The Day After The Trade

There was a lot of reaction around the league after the trade yesterday which sent Bryan Bickell and Teuvo Teravainen to the Hurricanes for two draft picks.

Most importantly, the two players seem happy about having a fresh start.  Teravainen was under-utilized and Bickell fought injury issues and spent much of the season in the AHL last year.

Chip Alexander reached out and got a couple of quotes from Bickell.

"Last year was a tough year," Bickell said. "But I feel fine. But to move and get a fresh start, to try and help a young team get to the playoffs, that’s exciting. I really think my experience can help this team."

In the following article by Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune, apparently Bickell asked for a trade some time ago.

"Obviously the last year, asking for a trade and nothing came through ... it's nice to get this … for a new start," he said in a phone interview.

Bickell is entering the final year of his contract and will have all kinds of motivation to play well in Carolina.  For a team that is sometimes lacking grit in it's game, he could be a welcome addition.

One more thing, Coach Peters has a history with the forward.  This is from an article by Michael Smith at CH.com.

Before he established himself as a full-time NHLer, Bickell played under Peters for two seasons in Rockford of the American Hockey League.

"It’s old stomping grounds coming back together," Bickell said. "Obviously things have changed since he was a coach there, but I’m looking forward to making adjustments and helping out."

Teravainen averaged about 15 minutes a game of playing time in Chicago.  I saw in one interview that he was also looking forward to a fresh start.

Back to Chip's article, Ron Francis was gushing about acquiring the Finn.

"We’re excited about the deal," Canes general manager Ron Francis said Wednesday. "It’s not often a player who was a first-round draft pick like Teuvo, at his age and with his skill, becomes available in a deal. We think he will be a very good addition, skill-wise, to our team. He has a lot of upside.

Kurt Dusterberg also caught up with Francis in a story for NHL.com.  When asked if Teravainen would fit into a top six role in Carolina, the general manager replied with this.

"That would be our hope," Francis said. "It was a different situation for him in Chicago, where they're so talented and so deep. With the young players we have in the lineup, he's a perfect fit in that regard. We think he has a real good chance to jump into that role, absolutely."

The forward played in all roles in Chicago, but primarily played center.  Where will he play for the Canes?

"That decision will be made when we get into camp," Francis said. "He can play all three positions. It depends how the lines shake out and if we're able to do anything else in the course of the summer."

Apparently, Carolina's scouting staff had their eyes on the forward before the 2012 draft, where the Canes traded their number one pick, Brian Dumoulin, and Brandon Sutter for Jordan Staal.

This is from CH.com.

"I remember discussions with our scouts, and they loved him," said Francis, who then served as the Vice President of Hockey Operations. "Great hockey sense, great skillset, skates well. He was somebody that they really thought highly of in that draft. It didn’t happen for us, and Chicago was probably surprised to get him at 18 when they did.

Maybe it's a bit of karma that he finally found his way to Carolina.

These are interesting days indeed for the Hurricanes and  Francis says he is not done yet.