Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Hurricanes Rumors

Deadline Primer: Carolina Hurricanes

at CDT | by 1 Comment

With the trade deadline now just a week away, we continue to take a closer look at each team.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?

If the Carolina Hurricanes as deadline sellers wasn’t a foregone conclusion before, it is now after today’s trade of Ron Hainsey to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although Hainsey, who will finally get to play in the first postseason game of his 14-year NHL career, was a candidate to be traded regardless, the move is even less surprising given Carolina’s recent performance. After shocking many who believed they could be one of the worst teams in the NHL this season with a strong first half, the wheels have fallen off in Carolina since the calendar flipped to 2017. The Hurricanes are just 8-11-1 in the new year and haven’t had a regulation win since February 3rd. Facing an uphill battle as it was in the powerhouse Metropolitan Division, it didn’t help that Carolina was unable to get consistent play and fell from a playoff spot into the basement of the Eastern Conference in short order.

The ’Canes are loaded with talented young defensemen and some great young depth up front as well. They also hold a king’s ransom in draft picks and have an inordinate amount of cap space going into next season. There’s good reason behind the rumors connecting them to big-ticket trade bait like the Colorado Avalanche’s Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog. However, deals of that magnitude typically occur in the off-season. Don’t expect any different this year. The Hainsey trade either signals the beginning of a small-scale fire sale or potentially could be the only move for the Carolina at the deadline.

Record

24–24–8, last in the Metropolitan Division/Eastern Conference

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

Current Cap Space: $63,619,668

Deadline Cap Space: $71,572,127

46/50 contracts, via CapFriendly

Draft Picks

2017: CAR 1st, CAR 2nd, NYR 2nd, PIT 2nd, CAR 3rd, conditional NJ 3rd, CAR 4th, BOS 5th, CAR 6th, CAR 7th
2018: CAR 1st, CAR 2nd, CAR 3rd, CAR 4th, CAR 5th, CAR 6th, CAR 7th

Trade Chips

Carolina’s best trade chip at the deadline was Ron Hainsey and GM Ron Francis did a great job in getting a strong return for the defenseman in a second-round pick and a prospect. Hurricanes fans should be happy about that haul, because that may be all they get. The reason that the Hainsey trade may be the only move that the ’Canes make at the deadline is because they lack a wealth of attractive veterans on expiring contracts. Among their impending free agents are Viktor Stalberg, Jay McClement, and Matt Tennyson and it’s doubtful that any of that trio have drawn much interest around the league. Stalberg and McClement have just 17 points combined despite playing in nearly every game and Tennyson is hardly even an NHL-caliber player. The one outlier is Derek Ryan. Seemingly out of nowhere, Ryan has finally developed into an NHL regular in Carolina at the age of 30 and would cost almost nothing against the cap with a salary of just $600K (about a $125K pro-rated cap hit on March 1st). For cap-strapped contenders facing difficulties adding players, Ryan could be very attractive as a bottom-six depth forward. He has eight goals and ten assists in 42 games and has shown some versatility within the lineup. However, are the Hurricanes willing to let their diamond in the rough go that easily? Unless Ron Francis is given a fair-value offer, he may look to bring back Ryan for next season instead as a nice complementary player.

Players To Watch

F Derek Ryan, F Viktor Stalberg, F Jay McClement, D Matt Tennyson, F Andrej Nestrasil

Team Needs

1) Franchise Forward – The rebuild in Carolina has been much faster and more successful than anyone could have expected and the organization has put together a solid young core of forwards and defensemen. The list of impact starters age 24 or younger is unreal: Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm, Teuvo Teravainen, Justin Faulk, Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Noah Hanifin and more. That doesn’t even include top prospects on the blue line like Jake Bean, Haydn Fleury, and Roland McKeown, 2016 first-round forward Julien Gauthier, and a near-guaranteed top-five pick this June. It’s an embarrassment of riches in the youth department in Raleigh, but if the ’Canes want to climb the ranks of the Metropolitan, they need to move some young pieces to add a top forward. Not just a nice top-six player either; a star scorer. Colorado’s Duchene or Landeskog have specifically been mentioned, while Jordan Eberle, James van Riemsdyk, or Evander Kane, all reportedly available depending on who you ask and when, might be a nice addition to the “Redvolution” as well. With that said, a mega-deal like this seems very unlikely to form in the next week and could instead happen this summer.

