Canes sign Pitkänen, Melichar

On Wednesday, the Hurricanes made two signings. One fully expected, and the other a bit of a surprise.

The first of the signings was the surprise. Jim Rutherford went way off the rumor charts by signing former Penguin Josef Melichar. The rumors about him were that he was going to return to the Pens after spending last season in Czech and Swedish leagues. He spent his entire six-year NHL career in Pittsburgh, where he tallied 40 (7/33) points in 310 games. The 29-year old Czech was signed to a one-year deal at $1M. When Rutherford flat out said that he was gonna get another defenseman to get bigger and younger, then get rid of one of the existing ones, everyone pretty much assumed he was really saying "Frantisek Kaberle, pack your bags". I'm not sure what the Canes would be able to get for the guy who scored the Cup-winning goal in 2006, but I'm guessing they'll get a prospect and a second round pick.

Frankie has been so frustrating to watch. He can't seem to put two good games back to back. Most nights, he can't even put two good shifts back to back. He's been having lingering problems from the multitude of surgeries he's had, and at 34, he's just not getting any younger. I'd say his days are over in Carolina.

The second was the big one. Joni Pitkänen was signed to a three-year $12M deal. The money is a bit more than I was hoping, but the length is more than I was expecting. For the most part, I've been hearing good things about him and his skill set. The question marks are on his health. From a Carolina standpoint, his health can't possibly be dodgier than that of Bret Hedican or Frantisek Kaberle. And he can't possibly be worse defensively than those two. And he definitely will provide more back-end offensive production than those two combined.

Frankie and his $2.2M have got to go. If the Canes can get a depth forward out of it, hooray! Otherwise, shed the salary and stock up on draft picks. I'll always have the fond memory of Frankie scoring the Cup-winner on June 19, 2006 -- just a few feet in front of my face, but this team desperately needed a massive overhaul of the defense. It started with the brilliant Commy/Stillman for Corvo/Eaves trade last winter. These two signings pretty much finish that off. I still think Kaberle is a swell guy, but I also think that both the team and Kaberle would be better served if he was traded.

The few of us who stand behind the team on this Cole/Pitkänen deal have been getting railed by the many who hate it. Make no mistake, I will miss Cole. He will continue to be one of my favorite players; he'll just be wearing a different sweater. I understand and appreciate what he did for this team. I understand it as much or more than the next guy. I'm not saying "Good riddance, jerk!" None of us is saying that. It's business. The Sliding Pokecheck put it quite nicely in her post:

"The Hurricanes had a lot of good forwards and desperately needed to trade for a defenseman. Cole was the only one the team could afford to lose WHO WOULD ALSO get the team something of value in return. Someone had to go and Cole was a valuable trade option. There you go. It's business, folks. Much as you might get attached to certain players and want to keep them around for their entire career, it's not about you - it's about trying to put together a winning team."

Carolina didn't miss the playoffs last season because they weren't scoring enough goals. They had plenty of offense. They narrowly missed the playoffs chiefly because their defense sucked. This will probably be a blog post of its own sometime in the near future. The chief goal this summer was to rehaul the defense even if it meant losing a star player. Feelings have been hurt, but that mission has been accomplished. The defense has been rehauled. Will it pay dividends? I think so, but we'll have to wait and see.

If Pitkänen stinks up the joint, I'll gladly eat crow. For now, I'm totally behind this.

As an aside, the Hurricanes website lists Melichar with the sweater #2. Obviously, that won't be his number. Since the Hurricanes are retiring that number for Glen Wesley, Melichar will be asked to pick something else. Pitkänen is shown with the #25, which will be just fine. I just hope he can be better in that sweater than Bruno St. Jacques and Eric Belanger were.

Some reaction to the trade

Edmonton has been pretty busy, orchestrating three significant trades over the last three days. Carolina has pulled off the trade that they were rumored to have been attempting for some time now. In December or January, this Cole-for-Pitkanen rumor started to gain some steam. Even last June, there was an effort to trade Nic ("No Trade Clause") Wallin for Pitkanen.

As expected, the reaction around the Canes blogosphere has been disappointment. Not disappointment that the Canes are getting Pitkanen, but disappointment that the Canes are losing one of their longest tenured players. People are reserving comment for now, but it's clear that they're not exactly thrilled.

