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Carolina takes advantage again in acquiring Teravainen & Bickell via Hawks |
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Last year, it was Kris Versteeg and Joakim Nordstrom. This year, it's Teuvo Teravainen and Bryan Bickell.
The Carolina Hurricanes acquired another pair of forwards from the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, sending their 50th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft along with a 3rd round selection in next year's draft to complete the deal.
Teravainen is obviously the prize in the trade. The 21-year old posted 13 goals and 22 assists in his first full season of duty during the Hawks defense of their 2015 Stanley Cup championship. The Finnish center/winger will get plenty of situational play in the upcoming season, and figures to be an important building block in Ron Francis' long term plans for the Canes.
Bickell, a 30-year old veteran winger, appeared in 25 games for Chicago this past season but is better known for his post-season heroics over the past several seasons. With a year left on his current contract, he will be depended on for his leadership and physical play, and he figures to get much more ice time than in the past couple of seasons on the stacked (and cap-tight) Blackhawks.
Francis, the Carolina GM who's been tasked with rebuilding a club who hasn't made postseason play since the first year of Barack Obama's presidency (2009 for the record), has once again made a shrewd move in the face of being a budget club in a cap era. With plenty of space under the cap, the Canes can easily eat Bickell's contract while giving him a true chance to rebound, all the while adding an impact player without losing anything from the roster.
I will have much more on this and other Hurricanes news this weekend. For now, I pose this question - what more will Francis do in the days and weeks ahead to put the Canes in position to be a long term threat?
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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