Despite it being a slow part of the offseason with the playoffs still ongoing, recent days have offered a decent collection of Canes hockey news which is the subject of today’s Daily Cup of Joe.
1) Klas Dahlbeck is headed to the KHL
Canes' Don Waddell confirms Klas Dahlbeck has gone to the KHL.
— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) May 22, 2018
Initially just filling the role of an expansion draft shield for Justin Faulk, Klas Dahlbeck had a solid 2017-18 in a limited role as a #7 defenseman. Multiple times he was capable of stepping into the lineup after long layoffs and not looking out of place or rusty. That said, I could have gone either way on bringing him back to fill a similarly limited role versus just letting him go to free up the roster slow. The move creates the possibility that the Hurricanes add an inexpensive, experienced #7 defenseman to keep the youth out of the press box.
2) Jeff Skinner continues his extended turn in the trade rumor mill
Bob McKenzie on Jeff Skinner: “The feeling is he will almost certainly be traded.”
Full quote from the Bobcast: pic.twitter.com/PHOKZFHne8
— Platinum Seat Ghosts (@3rdPeriodSuits) May 17, 2018
The Carolina Hurricanes have a number things to be sorted out on the player/roster front this summer, but a decision and action on Jeff Skinner’s long-term future with the team will likely be the new GM by committee’s biggest decision this summer. Because of the wide difference between ceiling and floor for what Skinner might be in the right or wrong situation, the resolution of this situation has potentially huge implications.
3) Chuck Kaiton’s future with the organization is uncertain
After four decades in the radio booth, Chuck Kaiton's future with the Hurricanes is uncertain. https://t.co/G3kP57cULR
— Luke DeCock (@LukeDeCock) May 22, 2018
I recommend reading the article for a few of the details, but I will chime in. First and foremost, Chuck Kaiton is part of the fabric of the team. As such, I personally do not like the idea of him leaving. That said, radio’s role in sports coverage continues to decline, and we are quickly on a path to the majority of teams with television broadcasts just doing simulcast to fill the radio at least adequately with minimal cost. As television and radio merge, perhaps the solution is to somehow include him on the television broadcast team.
4) Hurricanes sign Finnish forward Saku Maenalanen
OFFICIAL: Canes Sign Maenalanen to One-Year Contract
?: https://t.co/pcMirbKH7H pic.twitter.com/WsnNv07W92
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) May 18, 2018
At the most basic level, I like low risk moves like this that have the potential to improve the team. The situation is a bit different with Maenalanen only 23 years old, but the move is somewhat similar to the Derek Ryan signing in that the two-way contract makes it virtually risk-free. Best case, the team has found a diamond in the rough and added an NHL player without using a draft pick or having to wait 3-5 year for him to develop. Worst case is that he becomes depth at the NHL level. Also worth noting is that the Hurricanes’ scouting of Finnish players has been dead on so far, so if that group likes a player, going and getting him makes perfect sense. I do think people are putting the cart before the horse projecting him into the 2018-19 opening day lineup. Most likely, he follows the same path as Ryan adjusting to North American hockey in the AHL and trying to play his way up from there.
Go Canes!
Jeff Skinner–I like LA as trading partner. Either Tyler Toffoli or Tanner Pearson would be a good return. Toffoli would provide a little more goal scoring as he has averaged 25 goals per 82 games the past four seasons(and would be a second TT on the team). Pearson could be expected to provide 18-20 goals and can play on the PK. I think the PK ability might tip the scales toward Pearson. The other likely roster additions (2OA, Zykov, Foegele, etc.) should boost scoring, but given the struggles on the penalty kill last season, the value of a player who can help Staal and Lindholm is actually pretty high. In addition to improving the goaltending and changing the culture, an overlooked area that needs significant improvement is special teams. The PP will get better with Svech’s pure scoring ability and Zykov’s tenacity in front of the net. I am more concerned with the PK. It appears likely Nordstrom won’t be re-signed. Martinook adds a solid player and McGinn showed promise. Foegele will eventually be a top PK member, but I think counting on him to be above-average as a rookie might be naive. Aho was a short-handed monster in the world championships, but I don’t know if the team wants him spending valuable time and energy killing penalties. This is one overlooked reason why trading Skinner makes a little more sense. None of the players likely to be acquired in the trade will have Skinner’s goal-scoring ability, but if that player provides a boost to both special teams, then the overall value of such a trade is close to even.
