On Monday, the Carolina Hurricanes re-signed Teuvo Teravainen for five years. I covered that deal HERE. At the same time, debate rages on about whether the Hurricanes should re-sign or trade Micheal Ferland. That topic was the subject of Monday’s Daily Cup of Joe. This week the Hurricanes also parted ways with Victor Rask to add Nino Niederreiter which I addressed HERE.
All of this follows an off-season that saw the Hurricanes bring in six new players.
The team is working hard to find a winning combination that can forge a playoff return.
All of the turnover and to some degree the success that 2017-18 Hurricanes are having elsewhere this season begs the question of whih players should form the core that the new team is built around.
Today’s Daily Cup of Joe offers my two cents in terms of identifying the centerpieces that the team should be building around.
Forwards
Sebastian Aho
He has become the offensive leader on this team and in my opinion will be the team’s next captain. He is 21 years old and on pace for 90+ points and would be the player I would start with the build a core.
Teuvo Teravainen
Partly because of how well he meshes with Aho but also partly because of his versatile skill set and reasonable contract that now has him signed up for five more years, I think Teravainen is also part of the core.
Andrei Svechnikov
I will start by saying that Svechnikov has not yet played his way up to a level where he would be considered a core player. But he is untouchable as far as trades go and will be given every opportunity to play his way up to that designation over the next couple years.
Others to consider
With the departure of Victor Rask, Martin Necas being sent to the AHL and lack of immediate top half of the roster help at the center position, I think Jordan Staal could also be considered part of the core or at least trading him would require that another center replace him. I also think that Jordan Martinook is an interesting player to consider making a commitment to. He is a bottom half of the roster player, but he has captain-like qualities in terms of helping the whole team dial things up with his physical play and a great locker room presence. It does not fit to pay too much of a premium for even a good depth forward, but rather than collecting a mid-round draft pick at the trade deadline I would consider re-signing Martinook for a modest raise over his 2018-19 salary.
Defensemen
Jaccob Slavin
He is 24 years old with a very reasonable contract and capable of defending other teams’ best lines. For that reason, I put Slavin on my short list of core defensemen.
Brett Pesce
Like Slavin, Pesce is young, signed to a reasonable contract and solid defensively. Despite having multiply other options on the right side of the blue line, I would still consider Pesce to be a core player
Others to consider
In listing only two core defensemen, I am not in any way suggesting that the Hurricanes should consider trading the other three (Faulk, Hamilton, de Haan) with top 4 capabilities – quite the opposite in fact. I do think the Hurricanes would do well to trade a defenseman to add one more scoring forward and in the process balance the salary commitment across position. I really like what de Haan has done since he settled in, and as a left shot, I would be inclined to keep him and make him part of a secondary core if you will. I would also be curious to see him play a run of games next to Hamilton to see if he can have the same calming influence that he seemed to have on Faulk. Then I would consider trading one of Faulk or Hamilton depending on what the possible return is for each.
So when I net it out, my core is Aho, Teravainen and Svechnikov at forward with Staal and Martinook possibly part of a secondary group. On defense, my core is Slavin and Pesce with de Haan and whichever of Faulk or Hamilton that stays as the secondary group that gives the team a top 4 comprised of solid veterans.
What say you Canes fans?
1) Who would you include on a short list to be the core/foundation of the team?
2) Which players would you consider as secondary core players that you would be inclined to also keep?
Go Canes!
Given Staal’s contract and role on the team, I think you have to put him as a core member of the forward group. Or perhaps TT is more in the Staal second tier. That may be closer to the mark, which leaves this team with a rather thin forward core of just Aho and Svech. This team desperately needs another center as part of this core who can drive play and put up goals.
Good hockey teams share the characteristic of being strong down the center. Since the EStaal left (some would argue even with him) the Canes haven’t been strong down the center for a long time. Nor have they even been near average in goaltending. While there may be a flickering light at the end of the tunnel regarding center we need more certainty at that position. The future in goal is a total unknown. (Even Nedeljkovic will be an RFA.) The “committee” has a lot more work to do to make the Canes a perennial threat for the playoffs. Matt’s analysis of core is solid, pointing to the reality that most of the line up could be traded.
