Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Hurricanes Rumors

Carolina Hurricanes “Won’t Lose Players We Want For Five Percent More Money”

at CDT | by 3 Comments

For years, the Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the league’s lowest spenders. This season, they rank 30th in the league in terms of payroll, only ahead of the penny-pinching Arizona Coyotes. With the recent sale to Dallas billionaire Thomas Dundon, many Hurricanes fans would hope that would change, at least partially.

In his latest 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, Elliotte Friedman shares some of the conversation he had with Dundon about payroll going forward. One thing sticks out, and that’s the new owner’s insistence that they won’t be outbid for current players they want to keep.

Put it this way—we won’t lose players we want for five per cent more money. Now, if someone does something irrational? Losing the players we want will never be because of the money—it will be because someone does something irrational that makes us question the value. I believe we can run the business in a way that will make it work.

That is music to the ears of many Carolina fans, who are starting to see the fruits of a Ron Francis-led rebuild in the standings, with the team just two points out of a playoff spot (despite technically being in last place in the Metropolitan). The team has locked up many of their homegrown assets, and made trades to acquire various pieces at a discount when other teams are in trouble.

Now backed by a more involved owner, who also spoke about increasing investment in analytics and scouting, the team may be able to turn some heads on the free agent market or when it comes to retaining some of their own players. Jeff Skinner, for instance, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019 and is in for an enormous contract if he continues to play well. The 25-year old has 29 points on the season, and is coming off a 37-goal campaign that was generally overlooked by many fans around the league.

Carolina’s Sebastian Aho Out Indefinitely

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Sebastian Aho’s recent streak of good luck has come to an end. The Carolina Hurricanes star forward had posted 14 points in his past 10 games entering the team’s match-up against the Calgary Flames yesterday, but was unable to notch another point or even finish another game after taking a big hit from Flames captain Mark Giordano. While the hit was high –  and drew a match penalty – head coach Bill Peters indicated after the game that Aho may have suffered a knee injury in addition to his head injury.

While it remains unclear which injury is to blame (most likely  a combination of both), ’Canes beat writer Chip Alexander reports this evening that those initial post-game concerns were warranted. Carolina has revealed that Aho is out indefinitely with a concussion and lower-body injury. Alexander does add that the lower-body injury, suspected to be a knee injury, did not require Aho to undergo surgery, which could help him return to action sooner rather than later.

While the Hurricanes are fortunate enough to have activated veteran forwards Lee Stempniak and Marcus Kruger off of injured reserve last week, their presence alone won’t be enough to make up for the loss of Aho. The 20-year-old winger leads the team with both 16 goals and 37 points and has been especially effective of late as Carolina looks to stick around the playoff picture in the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division. What may help to offset the Aho injury is the fact that the ’Canes have just begun their bye week, potentially lessening the impact of Aho’s absence if he returns within a relatively short amount of time. Only time will tell how long the team will be without Aho, but the longer “indefinitely” lasts and he remains sidelined, the less and less likely it is that Carolina makes the playoffs this season.

Sebastian Aho Suffers Suspected Head And Knee Injuries

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Hurricanes winger Sebastian Aho took a hit to the head from Flames defenseman Mark Giordano in their game this afternoon and was forced to leave the game.  Unfortunately for Carolina, head coach Bill Peters told Michael Smith of the Hurricanes’ team website (Twitter link) postgame that they will be evaluating Aho for a potential knee injury as well as having him checked for a concussion.  The timing of the injury is a tough one for the Finnish winger who had been on quite a run coming into this one with 14 points over his last ten games while he leads the team in scoring with 37 points.  As for Giordano, he was assessed a match penalty on the play which not only saw him ejected from the game but also will result in a hearing with the Department of Player Safety.

Minor Transactions: 1/14/18

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With one of the biggest slate of games Saturday, at least since the bye weeks have started, the NHL has just four games today, but several teams will be making moves to prepare for their coming games or their bye weeks.