Maenalanen–smart move. Matt is correct in that he is not likely to play in Raleigh to start the season. I would go so far as to say he probably won’t get a call up. But it is a low risk move. If he has penalty-killing skill, then he might be the player who can use that skill to make it to the NHL. The other thing that seems apparent from the acquisition of Martinook and Maenalenen is that the organization values flexibility as Maenalenen is listed as playing both LW and RW on most sites.
The last trade we made with the Kings gave us a young prospect named Valentin Zykov. I doubt that we will get much for Skinny.
Another note to the Skinner story is that he has changed his representation. Maybe suggests a change to the status quo.
It is disappointing to think that Chuck Kaiton may be out of a job here in Carolina, but the logic is there. Radio isn’t bringing in the dollars, so….. I think the Canes are looking for a role for Kaiton, but that may not be what he wants to do. Then again I doubt there are a bunch of radio play by play jobs up for grabs. Tough spot for the Canes and Kaiton.
Maenalenen is a good signing. Could be a plus for the Canes or could be just a depth signing. Agree that the Canes have been very good at picking Finns. Maybe they could start being good at picking Russians starting this draft?
Isnt Calgary looking for a scoring winger? hehehehe.
New goal tender for us? Veini Vehvilä ??
Someone had mentioned this earlier, so not an original idea. Yet has anyone looked at Capfriendly lately? It is updated for 2018-19. Carolina sits at 47.6 million.
If the team trades Skinner and Faulk the team will be at roughly 36.9 million. Hanifin and Lindholm are the only RFA’s who will see a sizable increase in pay. With several players expected on ELC’s it will be interesting to see how Canes get to the Cap floor.
2019-20 will see Aho and TT get PAID. So the floor should not be an issue. Thus I expect if trades are made it will for players of equal value money wise just to get to the floor.
I have read that the Canes may retain salary on trades. At first I thought that was insane. Skinner is too good to retain salary. He is not salary dump. Then I realized the team may have to retain salary just to get to the floor.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. In the next 2-3 years some players will get massive increases in pay. Much better situation than Edmonton who can’t assemble a team around McDavid and Draisaitl, because two players have 20% of the cap.
I like the pickup of the Finn. He looked good in the WCs. I have never heard Chuck on the radio. The military keeps me moving. Sounds like a wonderful part of the organization. I hope he can stay in some capacity.
Presumably we are going to add another 4 million for a starting goalie
Svech’s will make .9 million but his cap hit should be 3.5 million. We go ahead and take his potential bonuses on this cap year. As we should since TT and Aho will get paid next year.
We can add another 4-4.5 million to the cap with Foegele, Zykov (who has to be re-signed), Wallmark (has to be re-signed) and Necas making the team
TVR should get 1.5 million
I think we make the floor with another couple of million to a 13th forward and 7th defender.
You need to get the Hurricanes phone app, jm. You can listen to the radio play-by-play from anywhere.
If TD goes so cheap as to force Chuck Kaiten out of a job I will stop following this team and find another team to follow, however emotionally hard it is.
We are not talking millions here, we are talking a guy who has called 3000 games and been part of this organization since the beginning, not to mention a guy who is getting old and should retire on his own terms as a broadcast hall of famer.
Gole over on wral.com points out this is the third time TD is playing chicken essentially trying to force people out of a job. It workd with BP, it didn’t work with RF, and if he skimps on the thousands of dollars, maybe tends of thousands, no millions that it takes to keep the hall of fame broadcaster with the team I will start believing some of the crazy rumors.
If TD makes such a move I can’t call him anything else than an unprintable word, and my respect for the Canes organization will essentially go to zero.
Strong words, you dont have to agree with me here, but thats how I honestly feel about it.
I think Skinner to Buf for RoR is getting ever more likely, now that Kane has re upped as a Shark.
