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2019 Carolina Hurricanes Off Season Thread

Forwards depth chart:

Center: Aho -> Staal -> Wallmark -> ???? (Martinook, who is really not a center)

Left Wing: Niederreiter (?!?) -> Svetchnikov -> Foegele -> McGinn -> Martinook

Right Wing: Teravainen -> Williams (?) -> Necas (?) -> Maenalanen (?)

Center depth certainly needs an infusion and there's nothing emerging from Charlotte except Necas on a development curve that might end there, but probably transitions as the RW he's playing now. Might could accept that Aho is a 1C, particularly if we upgrade his LW as Niederreiter is overslotted there. That would allow us to search for a 2C (much easier unicorn to find) or even a 3C and leave Staal as the 2C.

Left wing depth is probably overcrowded and perhaps needs thinning. And while we're at it, Aho could use a real finisher as the 1LW. So until Svetchnikov can get there, might be a good spot for a veteran LW on a short-term cap-dump contract. Playing with Aho will do nothing but help his numbers. If real NHL talent needs to go out as part of a trade, here's where we could shed some players and not really feel it.

Right wing depth is really short if Williams does not re-enlist. Fortunately most of the talent that might matriculate from Charlotte is right-shot, so maybe some help could come from there besides Necas. Geekie is right-shot.

Another way to balance things out is to move left shots over to the right side. Martinook can play anywhere. So can Teravainen. And I believe Svetchnikov played right wing in juniors on his off side.
 
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JamesNorthern said:
Some additional names I'd like to float out here as potential targets for the Canes, to discuss:

- Nazem Kadri > IIRC he has 3 years left at 4.5 mil. That's pretty affordable with salaries continuing to trend up. Issues with his head (?)
Comment: Maybe he's a good in between option? Has a modest all round game. Might slot in well with a bunch of our guys.

- Michael Frolik > Expiring contract @ 4.3 mil. I guess Calgary won't ponny up (?) so maybe out of range for what he'd bring.
Comment: Can play either wing. Not a center, but would maybe give some more experience. Good playmaking and shot abilities. Question on his size though?

- Kyle Turris > Too lazy to look up. But since a 64 point season in Ottawa, he's been up and down production wise, one season up, next down. Since moving to Nashville, trending down only. If he's on an expiring contract... maybe his recent issues of production can make for him to be had at a decent price. Not particularly large, another issues on size.

- Artem Anisimov > Never reached full potential? 30? Too lazy to look up contract status. Could he be of good use for us.?
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Apparently Carolina took a run at Kadri once and couldn't make a deal. In the meantime he melted down for the second post season in a row, which pretty much cements the fact that his head is filled with ... let's go with cement. If it's me ... hard pass. The team? Who knows? He's got talent and has produced, but I've never liked the guy.

Frolik ... I mean, fine. I don't think he solves any problems here, but he's a quality player.

Turris is interesting. He's looking a bit older than he actually is and I never thought he was particularly a good fit for Lavi in Nashville. He's been a productive power play guy and was always a clutch guy in Ottawa before landing in Nashville. Not sure he's a cultural fit as he's kind of an offense first and only sort of guy, but he's the kind of vet that could help the PP.

Anisimov ... wow. That would really be a gamble because he's really just been marking time in Chicago. The guy looks king of vaguely interested most of the time in Chicago, but that's a weird team dynamic for guys not in that core group. But for a guy with Anisimov's skill set to just keep racking up 40-something point seasons ... something's off. For $4.5 million dollars and two more years, it seems like a stretch to think Carolina has the answer, but who knows? At a minimum he makes your third line better, but that's a hefty price tag for just that.
 
Elsker said:
Forwards depth chart:

Center: Aho -> Staal -> Wallmark -> ???? (Martinook, who is really not a center)

Left Wing: Niederreiter (?!?) -> Svetchnikov -> Foegele -> McGinn -> Martinook

Right Wing: Teravainen -> Williams (?) -> Necas (?) -> Maenalanen (?)

Center depth certainly needs an infusion and there's nothing emerging from Charlotte except Necas on a development curve that might end there, but probably transitions as the RW he's playing now. Might could accept that Aho is a 1C, particularly if we upgrade his LW as Niederreiter is overslotted there. That would allow us to search for a 2C (much easier unicorn to find) or even a 3C and leave Staal as the 2C.

Left wing depth is probably overcrowded and perhaps needs thinning. And while we're at it, Aho could use a real finisher as the 1LW. So until Svetchnikov can get there, might be a good spot for a veteran LW on a short-term cap-dump contract. Playing with Aho will do nothing but help his numbers. If real NHL talent needs to go out as part of a trade, here's where we could shed some players and not really feel it.

Right wing depth is really short if Williams does not re-enlist. Fortunately most of the talent that might matriculate from Charlotte is right-shot, so maybe some help could come from there besides Necas. Geekie is right-shot.

Another way to balance things out is to move left shots over to the right side. Martinook can play anywhere. So can Teravainen. And I believe Svetchnikov played right wing in juniors on his off side.
Click to expand...

First off, and I know I'm pretty much the only one here who feels this way, but the right shot/right wing thing doesn't mean much as we act like it does on message boards. Turbo, Williams, Martinook, McGinn, Foegele amd Maenalanen all played significant numbers of games on both wings. Today's systems are more positionally fluid anyway.

