Free Agent Focus: Carolina Hurricanes
The free agent period is now less than two weeks away from opening up and there are several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Here is a breakdown of Carolina’s free agent situation.
Key Restricted Free Agents: F Brock McGinn – With the recent two year contract for Teuvo Teravainen, McGinn is the lone RFA remaining that spent more time in the NHL than in the AHL. After being an injury fill-in in 2015-16, McGinn played himself into somewhat of a regular role in the bottom six and did a reasonable job, picking up 16 points in 57 games while averaging 12 minutes of ice time per night. He’s due a qualifying offer of $840K and his new deal should come in close to that amont.
F Phillip Di Giuseppe – After turning some heads in 2015-16, Di Giuseppe didn’t build on that this past season and wound up spending 40 games with AHL Charlotte as a result. He also got into 36 games with the Hurricanes but managed only a single goal and six assists, well off the 17 points he had in half a season the year before. His qualifying offer comes in just over $800K but this might be a case where he takes a little bit lower to get a higher guaranteed salary either in the way of higher AHL pay or a one-way contract.
Other RFAs: G Daniel Altshuller, D Trevor Carrick, D Jake Chelios, F Andrej Nestrasil
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Derek Ryan – It’s not often that a player isn’t too well-known by the time he’s eligible for unrestricted free agency but that’s the case when it comes to Ryan. At the age of 30, he has just 73 career NHL games under his belt, 67 of which came this past season where he collected 11 goals and 18 assists. His breakout season came back in 2014-15 in Sweden which got him his only NHL contract so far and given how little action he’s had at the highest level, it’s fair to wonder if he may have another level to his game. Considering he’s also strong at the faceoff dot (over 55% this past season), he could be an intriguing middle six center to watch for on the open market.
F Jay McClement – The veteran has been a fourth line defensive center for several years now and while his offense has cooled off since joining the Hurricanes in 2014-15, he can still fit into a penalty killing role. One thing that may hurt him in free agency was a drop off at the faceoff dot from 55% to 48%. At the former, he can fit in as a faceoff specialist but at a below average rate, that’s a harder sell to make. When McClement has made it to the market, he has signed quickly but that may not be the case this time around.
Other UFAs: F Connor Brickley, F Patrick Brown, F Danny Kristo, G Michael Leighton, D Dennis Robertson, D Philip Samuelsson, D Matt Tennyson, F Brendan Woods
Projected Cap Space: Cap room is rarely an issue in Carolina and won’t be again in 2017-18. They currently have a little more than $26.5MM in cap space per CapFriendly and already have 17 players under contract. If they decide to up the budget to make a push for the playoffs, the Hurricanes could be a team to watch this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NHL Snapshots: Carolina/Pittsburgh Goaltending Coaches, Kesler, Johnson
The Carolina Hurricanes felt they solved their goaltending problems in April when they traded for and later signed (4-year, $4.15MM cap hit) Chicago Blackhawks backup goaltender Scott Darling. The 28-year-old goalie proved to be an outstanding backup for three seasons and many believed he would find a starting job when he became an unrestricted free agent. Darling finished this past season with a 2.38 GAA and a .924 save percentage in 32 games.
However, the Hurricanes are going to make sure that they do everything they can to ensure Darlings’ success as a full-time starter. Carolina has signed away Pittsburgh Penguins goaltending coach Mike Bales to be their goaltending coach, tweets AP’s Stephen Whyno. Bales, who has been with the Penguins for the past four years, including their back-to-back title runs is considered to be one of the top goalie coaches and should be able to aid Darling to a big season as a full-time starter.
The Penguins quickly responded to the loss by promoting developmental goaltending coach Mike Buckley to the Penguins coaching staff. Buckley has worked with Penguins starter Matt Murray with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in previous years and now gets to work with him again. Buckley, has helped the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltenders to the lowest goals-against in three of the last four seasons, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- The Anaheim Ducks’ Ryan Kesler will be out 12 weeks following hip surgery, tweets Orange County Register’s Eric Stephens. Kessler had bone fragments removed from his hip. The 32-year-old center finished the year with 22 goals and 36 assists for Anaheim, but only scored one goal in 17 playoff games. That timetable would likely still have him ready for training camp.
