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Will Jeff Skinner Be The First Big Move Of The New Hurricanes Administration?

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After a league-worst ninth straight season without making the playoffs, changes were always going to be coming to the Carolina Hurricanes this off-season. Already, big moves have been made by new owner Tom Dundon, as he replaced Ron Francis as GM with Don Waddell and Bill Peters as head coach with Rod Brind’Amour. The team also brought in Rick Dudley as Sr. VP of Hockey Operations. Now, this realigned front office must decide how to proceed with structuring the roster in a way that can end their postseason drought.

Early on, the one name that has been floated around is homegrown winger Jeff Skinner. Skinner, 25, is one of the longest tenured and most consistently productive players on the Hurricanes. A supremely skilled forward, the former Calder Trophy winner has a knack for finding the back of the net and is a lethal weapon on the power play. Skinner has cracked 50 points four times in his career and has been improving in his defensive play and possession ability as his career has progressed. The fact that Skinner has been so successful on a team that has not once made the playoffs in his eight-year career tends to show that he could be even better surrounded by superior talent as well. The Los Angeles Kings were rumored to be looking into Skinner earlier this month, but now it appears that he has quite a few more suitors. In his latest “31 Thoughts” column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman says that the number of teams making calls on Skinner is growing. There seems to be ample interest in the skilled scorer and the Hurricanes will certainly entertain offers for the impending 2019 free agent.

However, is this really the right move for the new Carolina administration to make to begin their reconstruction? Skinner undoubtedly is one of their most valuable players, but one has to question the purpose of trading him at this point in time. The Hurricanes have one of the best young defensive corps in all of hockey are are almost overflowing with talented blue liners. Meanwhile, their offense is composed of mostly complementary players, many of whom are playing higher up in the lineup than they would on most other NHL teams. What the ’Canes need more than anything is a star forward, preferably a center, to lead the offense and bring the forward group together in a cohesive unit. A top center like this is almost certainly not going to be the return on a deal for Skinner’s expiring contract. Where they may land such a player is in dealing away one of their top defenseman. Skinner may be more valuable to the Hurricanes this season, and may even consider an extension, if the Hurricanes are able to add that top player that the team is greatly in need of. They could always trade Skinner in-season if they are unable to make a deal this off-season. If instead they choose to move Skinner right now for what would most likely be picks and prospects, it could only further impair their offense and would likely lead to a tenth-straight season without playoff hockey. For the Hurricanes’ sake, let’s hope Waddell and company carefully consider any deal related to Skinner this summer.

Strong AHL Season Could Give Alex Nedeljkovic A Chance For NHL Spot Next Year

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  • With Cam Ward set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer wonders if youngster Alex Nedeljkovic could be in line to move up to the Hurricanes. He has been quite strong in the postseason at the AHL level and bringing him up would allow Carolina to put more money this summer towards upgrading their forward group.  With Scott Darling locked up for three more years at a $4.15MM cap hit, the ‘Canes may not want to have both their goalies on pricey contracts, something that would likely be required to keep Ward in the fold.

Poll: Who Should Be The Carolina Hurricanes Captain?

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Yesterday when the Carolina Hurricanes announced Rod Brind’Amour as the team’s next head coach, one of the first questions he answered was if the team would continue to employ two “co-captains” in 2018-19. The Hurricanes allowed Jordan Staal and Justin Faulk to share the duties this season, while Jeff Skinner was named an alternate.

Brind’Amour made it clear that there will be just one, and that he already has an idea who will be his team’s captain, but will talk to the leadership group before making that decision public. He should have a pretty good idea of the dynamic inside the dressing room, after serving as an assistant coach for the last seven seasons.

Staal and Faulk remain the obvious candidates, but it’s not a guarantee that Brind’Amour will give it to one of them. Justin Williams is the elder statesman on the club and was brought in for his steady performance and experience in the playoffs. Williams has won three Stanley Cups in his career, including Carolina’s only championship in 2006.

Jaccob Slavin though only 24 years old, logged the most ice time on the team each of the past two years and is signed longer than anyone else on the team. He’ll start into his seven-year extension next year, and is a steadying presence on the blue line.

Skinner himself is an option, though there are rumors of a potential exit from Carolina this summer if a trade can be found. The 25-year old sniper is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019, and has garnered plenty of interest from around the league.

Who should be named captain for the team? Is there a chance that the eventual captain isn’t even on the roster yet? Cast your vote below and make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments.

