The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and now that the dust has settled Charlotte has some new faces across the lineup.
The Checkers collected three pieces for their group over the last few days - defenseman Mitch Vande Sompel via an AHL trade, goalie Magnus Hellberg via an NHL trade and forward Will Lockwood via the trickle down of Florida’s other deadline deals.
On the blue line, the Checkers added the AHL-contracted Vande Sompel in a trade with Chicago for the similarly AHL-contracted Jake Wise.
A third-round pick by the Islanders, the 27-year-old Vande Sompel has nearly 300 AHL games to his name and has picked up 110 points along the way.
“His skating,” said Kinnear of what jumped out the most to him watching Vande Sompel. “He played in Bridgeport so we’ve seen him quite a bit.”
The Checkers’ D-corps has been operating without top-scorer Lucas Carlsson since he was injured during the team’s contest in Hartford on Feb. 28. A final diagnosis came down Monday morning, and it was unfortunate news for the star blue liner.
“He will be done for the year,” said Kinnear of Carlsson.
With Carlsson sidelined and Calle Sjalin dealt to the Sabres on deadline day, Charlotte’s blue line has thinned out - making the addition of a dependable piece like Vande Sompel necessary.
“Obviously losing Carly [Lucas Carlsson], we had to get a left-shot defenseman,” said Kinnear.
Hellberg came aboard from the Pittsburgh organization in a trade that saw fellow goaltender Ludovic Waeber and a conditional seventh-round pick going the other way. The 32-year-old brings with him a veteran presence for Charlotte’s goalie group, having amassed over 400 pro games up to this point and earning All-Star nods in the KHL (2017-18, 2018-19) and AHL (2014-15).
The 6-foot-6 Swede boasted a .905 save percentage in 19 outings for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season and a .922 mark in three appearances for Pittsburgh, and now he’ll be a key part of the goaltending puzzle for Charlotte down the stretch.
“He played against us in Wilkes,” said Geordie Kinnear. “He’s a big guy and we’re excited to have him.”
Hellberg slots in with Spencer Knight to form the goaltending duo for Charlotte, with Evan Cormier having been assigned to the ECHL’s Florida Everblades over the weekend. There were still three goalies at Charlotte’s practice Monday morning, though, as Mack Guzda took the ice and participated in the skate - a positive sign for the young netminder who has been out since October, though a timeline to return remains unclear.
“It’s a real good step,” said Kinnear. “He’s another guy who has had to put a lot of time in to get healthy. He’s taken steps in the last week or so in the right direction and we want to keep taking those steps.”
While those were the key trade acquisitions, one of the biggest additions for the Checkers was Florida’s assigning of Lockwood to Charlotte.
The 25-year-old had posted seven points in 14 games with Charlotte before being recalled in mid-December and carving out a spot on the Panthers roster for the next several months. With Florida stockpiling assets around the deadline, they made a corresponding move of sending Lockwood back to Charlotte.
Lockwood immediately made an impact upon his return, racking up three points in Friday’s win over Hershey. Given the loss of Carlsson and his team-leading offensive production, there will be plenty of slack that a player of Lockwood’s caliber can pick up.
“To how we want to play, he brings a lot of energy and work ethic,” said Kinnear. “Unbelievable human being, great teammate. We’re excited to have him - he was a big part before he left, he made the most of his opportunity and we’re excited to have him back to help this group take another step.”
After Monday’s skate Kinnear also offered an update on Justin Sourdif, who exited Saturday’s game in the first period and didn’t return, but was a full participant at practice.
“Day-to-day, we’re hopeful that he’s ready to go,” said Kinnear. “He’s a big part of what we do here, he’s been a great player for us but we want to make sure the right decisions for the guys moving forward.”
