- In his latest 31 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman links the Red Wings as a team that has shown interest in Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk. Detroit is certainly in need of some more skill on their back end while Faulk has become an even likelier candidate to be moved following Carolina’s acquisition of Dougie Hamilton back at the draft.
Hurricanes Rumors
Hurricanes Re-Sign Trevor Van Riemsdyk To A Two-Year Contract
Although he filed for salary arbitration earlier today, defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk has inked a two-year, $4.6MM contract with the Hurricanes, the team announced. The contract pays $2.1MM in 2018-19 and $2.5MM in 2019-20. GM Don Waddell had the following statement on the signing:
“Trevor was a steady presence on our blue line last season. He’s shown progression each year of his NHL career, and is a well-liked player in our locker room.”
The 26-year-old is coming off of his first season in Carolina, one that saw him record a career-high 13 assists (along with three goals), a team-high +9 rating, and averaged 17:03 of playing time per night. He also ranked second on the team in blocked shots with 113.
While it was looking like van Riemsdyk had a chance to move into the top four with the trade of Noah Hanifin back at the draft, the odds of that happening went down considerably with the addition of Calvin de Haan earlier this week. Instead, it’s likely that he will play behind de Haan and Jaccob Slavin and be asked to anchor their third pairing once again.
TSN’s Frank Seravalli (via Twitter) was first to report the contract.
De Haan's Addition Could Help Facilitate A Justin Faulk Trade
- Even though they don’t play the same side, Tuesday’s addition of defenseman Calvin de Haan could help push Carolina towards trading blueliner Justin Faulk, suggests Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer. The Hurricanes now have Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce locked up for at least the next three years on the right side which could make Faulk, who carries a $4.833MM cap charge for two more seasons, expendable. There is high demand for top-four right-shot defenders so it stands to reason that they could get a strong return if they do indeed decide to deal the 26-year-old. In the same column, DeCock reports that de Haan turned down more lucrative offers than the four-year, $18.2MM deal he signed with Carolina.
Morning Notes: Boll, Olczyk, Cohen
It’s the end of a career for Jared Boll, who Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports has hung up his skates for the last time. Boll retires after a career as one of the league’s most prolific fighters, dropping the mitts 171 times in the NHL over a 579 game career. Boll put up 226 penalty minutes as a rookie in 2007-08, after being selected in the fourth round of the 2005 draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Ending his career with the Anaheim Ducks, Boll will retire with 66 NHL points, 1,298 penalty minutes and more than a few bruises. As the league moves further and further away from fighting, and reduces the number of true enforcers playing in the NHL, there just wasn’t a place for the 32-year old any longer. It’s safe to say the fans in Columbus will look back fondly on his tenure, even if the game has moved on.
- Rick Olczyk has moved on from the Carolina Hurricanes according to Aaron Ward, who reports the long-time executive will be joining the Toronto Maple Leafs in some capacity. Olczyk has been the Hurricanes’ assistant GM for several years, but with the firing of Ron Francis and takeover by Don Waddell, there may have been a mutual parting. It’s not clear what role the former Edmonton Oilers executive would take on in Toronto, as the team already has two assistant general managers in Brandon Pridham and Laurence Gilman. There had been plenty of rumors around a potential fit for Francis in Toronto due to his Sault Ste. Marie connections with GM Kyle Dubas, and perhaps he recommended Olczyk for certain responsibilities.
- The Arizona Coyotes have promoted Ahron Cohen to President and CEO according to Craig Morgan of AZ Sports, replacing Steve Patterson who had been named CEO just last year. Cohen at that time was named COO after serving as general counsel, but will now take over the business operations of the team. Cohen was clear that he’ll do everything he can to turn around the Coyotes franchise and bring sustained success to the city when he told Morgan “I’m married to this job. This is my passion. I love this team and I love the opportunity we have to build something special in Arizona.”
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Calvin De Haan
The Carolina Hurricanes, known for their depth and talent on defense, continue to surprisingly add top blue line names to the roster this off-season. After previously trading for right-handed scoring threat Dougie Hamilton, the team has reportedly agreed to a deal with arguably the top defender on the free agent market, left-landed shutdown defenseman Calvin de Haan. The Raleigh News & Observer’s Luck DeCock first reported that the team has signed de Haan to a four-year, $18.2MM contract – a $4.55MM AAV. The team confirmed the deal soon after.
De Haan, 27, was No. 9 on PHR’s Top 50 Free Agents List. Although he missed the majority of last season due to injury, de Haan has shown a high-end defensive ability in his pro career. The 12th overall pick in 2009 by the New York Islanders, de Haan has proven to be one of the best shot blockers in the NHL and an extremely reliable presence on the back end. Yet has has also improved his offensive production with each year, including a career-best scoring rate prior to his injury last season. While many may have balked at a $4.55MM value for de Haan in a vacuum, he is clearly superior to nearly every other defenseman in this free agent market.
Carolina is a surprise landing spot for the defensive standout though. De Haan’s arrival in Raleigh will only add to a formidable corps of rearguards that includes Hamilton, Justin Faulk, Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Trevor van Riemsdyk (an RFA), young pros Haydn Fleury and Roland McKeown, and elite prospects Jake Bean, Luke Martin, and Adam Fox. De Haan’s signing very well could be a sign of more changes coming in Carolina under new ownership and new GM Don Waddell.