Who will be the Carolina Hurricanes captain in 2018-19?
Jordan Staal 38.13% (233 votes)
Justin Williams 30.93% (189 votes)
Justin Faulk 11.46% (70 votes)
Jaccob Slavin 10.47% (64 votes)
Jeff Skinner 5.56% (34 votes)
Other (leave in comments) 3.44% (21 votes)
Total Votes: 611

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Morgan Geekie Signs With Carolina Hurricanes

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According to CapFriendly, Carolina Hurricanes prospect Morgan Geekie has signed his three-year entry-level contract after recently joining the Charlotte Checkers on an amateur tryout. The contract will start with the 2018-19 season, and carries a cap hit of just over $763K.

Geekie, 19, was selected in the third round by the Hurricanes last summer and spent this season with the Tri-City Americans of the WHL. Though his regular season point total took a step backwards—he finished with 84 points in 68 games—he showed what he could do in the playoffs with 17 goals and 27 points in 14 games. That goal total still leads all players in the postseason, despite the Americans being eliminated in round three.

The young center was actually undrafted in his first year of eligibility, meaning he’ll turn 20 before next season and can join the AHL. That’s a likely destination for him, as he’s shown he can score regularly in junior and needs a new challenge. A late-bloomer, Carolina might have found a future NHLer in the third round as Geekie continues to improve.

Carolina Hires Rod Brind’Amour, Removes Interim Tag From Don Waddell

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No longer are the Carolina Hurricanes without a coach or GM. The team has announced the hiring of Rod Brind’Amour as their next head coach, a decision that won’t come as a surprise to anyone. Brind’Amour will come in as Bill Peters’ replacement, after Peters exercised an out clause last month to join the Calgary Flames. The team has also announced that Don Waddell, who had been operating as interim GM, will now be the team’s official President and GM. Waddell had this to say about his newest head coach:

Rod is the greatest leader in the history of this franchise, and has earned the opportunity to take charge of our locker room. We spoke to a number of candidates for this position, but our conversations with staff and players consistently returned to the same person. Rod’s fresh ideas, ability to motivate and understanding of what it takes to bring a championship to Raleigh will help our young team take the next step toward competing to bring the Cup back to North Carolina.

Brind’Amour, who received a three-year contract, is a legendary playing figure for the Hurricanes, suiting up in 694 games for the franchise over 10 years, and lifting their first Stanley Cup as captain in 2006. Just a year after retirement he joined the club as an assistant coach, a role he has held since 2011. Now transitioning to head coach will be a daunting task, especially as he has been critiqued in the past for a middling powerplay unit and lackluster forward group.

If Brind’Amour is going to find success in Carolina, he’ll need an improved offensive attack and for Waddell to finally find the team a reliable goaltender. Scott Darling is under contract for three more seasons, but will need a huge bounce back to even get to average goaltending. His .888 save percentage was unacceptable, and one of the main reasons the Hurricanes failed to reach the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.

Waddell had already been serving as interim GM, but will now take over fully in the role moving forward. That comes as somewhat of a surprise, as Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer notes that Waddell had already said he did not want to be considered for the role. Perhaps he had a change of heart, or perhaps the search is taking too long and the team wanted some stability throughout the draft and free agency. Any new GM coming in would be hard pressed to set up an entire offseason strategy over the next month. Waddell, who had already been with the team (though not in this capacity), is familiar with the organization’s strengths and weaknesses.

The team also recently brought in Rick Dudley to be Waddell’s right-hand man, a duo that had previously been together with the Atlanta Thrashers. The new front office will have plenty of work to do over the next few months, as they try to bring the team back to the playoffs. Jeff Skinner is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019, while Noah Hanifin needs a new contract before next season as he comes off his entry-level deal.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer both reported the hiring would be announced soon.  Alexander also reported the term of the contract.

KHL Notes: Tolchinsky, Shalunov, Kaprizov

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The Carolina Hurricanes signed Sergey Tolchinsky in 2013 after his first season in the CHL. An entry-level contract was a small risk to sign a player who showed such impressive skill as a rookie in the OHL, scoring 26 goals and 51 points in 2012-13. He’d follow it up with two 90+ point seasons for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, leading many to believe that even though he was undersized he may have an NHL future.

Well, after three seasons in the AHL and just a handle of NHL appearances, it appears the relationship is over. In today’s article for the Charlotte Checkers’ website, Nicholas Niedzielski reports that Tolchinsky has left the team and returned home to Russia. “He didn’t want to be a part of the team, so we granted his wish,” said head coach Mike Vellucci. Tolchinsky was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer, and the Hurricanes will retain his NHL rights by issuing a qualifying offer if they so choose.

