Category Archives: Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina will entertain offers for its 5th-overall pick
Carolina will entertain offers for its 5th-overall pick in hopes of landing a top-4 D-man, GM Jim Rutherford told @theteam1260 Tuesday.
— Dylan Howlett (@DylanHowlett) June 6, 2013
Edmonton Oilers’ Ryan Whitney still in play for trade with Carolina Hurricanes’ Joni Pitkanen lost to injury
If Steve Tambellini’s cell-phone wasn’t ringing shortly after Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Joni Pitkanen suffered a serious leg injury on an icing race for the puck Tuesday night — when is the NHL going to wake up and go to no-touch? — then Jim Rutherford isn’t doing his job.
Knowing Rutherford for some 20 years, he is a pro-active NHL general manager. With Pitkanen, the onetime Oiler D-man,badly hurt (ankle, three months), then the Hurricanes are going to need Ryan Whitney.
A look at the NHL’s East heading into the trade deadline
BOSTON BRUINS
GM Peter Chiarelli likes to get ahead of the pack, but that has proven difficult this year. The Bruins have cap room and Chiarelli wants to bring in an impact forward to help the power play. He’ll go after either Dallas winger Brenden Morrow or Calgary captain Jarome Iginla. It will be costly, though.
Bozak and MacArthur not likely to get moved. Canes have Jokinen available
Don’t expect Leafs GM Dave Nonis to mess with a good thing. Toronto has excellent chemistry under coach Randy Carlyle which means neither centre Tyler Bozak nor left winger Clarke MacArthur — both UFA’s — likely won’t be going anywhere.
Hurricanes looking to make team upgrades
Rutherford said Canes may look to upgrade defense but noted many other teams trying to do same. Said could add a “depth” goalie.
— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) March 8, 2013
Hurricanes have expressed intrest in a exprienced D
John Michael Liles has not played in recent games and could see himself moving out of Toronto by the trade deadline. With the Carolina huricanes making it public that they are looking around for a veteran D-man to add to their blue line, John Michael must surely be one of their targets. Could we see John Michael liles be moved for a mid-round pick? Yes , and probably sooner rather than later.
Michael Lo Giudice
Caps working the phones
RUMOURS DU JOUR
Trying to stave off unemployment, Washington Capitals GM George McPhee is working the phones. Three names to watch are wingers Troy Brouwer ($2.35 million cap hit through 2015-16), Joel Ward ($3 million, 2014-15) and Jason Chimera ($1.75 million, 2013-14). All are available because the Caps want to clear cash. McPhee would like to free up money and then reap the rewards of futility with a high draft pick …
Two Teams interested in Weber
RDS.ca is reporting that two teams (The Senators and Hurricanes) have inquired about the services of Yannick Weber.
Dan Ellis lands spot on Carolina’s training camp roster
It looks like Brian Boucher will have some competition for the backup job in goal during Carolina’s training camp.
Former Ducks and Predators goalie Dan Ellis has landed a spot on the Hurricanes’ camp roster (PDF) to earn a spot behind Cam Ward. Ellis had been playing with the team’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte, and according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie he’ll soon have a contract with Carolina to go with it, potentially a two-way deal.
Note to Shane Doan: Run, before it’s too late
Steve Nash was right. There is no loyalty in sports. It’s all business and money, fantasy and spin.
So go on, Shane Doan. Get out of here before your profound sense of duty becomes an embarrassment, filling you with long-term regret.
Look around. To some, Nash is now a traitor. He’s inexplicably a Laker, which is even worse. And he’s made things very complicated around Valley water coolers.
Can Suns fans really cheer for him to win a championship?
Once, that was a given.
But don’t think too hard about us, captain. We can be fickle and jaded. Plus, we have short memories. Remember how we rallied around Justin Upton last summer?
We showed our loyalty by lashing out at Prince Fielder, who snubbed Upton from the Home Run Derby. One night later, we chanted Upton’s name during the All-Star Game, a sound that reverberated deep inside the young outfielder.
“That was the connection between our young star and his fans that we have been waiting for,” team President and CEO Derrick Hall said at the time. “This is the start of a special bond. And believe me, he was moved by it.”
Canes, Pens turn attention to Nash
Zach Parise’s decision to sign with the Minnesota Wild, along with Ryan Suter, got everyone’s attention on Wednesday. Thirteen-year, $98 million deals tend to do that and it was quite the package deal.
Now, the attention turns to Rick Nash.
The Canes are pushing hard to make a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the All-Star winger and are thought to have made a strong offer. But the Pittsburgh Penguins, spurned by Parise, could ratchet up the ante.
