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The Carolina Hurricanes loaded up at the trade deadline, acquiring not one, but two high-end forwards to prepare for a deep playoff run.
Adding Jake Guentzel – the top trade piece available – was the most notable move of the entire deadline. However, the Hurricanes followed up with another sneaky addition to their forward group as well, acquiring Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov had spent his entire career with the Washington Capitals, winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 2018. In exchange for the forward, the Hurricanes sent Washington a third-round pick in 2025. Most importantly, the Capitals also retained half of Kuznetsov's salary for this year and next.
While the Guentzel trade may have caught the headlines, we take a look at three reasons that Kuznetsov is also a perfect fit for the Hurricanes.
Evgeny Kuznetsov fills a need
The Hurricanes have an undisputed top center in Sebastian Aho, who can pretty much do it all. After Aho, however, the team's center depth sees a bit of a drop-off.
Carolina did have a great second-line center in Vincent Trocheck from 2020 until 2022, but Trocheck departed to join the New York Rangers in the summer of 2022. Ever since, the Hurricanes have really struggled to replace him up the lineup. The team likely saw Jesperi Kotkaniemi as the ideal successor, but Kotkaniemi hasn't really taken hold of the role. He's shown flashes of being capable of a top-six fit, but hasn't been able to provide consistent offense.
After Kotkaniemi, Jordan Staal and Jack Drury are the two other key centers. While Staal is great defensively and a perfect bottom-six fit down the middle, he also can't provide enough offensively to play higher up the lineup at this point in his career. Meanwhile, Jack Drury took a huge step this season, but still isn't necessarily suited to be a permanent second-line center at this point.
Enter Kuznetsov.
The center has had a tough time over his last few seasons in Washington. He's seen his production decline and ended up on waivers before the trade. But Kuznetsov is still just two years removed from posting point-per-game numbers with the Capitals and carries huge upside. Between his skating, puck control and playmaking, Kuznetsov can make an impact in the top-six.
He's still just 31 years old and easily carries more talent than any other center on the team, aside from Aho. So far, the switch to Carolina has worked out as well, with Kuznetsov scoring five points over his first eight games with the team. It's a small sample size, but so far, Kuznetsov looks to be a great fit.
Low cost to acquire
Adding Kuznetsov didn't come without risk, but the low cost to acquire made it a risk worth taking.
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He's the perfect buy-low candidate. Kuznetsov had managed just 17 points across 43 games with Washington before the trade, and it was pretty clear a change of scenery was needed, one way or the other. An offseason buyout was likely if the Capitals couldn't move him, so they weren't dealing from a position of strength.
Still, there's no guarantee Kuznetsov can truly revitalize his career, even if he looks capable of such since getting to Carolina. But shipping off just a third-round pick for Kuznetsov, the possible upside in the deal is huge. At his best, Kuznetsov could be good for 70-plus points. Even a partial resurgence where the center scores 50-60 points would be a huge boost for the team's top-six.
At the end of the day, the Hurricanes managed to add a second-line center for a third-round pick. Other teams got far less while giving up far more in their respective deadline deals.
Retained salary
Pre-trade, Kuznetsov's contract was anything but favourable for the Capitals. His $7.8 million cap hit was an anchor for the team and the center wasn't worth that price.
However, the Capitals retained half of Kuznetsov's salary as part of the deal. So now at just a $3.9 million cap hit, Kuznetsov's deal actually carries pretty decent value for Carolina, compared to that of other second-line centers around the league.
It'll also be important looking towards what could be a pretty busy offseason for Carolina. The Hurricanes have several top free agents in need of new deals, including Jake Guentzel, Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis, Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce and others. With Kuznetsov at just shy of $4 million, his cap hit doesn't take away a ton of room to manoeuvre for the team.
The term is another asset with the contract. Kuznetsov's deal will expire in 2025, which is arguably the perfect length in a situation like this.
Assuming Kuznetsov is a success as a second-line center, the Hurricanes get a season and a half with him at a cheap price. With the Hurricanes likely to be right up against the cap next season, the deal could provide really good value. If things don't go as planned though, the deal will expire before it can cause any long-lasting impacts.
While Kuznetsov's deal was an anchor in Washington, the retained salary and short term make the center a great fit in Carolina.