Out in Oil country, Covered in Oil isn't exactly thrilled about losing Pitkanen, but sees that Cole will fit in well there.

"Erik Cole is a more consistent, better version of Torres, albeit a version who also broke his neck a little while back and has only scored 30 goals once in his career. That said, he might be a nice fit on a top line, a shooter for Hemsky and Horcoff.Obviously, though, I'm not happy to see Joni Pitkänen go, and I expect him to promptly become a 50+ point defenceman for the next 10 years or so."

In my brief, early scouring of the Oilogosphere, that's pretty much the consensus. They think they've given up a lot, but they're getting a lot in return. The difference is that Joni Pitkanen wasn't one of the faces of the franchise, as Erik Cole was here in Carolina. I'm hoping that after my peers take time to think about it before they rant. I'm hoping that they realize that Carolina is getting a good, young, big, puck-moving defenseman with loads of potential.

What I'm really hoping is that they can get him to sign a multi-year deal for roughly $2.75/year. As I've said, I'm sad about seeing Cole go, but I'm pretty excited about the potential that Pitkanen has.

Canes re-acquire Babchuk, trade away Cole

On the first day of free agency, Carolina has done two things so far that are not at all surprising.
First, they reacquired defenseman Anton "Yentl" Babchuk. He's been signed to a one year deal for one million dollars.

Second, they traded winger Erik Cole to the Edmonton Oilers for the rights to RFA defenseman Yoni Pitkanen. Carolina desperately needed to make this kind of trade, and it's been rumored to have been in the works since at least December.

Erik Cole will be missed around here. This is one of the first times that a key player has been traded from the Hurricanes. Other teams know how to deal with these things, but Hurricanes fans, and especially the Johnny-come-lately ones, will have a very hard time dealing with it.

What Carolina will miss will be Cole's speed and creativity. His questionable health and his reputation as a diver will be going with him as well. He will do well for Edmonton, and the fans will enjoy having him. He has one more year on his contract, and will make $4M.

Carolina will be getting a puck-moving young defenseman that they need. He's just 24 years old, and is a pretty big guy at 6'3" 210lbs. He had a bit of a letdown last season, totaling 26 (8/18) points in 63 games. Prior to that, he was a consistent 40-point producer on the Flyers back end.

Pitkanen made $2.4M last season, and is technically a RFA. Other teams are free to make offers on him. Based on that salary, the Hurricanes would be entitled to a second round draft pick if some other team steals him away. I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't have made this trade unless they were 100% positive that they could get him signed right away.

I'm sad to see Cole go, but I'm excited to have a younger, bigger, puck-moving guy joining the blue line. I'm not crazy about Babchuk (and I think that's an overpayment), but at the very least, Carolina has finally shored up the defense. Assuming Pitkanen gets signed for less than $3M, they'll have saved money.

Of course this leaves a hole in the forward lines. A big hole. Now they have just nine forwards under contract. I assume that Chad LaRose will re-sign at some point. I also assume that Brandon Sutter will make the big team. Will Carolina re-sign Trevor Letowski, or will they look elsewhere?

My guess is that Carolina isn't going to take part in the free agent frenzy. If they do, it'll be for some third line winger.

More details on Pitkanen later.

Jokinen sent to the desert

There were no fewer than 13 trades during the first round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Although none of them directly impacted Carolina, Caniacs everywhere let out a roar when Phoenix and Florida announced their trade very early on. Olli Jokinen, who is extremely unpopular in Raleigh (this may be an understatement) will be going to the Coyotes while defensemen Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton will be in Sunrise come fall.

RBH has never been a fan of Olli Jokinen, so we will shed no tears. He has been a bit of a Cane killa, racking up a ton of points against Carolina. More than that, though, he's been a general nuisance. Aside from having some really disturbing facial hair that makes him look like a child molester, he's been a loudmouth in the press. Along with Jacques Martin, he's been the one who says bad things about Carolina in the papers. At the end of the 06-07 season, he "guaranteed" a victory against Carolina in a meaningless game, and Carolina took great joy in showing him where to stick it.

During the IIHF World Champoinships this spring, Jokinen cheapshotted USA (and Carolina Hurricanes) defenseman Tim Gleason, knocking Timmy out of the Finland-USA game.

There were a ton of other trades on Friday, but most of them involved picks only. There will probably be more on Saturday, including some name-brand players.