Skinner and RoR have the same agent and the combine is happening in Buf this weekend.
If we can get RoR and the Sharks first round pick for Skinner it could work out as a fair change of scenery trade that benefits both teams.
For me Buffalo would have to keep some $ to take Ryan O’Reilly. Decent player, but $7.5M a year player? Nope.
As far as hitting the cap floor I suspect the Canes will pay a second goalie as well as take a similarly player back for Skinner and/or Faulk. My gut is they will trade either Skinner or Faulk, but not both. Just my feel. I could easily be wrong. I think it’s hard to pull off two big deals like that in one summer.
Agree with your thoughts on ROR. Why would the team pay 7.5 million for a player who may be the third center in a few years? He is a very good player but not sure his contract and fit for the team is ideal. Coach RBA makes every canes center a faceoff champ so not really a huge selling point.
I am not sure about getting another 4 million dollar goalie. Does the team need over 8 million invested in the goalie tandem? I am of the opinion that a goalie like Sparks or Dell would be a better option. Darling has made this challenging for the team. He bounces back- no worries. He doesn’t you have his buyout, another 4 million dollar goalie, and the need for a backup. That could get really crazy. As many have stated the goalie situation is the most perplexing the canes will deal with this summer.
This is why the Canes should make a low risk move like Montreal did by signing Niemi for 950K. An experienced goalie who has played great in the past with a low ris contract. Ditto if Ward could be signed for less than 1.5 mill and the team can bring in either a promising young goalie with huge upside or another NHL back up ish goalie to let the 3 compete for the 2 spots.
Yes, RoR’s contract is a bit too expensive. I hadn’t looked at his salary until now. If Buf took Skinner and Darling in return for a first round pick and RoR that’d be a good deal.
No way that happens. I honestly don’t think they would even do Skinner for ROR straight up. They are not in compete now mode so I don’t see Skinner resigning there after next year if he would even waive his NMC to go there in the first place.
BUF fans would be up in arms; many of them mistakenly view ROR as a 1C. I saw a long argument on a forum where their fans were claiming him to be a Top-10 center in the league ha.
I agree on Chuck Kaiton. He is a franchise treasure. We could sponsor a radio show for him like an expanded Kaiton’s Corner; a radio call-in show with a Canes/Whalers/NHL hockey history flavor. I can’t see just tossing him away.
I’m as much of a Kaiton fan as any having followed the Whalers since my childhood. But let’s face it, radio play-by-play is a bit antiquated and even less marketable than what it was 20-30 years ago. Also noting, just because Chuck K has been around since the team’s inception doesn’t mean he is owed a job for life (in business nobody gets that deal). Radio is a dying medium and in many ways doesn’t do much to grow the game of hockey in Carolina.
Dundon’s initiative is to grow the fan base, which is why I don’t see this as cost savings (radio play-by-play just doesn’t move the needle much, unless it’s talk radio). If anything, we should applaud Kaiton for his long time service and give him some TV air time…I can almost guarantee more fans will gravitate to our broadcasts and understand what he’s meant to the organization. This would be a huge shift for him, but for the growth of the game in the area there needs to be some changes in how we market this team.
If you’re not paying a cable provider, you can’t see any Canes games on TV. You can’t sign up for FOX Go either. You can sign up for NHL Center Ice, but they will black out the Hurricanes locally. What a deal that is, right? If they take Chuck off the radio, you can’t listen while driving, unless you pay Sirius. These must be the end times. Poor people aren’t welcome in hockey.
Don’t f with Chuck, Tommy. Have some respect.
We allowed Dahlbeck to go to the KHL? Unless he was one of the malcontents I keep hearing rumors about (and I can’t believe that it’s true), we really messed up here. Dahlbeck is the only d-man we had who didn’t mind throwing his weight around.
I think his presence here can be best summed up by his performance in the Vancouver victory we enjoyed last season. Vancouver has a guy named Darren Archibald who is bigger and much stronger than anyone on the Canes. At one point in the game, Archibald threw Dahlbeck into the boards. Klas got up and started fighting with the monster.