- Calgary Sun/Herald reporter Eric Francis tweets to not be shocked if the Flames turn around and sign back goaltender Chad Johnson, whose rights were traded to Arizona today, to be newly acquired goaltender Mike Smith‘s goalie-mate. The 31-year-old Johnson, who is coming off a disappointing season with a 2.59 GAA and .910 save percentage in 36 contests, did have a solid year in 2015-16 when he had a 2.36 and a .920 save percentage in 45 games with the Buffalo Sabres.
Mike Vellucci To Coach Charlotte Checkers Next Season
In an interesting move, the Carolina Hurricanes have named Mike Vellucci the new head coach of their AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers, while he keeps his role as Assistant General Manager for the NHL club.The Checkers lost their head coach when Ulf Samuelsson was hired by the Chicago Blackhawks (actually just announced today), and Vellucci has ample experience in a coaching and development role. As the Hurricanes GM Ron Francis put it himself in a release:
Mike has more than 20 years of coaching experience, including more than 800 games as a head coach in the Ontario League. He is excited to get back behind the bench and we appreciate his willingness to take on this additional responsibility.
Vellucci was the coach and GM of the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL for parts of fourteen seasons before joining the Hurricanes in a managerial position in 2014, and he should have no trouble sliding behind the bench in the AHL with players he is familiar with. While the team says he will be keeping all his duties with the NHL front office, he was generally in charge of scouting and player development, roles which align nicely with the AHL coaching position. He can now implement the strategies himself while getting an even closer look at the minor league players of other organizations.
Charlotte had a relatively successful season, making it to the playoffs for first time in four seasons. They’d fall at the hands of the Chicago Wolves in the first round, but it was a nice step forward for a young franchise without much success in its short history. Vellucci will be tasked with taking a roster filled with young players and developing them into a Calder Cup contender, even as the NHL team snatches players away for their own playoff aspirations.
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Teuvo Teravainen
The Carolina Hurricanes have locked up an important piece, signing Teuvo Teravainen to a two-year contract. The deal will pay him $2.86MM annually. Teravainen was a restricted free agent for the first time, but this short-term deal will allow both sides to re-evaluate their position in a couple of years. 
Acquired last summer in the annual Blackhakws salary dump, Carolina massaged Teravainen out of Chicago in exchange for a pair of draft picks and taking on Bryan Bickell‘s contract. While Bickell would spend most of the season on long-term injured reserve after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Teravainen put up his best season as a pro scoring 15 goals and 42 points. Playing both wing and center at times, he ranked sixth on the team in scoring.
The 22-year old forward is part of an extremely young crop in Carolina who appear to be headed for great things. Along with Jeff Skinner, Sebastian Aho, Elias Lindholm and Victor Rask, the Hurricanes have one of the best 25-and-under groups in the NHL. Pair that with their good young defense corps and 10 picks in the upcoming entry draft and you can easily see this team is headed in the right direction.
Carolina isn’t a cap team, or more accurately not a cap-ceiling team, as they have an internal budget that they adhere to. Recently, due to the number of young players discussed above, the team has had trouble even reaching the cap floor. While there is a bit more money to spend when they need it, don’t think that the ~$25MM they still have in cap space for next season will be used on the open market this summer. That said, a two year deal with Teravainen takes him to 24 and will leave open the door to sign a longer term contract that buys out several free agent years. $2.86MM is plenty affordable for a 40-50 point player, and may believe he can eclipse that soon.
Teravainen was the Hurricanes’ only real pressing issue when it comes to restricted free agents this summer, with only Brock McGinn needing a deal among the rest of the NHL roster. What will be interesting to watch, is whether any extensions are handed out to the large group due to become RFAs next summer. They can officially announce any such extension on July 1st.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Andrew Miller
The Carolina Hurricanes have locked up some AHL depth, inking Andrew Miller (no, not that Andrew Miller MLBTR fans) to a one-year two-way contract that will see him earn the minimum $650K in the NHL. Miller was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
The 28-year old Miller is an excellent AHL scorer, and put up another solid season with 41 points in 55 games for the Charlotte Checkers this year. The former Yale standout has played 15 NHL games in his career, scoring six points. Though he’s not expected to make an appearance with the Hurricanes next season, he will provide some much-needed stability to their AHL club.
Charlotte recently lost their head coach Ulf Samuelsson to the Chicago Blackhawks, and have yet to name a successor for next season. While there has yet to be word on assistant coach Peter Andersson, he was brought in by Samuelsson after working together in Sweden and has little experience as a head coach. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a whole new staff brought in for next season, and they’ll need Miller at his very best to help lead the squad.