Rounds 2-7 will be Saturday, beginning at 10:00am eastern time, and will be broadcast on the NHL Network.

All we can say about this is "Good riddance!"

Good riddance!

Getting to know..... Colten Teubert

Carolina is scheduled to have the 14th overall pick in the upcoming 2008 NHL Entry Draft this weekend in Ottawa. This is a pretty deep draft class, and there are quite a few names being bandied about in mock drafts as the 14th pick. One of those players, Colten Teubert, is featured today on NHL.com.

Teubert, a defenseman whom many are calling "mini-Pronger" is 6'4" and 185 pounds. The weight is obviously an issue, but a couple more years in junior hockey and another in the AHL should help him grow into his big frame. Although he doesn't quite possess the offensive acumen that Pronger does, he's got the hard-hitting, shut-down defensive style going.

It's extremely unlikely that Teubert would be NHL-ready, even to a team as desperate for blueliners as Carolina. That said, Carolina has no shortage of forwards in the system, so a defenseman will probably be the way to go.

When Carolina's two Mesozoic Era defensemen retired this month, it left a gaping hole in the blue line. Negotiations with Tim Gleason have come to a screeching halt, and I haven't heard a word about Dennis Seidenberg. Bret Hedican can be replaced with a traffic cone, but Glen Wesley will be impossible to replace. The Hurricanes have four defensemen signed for next season, but one of them is David "Snuggles" Tanabe, who suffered a mystery concussion back in December and has essentially vanished from the face of the earth. Injured players cannot be bought out, but Carolina can put him on the long-term injured reserve list, which would exempt his salary from counting towards the cap.

I've probably said this 999 times already this summer, but it is absolutely imperative that the Canes get some new blood on the blue line. I've started to hatch an armchair GM plan for the Canes to trade down in the draft for a young NHL-defenseman under contract. I've got a pretty short list of desired players and a couple of different scenarios. The more I think about this kind of thing, the more I think that it might be Carolina's best bet for shoring up the blue line. The Hurricanes have been clever, but never aggressive in the free agent market. There's only so many J-M Liles in the world and there's going to be a lot of teams showing up on his front stoop with flowers and candy. Jim Rutherford has never been the flowers and candy type of GM.

I'm REALLY bored, and the draft is four days away.

Evaluating the trade

On February 11, the Hurricanes and Senators pulled off a major trade ahead of the deadline. Carolina sent winger Cory Stillman and defenseman Mike Commodore to the Senators in exchange for winger Patrick Eaves and defenseman Joe Corvo. At first, the trade seemed like a wash, but enough time has now passed to be able to fairly evaluate the trade.

Since the trade, Ottawa has played 14 games and has gone 4-7-3. In that span, they've scored 27 goals and given up 45 for a differential of -18.

In that same amount of time, Carolina has played 13 games, going 10-2-1. They've scored 48 and given up 36 for a differential of +12.

In 14 games played, Mike Commodore has scored 0 points and is a -7.
In 14 games played, Cory Stillman has scored 11 (2/9) points and is a -5.

In 12 games played, Joe Corvo has scored 11 (3/8) points and is a +7.
In 6 games played, Patrick Eaves has scored 3 (0/3) points and is a +1.

Commodore and Stillman are both scheduled to be UFAs and both are due big raises.

Corvo is under contract for two more seasons and Eaves is scheduled to be a RFA.

Thus far, it's a no-brainer as to who got the better end.

Hockey night in blogdom

Slap Shot, the New York Times hockey blog has invited one blogger for each NHL team to contribute to the blog. Today, the second round of questionnaires was posted on the blog. They asked all of us to rate the trades involving our teams. The question was simple. "Did your team prosper, or did it get jobbed?" We were asked to keep our comments incredibly succinct. 35 words.

Because there were so many transactions, the post was broken into three parts. My contribution appears in Part III.

The whole thing is a very interesting read, and it's been fun. Thanks again to Jeff Klein for putting the whole thing together.

Canes and Sens swap players

I went out of town Monday for a very short business trip (and a night of ridiculous depravity) , and I missed a very big thing. Carolina sent winger Cory Stillman and defenseman Mike Commodore to the Senators for young winger Patrick Eaves and defenseman Joe Corvo.

There's an unseen ramification of this which I don't like, and I'll get to that later.