2) Depth Defenseman – So what of the deadline? Don’t be surprised to see the Hurricanes sneak another defenseman on to the roster as part of any other moves they make. As discussed earlier this month, Carolina is in an Expansion Draft predicament with their blue liners, most of whom are so young that they don’t qualify for exposure. As of now, only the All-Star Faulk would fill the quota, and that certainly won’t be happening. The simplest move for Francis is to re-sign Tennyson or Klas Dahlbeck and simply expose one of them, but if Tennyson is traded or the team doesn’t want to keep either player around, a small trade to bring in a qualifying veteran would make sense.

Bryan Bickell Cleared To Return To Professional Hockey

at CDT | by 1 Comment

After what has been a long and tough road back for the Carolina Hurricanes’ Bryan Bickell, he has finally been cleared to play and set to the Charlotte Checkers for a conditioning stint. He’s also been placed on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sporstnet because he will need longer than the two-weeks allowed on a normal loan. Bickell was diagnosed with Multiple Scleroris back in November, and immediately announced that he wanted to play hockey again and would work to find a way to continue his career. Now, just a few months later he is returning in what is one of the feel-good stories of the year.

Bickell was traded to Carolina as part of a salary dump this summer along with Teuvo Teravainen, the latest victims of the Chicago Blackhawks cap crunches. Bickell was part of all three Stanley Cup winning teams, though he played a small role as a 23-year old in 2010. Known for his high compete level and relentless forecheck, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer says that his goal is to play in the NHL again this season. Coach Bill Peters told Alexander to “not bet against him” in his quest.

For the Hurricanes, this is great news after a morning that saw one of their key players shipped off to Pittsburgh to pursue a Stanley Cup. Ron Hainsey was sent out which will likely leave a leadership hole on the team, one that Bickell could fill admirably. Everyone here at PHR wishes him well in his recovery and hopes to see him on the ice again in the NHL soon.

Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Ron Hainsey, Trevor Daley Out Six Weeks

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired Ron Hainsey from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Danny Kristo and a second-round pick. The Penguins have fired the first Eastern Conference salvo as they acquire the veteran defenseman. With the injury to Olli Maatta, it seemed just a matter of time until Pittsburgh addressed their defense and Hainsey seems like a perfect fit. The team announced just after the deal broke that Trevor Daley underwent knee surgery and will also miss six weeks, another blow to the blueline. Carolina will be retaining 50% of Hainsey’s $2.83MM cap hit for the remainder of the year. Ron Hainsey

A veteran of 891 NHL games, Hainsey’s streak of never reaching the postseason is certain to come to an end now. Capable of logging big minutes for any club, he’ll likely be asked to do a little less in Pittsburgh than in Carolina where he was playing over 22 minutes a night. His ability on the penalty kill is likely what interested GM Jim Rutherford most—who actually signed Hainsey to his current deal while with Carolina in 2014—as the Penguins currently have the 22nd ranked PK in the league.

Hainsey has an incredible record of durability, something that will be tested as he heads to the playoffs for the first time. The 35-year old (36 in March) has played in at least 80 games each of the past three seasons and seven times in his career. With Maatta, Daley and Justin Schultz all either out long-term or battling injury, the fact that he can be penciled in every night is important to the Penguins.

Despite that durability though, the Penguins paid a steep price for this addition. Hainsey is a capable defender and excellent penalty killer but doesn’t come with much offensive upside at this stage in his career. It’s the salary retention that likely bumped the pick up to a second-rounder, as it leaves room for the team to make another addition if necessary.

Kristo is a former second-round pick in his own right, though has never broken into the NHL. A consistent scoring threat in the minor leagues, he is now 26 and is barely a prospect. Though he does come with some value as organizational depth on the wing, he shouldn’t be seen as much going forward.