Carolina Hurricanes Announce Scouting Staff Promotions
- The Carolina Hurricanes have promoted two scouts in their organization, naming Sheldon Ferguson head North American scout and Robert Kron head European scout. Both will remain under the purview of Tony MacDonald who will continue in his role as Director of Amateur Scouting. These promotions come at a time just before a very important draft for the Hurricanes in which they hold 10 picks. Recently, GM Ron Francis had admitted that he hopes to move some of the picks for players before the draft, but is content in using them if he can’t find the right deal. With four picks in the first two rounds, Carolina could easily move up in the draft as well should a targeted player drop far enough.
Carolina Hurricanes Ready To Trade Draft Picks
It’s not often you get to take a behind-the-scenes look at NHL draft meetings, but yesterday the Carolina Hurricanes gave us a peek. In a candid video between GM Ron Francis and his scouting staff, the Hall of Famer explains that he is hoping to move some picks before or at the draft.
[the Scott Darling trade] left us with 10 picks. To be honest with you I’m hoping we don’t use all 10 when it comes to the draft. We have had contact with other teams, told them we are willing to give up some of the picks to get players.
Francis points out that they have six picks in the top-73 selections at the draft, and presses his scouts that they all need to work together to make sure any picks they do make are the right ones. Indeed, the Hurricanes have once again stocked up on draft picks after selling at the deadline, but are approaching a time where they need to start competing instead of rebuilding.
With a pipeline of young talent and core group coming into their prime, the Hurricanes should be expected to push for a playoff spot next season. They’re not perfectly positioned to make a move to bring in a dangerous scoring threat to help Jeff Skinner and friends up front. With a goaltender already in place thanks to the aforementioned Darling deal, 2017-18 could be a big year for Raleigh.
The biggest connection that will be made as the draft approaches is likely Matt Duchene, as the Colorado Avalanche seek assets to start their own rebuild. The Hurricanes match up perfectly with Joe Sakic and the Avalanche on paper, with a surplus of young defenders and picks to trade. While there is no guarantee the Hurricanes will be able to facilitate a deal for the former 30-goal man—especially with healthy competition from around the league—they will be on the lookout for a player of that impact.
Expansion Primer: Carolina Hurricanes
Over the next few weeks we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.
Going into the 2016-17 season, more people thought that the Carolina Hurricanes would be the worst team in the NHL than thought they would be a playoff team. Yet, the exciting, young ‘Canes squad stayed in it until the end, only falling out of playoff contention in the final few games of the season. It was a completely unexpected performance from a team still lacking any major stars, but showed that their youthful nucleus can succeed without them.
Luckily for Carolina fans, perhaps no team in the NHL has a better chance of escaping the upcoming Expansion Draft unscathed than the Hurricanes. Not only does the teams youth protect many of their best players from being draft-eligible, but the team is in fact so young, that there are very few players total that can be exposed. With the league’s deepest young defense almost entirely intact with Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Noah Hanifin and pro prospects Haydn Fleury and Roland McKeown ineligible – each with two or fewer NHL seasons – and star rookie Sebastian Aho also immune, the Hurricanes can use the rest of their protection slots to cover all their other important players and then some.
Eligible Players (Non-UFA)
Forwards
Jordan Staal (NMC), Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm, Lee Stempniak, Joakim Nordstrom, Andrej Nestrasil, Teuvo Teravainen, Erik Karlsson, Phillip Di Giuseppe, Brock McGinn
Defense
Justin Faulk, Klas Dahlbeck, Ryan Murphy, Trevor Carrick
Goaltender
Scott Darling, Cam Ward, Eddie Lack, Daniel Altshuller
Notable Exemptions
Sebastian Aho, Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Noah Hanifin, Haydn Fleury, Roland McKeown, Derek Ryan
Key Decisions
The ‘Canes have few decisions to make here. Up front, captain Jordan Staal must be protected due to his No-Movement Clause and his supporting cast of young scorers – Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm, and Teuvo Teravainen – will surely join him. With 16 points in 57 games in 2016-17, 22-year-old Brock McGinn has also likely earned his spot on the team. This leaves one forward spot spot left, as Carolina will almost certainly use the 7/3 protection scheme. The odd men out will probably be consummate veteran Lee Stempniak and two-way forward Joakim Nordstrom, who took a step back this season anyway. Those two are the only remaining players that meet the two-forward exposure quota of players with 70 games played over the past two years or 40 games played this past season that also have term remaining on their contracts. Should the Hurricanes want to protect either one, they still have the option of extending restricted free agents Andrej Nestrasil or Phillip Di Giuseppe or impending UFA Jay McClement in the coming weeks, as the trio are only short on term to qualify for the quota. If they choose not to, the choice comes down to Nestrasil, Di Giuseppe, or minor league winger Erik Karlsson for the final spot, with little on the line.
