The day is here. Today former Hurricanes player, captain and General Manager Ron Francis will build an NHL team from scratch.
Most interesting to me will be seeing how creative Francis is with a plethora of options to do some combination of building a team for 2021-22, collecting futures and leveraging a unique position. My gut feeling is that he will not be creative enough with some interesting options, but I am ready to be proven wrong.
Even more so than the Vegas draft, I think there are good opportunities to acquire some players with the intent of trading some of them later. Per previous comments, I think most interesting is the possibility to maybe draft a higher-end player or two who are overpriced a bit, discount them down to a better salary and then collect a good return on them.
From a Hurricanes standpoint, there continues to be a buzz around Dougie Hamilton. I am on record as believing it makes no sense to spend a selection on a player who could instead be signed as a free agent one week later. Given that the Hurricanes granted Hamilton the chance to talk to other teams, there is nothing to keep Seattle from hammering out a deal and signing it next week after selecting another Hurricanes player on Wednesday. One angle that could make sense is that by selecting Hamilton Seattle makes him feel more loved which is what makes him want to join the new team. Another angle is that by selecting him, Seattle would gain the ability to sign Hamilton to an eight-year deal whereas the maximum for a free agent signing is seven years. Given that his contract would likely be north of $8 million per year, it almost seems a tiny bit selfish to cost your new team an expansion selection, so you can net another year of $8 million. Finally, another angle that I have not heard mentioned yet concerns the salary cap requirements. Per expansion draft rules, Seattle is required to spend about $50 million on players taken in the draft. If Francis has a preference for many lower-price players, taking a higher cost player or two like Hamilton who are not bad contracts could help make the $50ish million target without taking on dead weight to do so.
Though rumblings suggest other possibilities, I am standing by my prediction that Jake Bean gets selected. Bean was a Francis draftee, and represents a nice combination of being an inexpensive third pairing defenseman who can quarterback a power play and is still young enough to potentially have upside from there.
This post will serve as a forum for discussion leading up to and during the expansion draft that starts at 8pm Eastern Time.
How do you think it ends for the Hurricanes?
Remember to click ‘vote’ for each individual poll.
Loading ...
Loading ...
Go Canes!
I think the Canes will try to make a deal with Seattle in order to acquire a player available via trade – someone like Joonas Donskoi or Marc Giordano or (especially) Alex Killorn, or even a goalie like Jonathan Quick. You can quibble with the names – I’m throwing a few out there I think are interesting under the right circumstances – but not with the concept.
If no deal is available, I think Bean is selected.
Definitely some interesting names out there, and I think the ones you mentioned are definitely in that group.
Killorn is interesting. He is one of those players who seems unspectacular skill set-wise but knows his role/what he does well and meshes very well playing with skill players without the puck on his stick much. That type of player can be a perfect 3rd on a scoring line. …reminds me a bit of Wayne Simmonds in his prime but with a bit less snarl.
If you want to swing for the fences, I think Tarasenko is intriguing and becomes even more so if you could get Seattle to select him and retain a small chunk of his $7.5M salary. He is only 29 and has been dinged up in consecutive seasons. If he rebounds and refinds his 35-goal pace, he is a bona fide 1st line finisher. Those do not grow on trees. If he starts quick, it will only be late November before people are asking why more teams were not interested.
If Seattle wants to win now, which is likely the expectation after Vegas’ success, why would they trade Tarasenko? If his shoulder is healthy as his doctor claims, he could be the key to the Kraken’s success. If he’s still injured why would the Canes take him at any price?
Dealing with Kraken might be difficult. The hard feelings between Francis and Dundon were significant. I doubt anything happens.
I agree that RF is not likely to do the Canes any favors.
I’m not calling him out as unprofessional, he wouldn’t go out of his way to hurt the Canes, but neither is he going to go out of his way to bring a player or prospect back to his former team.
I think that, combined with his straight-forward no-games management style, is unlikely to make for much Canes related news coming out of Seattle.
I may also be wrong, I rather hope to be.
According to this Hockeybuzz article, Francis has his eye set on Geekie:
https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Ben-Shelley/Seattle-will-reportedly-select-Morgan-Geekie-from-Hurricanes/274/112596
and former Hurricane Fleury (aka “our Haydn”) as his Ducks pick.
Take it with a grain of salt (or a pitcher of coffee).
