After four years, we finally know what the Carolina Hurricanes' potential blockbuster deal would have contained.
Brady Tkachuk wasn't the only Tkachuk brother that the Carolina Hurricanes tried to acquire, as four years ago, they were one of the final two teams in the hunt for Calgary Flames star Matthew Tkachuk.
Eventually though, the Flames opted to trade the elder Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a conditional first-round pick.
Many wondered what Carolina's trade package looked like and finally it's been revealed as Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman disclosed the details on the latest episode of his 32 Thoughts podcast.
According to Friedman, the Hurricanes offered Martin Necas, Alexander Nikishin and one to two first-round picks (along with Jake Gardiner's contract to make the money work).
"Matthew was almost traded to Carolina," Friedman said.
One does think of what all might have been different had the Hurricanes landed Tkachuk all those years ago and now that the Carolina's trade package has been revealed.
Matthew would go on to break the Hurricanes' hearts in both the 2023 and 2025 Eastern Conference Finals, winning two Stanley Cups in that span, although things worked out okay for the Canes in the end.
But for the Flames, they were never the same team, as Huberdeau and Weegar both saw big declines from the players they were in Florida leaving Calgary as a bit of a middling team
Meanwhile, Necas has become a top-end producer in Colorado and Nikishin had a record-breaking rookie season with Carolina.
Things all worked out in the Hurricanes' favor, but, again, it's interesting to think of how different things might have looked if this trade went the other way.
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