The Carolina Hurricanes ' locker room was bustling with chatter amongst reporters and players fresh from practice. But for one of those players, Saturday's Round Two matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers hits just a little differently.
Nicolas Deslauriers , the Hurricanes' trusty enforcer, had been dealt by the Flyers at the trade deadline to Carolina as the playoffs seemed out of reach for Philadelphia. He had spent four seasons with them and 195 games – the second most he had with any NHL team.
"They switched the tide around, that's for sure," Deslauriers said , discussing their surge into the playoffs after a rough start to the season.
As of March 18th, the Flyers only had an estimated 3.8% chance of even making the postseason. Reporters couldn't help pointing out the irony of how he had been traded to a Stanley Cup-contending team by a team they will now face in the second round of the playoffs.
"If you were to ask me that question on trade deadline, I would have never thought this was going to happen, but good on them," he said in response. "I think we've got business to do here, and I'm on this side now."
"Obviously, I had kind of a weird season there," Deslauriers said, reflecting on the team he had played for less than two months ago. "We were testing a lot of young guys at the start of the year, and I didn't play much there – but, you know, just try to bring the good attitude off the ice.
"But at one point, for me and my career, I wanted a change. And I'm happy they gave it to me. And I'm here now."
Last Saturday, when the Hurricanes accomplished their sweep of the Ottawa Senators , Deslauriers was in the lineup due to the injury to Nikolaj Ehlers . It was his first postseason appearance since 2022, where he played five games for the Minnesota Wild . Despite such a long period of time since those appearances, he played like he had been in the lineup all along.
"I don't know that I've seen a guy that played as little as that have as much impact on the game," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said of the Hurricanes' bruiser on Tuesday, following their first practice since Round One's conclusion. "I mean, it was every shift and, you know, he's been just what we needed around here, and I think the guys love him.
"He's been impactful on the ice when he's played…He hasn't played in a long time in the playoffs, but it didn't look like it."
After having been asked whether shaving up postseason ice in Game 4 against the Senators had sparked a hunger for more nights in the lineup, Deslauriers' response to the question was both insightful and straight to the point.
"Not really, to be honest with you…I'm here to do my job, and if it's on the ice or off the ice, it doesn't change for me. It's not more of an 'anger', more of being 'hungry' or something – I think it's more of 'I just want to win'."
The Hurricanes will have the first Round Two matchup leaguewide of the postseason, and while the schedule beyond Game 1 has yet to be released, one thing can be certain: Deslauriers' hockey philosophy will remain the same against his former team.
"Hit everybody."
Also Read:: WATCH: Veteran Enforcer Nicolas Deslauriers Fights Mathieu Olivier in Carolina Hurricanes Debut
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