Erik Haula sees Golden Knights again after eventful 7 months

RALEIGH, N.C. — Erik Haula has been through so much since being traded by the Golden Knights.

He got married. He went on a scoring tear. He got hurt. He lost an unborn daughter. He worked to find his top form again.

The forward was nothing but delighted by his latest twist of fate, though: a reunion with his former team. Haula, now with the Carolina Hurricanes, played against the Knights on Friday for the first time since his June trade.

Haula had one shot on goal and was a plus-1 in the Hurricanes’ 4-3 loss.

“It’ll be fun,” Haula said after a Thursday practice. “I’m sure they’re going to give it to me, and I’ll try to give it back. I’ve been through it, playing an old team, before. Hopefully I’m better for it.”

Haula has had an interesting first season with the Hurricanes. The pending unrestricted free agent, who was with the Knights in their first two seasons, scored seven goals in his first nine games with one assist.

Things have cooled off since. He has 11 goals and eight assists in 30 games. He missed a month-plus with a knee injury, which had to be frightening after a knee injury ended his season in November 2018.

Haula returned this time only to deal with a personal tragedy. He and his wife, Kristen, revealed Jan. 1 on Instagram that their unborn daughter lost her heartbeat.

Haula had scored the previous night against the Montreal Canadiens, kissed his hands and pointed to the sky afterward.

It was a simple gesture that said so much. It was revealing, even as Haula struggles to put his past seven months into words.

“It’s been interesting,” he said. “There’s a lot that’s happened, for sure. You wake up every morning and get after it.”

Haula was given a nice respite Friday as he saw some old friends. He’s also looking forward to visiting Las Vegas with the Hurricanes on Feb. 8 for a game at T-Mobile Arena.

Not so much that he doesn’t want to win. But seeing Knights sweaters still stirs up warm memories.

“I have a lot of good friends on that team,” Haula said. “(I) definitely follow them. It’s a place close to my heart.”

Roy returns

The player Haula was traded to the Hurricanes for, center Nicolas Roy, also faced his former team for the first time. Roy was recalled from the American Hockey League on Thursday and returned to the rink where he made his NHL debut.

New coach Peter DeBoer started Roy, and he won the opening faceoff.

“It’s a little bit weird at first,” Roy said after Friday’s morning skate. “I wasn’t expecting that, to get traded. I’m very grateful to be back here. It’s going to be fun.”

Predators preview

The Knights play the Nashville Predators on Saturday to complete a back-to-back. It’s perhaps the most important game of their four-game trip as they fight for playoff positioning.

The Predators have won two straight and briefly leapfrogged the Knights in points percentage Friday morning. It would behoove them to stay in front of Nashville in case they wind up fighting for wild-card spots.

“Nashville’s a team that’s trying to catch us,” left wing Jonathan Marchessault said. “We have to be ready for them. It’s going to be a big game tomorrow.”

Player moves

The Knights sent goaltender Oscar Dansk to the AHL after Friday’s game and called up defenseman Zach Whitecloud. Dansk served as Malcolm Subban’s backup against the Hurricanes while Marc-Andre Fleury served his one-game suspension for missing the All-Star Game.

Whitecloud has seven points in 34 games for the Chicago Wolves.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.