When the Carolina Hurricanes considered at the trade deadline how they could best position themselves to contend for the Stanley Cup, they looked for players who could score that one more goal theyโd need when it matters most.
General manager Don Waddell sought and received permission from Washington to talk to Evgeny Kuznetsov, the talented but inconsistent center who had been waived and sent to the minors, and he and his staff did all the homework they could on pending Pittsburgh free agent winger Jake Guentzel. In the final 20 hours before the deadline, he acquired both in deals with division rivals.
The Hurricanes are 10-2-1 since, with Guentzel and Kuznetsov fitting in perfectly so far on a strong team that skates up tempo and can score but also wins because of sound structure. Of course, the real test is still upcoming when the first round starts April 20, with a long playoff run in Carolinaโs mind.
โWeโre ramping up hopefully at the right time,โ Waddell said by phone Monday. โSometimes you make moves that donโt work out, and weโll see how it all works out when playoffs come. But we knew we were bringing in two really good team guys into the locker room.โ
READ MORE
And guys who answer the Hurricanesโ central question of how they get over the hump after a series of disappointing postseason exits. Last year it was a sweep by Florida in the Eastern Conference final with each game decided by one goal, 2022 a second-round loss to the New York Rangers and 2021 a second-round loss to Tampa Bay cruising to back-to-back championships.
They won just five of 13 on the road during that stretch, a trend they hope to reverse by bringing in players with tried and true success who are accustomed to this style of hockey all over North America. Guentzel is a point-a-game producer with 34 goals and 24 assists in 58 playoff games with the Penguins, and Kuznetsov was the Capitalsโ leading scorer on their 2018 Cup run.
Season-ending injuries last year to Max Pacioretty in January and Andrei Svechnikov in March hampered Carolinaโs 2023 title pursuit, but scoring shouldnโt be a problem this time around after adding Guentzel and Kuznetsov to a mix that already includes Sebastian Aho (33 goals), Seth Jarvis (29), Marin Necas (23) and Teuvo Teravainen (21).
โWe know we were getting two great players,โ coach Rod BrindโAmour said. โItโs all about how the fit is. Youโve got to fit them in right and get them up to speed as quickly as possible for them to be the best they can be.โ
Guentzel has slid in on a line alongside Aho and Jarvis and has two goals and 14 assists in his first 11 games back from an oblique injury.
โHe works his tail off, skates well, plays fast, scores goals, makes plays,โ Aho said. โHe has unbelievable vision and just a great player to play with and lucky to have him here.โ
Guentzel, who has characteristically been more of a shooter than a passer, called his assist fest โjust how itโs playing out. You just try to be a well-rounded player.โ
The Hurricanes would love for Kuznetsov, pass-first to a fault sometimes, to shoot the puck more. But theyโll gladly take his playmaking ability at half his salary โ $3.9 million, with Washington paying the rest to get him a change of scenery.
โHeโs a very smart of offensive player,โ BrindโAmour said. โYou watch him a couple times with the puck, and you know his vision is very, very high end. Thereโs no doubt about that, and thatโs one of the reasons why weโre excited to have him.โ
Kuznetsov recently struggled to explain why he and Guentzel have settled in so well with Carolina, saying, โWeโre trying to do simple things, donโt bring anything special from outside so we donโt mess up anything.โ
Not messing up anything for an established core is always part of the concern for GMs at the deadline, as it was for Waddell this time. Having a longtime friend and former teammate of Kuznetsovโs around in defenseman Dmitry Orlov helped, as did knowing the locker room culture from BrindโAmour to captain Jordan Staal down would make for smooth adjustments for the newcomers.
โWeโve got good leadership in our locker room, and I think the guys make them feel welcome, so I think itโs a combination of all that stuff thatโs worked out for us,โ Waddell said. โWhen you walk in that locker room, itโs a feel that, โHey, weโre all in this thing together. Weโre not about points and goals and assists, weโre about wins.โ I think that has rubbed off on both new players.โ
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
ย ย Read More