Following the bouncing puck: The Columbus Blue Jackets traded forward Max Domi to the Florida Panthers along with a 2022 sixth-round pick (originally Toronto’s) for defenseman Tyler Inamoto. The Blue Jackets retained 50% of Domi’s salary. Florida then traded Domi to Carolina for forward Egor Korshkov, in exchange for retaining 25% of Domi’s salary. The Hurricanes then traded defenseman Aidan Hreschuk to Columbus for Inamoto.
Now you can understand why this trade was announced about three and a half hours after the deadline. But let’s dive into how each GM did along the way:
The success or failure of Max Domi in Carolina depends on two things: His relationship with coach Rod Brind’Amour and whether his “mostly offense, not very much defense” game can blossom within the system they play.
The Hurricanes are fairly stacked at center, which means Domi should be tasked with playing on the wing, where he’s more effective as a playmaker and less of a liability on defense. He can fill the role that Jordan Martinook played until the latter returns from his “week-to-week” injury. One of the things GM Don Waddell likes about Domi is that he “plays with an edge,” and that’s always been his calling card.
The Brind’Amour part of this is intriguing, if only because Domi’s relationship with his coaches has impacted his play. There was talk he had issues with Claude Julien in Montreal. His fractured relationship with John Tortorella in Columbus is well-documented, and one of the reasons why Domi looked like a completely different player with the Jackets this season. Can Brind’Amour help him recapture what made him a notable top-six forward once upon a time, or will this end up as yet another coach clash?
It’s worth it to find out, and not just because Domi has an expiring contract. The Hurricanes are responsible for only 25% of his salary in this three-way trade. Forward Yegor Korshkov of the KHL, a former second-round pick by Toronto, wasn’t a significant loss. Aidan Hreschuk was a third-rounder in last year’s draft, who played with Boston College this season, and they moved him for Wisconsin defenseman Tyler Inamoto.
Hreschuk is undersized (5-foot-11) but plays well with the puck. He’s a better prospect than Inamoto, and could eventually make the NHL as a low-end offensive defenseman, especially if he gets better positionally to compensate for his lack of skating speed. He recently completed his freshman season at Boston College. Given that they were giving away Domi, this is fine.
Korshkov played one game with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019-20, spending the rest of the time in the AHL. He’s played seven seasons in the KHL and put up solid offensive numbers in his last two seasons with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. He’s only 25; maybe GM Bill Zito and his scouts see something there? They also pull a sixth-rounder out of a deal in which they retained 25% of Domi’s contract.
Some are wondering why the Panthers would help facilitate a trade that enables a potential playoff opponent to acquire a player at the deadline. Perhaps it’s because the Panthers have seen Domi play.