Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Haula from Vegas

While most Caniacs were sleeping the Hurricanes made another move

The early theme of the 2019 NHL offseason has been centered around cap space. The teams that have cap room to play with sit in an incredibly good position, as teams look to sell off players, usually for a minimal price.

The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the fortunate NHL teams with cap space and they continue to use it to their advantage. The Hurricanes pulled off a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights late Tuesday night, acquiring forward Erik Haula in exchange for prospect Nicolas Roy.

Haula is an intriguing bounce back candidate, just a year removed from potting 29 goals and adding 26 assists. He missing 67 games in 2018-19 with a knee injury that required surgery. He will immediately slide into the third-line center position and provide massive upside while doing it. He was the second leading scorer for the Golden Knights during their run to the Stanley Cup Final and if he can stay healthy could play the same role in Carolina.

The price to acquire a potential 25+ goal scorer is an NHL ready prospect in Roy, who scored 17 goals for the Charlotte Checkers this season. He projects as a 4th line center, something easy to find in the NHL.

If the return for Vegas sounds weak, well you would be right again. The return for cash strapped teams is going to be weak this year, as teams with space have all the bargaining power. The Hurricanes had to pay a price to dump Calvin de Haan’s contract, just as the Maple Leafs paid the Hurricanes a hefty price to be rid of Patrick cumbersome contract.

With the cap rising slowly and teams finding themselves in trouble, good on the Hurricanes for taking advantage of opportunities to improve this team. Savvy moves like these are what need to happen for Carolina to get over the hump and to a second Stanley Cup.