Jake Bean dealt to Blue Jackets

The Hurricanes (somewhat surprisingly) held onto Jake Bean following Wednesday night’s expansion draft, but they didn’t hold onto him for long. As first reported by Elliotte Friedman and later confirmed by the team, the Hurricanes dealt Bean’s RFA rights to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a second rounder.

The pick is the 44th in this draft, which Columbus had just acquired from Chicago in the Seth Jones trade.

Bean, who the Hurricanes picked 13th overall in the 2016 NHL draft, played 42 games for the team last year, with one goal and 12 points in 42 games. He registered one goal in 11 playoff games.

Bean played two seasons (with a two-game NHL stint in 2018-19) in Charlotte, winning the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s top defenseman in 2019-20, before finally getting a shot with the big club this past season.

Bean played somewhat sparingly, however, at just 14:16 per night, and 14:24 in the playoffs as he struggled in his first NHL postseason.

After being exposed in the expansion draft, Bean obviously wasn’t part of the Canes’ future plans, and they recouped a second-rounder for him. The Canes now have 10 picks in this draft (one first, two seconds, two thirds, one fourth, one sixth and three sevenths).

With Bean’s rights traded, the Hurricanes currently have four NHL defensemen (Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei and Jake Gardiner) under contract for next season, with pending UFA Dougie Hamilton’s status still up in the air.

The Hurricanes’ official release on the Bean trade follows:

‘CANES ACQUIRE SECOND-ROUND PICK FROM COLUMBUS

Bean traded to Blue Jackets

RALEIGH, NC – Don Waddell, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has acquired Chicago’s second-round pick (44th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft in exchange for defenseman Jake Bean.

Bean, 23, registered 12 points (1g, 11a) in 42 NHL games during the regular season and added one goal in 11 playoff games with the Hurricanes in 2020-21. The 6’1”, 189-pound defenseman has skated in 44 career NHL games with Carolina, posting 12 points (1g, 11a). Bean has also tallied 92 points (23g, 69a) in 129 career American Hockey League (AHL) games, all with Charlotte. The Calgary, Alta., native was drafted by the Hurricanes in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2016 NHL Draft.