  • The Winnipeg Jets announced they have assigned three players to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL Sunday, including goaltender Michael Hutchinson, and forwards Brendan Lemieux and Jack Roslovic. With the Jets off until Saturday, all three will be sent down to get more playing time. Hutchinson was an emergency call-up to fill in for goaltender Steve Mason, who left the team with an illness, but the AHL goaltender did not see any action. The 21-year-old Lemieux has played in eight games with the Jets. He has one goal and 19 penalty minutes, while Roslovic, the team’s 2015 first-round pick, has played in four games this year and is pointless.
  • The New York Islanders announced they made an emergency recall of Tanner Fritz from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL Sunday after they placed veteran forward Andrew Ladd on injured reserve. The 26-year-old Fritz is having a solid season with Bridgport, putting up 10 goals and 27 assists in 32 games. He has played three games with the Islanders already this year with no points. Ladd, suffered an upper-body injury Jan. 5 in a game against Pittsburgh, and is still not ready to return. Ladd has nine goals and nine assists this year.
  • Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen tweets that the Los Angeles Kings recalled forward Jonny Brodzinski from the Ontario Reign this afternoon. The 24-year-old forward has already played 22 games for Los Angeles and has two goals on the year, but has received just an average of 9:36 minutes of ice time this year. He has been thriving, however, with Ontario as he has six goals and eight assists in 11 AHL games this year.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes announced that they have reassigned center Lucas Wallmark to Charlotte of the AHL.  Wallmark suited up this afternoon against Calgary but with the team now off on their bye week, this will allow him to keep playing.  He has a goal in four games with Carolina so far this season while adding 23 points in 20 games at the minor league level.

Carolina Hurricanes Introduce Thomas Dundon As Majority Owner

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The sale of the Carolina Hurricanes has become official, with Thomas Dundon taking over a majority stake in the franchise. While former owner Peter Karmanos retains a minority stake for the time being, Dundon was introduced to the media today and has already promised to improve several aspects of the team. Just after the press conference with Karmanos and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, the team released a letter from Dundon to fans:

As the opportunity arose to become the majority owner of the Carolina Hurricanes and I began analyzing the organization, the one thing that immediately jumped out to me was that with the collection of young talent already on the team, we can compete now. 

As I spoke to people from across the NHL, they all identified that core of young players, the head coach and the general manager as major assets. I am convinced that the Hurricanes not only have an opportunity to win now, but to be competitive year in and year out going forward.

In the recent months, I’ve spent a lot of time around the team, and we’ve worked to identify areas to better support our athletes and help improve our on-ice performance. Among the changes we can act on immediately will be adding resources for our training and analytical staffs, as well as finalizing a deal for a new state-of-the-art training facility for our athletes.

I’ve also been working closely with the team’s business staff, to increase the entertainment value for our fans at every game. We’ve developed many great ideas and we’re going to be extremely aggressive in our efforts to enhance the in-arena experience. I want PNC Arena to be absolutely rocking every night — a place you love to watch a game, our players love to play a game and our opponents fear.

In only a few months, I’ve quickly realized how much passion there is in this market for this team, and I take very seriously the responsibility to ensure that this community has the team and entertainment experience it deserves. I recognize and share the expectations you have for the Hurricanes, as well as the fact that we have not always met them. My commitment is to meet and exceed your expectations, and that starts now.

While any new owner of a sports franchise says similar things upon taking the reins, here are some things that can be sussed out of his statement. First and foremost, it seems as though Dundon has no intention on changing the roles of either GM Ron Francis or head coach Bill Peters. Both, as he states, are major assets for the club and have proven it recently with the team acquiring plenty of talent and finally competing in the cutthroat Metropolitan Division.

The Hurricanes sit at 20-15-8 on the season, just five points out of second place in the division and ahead of schedule in terms of their young players. The team is set up for several years of success with their young core, though overcoming the rest of the Metro will be as difficult as ever.

Dundon also seems committed to increasing the analytical and sports science programs for the Hurricanes, something that more and more clubs around the league are moving towards. Though obviously there is no clear indication on what impact any changes would have, fans should be impressed with the immediate involvement that Dundon wants to make.

At the press conference, which Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer reported live from on Twitter, Bettman stated that an outdoor game in Carolina is “not out of the question” and that Dundon had already asked about it. Carter-Finley Stadium, home of the NC State football team, is directly across the street from PNC Arena where the Hurricanes play and could be a potential venue for an outdoor game in the future.

Morning Notes: Trade Bait, Golden Knights, Hurricanes

at CDT | by 2 Comments

TSN’s Frank Seravalli released his updated “trade bait” board, and the name at the top once again is Buffalo’s Evander Kane. Kane was recently involved in a minor altercation at Sabres practice, and has a reported price tag of a first-round pick, prospect and conditional draft pick based on him re-signing with the acquiring team. Though Kane’s deal seems inevitable at this point, several other names on the list are interesting.

