Confirmed with Link: Vatanen to CAR for Janne Kuokkanen, Frederik Claesson and conditional 4th rounder

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

It is ridiculous how stacked Carolina's D is when healthy.

Their D runs 10 deep, when they have got Jake Bean in the AHL.

Looking back on the trade, it seems strange why we request Kuokkanen for Vatanen and not Bean.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

It is ridiculous how stacked Carolina's D is when healthy.

Their D runs 10 deep, when they have got Jake Bean in the AHL.

Looking back on the trade, it seems strange why we request Kuokkanen for Vatanen and not Bean.

Based on one of the quotes, Fitzgerald liked Kuokonen more than Bean.

 

[Forge]

It is ridiculous how stacked Carolina's D is when healthy.

Their D runs 10 deep, when they have got Jake Bean in the AHL.

Looking back on the trade, it seems strange why we request Kuokkanen for Vatanen and not Bean.

Rental Vats wasn't worth anything close to Bean. Lets be real, Carolina was willing to give up Kuokkanen for basically nothing....there was no guarantee that Vats was going to play at any point.

 

[Forge]

Based on one of the quotes, Fitzgerald liked Kuokonen more than Bean.

Yeah, I remember him saying that. I can't believe that he would really think that with regards to overall prospect (though prospect rankings are subjective, admittedly, but man, Kuokkanen > Bean is a spicy hot take in prospect evaluation!), but it is very possible that Kuokkanen was the best forward prospect in Charlotte at the time, so it wasn't completely hyperbolic (Gauthier had been traded prior, and he was probably the only forward that would have been similar; all of their other forward prospects are in other leagues).

 

[tailfins]

Rental Vats wasn't worth anything close to Bean. Lets be real, Carolina was willing to give up Kuokkanen for basically nothing....there was no guarantee that Vats was going to play at any point.

This.

Kuokkanen is waiver eligible next year I believe, so Carolina risked losing him for nothing then if he didn’t crack the lineup.

The Devils, meanwhile, jump ahead of Detroit, Ottawa, etc and get to see what Kuokkanen has for a few months.

I would rather have had Bean too, but given that Carolina was claiming Vatanen was more injured than they thought, I think th e Devils did as well as could be on that trade. Of course, if we knew that Vatanen would have 5 months to heal, maybe they could have gotten more, but no one was predicting that.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I would think Kuokkanen is going to be in NJ because they need to see if he is worthy of spending a protection slot on for the expansion draft next year

 

[My3Sons]

Fitz has also made the comments about wanting to be tougher on defense and Bean maybe struck him as more of what NJ already has? Bean looks good on paper but Kuokkanen did immediately create offense for Bingo so it might be a closer call than may first appear.

 

[AfroThunder396]

CAR had no room for Kuokk and there was no way they were going to protect him in the expansion draft.

He made sense for us because we need guys that are further along in development to compete for spots.

 

[Triumph]

You don't lose every player you can't protect to the expansion team. You lose one. Carolina is going to lose a player much better than Janne Kuokkanen to Seattle.

Kuokkanen is not waiver-eligible until 2021-22.

 

[tailfins]

You don't lose every player you can't protect to the expansion team. You lose one. Carolina is going to lose a player much better than Janne Kuokkanen to Seattle.

Kuokkanen is not waiver-eligible until 2021-22.

Thanks. I should know I need to double check any info from this board.

But this does make the trade odder. Carolina was giving up a real prospect, even if they considered him a B prospect, for an injured Vatanen. It's worked out really well for them obviously.

Too bad Vats was injured. Bean would have been a nice pull for the Devils.

 

[jkrdevil]

That probably tells you what they actually think of him as a prospect

 

[beekay414]

That probably tells you what they actually think of him as a prospect

Not necessarily. Carolina has several players on their big club that can play LW. They traded from one position of depth rather than another (D, Bean). He also wasn't really a fit with Carolina's current system so that played a part. It doesn't mean they thought lesser of him because they traded him. Same reason they traded Gauthier.

I don't think Janne's anything more than a 3rd line LW but I do expect him to be a consistent NHLer. The issue with him, here, is whether or not he'll fit in with Ruff's style. That'll be the question.

 

[Nubmer6]

Not necessarily. Carolina has several players on their big club that can play LW. They traded from one position of depth rather than another (D, Bean). He also wasn't really a fit with Carolina's current system so that played a part. It doesn't mean they thought lesser of him because they traded him. Same reason they traded Gauthier.