On the blue line the choice is even easier. By re-signing Klas Dahlbeck recently, the Hurricanes secured their sacrificial lamb for Expansion. Dahlbeck qualifies to be exposed in accordance with the quota for one defenseman, taking All-Star Justin Faulk off the hook. Young defenseman Ryan Murphy and Trevor Carrick are literally the only other defenseman in need of protection with exactly two defensive spots open to do so.
In net, the decision has already been made. The Hurricanes secured their goalie of the future earlier this month, trading for former Chicago Blackhawks backup Scott Darling and giving him a four-year, $16.6MM deal. In doing so, Carolina also guaranteed that he would be their protected goalie in the draft, as they would not waste their time with such an investment just to let Darling be drafted away to Vegas. Instead, they’ll let the Golden Knights have their pick of long-time starter Cam Ward, high-end backup Eddie Lack, and prospect keeper Daniel Altshuller. With over $10MM tied up in Darling, Ward, and Lack next season, the Hurricanes hope the Knights take the bait, but even if they don’t, both Ward and Lack will be free agents next summer anyway.
Projected Protection List
Scheme: 7F/3D/1G
Forwards
Jordan Staal (NMC)
Jeff Skinner
Victor Rask
Elias Lindholm
Teuvo Teravainen
Brock McGinn
Phillip Di Giuseppe
Defensemen
Justin Faulk
Ryan Murphy
Trevor Carrick
Goalie
What is the worst case scenario for the Hurricanes? They could lose Stempniak and be left with over $10MM in goalies. That’s pretty much it. Yes, Stempniak scored 40 points last season, but he’s also 33 years old and has just one year left on his contract. The Hurricanes could replace him in free agency with ease. They also could simply re-sign another forward and protect him if they really want to. As for the goalie, Ward is a lifetime Hurricane and outplayed Lack by a slim margin last year. It really would not be all that bad to have him as a backup to first-time starter Darling next season. GM Ron Francis could surely sweeten a deal (if necessary) to have Vegas take Lack and, if not, should be able to find another suitor elsewhere.
If Stempniak does end up off the board though, is there really any other option for the Knights beyond goalie? At forward, Di Giuseppe gets the nod for the last protection slot over Nestrasil and Karlsson. Nestrasil is already on the outs in Carolina and Di Giuseppe has already passed him up on the depth chart. Karlsson has signed on to return to Sweden next season and will have no impact on the 2017-18 Hurricanes. Carolina is deep enough in prospects, such as Julien Gauthier, Nicolas Roy, Janne Kuokkanen, Warren Foegele, Aleksi Saarela and more that they can risk losing Karlsson without risking losing any sleep over it. On defense, Dahlbeck is the only contracted player that can be taken. While he did play in 43 games with Carolina last season, GM George McPhee will have plenty of quality defenseman to choose from in the Expansion Draft, and Dahlbeck simply doesn’t stand out as worth taking. The Hurricanes are so well protected from the wrath of the expansion process that even unrestricted free agent center Derek Ryan, who quietly put up 29 points in 2016-17 to the tune of $600K, is also exempt from selection, having come over from Europe just two years ago. Goalie seems to be the only real option and even if Altshuller is the pick, he is far from a promising prospect and not at the top of the Hurricanes’ prospect rankings in net. The Knights have few options when selecting a player from Carolina and none of them pose any threat to a team that is on the rise.
Carolina Hurricanes Will Use Expansion Draft To Their Benefit
Though the Carolina Hurricanes finished the season out of the playoffs once again, it’s clear that the team is on the rise. With a deep young defense corps, and an improving forward group, they could easily vault themselves into the postseason as soon as 2017-18. Now, because so many of their key players are young and ineligible for the expansion draft they plan on using the threat of Vegas to target some help up front. Luke DeCock of The News & Observer spoke to GM Ron Francis, who made it clear that he’s on the phones working to try and improve his club.
We’ve got the open for business sign out there. We’re in a unique situation with the amount of picks we have and the amount of prospects we have. It’ll be interesting. Really what it comes down to is what teams want: Do they want a player back for the asset they don’t have to protect or are they willing to take some picks and prospects?
