I've always seen the trade as Treliving going after both Hanifin and Lindholm. Carolina wouldn't do it for Hamilton alone, so other names came in including Bennett (likely from Carolina) then Ferland (from Calgary).
Still didn't get it done.
On the draft weekend it was suggested Carolina insisted on Fox to get it done, so he wasn't a throw in, he was the cost to either do the deal or walk away. Treliving said that weekend that they circled back with Fox's agent to ask again about their chances of getting a contract done and then went ahead with the deal.
Treliving has never been a guy to say a lot in the media so I'm not sure I buy that he made that up to sell the deal or for gamemanship reasons, but of course that's just my opinion.
From the Carolina side the new owner apparently had a problem with the salary system for players coming out of entry level contracts (Hanifin) and paying for what they will do instead of what they have done.
So I see Treliving assessing the risk of Fox's upside, found out he wouldn't sign and knew he'd be dealing the asset at some time in the next two years. Decided he wanted his two players and got it done.
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