Guentzel, Kuznetsov giving Hurricanes needed jolt of offense, GM says

MANALAPAN, Fla. -- Don Waddell started to change the way he speaks about the Carolina Hurricanes moments after the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline passed March 8.

"The last two deadlines I got beat up a little bit by our fans by saying that I like our team and we didn't do anything," Waddell, the Hurricanes president and general manager, said Monday. "So, this year I started off by saying, 'I like our team and I like it even better today.'"

And tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, and maybe all the way through June.

Carolina, with forwards Jake Guentzel (from the Pittsburgh Penguins) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (from the Washington Capitals) acquired in trades less than 24 hours before the Deadline, arguably has never been as well to make a Stanley Cup run as during Waddell's six seasons as GM as it is now.

The Hurricanes have won three games in a row and six of seven, including three of four since Guentzel and Kuznetsov have been in the lineup together. The loss was 1-0 to the New York Rangers on March 12, Guentzel's first game, one that easily could have gone the other way.

"That was a heck of a hockey game," Waddell said.

Carolina is four points behind the Rangers for first place in the Metropolitan Division, each with 14 games to play and both on the schedule Tuesday.

The Hurricanes visit the New York Islanders at UBS Arena (7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+). The Rangers are home against the Winnipeg Jets (7 p.m. ET; MSG, TSN3).

"We're both probably going to get home ice in the first round, and if we both hold home court we can see each other in the second round," Waddell said. "Anybody can win in the playoffs now. There might be teams that are favorites but it doesn't mean that much once you get going."

The Hurricanes, like the rest of the NHL, will wait until April 22 to get going in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But they're rolling right now, with Guentzel and Kuznetsov a big part of what they might be able to do over the next few months.

They each had a goal and an assist in a 7-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday. Guentzel has five points (one goal, four assists) and Kuznetsov has four points (two goals, two assists) in the past four games.

Waddell talked about the impact Guentzel and Kuznetsov already have made, their roles, how the trades with the Penguins and Capitals came about, and more in a Q&A with NHL.com following Day 1 at the NHL General Managers' meetings Monday.

What has been the impact on the whole group after these trades; not just on the ice but in the dressing room?

"First of all, both guys are really good guys. I was telling Kyle [Dubas, Pittsburgh Penguins GM] today that Jake is one of the nicest young guys I've ever met. You always get messages from trainers and the trainers say he's been nothing but a pleasure to work with. It's the same with 'Kuzy.' Different situations. He was looking for a change and he's been tremendous on and off the ice. When you add to your locker room you want to make sure you add good people and good players, and certainly we feel like we've done that."

Do you think acquiring Guentzel and Kuznetsov also filled specific holes you had?

"I don't think they just filled holes because I liked the guys we had there. I think it gives us a lot more skill in our top nine. Unfortunately we had some injuries right off the bat. [Jack] Drury went out and he's been playing a big role for us. Teuvo [Teravainen] didn't play the last couple of games. So we're fortunate to have these guys. But hopefully when we start the playoffs with this team we should have four pretty good scoring lines, or three really good scoring lines and a real good shutdown line."

For a few years the narrative was about how the Hurricanes never had swung for the fences before the Deadline, when in reality you had tried and it just never worked. But now that the Hurricanes have landed the big fish, do you understand that narrative and how it can change your team?

"Yeah, and I think the last couple of years we've tried to do some things, but it goes back to a few years ago [2021 NHL Draft] when we had 13 picks and we were able to stockpile our prospects and be in a position where we could look forward to trading some of those prospects. Last year right after the Deadline we lost [Andrei] Svechnikov for the year and we had trouble scoring goals. So, I felt we owed it, if we can do it, and it doesn't mean it's always going to work, to our players and coaches to try to add not only offense, but good players to our team."

Why did the deal for Guentzel work?

"You've got to have two willing partners to make a trade. As much as I want a player, regardless of who they are and want to go after him, they have to like something on my team. We found that with Pittsburgh. Kyle liked some of our prospects that we obviously liked too, but you've got to give something up, and Michael Bunting, who Kyle has a great background with in junior and Toronto. Any time you make these kinds of trades, you don't make them for nothing. You've got to give up things for the current and for the future. We certainly did that but we felt we were in a position now with the prospects that we have that we can take this risk."

Do you think it's easy to integrate a new player like Guentzel into your group with the particular group you have in Carolina?

"I don't know if it makes it easier. I always look at the personality, how fast does he want to learn the system. I know he spent a lot of time with our coaches with video and stuff. He's a smart player. He's going to pick it up quicker than a lot of players because of the type of player he's been and showing the type of responsibility he has over the years."

Do you think it makes a difference that both players added are from teams in the Metropolitan Division?

"Yeah, that's strange. That is not usually what happens but it just worked out that way. There's no set plan or anything like that. We had a list of players that we were looking at and it just happened that we got two from our division."

Yes, but can it help that they know your team, have played the Hurricanes a bunch, four times a season?

"Jake had told me that he knows how hard it was to play against us because we play that stifling defense, try to work the puck. They're very familiar with how we play so I think learning the system for these type of players is going to be much easier than for other players."

If we're assessing risk in trading for Kuznetsov, it seems more like a monetary risk than a player risk. Do you agree?

"Yes. We gave up a third-round pick, but it's a financial decision that we made. I had great support from Tom [Dundon], our owner, to do this. We think it's a risk vs. a high reward."

I read that Justin Williams, who is a special adviser to you, was involved in the conversation leading up to the Kuznetsov trade. Williams obviously played with Kuznetsov in Washington. What did he say?

"Justin played with him and he said he's one of the smartest players he's ever played with. We talked about everything, character, everything else. Justin is a big fan of his and thought we could get him on track. The last few years haven't gone the best way for him, but everybody thought a change of scenery and getting him back on track that he could be that player again."

Did getting swept by Florida in the Eastern Conference Final last season, scoring six goals in four games and losing them each by one goal, impact these decisions?

"No. Overall, like I said, we took a top player out of our offense in Svechnikov and we didn't score enough goals. We got by the first two rounds and then obviously went dry. It wasn't just the Florida series, it was overall us having the opportunity to score more goals in the playoffs."

Let's talk goalies. You have Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen. Do you need to pick one and go with him?

"No. We've got 14 games left and a lot can happen in that time too. Right now the plan is we're going to rotate them, see where they're both at at the end of the year and go from there."

Is that a general philosophy around the NHL now, a trend if you will, that unless you have a certain goalie and he's the clear No. 1 guy, why pick one and ride him?

"There are still a few guys who do it like Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg, play 55-60 games, but there's not that many guys doing that. You go into a long playoff run, we feel that we'll need goalies for sure, so why not try to keep them both ready and sharp."

Coach Rod Brind'Amour doesn't have a contract for next season. What is his future and when does that get ironed out?

"It's not a concern of mine. We've agreed on everything. We talked before about the trade deadline, getting through there. And then last week after the Trade Deadline, I was gone all week, gone all this week. He's on the road. The day will come. There is not any issue, any concern that it's not getting done."