Ottawa’s Mike Hoffman appears fourth on the list, and fellow TSN insider Bob McKenzie believes a deal of the scoring forward is “more likely than not” at this point. Seravalli maintains that even though the Vegas Golden Knights are winning, James Neal remains a possible trade candidate, while Patrick Maroon seems like an easy rental piece after the Edmonton Oilers’ struggles this year.

  • The US Army has filed a notice of opposition against the Golden Knights trademark, according to Chris Creamer of Sportslogos.net. Creamer has been all over this story since the beginning, noting that both the Army and the College of Saint Rose who each use the Golden Knights name, had filed extensions when the first trademark opposition deadline came about. Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated gives us the Vegas hockey team’s response, in which they “strongly dispute” the idea that there is any confusion between the army parachute team and the NHL club.
  • The sale of a majority stake in the Carolina Hurricanes to new owner Thomas Dundon will close today according to Luke DeCock and Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer. Dundon will be purchasing just over 51% of the club, with an option to buy the rest after three years from now-minority owner Peter Karmanos. While it’s not clear how exactly the deal will impact the team on the ice, it should provide some extra stability to the executive level.

2018 All-Star Rosters

at CDT | by 29 Comments

The NHL released the rosters for this year’s All-Star game in Tampa Bay, leading to an inevitable onslaught of discussion over who missed out and who didn’t deserve to go. The event will take place on January 27-28th. The full rosters can be found below:

Atlantic Division:

F Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning (captain)
F Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning
F Auston Matthews – Toronto Maple Leafs
F Aleksander Barkov – Florida Panthers
F Brad Marchand – Boston Bruins
F Jack Eichel – Buffalo Sabres
D Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lightning
D Erik Karlsson – Ottawa Senators
D Mike Green – Detroit Red Wings
G Andrei Vasilevskiy – Tampa Bay Lightning
G Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens

Head Coach: Jon Cooper

Metropolitan Division:

F Alex Ovechkin – Washington Capitals (captain)
F Taylor Hall – New Jersey Devils
F Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins
F Josh Bailey – New York Islanders
F John Tavares – New York Islanders
F Claude Giroux – Philadelphia Flyers
D Seth Jones – Columbus Blue Jackets
D Noah Hanifin – Carolina Hurricanes
D Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins
G Henrik Lundqvist – New York Rangers
G Braden Holtby – Washington Capitals

Head Coach: Barry Trotz

Central Division:

F Patrick Kane – Chicago Blackhawks
F Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche
F Blake Wheeler – Winnipeg Jets
F Brayden Schenn – St. Louis Blues
F Eric Staal – Minnesota Wild
F Tyler Seguin – Dallas Stars
D P.K. Subban – Nashville Predators (captain)
D Alex Pietrangelo – St. Louis Blues
D John Klingberg – Dallas Stars
G Pekka Rinne – Nashville Predators
G Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg Jets

Head Coach: Peter Laviolette

Pacific Division:

F Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers (captain)
F Johnny Gaudreau – Calgary Flames
F Brock Boeser – Vancouver Canucks
F James Neal – Vegas Golden Knights
F Rickard Rakell – Anaheim Ducks
F Anze Kopitar – Los Angeles Kings
D Drew Doughty – Los Angeles Kings
D Brent Burns – San Jose Sharks
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Arizona Coyotes
G Jonathan Quick – Los Angeles Kings
G Marc-Andre Fleury – Vegas Golden Knights

Head Coach: Gerard Gallant

Minor Transactions: 01/08/18

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Teams around the NHL are beginning their mandated bye weeks, marking an unofficial midpoint of the season. With that, there is only a single game on tap for tonight, between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets. That won’t stop clubs from making minor moves to improve, and we’ll have all the recalls and reassignments right here.

Aho Listed As Day-To-Day

at CDT | by 6 Comments

  • NHL.com’s Michael Smith writes that after the Carolina Hurricanes consulted with doctors, they have listed winger Sebastian Aho as day-to-day with a lower-body injury after going down Saturday in a game against Boston. The 20-year-old Aho has been a key contributor for Carolina and has 13 goals and 20 assists, which would put him on pace for career-highs. They play next on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Lee Stempniak Resumes Skating

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

  • Carolina winger Lee Stempniak has resumed skating as he continues to work his way back from an upper-body injury, notes Michael Smith of the Hurricanes’ team site (Twitter link). The veteran has yet to play this season as a result of injury issues; he was first dealing with hip trouble and while he recovered from that, he suffered the current upper-body injury while on a conditioning assignment in the minors.  With the ‘Canes in a tough battle for a playoff spot, they could certainly use the secondary production that the 34-year-old is capable of providing.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top