It's been 18 games since Hurricanes GM Jay Williams shocked BEARD Hockey by trading away the most coveted piece of the team.
What should have been the cornerstone of the franchise for years to come, Andrei Svechnikov found himself headed to the Chicago Blackhawks. In a move that surprised even him, considering the fanfare surrounding him being chosen by the Hurricanes in the dispersal draft 6th overall.
When GM Jay Williams was asked for an explanation he had this to say.
"I felt the team was missing some key parts to be successful and relevant immediately. Instead of having all our eggs in one basket in Svech, I thought adding a solid defenseman is what we needed more to be successful."
The Trade of Svechnikov saw consistant goal scorer Victor Olofsson, stalwart defenseman Ryan McDonagh, and promising young phenom Lucas Raymond make their way to Carolina.
"I honestly wouldn't have made the move if Raymond wasn't included in the deal as I think he has the same potential of Svechnikov in a couple years time," affirmed Williams.
Since the Svechnikov trade, the Canes have gone 6-9-3 which is obviously not what Williams was hoping for. In that same time span of the Svechnikov trade, the Hurricanes also traded away Vincent Trocheck and Torey Krug to bring in Brent Burns and all-star Sidney Crosby.
Things seemed great on paper but the team didn't seem to mesh together and struggled to put together wins. As of today, the team has already said goodbye to Burns and Crosby (less than a month since bringing them in) and are hoping to turn things around while there is still time left in the season.
Burns was traded for Kevin Shattenkirk and winger Tyler Toffoli with the Winnipeg Jets. Sid the kid was moved to his fourth team in the young BEARD season with goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Canes brought in physical centerman Brayden Schenn and all star goaltender Carey Price. Schenn will help solidify the physical play of the Canes and Price should provide a more consistant effort in net.
Will the latest moves be enough to save the Carolina Hurricanes season as they had planned to compete for the Cup this year? Or has there been gross mismanagement of the future of this franchise? The Hurricanes are definitely a different team than what was drafted, but they are without a first round pick for the next two seasons and the pipeline in Chicago of the AHL doesn't boast a big selection of bright spots.
Could Williams' job be in jeopardy if the team doesn't start winning? Only time will tell. The Canes currently sit 14th in the East and are 8 points out of a wild card spot.