Red & Black Hockey
Entries with the tag: free+agency
Canes still need help on the blueline
by David Lee on 07/12/09 at 08:42 PM ET
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All summer long, there’s been talk of the Canes adding size and toughness to the roster. They obviously had that in mind at the draft, but none of those players will be making the Hurricanes roster this fall. They’ve added right wing Steven Goertzen, who certainly adds size (6’2” 216 lbs), and he’s reputed to be a tough guy, but he doesn’t exactly bring NHL talent. Sure, he’ll be called up a couple of times, but he’s going to be dragging his knuckles alongside Tim Conboy in Albany.
The Canes need to re-sign Tuomo Ruutu, which is the important issue for the forward lines. There’s still a bit of work to be done on the blueline. The consensus all summer long has been that Dennis Seidenberg has become too expensive to be a part of the Canes future. Now there’s word that Anton Babchuk has, for a second time, worn out his welcome in Raleigh. Carolina has five NHL defensemen under contract, and will obviously need to get at least one more signed.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, free+agency,
Canes re-sign LaRose
by David Lee on 07/02/09 at 08:12 PM ET
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After a couple of rough days, the Hurricanes and Chad LaRose have finally come to terms. This is a two-year deal worth a total of $3.4M, Sharpie will make $1.5M in 2009-10 and $1.9M in 2010-11.
Perhaps LaRose found the market to be not as awesome as he figured it might be. Frankly, I’m surprised that he wasn’t snatched up quickly. I guess this ends any speculation about signing any forwards out of free agency.
Anyone who watched the Eastern Conference final series would say that LaRose was Carolina’s best skater in that series. In fact, he was one of Carolina’s best players throughout the playoffs. He finished the postseason with 11 points (4/7) points in 18 games. In the regular season, he set a new career best with 19 goals and tied his career best with 12 assists for a new career best of 31 points in 81 games played.
The rugged, versatile forward is much more than a utility guy who will do a good job as a top six fill-in. He’s a great teammate, a great guy in the room and a very popular player with the fans.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, free+agency,
Canes busy trying to replace LaRose
by David Lee on 07/01/09 at 10:45 PM ET
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After a rollercoaster couple of days when we were told that the Hurricanes and Chad LaRose were miles apart, then told that they were getting close, we’ve now been told that it’s over. Jim Rutherford put his final, final, totally final, absolutely final offer on the table earlier this afternoon. LaRose’s agent said that they would call Rutherford back “in an hour”.
Rutherford’s phone still ain’t ringing. He assumes that it still ain’t LaRose. He assumes that LaRose has something else working and he claims that the Canes are working on signing someone else. There’s no indication of who it might be, but I suspect that Mike Zigomanis might find his way back to Raleigh before the dust settles. The Penguins have parted ways with him (and also with defenseman Rob Scuderi). ---->EDIT<---- I should apologize for jumping the gun here. While the Pens have decided to move on without Mike Zigomanis, they have NOT made that decision about Rob Scuderi. The only thing they have done is allowed him to enter the free agent market, where he remains unsigned. They’re still trying to iron out a deal with him, and although some reports indicate that the Penguins are going to look elsewhere, they haven’t given up on those negotiations.
I had a few guys on my wish list, and they’re already gone.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, free+agency,
Still no progress with Canes UFAs
by David Lee on 06/30/09 at 10:06 PM ET
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Today is the last day for teams to re-sign their potential UFAs before they enter the market at noon on Wednesday. Everyone in Raleigh was hoping that an announcement would come that the team had come to terms with Chad LaRose. It didn’t. As expected, there was also no announcement about Erik Cole. Jim Rutherford has made it clear that he will not initiate any more negotiations with them. He has put “final offers” on the table. Ryan Bayda has also declined Carolina’s “final offer” and will test the free agent market. Although no doors are permanently shut and no bridges are burned, this has ruffled Jim Rutherford’s feathers.
“If they go into tomorrow then they’re obviously making the choice to go somewhere else,” he said. “We’ve given our best offer within our budget to try to keep them, and at this point it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.”
Contrast that quote with one about Jussi Jokinen, which I’ll point to later in this post.
Rutherford has also pledged not to be aggressive in the FA market and might wait until August to sign anyone. He went as far as to tell Puck Daddy that the only thing he’d be signing on July 1 would be a birthday card to his cousin. ...
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, Erik+Cole, free+agency,
Canes off-season. The forwards
by David Lee on 06/14/09 at 03:57 PM ET
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So we’ve got a few days before the Awards Show, then another week before the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Carolina will have the 27th overall pick, and most prognosticators are saying that Carolina will draft a defenseman.
A few days after the draft, the real fun begins. The free agent signing period. Carolina has never been a big spender in the FA signing period, and I don’t expect them to be this summer. Their primary focus will be on re-signing the guys they have, then picking someone up in the bargain bin. Last summer, they were inactive in the FA market, but made the blockbuster trade with the Oilers, sending Erik Cole that way for Joni Pitkänen.
This summer, while some people are dreaming up elaborate ways to get Dany Heatley here, I expect little if any activity from the Hurricanes camp. At least not as far as the forwards are concerned.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, Erik+Cole, free+agency, Jussi+Jokinen, Tuomo+Ruutu,
