- Hurricanes acquire forward Stiven Sardarian from the Sabres for future considerations
- Sardarian was set to hit free agency Aug. 15 but never filed with NHL Central Registry
- Read below for his Michigan Tech numbers and what Carolina still has to do
The Carolina Hurricanes just traded for a player who was supposed to be a free agent two days ago.
Buffalo sent forward Stiven Sardarian’s signing rights to Carolina on Monday for future considerations. Sardarian was in line to hit the open market Aug. 15 as a college player out of eligibility who never signed an entry-level deal. He simply never filed the paperwork that would have made it happen.
That step is not a formality. A player in his spot has to tell NHL Central Registry he is no longer an undergraduate, and Sardarian never did, per Pro Hockey Rumors, which floated the idea that Buffalo had told him a trade was already in the works. His rights stayed with the Sabres either way.
Carolina moved a few days later.
Sardarian is not a throw-in, either. He piled up 44 points in 36 games for Michigan Tech last season, 12 goals and 32 assists, and the CCHA voted him Forward of the Year. He led the conference with 32 points in league play, including a league-high 22 assists.
Getting there took a while. Buffalo drafted the St. Petersburg native 88th overall in 2021 out of CSKA Red Army’s junior program, and he crossed over for a season with the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms before landing at New Hampshire. Two years there produced nine goals and 21 points in 61 games.
Houghton changed that. The 6-foot-2 winger closed out his NCAA career with 100 points in 132 games across both schools, and almost all of the damage came in his two Michigan Tech seasons.
Take a look at what he did to Minnesota last October:
None of it is official yet. Carolina still has to put a contract in front of him, whether that is an entry-level deal or an AHL deal, and a 23-year-old with no pro games is not walking into the lineup.
Opening night in Raleigh is Sept. 29 against Florida.
