Okay, so Don Waddell cooked.
It was the move that nobody saw coming. A third-round pick for the recently waived Evgeny Kuznetsov. A player that looked to be on the downward spiral, but one who perhaps still had some game left.
Well, after four games, it's safe to say he has a lot of game left.
Kuznetsov has taken off running since donning a Carolina Hurricanes sweater and now playing in the 2C spot, he's been absolutely amazing.
His skill level with the puck on his stick is off the charts and he's able to just slow the game down and make passes nobody is expecting. He can find the soft space in the o-zone and has been getting dangerous attempts every game now.
This time though, he finally broke.
"I understand why I'm here and why this team brought me in," Kuznetsov said. "Not just to be the funny guy who smiles. They need us to perform and they need us to eventually get the points and goals so we can help the team. It felt like today was the day we had to step up."
After Jalen Chatfield cut off an outlet pass, he fed it back into the zone to an awaiting Kuznetsov.
'Kuzy' received the puck and stared down Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for a second before beating him shortside and following that, broke out the 'Bird' celly.
"I wanted to pass the puck," Kuznetsov said. "I wanted to pass it to [Martin Necas] on the backdoor. First [Jake Guentzel] and then [Necas], then I heard the people from the bench yelling 'Shoot, shoot, shoot.' Just decied to shoot for some reason."
It was not only Kuznetsov's first goal as a Hurricane, but also his first since Jan. 3.
Speaking to sideline reporter Hanna Yates on Bally Sports following the second period, Kuznetsov described the moment as being an emotional one for himself.
"I just want to say thanks to the fans," Kuznetsov said. "I almost cried a little bit. It's been a long time for me. I've been dealing with some big issues so that support is huge for me. My wife is here tonight and my kids are watching, my parents are watching, so that was for them."
The trio of Kuznetsov, Martin Necas and Jake Guentzel continues to look dangerous and if they can keep that mojo going, Carolina is going to be a postseason juggernaut.
"They were the difference tonight, I thought," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "Really good shifts most of the night. When you put three good players together, it should be a good line. They know how to play. I'm sure things will change a little bit and we'll try different things, but right now, it's obviously been working."
"You can just see that whenever that line gets on the ice, it's pretty electric," said Seth Jarvis. "I mean, [Kuznetsov] might be the best passer I've ever seen in my life, [Guentzel] couldn't hit any more posts, so it's right there for him and then you have [Necas] with that speed and skill that kind of complements that whole thing. That line is unbelievable and a good little changeup I think, in our lineup. It's a little different, which is cool."