Carolina now holds ten picks in this summer’s entry draft, including six in the top three rounds. They also could still sell more at the deadline, shedding pending free agents like Viktor Stalberg and Jay McClement or trade deadline favorite Lee Stempniak if they choose. With a young core and more coming, they are a team on the rise in the Eastern Conference, despite struggling this season.

Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports was first to report the trade on Twitter, with Pierre LeBrun of ESPN providing details on the retained salary.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Montreal Canadiens Acquire Keegan Lowe From Carolina Hurricanes

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

In a much smaller move than the one we saw yesterday, the Montreal Canadiens have acquired defenseman Keegan Lowe from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Philip Samuelsson. Amazingly, both players are sons of former NHL players, Kevin Lowe and Ulf Samuelsson—who is actually the head coach of the Charlotte Checkers where his son will now play.

This isn’t the biggest deal we’ll see this deadline but perhaps it is just another crack in the dam and deals will start to come through. Lowe does still have some upside after being drafted in the third round in 2011. A solid AHL defenseman, if his puck moving ability ever improved he could crack an NHL bottom pairing. It wasn’t going to happen in Carolina though, behind a young mobile defense corps.

Samuelsson was drafted in the second round in 2009 but hasn’t turned into the player Pittsburgh had hoped for. Instead, he’s bounced around a bit and is not expected to make much of an impact in the NHL ever again. He’ll be 26 in July and will now hope to make an impact under his father’s tutelage. Ulf played over 1000 games in the NHL, and was one of the most feared checkers in the league—perhaps he can show his son a thing or two about lining guys up over the middle.

Afternoon Transactions: Oilers, Hurricanes, Blues, Wild, Capitals

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Assorted transactions from around the NHL this afternoon:

  • The Oilers announced (via Twitter) that they have assigned defenseman Jordan Oesterle to the Bakersfield Condors. The 24-year-old was recalled to the NHL earlier this month. In two games with the Oilers this season, Oesterle hasn’t recorded a point, although he has compiled three goals and 15 assists in 26 AHL games.
  • The Hurricanes announced that they have recalled forward Phil Di Giuseppe from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. The 23-year-old has recorded one goal and one assist in 18 games with the Hurricanes this season, and he’s collected 20 points in 33 games with the Checkers.
  • The Blues have assigned forward Kenny Agostino to the AHL, reports Norm Sanders of the Belleville News-Democrat (via Twitter). The former fifth-rounder has played in seven games with St. Louis this season, compiling one goal and two assists. In 48 AHL games, Agostino collected 18 goals and 42 assists.
  • The Wild announced that they have returned right winger Alex Tuch back to Iowa of the AHL.  Minnesota’s first round pick (18th overall) back in 2015 has played in six games with the big club this season, being held off the scoresheet while averaging 10:42 of ice time per night.  He’s having a strong rookie year at the minor league level though, scoring 12 goals and 13 assists in 36 games with Iowa.
  • The Capitals announced they assigned center Jakub Vrana to Hershey of the AHL.  He was recalled on Friday but didn’t play over the weekend.  The 20 year old has a goal and two assists in 12 games with the Capitals this season and has put up 25 points in 33 games with Hershey.  Washington is off until Wednesday and there’s a good chance they’ll recall Vrana before that time but they will save a bit of cap space in the meantime by sending him down for a few days.

Blues Claim Ty Rattie From Hurricanes

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Ty Rattie is back with the Blues. After getting waived by the Hurricanes yesterday, the right winger has been claimed by St. Louis (via Sportsnets’ Elliotte Friedman on Twitter). The 24-year-old originally joined the Carolina organization after being waived by the Blues earlier this season. Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that Rattie will likely land in the AHL.

The 2011 second-round pick ultimately played in five games with the Hurricanes, compiling two assists and averaging 13:28 of ice time. During his previous stint with the Blues this season, Rattie didn’t collect a point in four games. The forward has played in three AHL games this season, although he did collect 17 goals and 29 assists last season with the Chicago Wolves.

Rattie is making $650K this year and will be a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration eligibility.

Meanwhile, the Sabres waived blueliner Taylor Fedun yesterday, and Friedman tweets that the 28-year-old has cleared waivers. The team announced that he’s be assigned to the Rochester Americans.

