Vegas Golden Knights: Erik Haula caught off-guard by trade to Carolina

Erik Haula has spoken for the first time since being traded by the Vegas Golden Knights to the Carolina Hurricanes earlier this offseason, admitting that he was shocked by the move.

In a summer that has been dominated by the Vegas Golden Knights’ struggles with the salary cap, a host of moves and a whole lot of manoeuvring had to be made in order to squeeze under the $81.5 million salary cap ceiling for 2019-20.

And that included flipping Haula to the Carolina Hurricanes for depth center Nicolas Roy and a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. It was a sacrifice that needed to be made in order to make room for franchise center William Karlsson‘s new contract, but it was still a bitter blow to lose someone who had played an instrumental role in the Golden Knights’ stunning and magical run to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural year.

It was a trade that caught Haula off guard too, as he explained in an interview with Jessi Pierce at NHL.com, which you can read in full here.

“Initially I was just caught a little bit off guard. I have a lot of good memories and a lot of good friends, and we’ve enjoyed our time (in Vegas). But now that I’ve had a lot of time to let it settle in, I’m really excited for a new challenge and a good Carolina team.”

Haula, a No.181 overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild, was sensational for the Golden Knights in 2017-18, tallying 29 goals and 26 assists for 55 points in 76 regular season games, in addition to a further nine points (three goals, six assists) in 20 playoff games.

He also had a faceoff win percentage of 50.5, in addition to 42 blocked shots, 85 hits and 44 takeaways along with a career-high 16.6 shooting percentage. Haula logged an average of 17:22 minutes of ice time per night and was a vital cog in the Golden Knights machine that dominated the regular season.

Big things were expected of both Haula and the Golden Knights last year but, unfortunately, Haula’s year ended before it ever really started thanks to a serious and brutal knee injury that later required surgery. The 28-year-old finished 2018-19 with two goals and five assists for seven points in 15 games with a plus/minus rating of +1 and a winning percentage of 51.3 in the faceoff circle in what was one of the toughest seasons in the forward’s career.

“It was awful. It was one of the worst things I’ve gone through. It was very hard and very long, and it has been a long time since I’ve played in a game. I’m sure it will take me a bit to get going, get back to contact, I haven’t had any contact yet since, so I’m going to have to take advantage of training camp so I’m good to go at the start of the year.”

Haula will now look to get his career back on track with the Hurricanes who made the Eastern Conference Final last year against all expectations, similar to the story the Golden Knights wove in 2017-18. Haula can play up and down the lineup and can certainly provide secondary scoring in addition to being responsible in the defensive zone, and he’s looking forward to the challenge ahead.

“I think it’s a team that is heading in the right direction. It seems like the city is excited about hockey again, which is great to see and fun to watch. It was a fun story, it kind of reminded me of our squad in Vegas a little bit, so I’m excited to be a part of that. You’re going to a new group and you try to do your part to fit in as well as you can, and that’s all you can do. You want to go in and make some friends and play to the best of your abilities. It was fun to watch them last season and it’s always fun to see where fans rally around the team, and hopefully that continues and we can keep producing this year.”

Haula was certainly a fans’ favorite during his time in Sin City and, if it wasn’t for the injury, then maybe he wouldn’t have found himself traded. But, one thing is for certain, the forward will always be remembered for the role he played during the run to the Stanley Cup Final and hopefully he will get back to the peak of his powers with the Carolina Hurricanes.