A friend who is a Penguins fan, not knowing that I was on the road, called to ask me what I thought of the deal. "What deal?" I feared that he was going to say that Erik Cole was part of some lame package, but this one I kind of like.

Immediately, I thought that Stillman is (a)slumping big-time (2)a UFA-to-be, and (III) getting up there in age. The Canes get a much younger guy with a ton of potential. I've seen him play a few times, and I've seen him pot goals against the Canes. I know what he can do. I'm pretty excited about this addition. For the future, I mean. For now, even a slumping Cory Stillman is better than an injured Patrick Eaves. Still, I'll take the kid.

I'm more excited about Joe Corvo. Carolina gives up a decent stay-at-home kind of defenseman who is given to taking bad penalties late in the game. In return, they get that puck-moving defenseman they've been wanting. They get a guy with a heavy shot that he's not afraid to use, but they also get a guy who makes some outrageously dangerous passes. One of my rubs against Commodore has always been that he's often too busy checking the rear-view mirror instead of going after loose pucks in the corner. He brings a level of intensity and on some level, some brawn, but absolutely no offensive upside. In that respect, Corvo, albeit four years older, brings more. Both players make lots of mistakes, but Carolina gets what they need. Corvo is signed thru 2010, whereas Commodore is a UFA-to-be and is due for a big raise. Corvo was unhappy in Ottawa, largely because of the overly scrupulous media. He'd been asking to be dealt to an American team, and he's gotten his wish.

The Senators are adding some scoring punch to (presumably) their second line, but they're losing some scoring from the back end. They're also getting a couple of guys who have won the Cup. Carolina adds some offensive production and some puck movement from the blue-line, but they give up one of their leading scorers. When the salaries for this season only are figured in, the Senators save about $500k, but they'll have to pay Commdore big bucks next season.

When it's all said and done, both teams benefit, and it's pretty hard to say who benefits more. I'm happy with what the Canes got, and moving forward, they'll probably have the better end if they re-sign Eaves.

Here's the unseen ramification. Mike Commodore wasn't just a fan favorite and a general goofball. He was Chad Sharpie LaRose's best friend. Poor Chad isn't going to have anyone to hang out with anymore. Something tells me that Joe Corvo isn't going to fill that role.

In Tuesday's debut with Carolina, Joe Corvo recorded an assist on the game-winning goal. Patrick Eaves is recovering from a shoulder injury and won't play until next week at the earliest. Cory Stillman had an assist for the Senators in his debut on Tuesday. Mike Commodore was a non-factor.

Carolina could make big move today.

There's been some speculation all summer, and there's an article in todays N&O suggesting that Matt Cullen could make a return to the Hurricanes. After the Chris Drury deal, the Rangers don't have it in their budget to keep Cullen, and are rumored to be looking to dump him and his $2.8M salary.
Cullen was the player most missed from the Cup winning team in 2006, and the barometer used whenever Carolina looked for a third line center. Last week, Carilona signed Jeff Hamilton to fill that role, but he'll likely move down to the fourth line if Cullen returns.
Also, yesterday the N&O had an article about Erik Cole's lingering pain from his broken neck. The article pointed out that Cole will never regain complete mobility in his neck, and he'll always have pain. This was believed to be a mitigator for a "major trade" that a certain rumor monger has been talking about involving Carolina. I don't really buy any of that talk concerning trading Cole away, but we'll see.

Rags advance to round of eight, Thrash out.

On Wednesday night, the Rangers polished off the Thrashers, defeating them 4-2 and sweeping the series. They are the first team to advance to the Conference Semifinals.

Last season, the Rangers were themselves swept by the Devils in the first round.

Matt Cullen, who won the Cup last year with Carolina scored the game- and series-winning goal at 2:06 of the third. Bitch Jaro Jagr scored an empty netter to seal the coffin.

Now, of course, the second-guessers will come out in full force. I didn't mince words at all on this issue back in February, but the proverbial shit is about to hit the proverbial fan on the Keith Tkachuk issue. Proverbially.

The Thrash gave up a LOT to get the 35-year old left wing:

• 1st round pick in this year's draft
  
• 3rd round pick in this year's draft
  
• 2nd round pick in next year's draft
  
• Glen Metropolit

Metropolit is a spare part in this trade, but that's a lot of draft picks. As I said in February, this would have been worth it if the Thrash had gone on to win the Cup, but now they're playing golf with the Canes. Instead of trading away their future for a championship, they have simply traded away their future. Additionally, the trade just got worse. Suddenly the "not so bad" trade of a potentially low first round pick has become a "pretty bad" trade of a middle round first round pick.

