RALEIGH — The Hurricanes made a minor trade on the one-year anniversary of the Mikko Rantanen blockbuster, dealing veteran defenseman Gavin Bayreuther to Buffalo in exchange for 22-year-old forward Viktor Neuchev.
Neuchev, a third round pick out of Chelyabinsk, Russia, has six goals and 16 points in 34 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans this season. He’s played the last 2½ seasons with Buffalo’s top affiliate, totaling 24 goals and 66 points in 130 games. Neuchev will join the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.
Neuchev had season-ending shoulder surgery last year but returned healthy this season. Neuchev was considered a rising prospect in the Sabres system in 2024, with then-Amerks coach and current Buffalo assistant Seth Appert praising his work ethic. The 5-foot-11, 172-pound winger is in the final year of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent without arbitration rights this summer.
Bayreuther, 31, was signed by Carolina in the offseason to provide depth and recalled twice by the Hurricanes this season, though he did not play in any games. The left-handed Bayreuther has 122 games of NHL experience, totaling three goals and 28 points with Dallas and Columbus. Bayreuther was assigned to the Americans.
The emergence of Joel Nystrom and Charles Alexis-Legault returning to practice in a yellow no-contact jersey Thursday pushed Bayreuther further down Carolina’s defensive depth chart, and Buffalo has a need for more depth on the blue line after it placed Jacob Bryson on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.