Ty Rattie And Taylor Fedun Placed On Waivers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Right winger Ty Rattie finds himself back on the wire as the Hurricanes announced Saturday that they have placed him on waivers.  It’s the second time he has been waived in 2017 as Carolina picked him up via waivers from St.  Louis back in early January.

Since being claimed on January 4th, the 24 year old played in just five games with Carolina, picking up two assists while averaging 13:28 per game.  However, he was also a healthy scratch 12 times in that span.  On the season between the Blues and Hurricanes, he has two assists in nine games while logging 10:44 per game in ice time.  In his career, he has five goals and five assists in 35 games.  Rattie is making $650K this season and will be a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration eligibility.

Rattie wasn’t the only player put on waivers on Saturday as the Sabres placed blueliner Taylor Fedun on the wire per Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).  The defenseman has played in 25 games with Buffalo this season, picking up seven assists while playing a little under 14 minutes per night.  He has been a much bigger offensive threat at the minor league level, recording 17 points (4-13-17) in just 20 games with Buffalo’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.  Buffalo activated fellow rearguard Cody Franson off of injured reserve earlier today, leaving Buffalo with eight defensemen in the active roster.  Fedun carries a cap hit of just $600K and is slated to be an unrestricted free agent in July.

Still with the waiver wire, Devils center Sergey Kalinin cleared, reports Andrew Gross of the North Jersey Record (Twitter link).  He has been assigned to their AHL affiliate in Albany.

Snapshots: Hurricanes, Lazar, NHL In Sweden

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Carolina Hurricanes could be in a position to make some noise in the trade market.

Young and skilled defensemen are often key pieces in making trades, and the Hurricanes have stocked their system with them over the past few drafts. The club’s last three first round picks have been highly-ranked defenders: Haydn Fleury, Noah Hanifin, and Jake Bean. They have also selected Justin Faulk, Brett Pesce, and Jaccob Slavin in lower rounds.

Because of this depth of solid defensemen, GM Ron Francis told ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun that he’s willing to deal from a position of strength to build up other parts of his roster. That could place the Hurricanes as a possible destination for either Matt Duchene or Gabriel Landeskog, seeing as the Avalanche desperately need to improve their defensive core. LeBrun also speculated that Francis could try pry William Nylander out of Toronto, but doubted that the Maple Leafs would have any interest in moving Nylander to improve their blue line.

In addition to the Avalanche and Maple Leafs, LeBrun suggests the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Winnipeg Jets could all have interest in the Hurricanes’ young blue-liners.

Regardless of whether or not the Hurricanes can land a stud offensive player at the deadline, they’re well-placed to make moves over the summer as other teams look to improve their defense.

  • Despite rumors to the contrary, Curtis Lazar has not asked for a trade from the Ottawa Senators. Lazar’s agent met with GM Pierre Dorion last weekend, after which the player re-iterated that he wants to stay in Ottawa. After Dorion suggested that Lazar needs to “sink a few ’four foot putts’,” Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen quoted Lazar as saying even those “almost feel like a home run right now.” The struggling young forward feels that he needs to get back in the lineup and start “feeling good about [him]self.” Lazar has just one assist in 29 NHL games this season, and four points in 13 AHL games.
  • Speaking of Ottawa, the Senators will be spending some time outdoors next season, according to Sportsnet’s John Shannon. Pending NHL and PA approval, the Senators will face off against Colorado in Stockholm twice this coming November. It’s been widely speculated that those could be outdoors. Even if those end up being indoors, Shannon reports that the Senators owner has confirmed that the club has an agreement to host an outdoor game in December 2017. It remains to be seen if that will played at Parliament Hill as part of the celebration for Canada’s 150th anniversary.

West Notes: Shattenkirk, Enroth, Avalanche, Michalek

at CDT | by 2 Comments

While it has been speculated that St. Louis defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk would only be open to playing with an American team, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports (video link) that a pair of Canadian squads are on a list of 12 that he would be interested in playing for beyond this season.  Those two teams are the Canadiens and Maple Leafs.

