Hurricanes Acquire Evgenii Dadonov, A.J. Jenks From Panthers For Jon Matsumoto, Mattias Lindstrom

The Carolina Hurricanes made their first deal of 2012, kicking off what could be a busy trade season by acquiring forwards Evgenii Dadonov and A.J. Jenks from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jon Matsumoto and Mattias Lindstrom.

Dadonov, a 2007 third-round pick of the Panthers, is an undersized Russian forward who is strong for his size and willing to go into heavy traffic areas. In 55 games with the Panthers over the past three seasons, Dadonov had 10 goals and 10 assists. Dadonov represented the Panthers at the 2011 All-Star Weekend in Raleigh as one of the rookie participants in the SuperSkills competition. He scored his first NHL goal against the Hurricanes in Florida on Dec. 15, 2010. He is in the final year of his entry-level deal and will be an RFA at the end of the season.

Jenks, a former Plymouth Whaler, is a big forward who was once pegged as a top-20 draft pick. But Jenks' rankings slipped heading into the 2008 draft and he wasn't chosen until 100th overall in the fourth round by Florida. Jenks' size and speed are somewhat reminiscent of a poor man's Erik Cole, but he has struggled in his second pro season, going without a point in 25 games with the AHL's San Antonio Rampage and spending 13 games in the ECHL. Jenks missed the start of the 2010-11 season after having heart surgery.

The deal costs the Canes a big-time AHL scorer in Matsumoto, whose 34 points in 41 games led the Checkers. He will be an RFA at the end of the season.

Six months ago, Lindstrom's future with the Hurricanes was uncertain. He had battled injuries in Sweden since being selected in the third round in 2009, so there was very little information on his recovery and then his play after the injury. Lindstrom, 20, was eventually signed to his three-year entry level deal this summer and was loaned back to Skelleftea for the 2011-12 season. He was then loaned by Skelleftea to Tingsryd of the lower-level Allsvenskan for this season.

Here is the release from the Hurricanes:

‘CANES ACQUIRE DADONOV, JENKS FROM FLORIDA PANTHERS

Matsumoto and Lindstrom dealt to Florida in swap

RALEIGH, NC – Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has acquired forwards Evgenii Dadonov (ehv-GEH-nee do-DON-nauv) and A.J. Jenks from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forwards Jon Matsumoto and Mattias Lindstrom.

Dadonov, 22, is in his fifth season of professional hockey in North America, and has played 15 games on the NHL level with the Florida Panthers this season, totaling two goals and one assist (3 points). The Chelyabinsk, Russia, native has earned nine points (5g, 4a) in 20 games with the Panthers’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. Drafted by the Panthers in the third round, 71st overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Dadonov (5’11", 185 lbs.) has skated in 55 career NHL games for Florida, totaling 10 goals, 10 assists (20 points) and 16 penalty minutes. He established career highs in NHL games played (36), goals (8), assists (9) and points (17) in 2010-11, and represented Florida at the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh as one of 12 rookies selected to participate.

Jenks, 21, is in his second professional season, splitting the year between San Antonio (AHL) and Cincinnati (ECHL). A native of Detroit, Jenks has skated in 28 games for the Rampage, without registering a point, and has totaled three goals and three assists (6 points) in 13 ECHL games with the Cyclones. Originally selected in the fourth round, 100th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Jenks (6’2", 206 lbs.) played four seasons for the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) before turning pro, tallying 79 goals and 114 assists (193 points) in 249 career junior hockey games. Jenks helped the United States capture gold at the 2010 World Junior Championship in Canada, totaling three goals and two assists (5 points) during the tournament.