After Hurricanes trade, not everything fits like a glove

Carolina’s additions are adjusting to their new team — and figuring out their equipment

CAPTION: Hurricanes winger Taylor Hall holds two gloves — one embroidered with the last name of Andrei Svechnikov, the other Martin Necas — that he is using while he waits for his custom ones to arrive from China. (Cory Lavalette / North State Journal)

RALEIGH — New Hurricanes forward Taylor Hall rustled through his bag Monday, pulled out two gloves and turned them over.

Along the side of the left glove’s pinky finger was embroidered “Svechnikov,” and the inside of the wrist on the right-handed glove read “Necas.”

“They were all just laying out there when I got traded,” Hall said, “and these ones kind of felt the best.”

When an athlete is traded from one team to another, there is plenty to figure out: finding a place to live, getting to know new teammates and coaches, and learning the team’s playing style and systems.

And while fans often have visions of equipment managers feverishly sewing numbers and letters on the jersey of a newcomer at the last minute, it’s all the other equipment that can prove difficult and even elusive.

Mikko Rantanen, for example, wore a different helmet in his first game with the Hurricanes than in his second. His regular gloves, custom CCM HG12s, are all he’s worn throughout his 10-season NHL career — until the trade.

“I played with the same gloves since I got drafted, so it’s been a long time,” Rantanen said following Monday’s practice. “I haven’t even tried other gloves, really, because I like them. So this one actually surprised me. I was kind of scared of how it was going to feel, if it’s going to feel the same, but after wearing them a couple times in practice and once you kind of break them in, it feels pretty good.”

It’s not the brewing international trade war keeping Hall and Rantanen from getting their preferred gloves but rather something simpler: Chinese factories are closed to celebrate the start of the Year of the Snake.

“Chinese New Year is a big thing with gloves and sticks,” said Hall of the 15-day observance that this year runs from Jan. 29 to Feb. 12. “And then Bauer skates are made in Quebec, so right around the holidays, you’ve got to make sure that you have a few skates on order or just a few in stock.”

It’s enough to keep the equipment managers’ heads spinning, though the players say the inconvenience is forgotten come game time.

“When you’re not thinking about it at all, it feels normal,” Rantanen said.

Hall offered an even better explanation.

“Once you get some sweating in the glove, it’s not a big deal,” he said. “I’ve played plenty of terrible games with all my own gear.”

And slowly — custom gloves from China withstanding — both players are getting gear that feels normal, even if the logo on the front still takes some getting used to.

“The first game, the pants were different, everything,” Rantanen said. “Now I’m getting used to it, so it feels better and better every game, and now I have my own pants and helmet.”

It’s just a tiny part of what happens when a player switches organizations. Not only are the faces in the locker room different, and equipment is hit or miss to start, but there’s also an entire support staff that’s new to them.

“I know from going through it,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s a little different for both guys because one guy’s been kind of through it a few times, and then one guy hasn’t.

“So everything’s new. And you take for granted, like, ‘Where’s the meal room?’ and ‘How does that work? and ‘Who’s in charge of this? and ‘Who do you ask for about that?’ There’s a lot of things that you don’t really think about that go into making someone feel like they don’t have to worry about stuff.”

Hall and Rantanen used the word “routine” to describe acclimating since arriving in Carolina.

“All the other stuff is just, like, routine-based,” Hall said. “Just everyone, every team does things differently. Like our strength coach (Bill Burniston) seems awesome here. He makes a lot of drinks for the guys and is really involved, so it’s been fun getting to know him. Just little things like that, you just kind of maybe change or adapt as you go along.”

Rantanen added, “So just to get used to the routines, and obviously they’ve been really great here: the medical staff and the equipment guys, strength coaches, everybody. They’ve asked me questions too, like, what I like to do. Every request I’ve had, they always do it for me, which is obviously nice, and I’m very grateful for that.”

Even something as seemingly customary as team meals can be an adjustment.

“I played on one team where the pregame meal was ultra, ultra healthy,” said Hall, who is with his seventh NHL franchise. “Like, they didn’t have beef bolognese; it was only turkey bolognese. And the ranch was light ranch, which sucks.”

Rantanen seemed more at ease Monday than he was during the initial maelstrom of being traded for the first time 10 days earlier. Time helps.

“When you play a lot of games in the league like I have, it’s just like you have certain things you like,” he said. “You don’t want to be asking too much, and I don’t feel like I have, but everything I’ve asked for, they’ve been getting it for me. But to get to know the guys, it takes a little while.”

And the feverish sweater stitching can still require a little work.

Rantanen got new teammate Jack Roslovic to switch to No. 98 so he could wear his usual No. 96, while Hall texted injured Jesper Fast about wearing No. 71 — “He was like, ‘Yeah, you should wear that number,’” Hall said of his exchange with Fast.

Pulling on the same number can at least bring comfort in a situation where everything is different.

“It’s just one more thing that you don’t have to change and get used to,” Hall said. “I know it seems a bit silly, but I guess at least when your number’s written up on the board, you don’t have to do a double take.”