With the trade deadline nearing, the Philadelphia Flyers executed their third trade of the day after sending veteran forward Nicolas Deslauriers to the Carolina Hurricanes for a conditional 7th round pick.
Rumours began to swirl regarding the Flyers possibly moving Deslauriers earlier this week, with the team hoping to give the enforcer a chance at chasing the Stanley Cup.
His move to the Hurricanes provides exactly that opportunity with Carolina firmly sitting atop of the Metropolitan Division by 9 points entering play today.
Deslauriers is a veteran of 13 NHL campaigns after having been drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the third round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He’s spent time with Buffalo, Montreal, Anaheim, Minnesota, and the Flyers over his career with 53 goals and 105 points to go along with 794 PIM in 701 games.
He signed with the Flyers as a free agent in the summer of 2022, when he inked a 4-year deal at a cap hit of $1.75 million per season, that also came with a modified no-trade clause in the first 2 seasons.
As a pending unrestricted free agent, the Flyers wanted to give Deslauriers an opportunity to join a contender, akin to the way they dealt with Erik Johnson last year when they sent the defenseman to Colorado at the deadline.
Deslauriers’ playing time had dwindled over the years but over his 4-year tenure with the club, the Quebec native scored 9 goals and 20 points in 195 games, to go along with 273 PIM – the most he accrued with any team over his career.
The Hurricanes were in the hunt for a bottom-6 forward, they needed a bit of grit and physicality, and they also got a great locker room personality as they look to finally snap their playoff woes with a deeper run this spring.
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