Tkachuk is at the end of a contract which paid him $3.8M this season. Everyone understood this to be a "rental", and I just don't think that Atlanta could pay him even if they wanted to keep him.

The Thrash will have a very busy summer ahead of them. 12 players will be UFA and two more will be RFA. They pressed hard up against the cap this season, and it will be difficult to keep this core group and remain under cap. Both goaltenders, and all of the star players are under contract, but they will have to downgrade in some areas, and they won't have the benefit of a first round draft pick.

Look for them to visit the bargain basement and to sign some undrafted players.

Look for the natives to get restless with Don Waddell.

Thrashers make big moves, give up a lot

On Saturday night, the Thrashers issued a press release during the second period of the game with the Canes that they would make a major announcement after the game. I speculated here that it might be Keith Tkatchuk. About an hour after that, it turned out to be much less dramatic than that, but this morning, it indeed turned out to be Tkatchuk.

I'm still going to do a proper game recap on the Canes 4-1 victory over the Thrashers, but for now, I'll get on their transactions.

The first transaction made me scratch my head. They issued a press release during the game to give us a heads-up about this???

TO ATLANTA: aging defenseman Alexei Zhitnik
TO PHILLY: defensive prospect Braydon Coburn

Whoop-de-do. An old guy with declining skill for a young guy who hasn't blossomed yet. So what? I figured, though, that they weren't done since they went to the trouble of warning everyone that something was coming.

This morning, the hammer dropped.

TO ATLANTA: Keith Tkatchuk
TO ST. LOUIS: center Glen Metropolit
first round pick in 2007
third round pick in 2007
second round pick in 2008

This, friends, is what everyone was talking about when they said that "the prices are too high". There is no doubt that Tkatchuk will be an excellent addition to the Thrashers lineup. He's practically old enough to be Jordan Staal's grandpa, but he's steadily produced at nearly a point a night throughout his 73 year career. He's also got a bunch of playoff experience and is one of those guys that you like to have in the room. There are so many upsides to this. But they had to give a lot to get Tkatchuk.

I don't need to be reminded that the Canes gave up a lot to get Doug Weight last January...

* Jesse Boulerice
* Mike Zigomanis
* the rights to mystery man Magnus Kahnburg.
* Carolina's first round pick in 2006
* Toronto's fourth round pick in 2006
* Chicago's fourth round pick in 2007

...but we all know how that turned out.

There is a bit of a difference, though. Boulerice had become useless. Zigomanis was looking like a career AHLer. Kahnburg showed no signs of ever leaving Sweden. That fourth round pick from Toronto was leftover from the "please take Jeff O'Neill off our hands" deal. So Carolina gave up a bunch of things, but nothing that they really wanted. Atlanta is giving up high draft picks in consecutive drafts AND a useful player. Metropolit was scratched last night, but has played well this season after being away from the NHL for three years.

I think in a little picture kind of way, Atlanta has done well with this. Tkachunky is definitely an upgrade over Metropolit. In a big picture, they've given perhaps too much. Of course, if they become the third consecutive SE team to win the Cup, none of this matters and it will have been well worth any price paid.

Now that Tkatchuk has been dealt, there will be no more speculation about Guerin and Tkatchuk going to Anaheim together. It also means that whoever gets Guerin will have to give a ton. It also means that St. Louis will be in a position to rack up big time at this summer's draft.

Buckle up.

Kaberle in lineup, Cole at home away from home

Tonight, the Hurricanes will have two things working for them as they try to end a dismal four game losing streak. The Canes will be in La Belle Provence to visit les Habitants, who are themselves on a bit of a losing skid. Five standings points and four playoff seeds separate the two teams.

(1)Frantisek Kaberle, who has missed every game this season recovering from shoulder surgery, will be in the lineup. To make room for him, Anton Babchuk was sent down to Albany of the AHL. No trade has been orchestrated at this point, but according to sources, Jim Rutherford turned down two offers yesterday. Apparently, one of them was indeed for Foppa. Carolina will wait a little while to plan their course of action. Unless they can right the ship in the next couple of games, they will become a "seller", which will enable them to get some good young prospects and/or picks for an explosive forward like Ray Whitney, who is scheduled to be an UFA this summer.