Although the Blues are playing themselves back into the postseason hunt, many expect them to deal the pending UFA to ensure they get something in return instead of losing him for nothing in free agency.  While he doesn’t have any no-trade protection and could be dealt anywhere (including the Oilers who had permission to speak to him last summer but couldn’t reach an agreement on an extension), it’s more likely that St. Louis will look to move him to a team that is on that list of 12, hoping the acquiring team may pay a bit more with the thought they’d have a shot at signing him long-term.

Other notes from the West:

  • With the performance of goalie Jhonas Enroth with AHL San Diego, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register wonders if his play could make Anaheim netminder Jonathan Bernier expendable. Enroth has a stellar 1.20 GAA and a .954 SV% since being acquired from Toronto and carries a cap hit of just $750K.  Meanwhile, Bernier carries a $4.15MM cap hit (though they’re only responsible for $2.15MM as the Leafs paid his $2MM signing bonus back in July) and the Ducks find themselves using LTIR for Simon Despres to remain in cap compliance.  If Anaheim needs to free up some cap space to make a move, moving Bernier and calling up Enroth is certainly an option for them.
  • A large reason for Colorado’s current struggles is due to their continued struggles to draft quality defensemen, notes Terry Frei of the Denver Post. Over the past decade, the Avs have drafted several blueliners in the top two rounds but have really only hit on one.  (That player happens to be Shattenkirk, who they dealt to the Blues back in 2011.)  Now, they’re faced with the prospect of having to deal a top forward such as Matt Duchene or Gabriel Landeskog to fill an organizational void that hasn’t really been addressed under multiple management groups.
  • Coyotes defenseman Zbynek Michalek has yet to decide if this is his final season, writes Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic. The 34 year old is in the final year of a two year contract that carries a cap hit and salary of $3.2MM.  However, he was waived early in the year and cleared, in part due to his expensive contract.  He’s suited up in 28 games at the minor league level this season and acknowledged he may be in tough to get a guaranteed NHL deal next year.  There isn’t a great chance he’ll get moved at the deadline either unless the team is willing to retain a big chunk of his deal (they can hold back up to 50%) or take a similarly bad deal back in return.

Garrioch’s Latest: Julien, Duchene, Hanzal, Hansen

at CDT | by 4 Comments

While some expect recently-fired coach Claude Julien to resurface as the head coach elsewhere, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun suggests in his latest Insider Trading column that he can afford to be ‘choosy’ about where he wants to go next which could delay a decision until sometime in the playoffs.  That would then allow him to see if any teams that get in but are ousted quickly make a change which might be a more desirable spot than going to a non-playoff team (or even the expansion Golden Knights).  He notes that Tampa Bay and Dallas could be a pair of teams that will ponder a change if things don’t improve by the end of the season.

As usual, Garrioch also has some notes on trade talk around the league.  The full column is worth a read but here are some of the highlights:

  • The Hurricanes are making a big push for Colorado center Matt Duchene. There could be a decent fit between the teams as Carolina has several strong young defensemen which is something the Avalanche are looking for in a potential return.  Garrioch adds that blueliner Noah Hanifin is someone that Colorado is asking for as part of a package for the 26 year old forward.
  • Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett will have a large say in the process when it comes to trading pending UFA center Martin Hanzal. The asking price remains very high from GM John Chayka and while plenty of teams remain interested, no one is willing to meet it just yet.  This certainly feels like a situation that’s going to come close to the wire as teams will hope to out-wait the Coyotes in the hopes that they will accept a lower offer at the deadline rather than risk losing him for nothing in free agency.  The two sides have held extension talks earlier in the season but they weren’t able to get a new deal done.
  • If the Canucks ultimately decide to sell, winger Jannik Hansen is someone that several teams have interest in. His flexibility to play in different roles as well as a manageable $2.5MM cap hit should be attractive to some teams, especially those who may be tighter to the cap on March 1st.  As part of his modified no-trade clause, Hansen has to submit a list of eight teams he would accept a trade to which could potentially complicate things.  We took a closer look at his situation last week which includes a breakdown of some teams that Hansen would fit with if Vancouver decides to move him.

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