NHL standouts Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov have been friends since childhood. Just look how happy they are to be playing together again with the Carolina Hurricanes. #nhl #carolinahurricanes #hockey
I don't understand sometime the trade in the NHL. These guys have been traded by the Caps as part of a salary dump or due to the loss of form. In the new team they have promptly started playing well, like elite players again. What is the reason behind such quick transition? Does the new team suit their play better or make them more happy?
Carolina does a great job of finding players that suit their needs. But more importantly, they know what certain players bring to the table and don't expect them to perform outside of their role. For example, Carolina didn't sign Tony Deangelo and then expect him to start taking on defensive assignments at the level of Jacob Slavin. They signed him to be an offensive threat, which is what he excels at. To compensate for his defensive struggles, they pair him with a more defensively minded defenseman to cover for him. Players that are allowed to play to their strengths and know their roles, are almost always happier and perform better. The culture that Rod Brind'amour has fostered is great as well. He allows them to have fun (the storm surge started under his watch) but also expects them to work their asses off. Carolina is also a smaller market so it might be a little bit easier to live a more normal, lower profile life as a professional athlete compared to other larger areas. So yeah, players who have had a lull in their career come to Raleigh and have a tendency of finding their game again for all of those reasons. It also doesn't hurt that Raleigh is consistently voted in the top 10 cities to live in the entire country, especially if you have a family.
Dmitry Orlov was always the TOP defenseman, Boston got him last year to boost the CUP chances, he was mind-blowing at Boston, but I guess they let him go because of the salary gap. But Kuznetsov is a different story. He was struggling for the last 2 seasons and he was asking for a trade. He was giving an interview last summer to one of the Russian sport news channel, where he kinda explained the struggle. After Barry Trotz leaving the team the new coaches were trying to push the hokey style which was not compatible with his style. Hopefully the Kuznetsov is BACK !