East Notes: Hurricanes, Penguins, Sabres

The Hurricanes have taken some big swings on the trade front the last couple of years, landing Jake Guentzel at the 2023 trade deadline and Mikko Rantanen earlier this season.  But they weren’t able to sign either one with Rantanen subsequently being flipped.  Despite not being able to sign either one, GM Eric Tulsky indicated in an interview with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link) that he is more than willing to take another big swing on a prominent pending UFA should the opportunity present itself down the road, even without an extension in place.  Tulsky believes that the team is usually able to keep the players that they want to and more often than not, the interest is mutual so in his mind, the odds should be good that they can get something done whenever they make a move to add another key rental in the future.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

• Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provided updates on a few injured Penguins. Defensemen Pierre-Oliver Joseph (upper body) and Ryan Shea (upper body) both skated before practice today while center Thomas Novak (lower body) has yet to hit the ice after being injured last week.  Joseph was injured at the beginning of the month and quickly landed on IR while Shea was injured last week.  Both blueliners have week-to-week designations while a timeline for Novak’s return remains uncertain.
• While the Sabres didn’t have JJ Peterka back in the lineup tonight against Boston, he’s on track to return on Thursday versus Utah, reports Lance Lysowski of The Athletic (Twitter link). Peterka has been one of Buffalo’s top scorers all season with 51 points in 61 games and while a playoff chase isn’t going to happen, the 23-year-old is a pending restricted free agent and will undoubtedly be hoping for a strong finish heading into contract talks.  Meanwhile, Lysowski added that blueliner Jacob Bernard-Docker should make his Buffalo debut at some point on their four-game road trip.  He was acquired at the trade deadline but only recently received his work visa to start skating with the team so he’ll need a few practices to get up to speed first.