Hudson Elynuik Signs AHL Contract With Toronto Marlies
Just over a month ago teams around the NHL lost the exclusive negotiating rights to nearly three dozen draft picks. Some of those players like Adam Mascherin, re-entered the draft and were selected by another team. Others were free to sign professional contracts with whoever they chose. One of the most interesting names on that list was Carolina Hurricanes draft pick Hudson Elynuik, who has now signed an AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies to begin his professional career. The Marlies also signed Emerson Clark, Ryan Moore, Zach O’Brien, Sam Jardine, Stefan LeBlanc and Giorgio Estephan—a draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres that saw his rights expire last year.
Elynuik though is the most exciting name of the bunch. The 6’5″ center was selected 74th overall in 2016, and put up consecutive seasons in the WHL averaging more than a point per game. This year saw him record 86 points in 71 games for the Spokane Chiefs, adding another seven points in seven playoff matches. Son of Pat Elynuik, a former NHL player and eighth-overall pick in 1986, Hudson carries an extremely heavy shot and doesn’t lumber along on his skates as poorly as some other players of his size.
It seems as though Kyle Dubas has added a prospect to the pipeline for free, but it’s important to note that signing an AHL deal with the Marlies does not technically add him to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Since he has still not signed an entry-level contract, his rights are still not owned by the Maple Leafs and he could easily sign with another team when his AHL deal expires. That said, it does give Toronto the inside edge on bringing him in if he can show that there is still real NHL potential in that large frame.
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Dan Renouf To One-Year Deal
The Carolina Hurricanes have added some minor league depth, signing defenseman Dan Renouf to a one-year two-way contract. The deal will pay Renouf $650K at the NHL level. GM Don Waddell released a short statement on his new defenseman:
Dan is a sturdy, reliable defenseman. He’ll be a steady presence on the blue line in our system.
Waddell likely has few words about his newest player because Renouf should have little impact on the Hurricanes. The 24-year old will likely spend the entire season in the minor leagues with the Charlotte Checkers, replacing some of the outgoing talent like Jake Chelios. Renouf does have one NHL game under his belt with the Detroit Red Wings, but as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Maine has never shown enough upside to really get an opportunity at the highest level.
Still, he does give them another experienced defenseman at the AHL level to try and keep the Checkers competitive. The team went 46-26-4 last season, and will try to get past the second round next season and bring some success to the Carolina organization.
Petr Mrazek Signs With Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes have their competition for starter Scott Darling. The team has signed young Petr Mrazek to a one-year, $1.5MM deal, per a team release.
Mrazek has proven to be an inconsistent commodity over the years. The 26-year-old netminder took the starting job away from Jimmy Howard in Detroit in the 2015-16 season with a 2.33 GAA and a .921 save percentage in 54 games, suggesting he was the long-term answer in Detroit. Unfortunately, the following year he struggled, posting a 3.02 GAA and a .901 save percentage in 50 appearances. While many suggested that the team defense was to blame, a bad attitude and poor work ethic were the reason why the Red Wings opted to protect the 34-year-old Howard over Mrazek in the expansion draft last year. Instead Vegas passed on Mrazek and the youngster continued to struggle in Detroit, putting up a 2.89 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 22 games before the team opted to pull the plug and trade him to Philadelphia at the trade deadline.
The Flyers, who desperately needed goaltending help, hoped he would succeed in Philadelphia and while he had some stellar moments, he struggled more often than not, putting up a 3.22 GAA and a .891 save percentage in 17 games for them. Philadelphia opted not to offer him a qualifying offer, which allowed him to hit the free agent market.
Carolina hopes that Mrazek can rebound and find his game as the team needs another goaltender to challenge Scott Darling, who also struggled last year in his first year as a starting goaltender. Darling finished with a 3.18 GAA and a .888 save percentage. The Hurricanes hope one of the two can fix their game.
Josh Jooris Signs With Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Josh Jooris to a one-year, $650K contract according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
The 27-year-old winger has bounced around the league his entire NHL career as he has already played for the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins and will now add Toronto to his jersey collection. After signing with the Hurricanes one year ago, he managed to play in 31 games, putting up three goals and six points, but Carolina traded him to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline for the Penguins playoff run, but had little impact for them. He played nine games for the Penguins, without tallying a point and did not play in the playoffs.
He will battle it out in training camp for a potential bottom-line role, but could just as easily be used to stockpile talent for the Calder Cup Champion Toronto Marlies in the AHL.
Boston Bruins Sign Joakim Nordstrom
The Boston Bruins have signed Joakim Nordstrom to a two-year contract worth $2MM total. Nordstrom became an unrestricted free agent when the Carolina Hurricanes failed to qualify him last week.
Nordstrom played the past three years with Carolina, but failed to impress as he scored just two goals in 75 games last year, which is down from 10 goals in the 2015-16 season and seven the year after that. However, a change of scenery could be good thing for Nordstrom.
The 26-year-old should be able to provide solid bottom-line depth for the Bruins as he is versatile forward, who can play both center and wing. That might be essential as the team has lost Tim Schaller to Vancouver and could also lose Riley Nash and Boston may be forced to rebuild their bottom-six lines.