If the Canes can straighten up and put themselves back on a post-season bound path, they would still be in a position to buy.

Remember that with each day that passes, the cap hit to a "buying" team is decreased dramatically on high-dollar contracts. Waiting till the deadline is the most cost-effective method for a bubble team.

(2) Erik Cole will be playing in the Molson Bell Centre. Cole loves to play in that building. The last time he played there, he recorded four points (3/1) in an 8-2 romp over the Habs on January 31, 2006. He also had a hat trick there on November 23, 2003 in a 7-3 blasting of the Habs. He scored the game-tying goal in the Miracle at Molson (2002 playoffs), and later in that series scored 2 goals and an assist in game 6 at the Molson Centre. In fact, Cole just loves to play the Habs. Last season, in three total games against the Habs, Colesy had eight points (5/3). This season, in two games, he has two goals (both at home).
This is Cole's first visit to the Bell Centre this season, and in fact the first since "the injury".

Montréal will be without Sergei Samsonov, who has demanded a trade, and is (from what I understand) on waivers. Samsonov is grossly overpaid, has been a massive disappointment both this season and last, and has been a healthy scratch more often than not lately. The diminutive left winger, who is roughly 1/3 the size of Zdeno Chara, once had a 75-point season with the Bruins (2000-01), scored 53 (23/30) points last season combined with Boston and Edmonton. This season, he's on pace for a season barely in the mid-30's. His $3.525M salary is in no way commensurate with his performance, so I wouldn't expect anyone to pick him up, even at the pro rata price. He still has one year remaining on his contract, which would make it even less likely for someone to pick him up. Expect him to clear waivers, then be cut. Then you might see some action.

Puck drop will be at 7:30 eastern, and it isn't on Canes TV. I'll have to listen, or go somewhere where I can watch the French feed on Center Ice.

Kaberle set to return, trade imminent

The latest news is that Frantisek Kaberle is set to return to action after missing the first 55 games of the season after shoulder surgery this summer. His eagerly anticipated return means that the Canes will have no less than 10 healthy defensemen.

Coach Peter Laviolette likes to dress seven defensemen on occasion, and they could carry up to nine if they had to, but they will have to make some roster room somehow.

Obviously, sending a player to Albany would clear some roster space. Carolina might do this with Anton Babchuk. If I remember correctly, he's the only defenseman with a two-way contract. Even if he is sent down, Carolina is likely to turn a trade sometime this afternoon or Tuesday morning.

Carolina, who is clinging to the eighth playoff spot in the East is still considered to be a "buyer" in the trade market, but is in such a position of defensive surplus that they could do a bit of selling as well.

The names that have come up most frequently as "trade bait" are David Tanabe and Andrew Hutchinson. The Boston game notwithstanding, Tanabe has played well of late and might be more marketable than Hutch. He signed a one-year, $900k contract this summer, and would be an excellent stop-gap addition to any team's blueline with very little price tag.

Andrew Hutchinson is in the first year of a two-year deal which will pay him just $500k next season. That wouldn't be much of an albatross on any buyer's neck, but his defensive acumen isn't as strong as Tanabe's. There's been a lot of talk out of Edmonton about a trade involving Hutch, but I don't know what would be involved on the other side.

What Carolina needs is a third line center or winger. There are a lot of Eric Belanger detractors here in Carolina, but I don't have a problem with him. I do, however, have a problem with Trevor Letowski. He hasn't panned out here, and I think the Canes would be well served to package Letowski with Tanabe (or Hutchinson) and possibly a pick for a quality winger/center.

Edmonton is interested. Of their lot, Shawn Horcoff fits the bill quite nicely here. However, his price tag is $3.6M, and still has two years left on his contract. Don't see that happening. Marty Reasoner wouldn't be an upgrade at all. Nor would Petr Nedved. I don't see the Oil willing to part with one of their top forwards, so I just don't see a Canes/Oil deal happening.

Boston needs defensive help, and with their season pretty much done, they're definitely a "seller". Brad Boyes seems like a fair trade. He's got one year left on his contract, which will pay him $1.6M next season. I like that idea a lot, but I'm not sure that the B's would want to part with one of their top young players. One "insider" thinks that Marco Sturm is headed this way. He might fit in, but I would think that the Canes front office would rather give up youth for youth, so Sturm might not be the one.

