Bill Peters, who resigned following last season, with the Flames). Reports surfaced Friday that the Hurricanes and Lindholm were far apart in contract talks.
Lindholm, the Canes’ fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft, spent five years in Carolina, racking up 64 goals and 188 points in 374 games. He put up 16 goals and 44 points last year, one shy of his career high of 45 in 2016-17.
Hanifin was also picked fifth overall, in 2015, and had a career-high 10 goals and 32 points in 79 games last year. Hanifin was expected to keep developing as a key member of the Canes’ young defensive core, but the team is still left with Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Justin Faulk and Haydn Fleury.
Hamilton is the prize of this trade for Carolina, and immediately replaces and upgrades Hanifin in that defensive core. Hamilton was drafted ninth overall by the Boston Bruins in 2011, and spent three years in Boston before being traded to Calgary in the 2015 offseason.
Hamilton is a strong offensive defenseman and should immediately step into a role in the Hurricanes’ top four and on the power play. He has put up at least 10 goals and 42 points from the blueline in four straight years, including a career-high 50 points in 2016-17 and career-high 17 goals last year, which tied for the league lead among defensemen.
Ferland broke out in his fourth year in the NHL last year, putting up a career-high 21 goals and 41 points, and should easily find a spot in the Canes’ top-nine forward group.
Fox, Calgary’s third-round pick in 2016, has spent the past two years with Harvard in the NCAA. He put up six goals and 28 points in 29 games with the Crimson last year, and could opt to either go back for his junior season or sign with the Hurricanes and either make the team or head to the Charlotte Checkers next year.
The Canes may not be done dealing. Hamilton’s addition creates a log-jam on the right side of the blue line with him, Faulk, Pesce and restricted free agent Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Faulk has been rumored to be on the block. Canes forward Jeff Skinner has also been in the trade rumor mill for weeks, and with Cam Ward an unrestricted free agent, Carolina is reportedly in the goalie market as well.
Hurricanes forward Elias Lindholm puts a shot on Sharks goalie Aaron Dell during the 1-0 win on Nov. 15. Lindholm had 19 minutes of ice time and one shot on goal.