The Canes would be fine in that scenario. Geekie has potential but is not a slam dunk top 6 forward by any stretch of the imagination.
Shows you what we all know!
Geekie is a solid pick. He has established himself as a legitimate 4th line forward. You can talk all you want about Bean’s potential, but he has not yet proven he’s a legitimate NHL player. Bean is not young anymore. At 23 it is make it or break it time. I can see why Francis did not want that risk.
Yeah, I’m somewhat bummed about losing him, but it keeps the options open on D I suppose.
Real question is whether Seattle is going after Dougie.
That is my fear. They are going to have cap. I think it will come down to if Hamilton likes Carolina enough to take some sort of discount. If money it the driver, then he is probably gone.
Hmmm, I thought I had posted something earlier today.
I was never onboard with the idea that RF would pick Bean – the argument seemed to be that: (a) Bean has potential, and (b) RF drafted him into the league. But Bean’s weaknesses showed through at the end of the season and he is still a developmental project.
RF selected two players with Nino’s salary/cap but they are definitely supperior alternatives (Eberle and Gordi). So my thought that he was a more likely selection proved in error.
I think this is a great move for Geekie – he absolutely does not belong on a 4th line or energy line – his skills in puck-handling and scoring are wasted. I expect he will join the array of former members of the Canes organization who found much greater success once they left for other teams (Edmundson, Forsling, Roy – to name a few).
I also like the Fleury brothers joining SEA – Haydn is a proven quantity as a 3rd pairing D-man, and he has offensive upside. Cale has bite to his game – although he is being described as an AHL/NHL tweener.
I have to think that Dougie is asking for what RF always called “silly money” but with their conversations they have developed a rapport and that might be enough to swing him to sign with SEA even at a reduced rate – he would play a big role on the D corps there.
SEA picked up a lot of low-cost players, definitely different than the Vegas approach. I am curious what will show up in terms of side-deals, and if RF is looking at hockey trades – he has $30-40M of cap space to use. Maybe Eichel? – as you suggested on Twitter, Matt. Maybe Dougie. Maybe even Landeskog – that would be a coup. Imagine icing Eichel, Landeskog, and Eberle…
This team, as it is today, is pretty underwhelming, especially at forward.
Either there are a lot of deals in the works or RF thinks he sees something in this group that the rest of us don’t.
Compared to what he could’ve done, especially with side deals, I’m surprised at what he ended up with, looks like hard working but lacking in high end skill team placing in the bottom third, a bit like the Canes from 2017.
Hope to be wrong, RF is a good guy and I suspect he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve.
Ned traded to the Red Wings for Jonathan Bernier + a third.
Reportedly signed by the Wings for 2 X 3 mill (good contract!)
JB looks to be a free agent, so not sure what the deal is for him, but he used to make 3m so I don’t see it going down a lot.
Highly puzzling move if the money is the same. Ditching a younger goaltender who built repore with the Caniacs for an older one, even of JB is decent.
If Dougie is also on his way out, well, who are the Canes going to bring in?
This article gives a perspective:
https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Ben-Shelley/Hurricanes-trade-Alex-Nedeljkovic-to-Red-Wings/274/112630
I sort of agree with it.
One thing the Canes owner does not have a feel for is loyalty and the human side of the sport. A sports team is more than a business. It’s community, people, and is supposed to be setting examples.
While you need to be a business man to win, you also need to understand the bigger picture of the team and community. Moves like letting the radio/tv commentators go over what seems to be comparatively peanuts money, waiting for Montreal to offer sheet Aho before signing him, and now to trade away a potential goalie of the future who was drafted by the organization, is popular and seemed to be willing to resign for a reasonable deal (in the linked article it is claimed he would’ve signed a 2-year 3.5 mill deal.
I’m not a fan of this move, though I am still taking a “wait and see” approach for what happens next.
I am going out on a limb and say Frank Seravalli’s information is a lot of agent-speak. I wouldn’t take it at face value. Nedeljkovic was willing to sign with the Canes for 2 @ $3.5, but immediately signed for 2 @ $3M with the Red Wings? I call #1 bullshit.
I am truly at a loss to explain this. A second round pick we develop into what looks to be a potential franchise goalie and we trade for a 3rd round pick. Forget the UFA, probably will not sign and no better them Mrazek. Anyone have any thoughts. Even with arbitration, did not see that breaking the bank. It makes no sense.