Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell made a number of moves during his first offseason in charge. Many of them, such as the Lindholm/Hanifin/Ferland/Hamilton/Fox and Skinner trades, got plenty of attention.
The signing of Finnish forward Saku Maenalanen to a one-year, two-way deal in May went mostly under the radar. Maenalanen, a friend of Canes forwards Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen who played with them at the World Championship, would add forward depth and compete for a spot on the fourth line.
Following a mid-season callup, however, Maenalanen has emerged as a key cog in the Canes’ bottom six.