  • Another player who feels different about his NHL club is Maxim Shalunov, who still expects to join the Chicago Blackhawks at some point down the road. As Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) writes, Shalunov himself has admitted he wants to head to the NHL after his current contract with CSKA Moscow expires. That’s not for another two years, but the Blackhawks don’t mind waiting for the talented winger. Standing 6’4″ 215-lbs, the 25-year old has a big shot and recorded 20 goals in 46 games for CSKA this season. Scoring two more points today at the IIHF World Championships, he could inject some serious offensive power into the Blackhawks lineup whenever he does come over.
  • Speaking of success at the Worlds, Minnesota Wild draft pick Kirill Kaprizov continues to show why he’s regarded as one of the top offensive talents outside of the NHL. He scored his tournament-leading (tied with Sebastian Aho) fourth goal today, giving him six points through three games to tie him with Pavel Datsyuk for the lead on Team Russia. After a frosty start to their relationship, Kaprizov and Minnesota seem to be heading towards a contract of some sort down the line—though it still might have to wait a few more years. The 21-year old forward scored 40 points in 46 games for CSKA this season.

Carolina Hurricanes Will Make NHL Draft Difficult To Predict

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The Carolina Hurricanes were lucky enough to get the second-overall pick in the upcoming 2018 NHL Draft, but who they will take will be even more interesting. While many believe that winger Andrei Svechnikov, who scored 40 goals for the OHL’s Barrie Colts mostly as a 17-year-old, is the obvious answer. However, there are plenty of other variables, according to the Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy.

An alternate option for Carolina would be to take winger Filip Zadina, countryman and world junior linemate of 2017 first-round center Martin Necas. Zadina put up 44 goals in 57 games in the QMJHL with the Halifax Mooseheads.

However, the scribe writes that neither player fills the team’s most important need for the future which is a first-line center, a similar problem that the Montreal Canadiens face later at the No. 3 spot. If Carolina decides that is more important, then trading down might be the team’s best option. Kennedy adds that has been discussed by the organization. A team like the New York Rangers or the New York Islanders, both with an excess of extra picks both in the first round and later, would be logical trade partners.

Although the team recently hired veteran executive Rick Dudley to fill in, the team needs to hire a general manager before any decision can be made about the direction of their selection. While the team bowed out earlier from the playoff race than they had hoped, Carolina has a significant amount of talent, although they lack a star player. However, with a new owner and eventually new general manager and coach, the team may make quite a few changes over the next few months. Even without a permanent GM, the team already traded off veteran Marcus Kruger and there are rumors the Hurricanes may trade off their top scorer in Jeff Skinner before he hits free agency in 2019.

So Carolina becomes quite a wildcard when it comes to this draft.

 

Marcus Kruger Played 2017-18 Season With Hernia

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There is now some added context to the poor performance of recently-acquired Arizona Coyotes forward Marcus Kruger this season. Coyotes GM John Chayka revealed to TSN that Kruger played the entire 2017-18 campaign with a sports hernia. It had previously been reported that Kruger had hernia surgery last month, but the timeline of the injury had been unclear.

In speaking with TSN about the recent trade of Jordan Martinook and a fourth-round pick for Kruger and a third-rounder, Chayka expressed optimism that Kruger could return to form next season, saying “You take (the injury) into consideration… we think that’ll get the jump back in his skate and it’ll be a real useful and helpful piece to our lineup.” Kruger was not very useful or helpful to the Carolina Hurricanes this year, recording just one goal and five assists in 48 games while averaging the least ice time per game of his career. This has led many to be skeptical of Arizona’s acquisition of the veteran center – a skepticism that won’t go away, even with this news, until Kruger produces some results.

A hernia is a serious injury though and definitely impacted Kruger’s play all year. A hernia occurs when tissue pushes through the muscle wall, usually in the abdominal or groin area. The result is pain and discomfort in the area and a weakening of the muscle. In a physical, lower-body driven sport like hockey, pain and the loss of strength in the core area can absolutely attribute to a loss of ability. Montreal Canadiens prospect Jake Evans was recently diagnosed with a hernia and was given a three-month timeline to recover. Instead of undergoing such extensive rehab in-season, Kruger’s decision to play through it kept him available, but severely limited his ability. Now, he just has to hope that the decision hasn’t permanently damaged that ability.

