Max Domi was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday in a three-team trade involving the Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers.
The Hurricanes also received defenseman prospect Tyler Inamoto; the Blue Jackets received defenseman prospect Aidan Hreschuk; and the Panthers received forward prospect Egor Korshkov and a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
"I'm super excited to be here," Domi said. "There's no other team I wanted to go to.
"I've always said to everyone that this team has got so much depth and so much talent. … The number-one thing that stands out to me is how the whole entire team is just kind of one. They all do the same kind of thing. They just buzz every shift. That's something I try to take pride in in my career, is to be consistent with that and empty the tank every night and do what it takes to help the team win every night."
Domi is in the final season of a two-year, $10.6 million contract ($5.3 million average annual value) he signed with the Blue Jackets on Oct. 7, 2020, one day after he was acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens. He can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
The center, who turned 27 on March 2, has scored 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists) in 53 games this season.
"We've been looking for someone to complement our forward group, our top nine, and felt this was a perfect fit for us," Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said. "He's put up a lot of goals but (also) a lot of points. I think he's on a 50-point pace again this year. But he's also a pretty good playmaker, good down low, plays with an edge. Some things that we certainly were looking for."
Even though Domi has scored one goal in his past 31 games, Waddell said he believes that trend could turn around with Carolina.
"We've scouted him a lot lately and think he's been playing very well," Waddell said. "He's been in a little drought scoring. We just felt coming into this group we have here, and him being able to play with some pretty elite players, that he could be a big help for us down the road."
Selected by the Phoenix Coyotes with the No. 12 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, Domi has scored 307 points (99 goals, 208 assists) in 482 regular-season games with the Coyotes, Canadiens and Blue Jackets, and has three assists in 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"We know what kind of player he is, and you have visions of where it might work, but you still have to get him in the mix," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said Tuesday. "The hard part about bringing players in at this time, is them learning how the system is and how we play. That takes time. In general, we know what kind of player we're getting and that's why we went out and got him. He has the intangibles. He's hard to play against."
Carolina (41-15-6) is in first place in the Metropolitan Division, three points ahead of the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins.
"This team is the best team in the League as far as I'm concerned," Domi said. "[Brind'Amour] just kind of expects me to fit in like everyone else does."
Also Monday, the Hurricanes signed forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an eight-year, $38.56 million contract (average annual value $4.82 million).
NHL.com independent correspondent Kurt Dusterberg contributed to this report