I don't think Janne's anything more than a 3rd line LW but I do expect him to be a consistent NHLer. The issue with him, here, is whether or not he'll fit in with Ruff's style. That'll be the question.

I think the Devils were also on a quest to get bigger and stronger.

 

[beekay414]

I think the Devils were also on a quest to get bigger and stronger.

That very well could be. Janne's not a small dude at all.

 

[Nubmer6]

That very well could be. Janne's not a small dude at all.

Exactly.

 

[AfroThunder396]

You don't lose every player you can't protect to the expansion team. You lose one. Carolina is going to lose a player much better than Janne Kuokkanen to Seattle.

Kuokkanen is not waiver-eligible until 2021-22.

Regardless of Seattle, he doesn't have much left to prove in the AHL and Carolina won't have a spot for him for the foreseeable future. He likely would have walked away and explored his NHL options as soon as he was able to. It was smart to get trade value for him now.

 

[Triumph]

Thanks. I should know I need to double check any info from this board.

But this does make the trade odder. Carolina was giving up a real prospect, even if they considered him a B prospect, for an injured Vatanen. It's worked out really well for them obviously.

Too bad Vats was injured. Bean would have been a nice pull for the Devils.

I thought he was waiver-eligible when the trade was first made too. He's played 3 seasons in the AHL but his first one was played at age 19.

So yeah, it is an odd trade, but the thinking was that Vatanen would be playing by the time the season shut down, and there were still 4 weeks left in the season at that point. I do think Kuokkanen's value has risen significantly since the trade only because there will be teams looking for low-cost options, but I wouldn't blame Carolina for thinking that their draft picks are more valuable than their prospects - that if they think they can beat the draft market consistently, the players who they are less high on they can sell off to other teams for stuff they want.

 

[Triumph]

Regardless of Seattle, he doesn't have much left to prove in the AHL and Carolina won't have a spot for him for the foreseeable future. He likely would have walked away and explored his NHL options as soon as he was able to. It was smart to get trade value for him now.

'Walked away' is strong but the expansion draft does dry up any potential trade market for Kuokkanen next season and if he hadn't gotten a legitimate chance in Carolina, that means either giving him that chance or putting him on waivers at the beginning of the 2021-22 season (when waivers will be active, IMO, because of all the lost talent). So yeah, I agree that it's selling high for Carolina, especially when a player stays in the system too long, he starts getting passed over.

 

[Call Me Al]

you guys are acting like vatanen was nothing. he was injured but they got him for the postseason that was 2 months away. the goal was for him to help them in the playoffs and that’s why they give up a young asset that wouldn’t help them win the cup this season for a strong veteran defenseman

 

[NJDevs26]

To be fair they probably would have gotten nothing out of Vat if the playoffs had actually been in April.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Kuokkanen is a good add to the system. Were gonna need to see something from him good the next season to see if he is worth holding on too. He can play Center as well but we are pretty good for now and into the future on LW. If he is underhwleming than we have an extra mid round pick to burn. Let's hope we get that 3rd from the hurricanes to offset are lack of one in this year's draft.

 

[My3Sons]

Kuokkanen is a good add to the system. Were gonna need to see something from him good the next season to see if he is worth holding on too. He can play Center as well but we are pretty good for now and into the future on LW. If he is underhwleming than we have an extra mid round pick to burn. Let's hope we get that 3rd from the hurricanes to offset are lack of one in this year's draft.

If Zacha Gusev and Bratt remain together then someone else will have to play LW for Hischier and Hughes. Hopefully Wood can play consistently enough to settle in with Zajac so Kuokkanen should have an opportunity to carve out a role.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

If Zacha Gusev and Bratt remain together then someone else will have to play LW for Hischier and Hughes. Hopefully Wood can play consistently enough to settle in with Zajac so Kuokkanen should have an opportunity to carve out a role.

I meant more so the future is set at LW with Bratt , Boqvist , Foote etc. They need to still develop though so nothing is certain. I'm sure another wing will be added with one of our firsts this year. Crossing fingers for Holtz.

 

[moon111]

When you have to pronounce Kuokkanen
View attachment 326381

Simply all you do is pronounce all letters. The reason for the confusion is being used to the rules and confusion in the English language. It's really not that complicated.

 

[Nubmer6]

Simply all you do is pronounce all letters. The reason for the confusion is being used to the rules and confusion in the English language. It's really not that complicated.

Although I hear the "Ku" sounds more like a "Qu" in English. We should all be used to pronouncing the "kanen" ending considering how many Finns we have in the league.