Kings Interested In Jeff Skinner

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The Kings were a team on the lookout for scoring help throughout the season, something that isn’t likely to change this summer.  With that in mind, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted in his latest podcast (audio link) that he has heard that Carolina winger Jeff Skinner is someone that Los Angeles has interest in.

Skinner has spent his entire career with the Hurricanes after they drafted him seventh overall back in 2010.  He has been one of their more consistent scorers since then, reaching the 20-goal mark in six out of eight seasons; one of the years he didn’t was the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign.  This past season, he tallied 24 times while adding 25 assists in 82 games which ranked him fourth in team scoring.

While he is still a key player for the Hurricanes, it will be interesting to see if this is the offseason where they shake things up.  Former GM Ron Francis was let go in part because he was content to go with a slow, consistent approach whereas new owner Thomas Dundon is believed to be wanting someone a bit more aggressive in terms of making moves.  With Carolina having missed the playoffs for nine straight seasons, Skinner could very well be part of any changes being made, especially with his contractual situation.

The 25-year-old will be entering the final year of his contract next season, one that carries a cap hit of $5.725MM (with a $6MM salary) so this may be the right time to move him so that the acquiring team gets him for a full year instead of being a midseason rental.

Meanwhile, the Kings have over $70MM committed for next season per CapFriendly but have very few players to re-sign; with the expected increase to the salary cap, they should be able to fit him in under their existing salary structure.  The fact Skinner has one year left may also be of interest to Los Angeles as they have quite a few long-term deals on the books already and may not want to add another at the price that Skinner is likely to command next summer on the open market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Koskinen, Francouz, Kruger, Martinook

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The excitement of the Edmonton Oilers’ signing of KHL goaltender Mikko Koskinen wore off quickly. As The Athletic’s Jonathan Willis points out, Koskinen’s $2.5MM cap hit on his one-year deal now looks like a major over-payment compared to a more recent deal for an import goalie. When the Colorado Avalanche signed Pavel Francouz yesterday, they got a better goalie for considerably less. Francouz’s deal with the Avs is also for one year, but for just $690K. Yet, Francouz was the best keeper in the KHL this year with a .946 save percentage and 1.80 GAA in 35 appearances for Traktor Chelyabinsk. With no disrespect to Koskinen, who was very good as well, the new Oiler had a .937 save percentage and split time with young Igor Shestyorkin, playing in just 29 games, yet will make more than triple what Francouz does next season. In fairness, Koskinen did have superior GAA this year (1.57) and has a small amount of NHL experience, but that does not totally make up for the $1.81MM difference between the two contracts. To add another layer, Francouz is also a younger and more athletic goalie than Koskinen and likely has a brighter long-term future in the NHL. Admittedly, the Oilers signed Koskinen first, so this could me more of a case of Colorado GM Joe Sakic getting his man for below-market value, but it seems more likely that it goes along with the trend of Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli setting his sights on a player and not considering fair value or alternative options. Past results of these decisions have not worked out well for the Oilers, but we will have to wait for next season to see how the Koskinen signing pans out.

  • In digging deeper into another recent transaction, today’s Marcus Kruger–Jordan Martinook trade has some scratching their heads. Given the team is currently operating without a GM, it is truly impressive that the Carolina Hurricanes seemingly came out on top in this deal in all aspects. Not only was Kruger available to the Arizona Coyotes for free earlier this year, but they gave up Martinook to get Kruger, who is much like a younger, better version of Kruger. The two forwards are both known for their two-way ability, but Martinook has 64 points in 239 games over the last three seasons compared to Kruger’s 44 points in 247 games over the past four years combined. At nearly 28 years old, Kruger’s career high in points is 28 with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013-14 and he has never recorded double-digit goals, while the 25-year-old Martinook reached his career best of 25 points just last year, including 11 goals. Martinook has just as many 20+ point seasons as Kruger in only three full NHL seasons exclusively playing for the lowly Coyotes, while Kruger has spent almost his entire career with the dynastic Blackhawks. Defensively, Kruger does have the advantage of being a natural center who does well at the dot most years and is a positive possession player, but Martinook is far more physical and great along the boards, not to mention he has been the Coyotes’ best takeaways man since entering the league. Unlike past deals where the Coyotes took on a bad contract from another team in exchange for draft capital or prospects, Martinook will actually make less in salary than Kruger next season and even with the Hurricanes’ retention of a tenth of Kruger’s deal, the money essentially cancels out. So why make this deal? Arizona GM John Chayka must have a good reason, but on its face the only benefit to the Coyotes is a jump of 20-odd draft slots this June from the top of the fourth round to the middle of the third round.

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