Chicago is in in the same boat Boston is. Season lost, needs defense. They're rumored to have Radim Vrbata on the chopping block. He's had his time here, and it just didn't work out. But thanks for Anton Babchuk. Martin LaPointe is also rumored to be trade bait. Again, this wouldn't be an upgrade for the Canes unless there's a high pick involved. At $2.4M, too expensive anyway. We'll take a pass on that.

Of course Philly comes up. They're a team Jim Rutherford likes to trade with, they're hopelessly out of playoff contention, they need defense. I refuse to entertain the Foppa rumors. He's WAY too expensive, his skill set is rapidly diminishing, and he's too much of an ass clown.
Mike Knuble? A little old, but he's still plenty talented, comes cheap, and coach Laviolette likes him. It might not pack the same kind of bang that a big name trade would, but it would be nice.

Anson Carter is a name that's out there as trade fodder for the Blue Jackets. This summer, I loudly said that I would have liked to see him in a Canes sweater, but now I'm not so sure. I think his excellent season last year had everything to do with the Sedinbots and little to do with a newfound skill set. He signed a one-year deal over the summer, and was overpaid at $2.5M.

Florida is said to be in the market for a defenseman, but I hate the idea of an intra-division trade.

I don't have any idea, basically. Just expect Hutch and Letowski or Tanabe and Letowski to be packaged for a forward. I won't expect anything of blockbuster proportions, but you never know. A big name might be the only thing that could rescue Carolina from the doldrums.

Kaberle is scheduled to join the team in Montréal Tuesday, so we'll know in the next 24 hours. I just hope it's something good.

My money is on either Boyes or Knuble.

A Jack, (Acid) Queen, and Two Kings

This weekend is my annual "weekend o' hell" at work. It always falls on the weekend preceding my birthday, or, when the stars are aligned just so, ON my birthday. This year, it also falls on the weekend preceding opening night.

Anyway, the huge news came down at some point on Friday, and I didn't catch wind of it until around midnight because of my 15-hour day.

The "huge news" is, of course, the trade. In a few years, this might be referred to as "The Trade (v. 3.0)". For now, no quotations, no capitals.

The Canes give up Oleg Tverdovsky and the rights to Jack Johnson. In return, they get third line center Eric Belanger and third pairing defenseman Tim Gleason from the Kings.

My initial reaction was one of shock. I couldn't believe they actually pulled the trigger. Then, I wondered "Wait.... We get Belanger, Gleason, and what else???". Then I thought about it. And thought about it some more. And then I had an IM chat with the Acid Queen. And then I read Scott Cason's brilliant piece. Then I read some other stuff.

My conclusion: I like it.

First, I'll explain what the Canes give up.

• Oleg Tverdovsky
Last summer, the Canes took a big chance on Tevvy. They signed him to a three year deal, paying him $2.5 per season. It had been more than two years since the Russian had played in the NHL. He once showed promise as a top defenseman with offensive upside, and the Canes were hoping to get that out of him. Unfortunately, either the "new NHL" has passed him by, or he had a bad season. Or both. His 23 points (3/20) were less than what the Canes were hoping for, and his less than spectacular play on the defensive front made him look like the most overpaid player in the league. He scored two own goals. TWO!! He was often the target of criticism when the defense was sub-par. I and my friends even named an "award" for feeble play in his honor. All summer, I've been hoping for, and loudly asking for, a trade involving him. Given that he didn't dress at all in the Stanley Cup Finals, and the fact that his quality of play had diminished by then anyway, I would have settled for a seventh round draft pick and a bucket of practice pucks.


• The rights to Jack Johnson. I was trying to be positive about the Jack Johnson thing. I was trying to encourage people to be patient with the kid while he enjoys the college experience. College, I would say, would be good for sanding off his well known rough edges. He needs to grow as a person before he can grow as a hockey player, I would say. He needs a little development. Of course, in the back of my mind, I knew that Johnson and the Canes would never be a fit. We knew all along that he would spend one year in Ann Arbor. When the Wolverines were eliminated from NCAA play last spring, he rejected the Canes' offer to join the team and play on the big team. When the playoffs started, more of the same. After we won the Cup, more of the same. As summer wound down, Johnson announced his intention to stay in Ann Arbor another season. Reports started to pop up that his indisposition to turn pro had to do with the Canes rather than with his "not being ready". I dismissed these reports as hogwash.
  One interesting side note is that until just a few days ago, we were unable to get any comment at all from Jack himself. Anything we heard out of the Johnson camp came from his father, who is a very strange bird. According to some source, Jim Rutherford had a dinner meeting with Jack Johnson a few weeks ago. While the two had dinner and presumably discussed the defensman's future, Jack Senior waited in the car. The whole time. At some point, Jack let on that dad was in the car. Rutherford, shocked, asked why Jack Senior didn't come in and eat with them. There was no answer. Cason thought that it was pretty much done at that point:

  The bridge was already on fire before that faithful (sic) evening. The bridge probably collapsed after that bit of strange cimema (sic).

  
  
  There's a lot that we don't know about Jack Johnson, including when he will decide to enter the NHL. It was looking more and more likely that the talented defenseman had no intention of ever joining the Carolina Hurricanes.
  

If Carolina had just selected Gilbert Brule last summer, this wouldn't be happening right now. If Carolina had selected Mark Staal, they'd have a defenseman, and this wouldn't be happening right now. If ifs and buts were candy and nuts....

By trading away Oleg Tverdovsky, the Canes have an addition by subtraction thing going on. They rid themselves of a hefty contract, and they rid themselves of a player that wasn't working out.

By trading away the rights to Jack Johnson, the Canes no longer have to deal with that media sideshow. It has been a distraction all summer, and really even longer than that. Johnson may turn out to be Pronger Junior. If he does, Rutherford will look like a jerk. If he fails to polish those rough edges, if he parties too hard in college, if he never really transitions to the NHL game, JR looks like a genius. I'm a little sad that we're giving up on such a hot prospect. At the same time, I'm glad that we don't have to deal with that mayhem anymore. I'm not even sure if those "rights" will mean anything. It could be the case that JJ stays four years, and re-enters the draft. I don't know the ins and outs of the CBA well enough to know how that works. Anyone???

The Canes address some immediate needs with this trade, and although it's rarely a good idea to make trades with the "here and now" in mind, this is what we've done. As far as that's concerned, I like very much what the Canes are getting.

• Eric Belanger A bona fide NHL center capable of having a 40 point season. Last season, he had 37 points (17/20) in just 65 games. He'll center the third line, a position which we had Trevor Letowski playing out of position. Now Letowski (or Walker, for that matter) will move to the left wing on the third line. If Belanger indeed ends up centering the third line, and can put up the kinds of numbers he is accustomed to, we'll get our Matt Cullen back. Hopefully more. Ryan Bayda has worked his tail off in camp and in the preseason, but he's the clear odd man out here. If he makes the big club roster, he just went from being the third line left wing to being a healthy scratch.
  
  
• Tim Gleason. The former first-round pick is still very young for a defenseman at 23. He's a big strong dude with offensive potential, and room to grow. He's described as an "average defender" with a ton of grittiness, above average speed, and a decent shot. He's certainly no Frantisek Kaberle, but as long as he isn't a bump on a log, he's going to be better for the Canes than Tevvy ever was. Addition by subtraction, and addition by addition. He's ready for the NHL, and removes some of that third pairing trepidation Canes fans were having. We still might see more of Andrew Hutchinson than this guy, but it'll be a while before we know. And the kid has potential. As Cason puts it:

  The Kings get Tverdovsky. The Canes get their Tverdovsky. Only difference is that the Hurricanes new Tverdovsky has the chance to become Frankie Kaberle with manly pipes and a mean streak. Their Tverdovsky will more than likely stay just a Tverdovsky.

At the end of the day, I, like the Acid Queen, have experienced something like relief with the end of the Jack Johnson saga. I assume that Jim Rutherford knows something about Jack that none of us knows, and said thing pressed his hand to make this deal. This doesn't exactly have the markings of a deal we couldn't turn down. Unless, of course, JR was privy to some information that JJ would never be available to us. Perhaps Jack and Jack Senior rubbed JR the wrong way. Perhaps JR thinks that JJ will never lose his rough edge. I don't know, and we probably won't know until about 2011.

He's the Kings problem now.

The new guys give us some unfamiliar things. Belanger will be the first "French" guy we've had since Marty Gelinas. Gleason will be the only "Tim" that I can remember. This'll give us loads of chances to scream out "Timaaaaay!!!"