waiting game

From what I'm hearing, this unbearable delay in getting Josef Vasicek signed has been at the request of his agent. The agent, apparently, has lots of UFAs he wants to deal with first. According to what people have been saying and from reading articles in the News and Observer, they'll get started with those talks on Wednesday. Canes GM Jim Rutherford will be looking to hammer out a multi-year deal that many believe will be in the neighborhood of $1.1 per year. While playing for the league minimum in 2003-04, Vasicek led the Canes (who were last in the league in Goals For) with 19 goals. Last summer, he refused to sign a two-year deal, which means he lost a year of NHL service, and made him ineligible for salary arbitration this summer.

I'm not sure what's going on with Glen Wesley. The veteran defenseman has been our alternate captain for a while now, and offers obvious leadership to what would otherwise be a relatively young defensive group. While he has absolutely no offensive upside, Wesley is a very sound defensive d-man. Somehow, he managed to have a +18 in 2003-04. Our other d-man with significant experience, Bret Hedican will be coming back from a successful back surgery and will be somewhat of a question mark. Despite his age (he'll be 37 by opening night), I'd like to see him back for one more season. We'll need, if nothing else, his leadership skills.