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Post by mscaniac on Feb 7, 2010 19:06:48 GMT -5
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Post by mscaniac on Feb 7, 2010 19:14:20 GMT -5
Get the tissues ready.
Quote:
The Hurricanes today traded defenseman Niclas Wallin and their fifth-round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft to the San Jose Sharks for the Buffalo Sabres' second-round pick in the 2010 draft.
Wallin, 34, has spent his entire nine-year career with the Canes after being drafted in 2000. The Boden, Sweden, native ranks third among defensemen in franchise history with 517 regular-season games played and second only to former Canes defenseman Glen Wesley (729) since the team's relocation to North Carolina.
"The toughest part about this will be not being with the team that brought me here and taught me all about the game," Wallin said today. "We had a good ride. There have been some ups and down. We won the Cup. We had our run.
"Right now, I'm excited about being with the Sharks. This is like winning the lottery. I'm with a team obviously that has a chance to go all the way. I've been there and there's nothing like it."
The trade had been in the works for days, and the Canes believed it would be completed by Friday. Wallin was with the Hurricanes for road games at Buffalo and against the New York Islanders, and returned Saturday night with the team to Raleigh.
"The toughest thing in my life was getting off that flight last night," Wallin said.
Neither the Sharks nor Wallin would say if he had agreed to a contract extension with the Sharks. Wallin is due to become an unrestricted free agent after the season and has talked of taking his familt back to Sweden.
"We'll see what happens in the future," he said.
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Post by dewaltgirl on Feb 7, 2010 19:41:05 GMT -5
I am going to miss Nicky very much. I knew it was coming but it still hurts a little.
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Post by mslarose27 on Feb 8, 2010 16:40:38 GMT -5
I realized late last night that Nicky was the first hockey trade I ever shed tears over. Like W said, I knew it was coming (even after he used the NTC) but it stings. I'm happy for him that he gets another chance at a deep playoff run. But it's definately going to be weird tomorrow night when there's no Nicky and no Sweden flag in the rafters.
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