1) Aho, Teravainen, Svechnikov, Pesce, Slavin are the foundation.
2) I would have another tier of key role players. This would be Staal, Martinook, de Haan, Williams until he retires, Niederreiter, and (maybe just for me) Wallmark. These are players I would only move/move on from for a significant return. Martinook does many things well and is key to team chemistry. de Haan has proven to be what the Canes need to make the D a solid unit. Wallmark has the potential to be a 50-point solid two-way center. Those are hard to find.
The rest are either depth players (McGinn, Bishop, Foegele) or tradable assets (Faulk, Hamilton, Ferland).
The Canes need 2 more foundation or key role players from Necas, Bean, Fox, Gauthier, Kuokkanen. If that happens, then the team can look for the perfect acquisition.
I am trying to get handle on what you mean when you say “core” – core players for the present?, core players to build around for the future?, untouchable players?, players we should re-sign? You seem to include all 4 definitions in your piece.
I agree with you that Aho, Turbo, Svech, Slavin, and Pesce meet all counted definitions of “core”.
Staal is a current core around which the team is built – but should he be a foundational piece for future team development? That, to me, is open to question.
You can say Williams is now core – but he won’t be around in a year or two so he is not one you build around.
Martinook should definitely be resigned – but he is not core (primary or secondary) but a solid, complementary role player.
de Haan would be a secondary core we can build around – he is a critical piece on our blue line and we should make plans regarding the blue line with reference to being on it.
On first look, I would also label Nino a secondary core player – he is definitely a building block even if he is not an elite player.
For Hamilton, there is a decision – do we make him a core?; he is not inherently one at this point but we go in that direction.
You can’t label a prospect (and I now consider Necas a prospect because of his position) a core player – Necas and Bean, and maybe Fox and Gauthier (who is playing at a whole ‘nother level this season) are potential core players, but they cannot be part of the discussion now.
That is how I slice it, at least – but this post definitely opens up some worthwhile thought on the team.
Is Ferland potentially part of the core? Here is an interesting read from an Edmonton sports reporter interview with Ferland posted 3 days ago. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/micheal-ferland-familiar-situation-calgary-return-looms/ In this article contract term is the stumbling block between him and the Canes. Lucic is often considered the reason to avoid long term deals with players who play more violently. Lucic is going on 31, having played 11 seasons and 860 games in the NHL. Tom Wilson is the reason every Metro team needs a violent player on their roster. Wilson is 25, having play 6 seasons and 420 games in the NHL. Lucic is owed an AAV of $6mm for 5 more years. Wilson is owed an AAV of $5.2mm for 6 more years. In 6 years Wilson will be 31 and will have played an estimated NHL 870 games. If Lucic is the bench mark for career length for players of that type than Wilson’s deal could be the benchmark for a Ferland deal. Ferland is 26 with 290 NHL games under his belt. A 5 year $5+mm deal would expire with Ferland at age 31 with an estimated 665 NHL games played. While it needn’t be Ferland we will need Kryptonite to handle Tom Wilson as long as he remains in the Metro to thrive in the conference.
Aho, TT, Slavin, Pesce, de Haan, Nino, Svech, Hamilton, Staal, and, yes, Necas.
To me that’s the future core of the team. Staal will slowly degrade but he’s currently our 2nd line center and probably will merely trend to a very good 3C. Even if we don’t trade Faulk this season, I think he’s gone at the draft or certainly over the course of next season. Conversely, I’ve seen the good Hamilton and that’s enough to say that 25 year old is our next offensive driver. Aho and Teravainen make up 2/3 of our top line (or 1/3 of our Top 6). Svech has too much talent and is the real future. Nino represents the big, responsible, skilled “other forward” in our Top 6. And despite not being on the roster now, Necas is absolutely part of the core going forward, whether in the middle or on the wing. Again, just too much talent not to include him there.