An excellent shutdown centre, the 25-year-old Kruger recorded 17 points in 81 games with the Blackhawks last season en route to the 2015 championship.

He is a four-time 40+ point scorer and two-time 50+ point scorer.

The 37-year-old has 627 regular season games and 10 postseason contests on his resume, all in the West.

Kruger had been waiting all summer for the Blackhawks’ cap situation to clear up and while he probably would have liked a longer deal, it was obvious he wanted to stay in Chicago.

He added two goals and two assists in 23 playoffs games, including a triple-overtime tally in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final against the Anaheim Ducks.

The Hurricanes had a big hole at right wing with training camp approaching.

This will be a great opportunity for Versteeg to get back to his 40-50 point status.

That’s twice now for Kris Versteeg. After winning his first Cup with Chicago in 2010, he was dealt the following off-season to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He previously totaled 28 points (10G, 18A) over two seasons at John Rennie High.

Expect good things out of the new comer.

The trade-off for Carolina is sacrificing young defense.

Nordstrom isn’t the same player as a Rask or a Lindholm, however.

“Joakim is a solid, 200-foot player who can kill penalties”, Francis said. He also appeared in three playoff games. He can still afford to put on more muscle as he still is rather slender. The French Canadian prospect is opting out of major juniors, though, despite getting selected in the fifth round of the QMJHL Entry Draft in 2014 – instead, he’s committed to play for the Omaha Lancers of the USHL next year and Hockey East’s UMass Amherst the following year.

Carolina also acquired a 3rd round pick in the 2017 draft. Kruger didn’t provide a lot of offense for the team, but he centers a fourth line that offers the team an incredibly reliable line that can eat up defensive zone starts like Pac-Man on bathtub speed.