"It's definitely going to be a new beginning, a fresh start," Niederreiter said. "I'm looking forward to being a part of the Hurricanes. But at the moment, there's also some mixed feelings. I've spent some nice years here in Minnesota, made some great memories. Now it's definitely a new chapter in my life and I'm looking forward to it."
Niederreiter has 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 46 games this season and 231 points (112 goals, 119 assists) in 498 NHL games. The 26-year-old forward was acquired by the Wild in a trade with the Islanders for forward Cal Clutterbuck and a third-round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft on June 30, 2013.
\[RELATED: 2018-19 NHL Trade Tracker\]
Chuck Fletcher, the general manager who made the trade to acquire Niederreiter, was fired by the Wild on April 23 and replaced by Paul Fenton on May 21.
"Minnesota decided to get a new GM, and at the end of the day, the GM is going to make it his team. He's going to move some parts around eventually," Niederreiter said. "He knows what he has in the locker room and he knew what he wanted to change and what horse he wants to ride with. I was one of them, so that's just how it works in this business. It's not just about making friends, it's about winning. He thought, at the end of the day, I wasn't part of that. For me, it's definitely going to be a good new challenge."
The Wild signed Niederreiter to a five-year contract with an annual average value of $5.25 million on July 31, 2017, and the Hurricanes signed Rask to a six-year contract with an annual average value of $4 million on July 12, 2016.
"The way I look at it is, Victor Rask is a little bit younger and he's a center, and for me, center ice is a big quality that we're looking for," Fenton said. "He's got an upside to him. He's 25 years old. He's got years on his contract which are reasonable. If he comes in and he scores and takes that next step, then it really looks like a good trade."
The Hurricanes (22-19-5) are 7-3-0 in their past 10 games and seven points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They host the Ottawa Senators at PNC Arena on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-CR, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV).
"We're excited to welcome a proven goal-scorer and veteran presence in Nino Niederreiter," Carolina general manager Don Waddell said.
Rask was selected by Carolina in the second round (No. 42) of the 2011 NHL Draft. He has six points (one goal, five assists) in 26 games this season and 163 points (63 goals, 100 assists) in 339 NHL games. He had surgery on his right hand Sept. 13 and didn't make his season debut until Nov. 21.