After the game, an interviewer asked Scotty Darling about how the team performed in front of him. His answer was as telling regarding the rest of the team (which he didn’t mention) as it was Dahlbeck (whom Scotty chose to mention exclusively), “Rebounds. Helping me out. Boxing out. ‘Dahly. Someone’s whacking me’ and Dahly drops the gloves with him. That’s a great teammate right there!”
High praise by anyone’s measure. I will miss him. The Canes will miss him, whether they are willing to admit it or not.
Great post on Dahlbeck. I was not aware of that quote by Darling. Canes definitely need to find that aggressive protection in the d this coming year.
The news that Klas is going to the KHL is a week or two old. Waddell may have just announced/confirmed it but Klas did so previously. He will get more money and more ice time in the KHL and he will return to the NHL perhaps when he can shed the RFA label and be a UFA.
I think trading Skinner without seeing how he does under RBA would be a serious mistake. Unless he’s just begging to go somewhere else, I’d at least see what effect the coaching change has for him.
I know his +/- was atrocious, but he was still our second leading goal scorer and I think his value is a lot higher than most people are giving him credit for. I also think there’s at least a strong possibility that RBA can have a really positive effect on him.
IF the team needs to get to the floor, there is JVR.
Based on the Kane signing they expect the price for JVR to be in the 7 mill per year range. The Leafs are not able to resign him and they have a lot of depth at left wing, so he will be a free agent.
I think JVR for 7 mill per year for 4 or 5 is a better deal than RoR. Insert him with Aho and TT for a pretty formitable scoring line.
I mean, with all the money they save by dumping Kaiten they can do some serius damage in the UFA pool. 😉
I think the best outcome would be a trade for a young goalie prospect. One who is close to the NHL and a forward that doesn’t mind being physical. Being the least penalized team in the league hasn’t worked much lately.
Klas announced weeks ago he was heading to the KHL – Waddell confirming it is hardly news. Tolchinsky is also headed to the KHL. Different stories for the two of them, but they will both make more money and get more ice time in the KHL then here. Klas will look to return to the NHL when he can come back as a UFA. Sergey needs to rediscover his game again after it was stolen in Charlotte – the KHL is a perfect place for him to be.
Skinner is playing for two things: (1) a big followup contract after next season, and (2) playing for a legitimate playoff contender. If he can put up 35 goals next season on Eichel’s wing he sets himself up for both. But I don’t what he is really thinking – and it certainly wouldn’t be a 1-for-1 exchange.
I love listening to Kaiton – when I am on the road and can’t pick up John and Tripp, and in the arena at home games. As a pure business it may make sense. As a moral decision – not so sure, but TD has demonstrated what he thinks with how he handled the RF situation. I don’t like the idea of simulcasting TV broadcasting – calling play-by-play to an audience that is watching is so different than calling play-by-play for an audience that can only listen. It would actually force John and Tripp to change their approach knowing that they are also talking to a radio audience. I don’t like it but it won’t be the first “change” I don’t like.
To quote Matt on other issues, the signing of Maenalanen strikes me as “meh”. I don’t see an immediate role for him – unless our scouts see a lot more in him than his performance in the Finnish league indicates.
Two late comments to go with a great discussion…
I am a huge fan of Chuck Kaiton. As someone who adopted the team when they moved here, he was a staple when only 50-55 of the team’s games were televised way back when. He (along with John Forslund and many early players) were also tremendous ambassadors for the game here and are underappreciated for their role in launching NHL hockey in North Carolina. As such, Chuck Kaiton will always have a special place in my hockey heart.
That said, with smartphones and DVRs, I probably catch at most 8-10 hours of Chuck Kaiton during the season. The more I think about it, the more I think adding him to the TV broadcast which would be simulcast on the radio would be tremendous.
Second, I don’t get where everyone completely pins Jeff Skinner’s struggles on Bill Peters. I do think he played a role in Skinner’s 2017-18 season, but I also remember that Peters coached the 2016-17 season too. Sure there are numerous contributing factors. There always are. But I think Skinner needs to sink or swim on his own merits.