For the second consecutive year, the Carolina Hurricanes have transformed their first-round pick into multiple assets. On Friday night, they traded their #29 overall pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for selections #34, #62, and a fifth-round pick in 2027.
The announcement came just as NASCAR Cup Series points leader William Byron was about to announce the team’s pick live from Atlanta. Instead, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman revealed the deal. This trade means that the Hurricanes now have seven selections on Saturday’s second day of the NHL Draft.
The picks include Round 2 at #34 and #62 (both from Chicago), Round 3 at #87 (from Tampa Bay), Round 4 at #125, Round 6 at #183 (from Tampa Bay) and #189, and Round 7 at #221.
This marks the second consecutive year that Carolina and Chicago have swapped this draft position. Last year, Carolina acquired Chicago’s second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft (Dominik Badinka) and New York Islanders’ second-round pick in the same draft (Nikita Artamonov) from Chicago in exchange for their own first-round pick (#27 overall – Marek Vanacker).
General Manager Eric Tulsky commented on the strategy: “We have several players we like in this part of the draft. We felt like we could slide down and still get one of the guys we were very high on, and then have an extra pick to hopefully pick up another one of the guys we’re looking at.”
Since 2018, Carolina has engaged in a total of 19 trades involving draft picks.
The second day of drafting will begin at noon ET on Saturday and can be viewed on NHL Network and ESPN+. Associate General Manager Darren Yorke is scheduled to address media after selections are made.
Welcome to updates from Carolina Hurricanes’ NHL Draft hub where you can follow all developments related to draft picks.