When Francis refers to the number of picks he has, he’s speaking about the 10 picks the Hurricanes have in this summer’s entry draft, including six of the first 73 selections. Those picks, combined with prospects like Haydn Fleury, Julien Gauthier, Jake Bean, Warren Foegele, and the room the Hurricanes have to protect additional players in the expansion draft make them a perfect trade partner for teams afraid to lose someone for nothing.
The Hurricanes could easily dangle a prospect or ineligible player like Noah Hanifin in front of teams like the Rangers or Lightning who may be facing expansion draft issues up front. Carolina clearly wants to upgrade their forward group, looking for both a top-line center and power winger to add for next season. They also could do nothing, and keep all of their assets for the draft floor and use them to move around and select the players they want. But with so much young talent already coming through, they could afford to move some of their prospect and draft pick capital to go after a big name or two in trade.
Offseason Keys: Carolina Hurricanes
While the expansion draft is set to headline a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months ahead. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Slow and steady has seemingly been the mantra in Carolina over the past few years and at the end of the season, they started to show a possible sign of things to come with a very impressive late push for a playoff spot. While they ultimately fell short of making the postseason, things are starting to look up for the Hurricanes who will be heading into next season with a new starter between the pipes in Scott Darling. Here’s a look at what else may be on tap for GM Ron Francis.
Sort Out The Goaltending
Darling’s acquisition and new four year, $16.5MM contract solidifies him as Carolina’s starter for the foreseeable future. However, the team still has both of their goaltenders from 2016-17 under contract for one more year in Cam Ward and Eddie Lack. Carolina, a team that tends to hover near the bottom of the league in payroll, is highly unlikely to carry three goalies for next season, at least willingly.
Ward, who played the bulk of the games this season, has the higher cap hit of the two at $3.3MM while Lack is at $2.75MM. Ward also has a partial no-trade clause that could get in the way of being moved as he can block a deal to 15 teams while Lack has no such protection.
Both will be exposed in the expansion draft but assuming they go unclaimed, it sets up a situation where one will need to be dealt or bought out. Ward would carry a buyout cost of $1.23MM next season and $1.03MM in 2018-19 while Lack would have a cap charge of $750K and $1MM over those seasons. It’s worth noting that in terms of actual dollars to be paid, Ward’s buyout would only cost $66K more despite the higher cap hit. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Lack – who was called out by coach Bill Peters late in the season – be the odd man out.
Deal For Teravainen
Francis has very few NHL restricted free agents to deal with. In fact, there are only two of them but one of them – Teuvo Teravainen – is a notable one. The versatile forward has finished his entry-level contract and is coming off a career year with 42 points (15-27-42) in 81 games. There’s no doubt he’ll be in line for a nice raise for the $925K in salary he earned (before factoring in potential performance bonuses) over these last three seasons.
Back at the trade deadline, it was reported that Francis was looking into trade possibilities involving Teravainen. There’s no word as to whether they were close to finding a deal or if enough traction was made to reignite talks this summer. The suggestion that the Hurricanes, a team that has been in a rebuilding phase for a while now, would consider moving a 22 year old who was a first round selection was certainly noteworthy. Whether it’s a deal in the form of a second contract (bridge or long-term) or a deal in the form of a trade, Francis will have a big decision to make with Teravainen this offseason.
Dangle Defense For Offensive Help
The Hurricanes don’t have a well-known group of defensemen but they have quietly assembled a strong group of young and mostly home-grown talent. It has become a major strength for the organization and the time may be right to deal from a position of strength. Quality defenders with multiple years of team control remaining aren’t available too often and it’s something that pretty much every team covets.
Meanwhile, Carolina was in the bottom third of the league in terms of goal production and while they have some quality talent up front, they’re lacking in depth and could certainly stand to add a top six forward as well. If they wanted to dangle one (or more) of those blueliners, they would be well-positioned to get that impact forward in return.
Noah Hanifin, Ryan Murphy, Brett Pesce, and Jaccob Slavin happen to be on cheap contracts below $1MM for next season with all being eligible for restricted free agency next summer. Their cheap back end is going to become more expensive before too long. Accordingly, if there was ever a time to move one of their promising young defensemen, this may be it before most of those players get big raises in 2018. To that end, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Francis open up extension talks with several of these players once that window opens up in July.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.