Pens general manager Ray Shero told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he wants a winger to play with center Sidney Crosby. Shero said that could come in free agency or a trade. If it’s a trade, he said, it has to make sense.
Nash appears to be the No. 1 target. If not Nash, maybe Shane Doan of Phoenix. Or Alexander Semin.
Which all sounds familiar. Sounds as if the Canes and Pens — and some others — could be in lock step approaching CBJ general manager Scott Howson about Nash.
Nash has a no-movement clause in his contract. The Columbus Dispatch reported Wednesday that five teams — Pens, Rangers, Flyers, Red Wings and Sharks — were believed to be approved for trades but that there could be one or two others. The Dispatch said today that Carolina could be the first team added to the list — that the recent trade for Jordan Staal was another attention-grabber.
It’s uncertain what the Canes have offered for Nash, although it’s believed Jeff Skinner would not be a part of the trade package.
NHL Draft Day – Morning Rumor Update
Rangers, Flyers have Nash, Ryan on radars
Phoenix Coyotes may look to move pick in NHL Draft
Staal rejects Penguins’ 10-year offer
Yandle in play
The salary’s not the thing for enlightened GMs
The Latest Jordan Staal Rumors
With the NHL draft at Consol Energy Center just a few days away, speculation about trades involving some big-name players, including Penguins center Jordan Staal, is ratcheting up. Now, it still isn’t clear whether Staal is interested in leaving the Penguins – general manager Ray Shero hasn’t spoken with reporters in several weeks, and agent Paul Krepelka has declined to discuss anything about Staal’s situation – but if he is going to be moved, he certainly would not be the first prominent player to be dealt shortly before a draft. Or even after one has begun, for that matter.
Carolina has been singled out as a likely landing spot if Staal gets traded, and that makes sense on a number of levels. The Hurricanes are shopping for a quality forward to play with Eric Staal and, because a deal would unite the younger Staal with his brother, Carolina presumably would have a decent chance of getting Jordan Staal’s name on a contract to follow the one that expires after next season. Whether Carolina has – or is willing to part with – the assets the Penguins would require to go along with such a swap is a separate issue.
It has been suggested that the Penguins would want the Hurricanes’ first-round draft choice, No. 8 overall, to be part of any package for Staal because it would liven up the proceedings at the Penguins’ home arena Friday. That might make for good theater, but it isn’t necessarily good management. There’s nothing at all wrong with acquiring a quality draft choice if such a trade is made, but doing it solely to give the crowd a short-lived sugar-high would be a grievous lapse in judgment. Trading Staal would be a move that could have repercussions for the Penguins for years. Accepting a package solely, or even partially, because it would inject a buzz into the draft proceedings Friday would be the kind of short-sighted mistake Shero has managed to avoid for most of his six-plus years on the job.
Ex-Canes coach Maurice heads to Russia
Paul Maurice recently said he hoped to be back in coaching next season.
And he will be – in Russia.
Maurice, the former coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, has been given a one-year contract by Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, it was announced Friday. Former Canes assistant coach and goaltending coach Tom Barrasso will join Maurice’s staff as an assistant.
Maurice was fired by the Hurricanes on Nov. 28 and replaced by Kirk Muller. The Canes, who were a victory shy of reaching the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2011, were 8-13-4 and in 14th place in the NHL’s Eastern Conference last fall when Muller was brought in as coach.
Maurice, 45, kept a low profile after the firing but said he and his family remained in Raleigh. He served as a guest analyst for the NHL Network and TSN during the playoffs.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/06/08/2122834/ex-canes-coach-maurice-heads-to.html#storylink=cpy
Staal brothers put together?
Keep an eye on the Carolina Hurricanes when it comes to how things play out on the Jordan Staal front with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
As I wrote recently, the Penguins’ top priority is to sign Sidney Crosby and Staal to contract extensions this summer — both centers are UFA-eligible on July 1, 2013 — but if they can’t get both done in a cap-sensible manner, it could open the door for Staal to be dealt.
Several teams have already expressed an interest regarding Staal, but I believe the Hurricanes will be aggressive in trying to trade for him, with the idea to have him on same team as his brother, Hurricanes captain Eric Staal.
If the Penguins decide to open the trade market on Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh could get more out of Carolina in a traditional hockey deal than from other teams.
Why? While other teams might point to the fact that Staal has only one year left on his deal and won’t want to give up too much for a pending 2013 UFA, the Hurricanes may be willing to take more of a long-term gamble that, given the sibling tie-in, they could re-sign Staal.
Either way, the Hurricanes are going to be an interesting team this summer. I believe they’re going to add to their payroll and want to upgrade with one or two forwards.
http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/17612/rumblings-staal-brothers-put-together-market-for-tim-thomas
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