Revisiting the Panthers & Hurricanes’ Vincent Trocheck Trade

Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon moved away a key piece in Vincent Trocheck at the trade deadline of the 2019-20 season. He sent him to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for four players, and one of them proved instrumental to the team’s subsequent success.

Vincent Trocheck With Florida Panthers

With the Florida Panthers, Vincent Trocheck was a tremendously valuable contributor and a key piece of their offense. He played parts of seven seasons with the club and appeared in 420 games. In that time, he registered 111 goals and 171 assists for 282 points. He finished with a minus-21 and a total of 258 penalty minutes.

He concluded his Panthers stint with 72 points on the power play and with 1,105 shots on goal. During his time with the Panthers, he appeared in one All-Star Game and placed 48th in Selke Trophy voting during the 2016-17 season. He was a vital piece of that era of Panthers hockey and helped propel them despite the lack of team success; his individual offensive production was there and brought tremendous value to the club before his move to the Hurricanes, which gave the club a key playoff contributor on its Stanley Cup-winning teams.

Vincent Trocheck With Carolina Hurricanes

After being dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes, Trocheck spent part of three seasons there. He appeared in 135 games and contributed 39 goals and 57 assists for a total of 96 points. He finished his Hurricanes tenure as a plus-13 and racked up a final total of 114 penalty minutes.

He concluded with 32 points on the power play and averaged 17:53 of time on ice per game across his stint. Across his stretch, he totaled 303 shots on goal across his 135 games. He placed 24th in Selke Trophy voting during the 2021-22 season. He was a valuable piece for the Hurricanes during their successful season; he contributed offensively and played sound, responsible defense, which the Hurricanes are often lauded for.

Erik Haula With Carolina Hurricanes

While with the Carolina Hurricanes, Erik Haula played only part of one season before being shipped off to South Florida. While with the Hurricanes, he appeared in 41 games across the 2019-20 season. In that span, he registered 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points. He finished with a plus-1 and concluded with 20 penalty minutes. He also was able to register 12 power-play points during his 41-game run.

Erik Haula With Florida Panthers

After joining the Panthers late in the season for a playoff run, Haula appeared in seven regular season games and finished with zero goals and two assists for two points across his regular season Panthers stint. He posted two penalty minutes and a zero in the plus-minus. While with the club, he also appeared in four playoff games and contributed zero goals and two assists. He later left the Panthers, signing in free agency with the Boston Bruins.

Lucas Wallmark With Carolina Hurricanes

Another piece in the deal that came back to the Panthers is Lucas Wallmark. Before joining the Panthers, he had a successful run with Carolina. During his stint in Raleigh, he appeared in parts of four seasons and played in 160 games. He tallied 22 goals and 32 assists for 54 points. He finished his tenure with a minus-11 and a total of 58 penalty minutes. He contributed 13 power play points during that stretch and registered 237 shots on goal while with the club.

Lucas Wallmark With Florida Panthers

With the Panthers, he played in parts of two seasons. He played in 11 games and tallied one goal and one assist for two points. He finished his Panthers tenure with a minus-2 across those 11 games. He closed out his stint with six shots on goal and averaged 11:45 in time on ice per game. He concluded with a 54% faceoff win percentage. The Panthers acquired him, then he signed with the Blackhawks as a free agent and eventually returned to South Florida in a trade where the Panthers reacquired him.

Chase Priskie With Carolina Hurricanes

Chase Priskie was yet another piece of the package the Panthers acquired in this deal. He never appeared in NHL games for the Hurricanes but played in the AHL. He signed with the Hurricanes out of Quinnipiac University as a college free agent and only played with the Checkers.

Chase Priskie With Florida Panthers

After joining the Panthers, he was primarily an AHL player but did appear in four games during the 2021-22 season. In those four games, he recorded no points and finished with a plus-2. He racked up two penalty minutes and four shots on goal. During that time, he averaged 14 minutes of ice time per game and recorded three shot blocks and three hits.

He wasn’t in the NHL for a lengthy stint but contributed while he was there and brought value across the other stops in his AHL and KHL career. He is also a Florida-born player who has gone on to appear for the Panthers, which shows how much the game has grown and is a testament to the Panthers’ organizational success.

Eetu Luostarinen With Carolina Hurricanes

After being selected 42nd overall in the second round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Eetu Luostarinen appeared in eight games with the Carolina Hurricanes, registering zero goals and one assist for one total point. He finished with a minus-2 and zero penalty minutes. He totaled nine shots on goal and averaged 9:59 of time on ice per game. He really blossomed after moving to Florida as part of this package for Trocheck.

Eetu Luostarinen With Florida Panthers

Since joining the Florida Panthers, Eetu Luostarinen has become an NHL regular and Finland’s top international player. He has played six seasons and counting for the club. In that span, he has appeared in 439 games, scoring 61 goals and contributing 100 assists for 161 points. He is a plus-26 as a member of the Panthers and has contributed 138 penalty minutes with 10 points on the power play as well. He’s averaging 15:13 of time on ice per game thus far with the Panthers. He has contributed 655 hits and 295 blocked shots playing in a highly valued, defensively responsible forward role.

Over his time with the Panthers, he has appeared in 73 playoff games and has contributed 10 goals and 24 assists for 34 points. He has tallied 53 penalty minutes across his playoff appearances. He was a key piece of the team on the route to two Stanley Cup championships. He also suited up for Team Finland at the Olympics and Four Nations Face-Off since joining the Panthers. He’s become an important piece for the team and is only growing and evolving as the Panthers enter their next era.

Even though Trocheck was a valuable contribution, the story that will define this trade now and potentially moving forward is Eetu Luostarinen. Trocheck was only with Carolina for a short while, and Florida has had tremendous team success with Luostarinen. Former General Manager Dale Tallon made a great move in acquiring a player who went on to be a key contributor for two Stanley Cup runs and potentially even more winning ahead.