How the Canes became a Cup contender: Good drafting, good trades, and a little luck

Chip Alexander
·3 min read

The Carolina Hurricanes are headed to the Stanley Cup playoffs for a third straight year, unprecedented success since the franchise moved to North Carolina in 1997.

Successful organizations usually have a fulcrum point where things begin to turn in its favor, sports or otherwise. So it was for the Hurricanes, who won the Stanley Cup in 2006, returned to the playoffs in 2009, then suffered through a frustrating playoff drought.

In short form: Justin Williams signed as a free agent in 2017, Tom Dundon became majority owner in 2018, Rod Brind’Amour was named head coach and made Williams the team captain, and the Canes won the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.

Don Waddell, the Canes’ president and general manager, later joked that he had a “lucky coin” in his pocket at the 2018 draft lottery in Toronto. Talk about good fortune. The Canes moved from 11th to second. They took power forward Andrei Svechnikov.

“A huge step,” Brind’Amour recently said. “He’s a big part of what we have here and what we will have moving forward. You can trace that lottery back to a lot of organizations that can be like ‘Hey, good thing we won that’ because of the player they picked up. I certainly hope that in 10 years we look back and that question will be even more relevant, that it was a big luck of the draw, in essence, but that’s how a lot of teams have been built.”

Williams vowed to make the Canes relevant again in the NHL and did, helping lead them to the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. Svechnikov jumped into the lineup at 18 that season and did his part. The Canes, memorably called the “Bunch of Jerks,” reached the Eastern Conference finals. Brind’Amour oversaw it all as coach, the perfect man for the job.

“It certainly helps to have good players,” Brind’Amour said. “At the end of the day, you can do a lot of great things if you have great players, and it’s hard if you don’t.”

The Canes played the 2020 playoffs in the Toronto bubble because of the pandemic. They’ll have home playoff games again this year, although not with a full house at PNC Arena. Not yet.

And Waddell probably has always kept that coin in his pocket.

Here’s how this year’s team came together, through the NHL draft, trades, free agency and a little luck:

The Carolina Hurricanes, with the 12th pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, selected center Martin Necas (88) of the Czech Republic.
The Carolina Hurricanes, with the 12th pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, selected center Martin Necas (88) of the Czech Republic.

Drafted

Forwards: Sebastian Aho (2015, second round), Andrei Svechnikov (2018, first round), Martin Necas (2017, first round), Warren Foegele (2014, third round), Brock McGinn (2012, second round ), Steven Lorentz (2015, seventh round), Morgan Geekie (2017, third round).

Defensemen: Jaccob Slavin (2012, fourth round), Brett Pesce (2013, third round), Jake Bean (2016, first round).

Goaltender: Alex Nedeljkovic (2014, second round).

Of note: Aho was the 35th player drafted in 2015, further evidence the draft is a crapshoot. Pesce was the 66th player taken, underscoring that point. Slavin was the 120th player taken. Point made in full.

Calgary Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton (27) slides across the goal crease to knock away the puck as goaltender Jonas Hiller, right, defends during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Thursday, March 3, 2016, in Buffalo, N.Y. Buffalo won 6-3. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert)
Calgary Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton (27) slides across the goal crease to knock away the puck as goaltender Jonas Hiller, right, defends during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Thursday, March 3, 2016, in Buffalo, N.Y. Buffalo won 6-3. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert)

Trades

Forwards: Teuvo Teravainen (2016. from Chicago), Jordan Staal (2012, from Pittsburgh), Nino Niederreiter (2019, from Minnesota), Vincent Trocheck (2020, from Florida), Jordan Martinook (2018, from Arizona), Cedric Paquette (2021, from Ottawa).

Defensemen: Dougie Hamilton (2018, from Calgary), Brady Skjei (2020, from NY Rangers), Jani Hakanpaa (2021, from Anaheim).

Goaltender: James Reimer (2019, from Florida).

Of note: Teravainen was part of the deal with Chicago that included forward Bryan Bickell. ... Hamilton was acquired from Calgary when the Canes traded Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin. Defenseman Adam Fox also was part of the trade but never signed with Carolina. ... Niederreiter came from Minnesota in the memorable one-for-one trade for Victor Rask. ... The Canes gave up four players to get Trocheck from Florida.

Free agents

Forwards: Jesper Fast (2020), Max McCormick (2019).

Defensemen: Jake Gardiner (2019), Joakim Ryan (2020).

Goaltender: Petr Mrazek (2018).

Of note: Mrazek signed a one-deal deal for $1.5 million in 2018, saying he wanted a chance to be a No. 1 goalie, and later signed a contact extension.

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