Evening Notes: Hurricanes’ Ownership, Oduya, Dumoulin

For anyone trying to pay attention the Hurricanes’ ownership struggles, another chapter has been added to the ongoing saga. The team, currently owned by a group headed by Peter Karmanos, Jr., has been rumored to be up for sale for some time. The financial situation of the team is difficult, as attendance issues over the past few years have brought monetary losses and concern from other owners around the league. Still, it seems that Carolina is nowhere near the dire situation of the Arizona Coyotes, whose decade-plus-long fiasco has bewildered onlookers and hockey fans for quite some time.

Not long ago, a potential buyer for the Hurricanes, one Chuck Greenberg, supposedly offered $500 MM to acquire the franchise. This was reported by Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg and The Denver Post, and confirmed by others. Afterwards, the Karmanos group responded by saying the reports were essentially misleading, and then were called “fake news” in an article published by Forbes. Technically, it was a non-binding letter of intent and not an official offer, but that shouldn’t discount the strong possibility of an impending team sale.

Today we learned that Greenberg showed up at the team’s practice facility, thanks to some wonderful reporting by The News & Observer’s Chip Alexander. Greenberg stopped by the Raleigh Center Ice location, and essentially conducted a “fact-finding trip”. The whole situation is confusing largely because the franchise’s estimated value has plummeted and the offer is exceptionally fair. Additionally, the Karmanos group has been looking to sell the Canes for years to a team that will keep them local. This was reported yet again this January by NBC’s Adam Gretz, and it’s no secret there is desire from the fanbase for a change in direction. Greenberg seems to be a perfect solution to the situation, as he has local investors involved and stated no plans for relocation. As of now, there seems to be a lot going on behind the scenes, and many moving parts. Still, a change in ownership seems more likely today than it did yesterday.

• After today’s earlier announcement of the Brian Dumoulin 6-year, $4.1 MM AAV signing, it has been revealed that the Penguins’ shutdown force played with a broken hand. The Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey reported that Dumoulin kept re-breaking the fracture before it could heal, during the course of normal play. He broke it after blocking a slapshot in the fifth game of the first round against Columbus, The dependable stay-at-home defender played incredibly well, often matching up against top opponents and maintaining solid body position boxing out attackers in front of his goaltenders. He even tallied two goals throughout the Stanley Cup run, so the nature of the injury does come as a little surprising. He and the Penguins medical staff considered the possibility of Dumoulin undergoing surgery this off-season to repair the damage, but it no longer seems necessary. Dumoulin believes the injury has healed well enough on its own and that he should be ready for action come season opener.
• Johnny Oduya shocked many by signing a deal so soon for $1 MM and bonuses, as Ottawa had apparently been courting him since “July 2nd”. As I reported yesterday, interest for the player never really openly surfaced among the insiders of the league. Oduya comes at great value for the Senators, and GM Pierre Dorion expressed his glee at a press conference you can find partially transcribed by Craig Megdalia here. Essentially, Dorion felt the move was absolutely necessary considering the loss of veteran Marc Methot to expansion (before being shipped to Dallas), and although he has confidence in his younger players, he couldn’t miss the opportunity to bring in “a true pro”. By the sound of it, Dorion expects coach Guy Boucher to likely place Oduya in a prominent role, which could push out a younger player such as Thomas Chabot.