Secondly, I do think Carolina CAN get by at center of they have to do so. I think Necas is seen as a wing now, which better suits his frame, and that Wallmark at least proved to be an NHL player. If they want to re-sign McKegg and let him and Brown split time at 4C, that's probably fine and it gives you five guy who can at least handle themselves in the role. You're hosed if Aho gets hurt, but who isn't hosed when their 1C is out of the lineup? That said, they clearly can upgrade at center without messing too many other things up developmentally. Roy is the only true center prospect in Charlotte who has the experience to step up and he's probably not going to ever be anything other than depth. You can upgrade that position on the 1st line or the 3rd and make a big impact through the lines. It shouldn't be THAT difficult to do.

At wing, Williams is the key. If he's back and you don't think Foegele is ready to just kind of swap roles with him then you need somebody else to plug in in the Top 6. Perfect world, you get somebody with size who can play a possession game and score, but then again ... that's everybody's pipe dream. Either way, they need to add skill on the wing .... UNLESS they find a 1C and Aho swaps back to the wing and does that himself.
 
Morgan Geekie could insert himself into the 3C discussion too. Wallmark would move back to 4C
 
Yeah I agree 100% about Kadri. But, I would take the occasional cement if he could get 60+ points for us. And I think of the bunch, he'd probably have the best chance. That being said, at what cost? What kinda garbage are you gonna have to deal with?

I like Turris. Low risk option that I think we could expect him to be inserted and know how to fit in off the bat sort of thing (having nhl xp) and hey bonus if we catch a bit of lighting in a bottle. But I don't think he'd be a detriment. He also has some playoff experience between the Sens and Preds. I think any liabilities with his offense first approach could be shielded with the right players under the right system. Anyway, like I said, something interesting, and you hope he has a nice bounce back year. Yikes, just looked up his contract, his at 6mil per annual, having just completed the 2nd year of a 6 year deal. That's a bit too much term. Then again, hey if he works out. But that's too much risk.

Bah, just add more talent through one or two acquisitions on wing or center > a couple of forwards and think we can manage to figure something with that. If that's Kasperi and another say vet player that has some production left in him, I'm down with that.
 
andyt said:
Morgan Geekie could insert himself into the 3C discussion too. Wallmark would move back to 4C
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Could do, but I've been told that they want to give him a full season at center in the A in a meaningful role before thinking about him at the NHL level. Of course, he could always force the issue in camp, and he's a competitive guy ... I like him a LOT. I think he's got that same compete level we see out of guys like Martinook and Foegele and would fit really well in Brindy's all action system.
 
jeffbear said:
And ... they're still buying him out, regardless. Which frankly will be a kindness because then he can take a year off to get his life settled before trying again. Presuming he wants to try again.
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Which is not what Waddell says, he said all options are on the table. Not that I believe him, of course. I think the only option they’re considering is which day before June 30 to execute the buyout.


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andyt said:
Which is not what Waddell says, he said all options are on the table. Not that I believe him, of course. I think the only option they’re considering is which day before June 30 to execute the buyout.


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Click to expand...

Waddell's office parrot Pierre LeBrun says we're buying him out. Until I see evidence to the contrary, that's what I'm going with.
 
I honestly do not see another NHL team ever signing Darling to anything other then a two-way contract. The Scott Darling contract almost seemed to alter the landscape on what happened last year with the contracts that Mrazek and Lehner both signed, both guys ended up with show me one year contracts, and both guys went out and showed well and will likely now get the 3-4 year Darling-type contract.

Francis took a gamble and lost, but at the time, Darling was a hot commodity that summer with not a lot of options for teams looking for a starter on the open market.
 
Look, Francis' gamble on Darling wasn't exactly one that nobody else was willing to make. There was some competition that pushed up his price, and there was no obvious sign that the guy was going to do whatever he did down here. Failure is always an option for a guy who hasn't proven he can be a full time starter, but that's a risk teams take virtually every year. And yeah, I do feel like Darling's situation informed some of the show-me deals that keepers ended up with last summer ... especially Lehner who had also had some substance issues in his history. In case, much more recently than Darling, it turned out.

But I do feel like Lehner and Mrazek were given contracts that fit their performance history, more or less. They both had something to prove, so prove it deals were definitely warranted in both cases. I know a lot was made of Mrazek sort of pushing his agent into the Carolina contract, with the hint that there was something better out there for him sort of going implied ... but I'm not so sure that was going to be the case. You're talking about a guy who looked like complete garbage in TWO opportunities to nail down a starting job the previous season. Bottom line, unless you're desperate, and maybe even when you are, you can and should be careful with free agent goaltenders. It's one big reason that I think Carolina should go ahead and nail down Mrazek before July 1 ... unless they really think they want to take a swing at the only other guy who's proven he can be a top end stopper in Bob. And I don't see THAT happening.
 
Oh.... can we fool the Senators into giving up center prospect Logan Brown? All 6'6 220 lbs of this 21 year old ?

"Brown is a huge center who excels at both ends of the ice. He can be dominant in the offensive zone but takes care of his own end as well. His large frame is key to his success as he uses his body to shield his puck and his reach to keep it off other players sticks. He is not overly physical for a player his size, but will finish every check and battle down low very effectively. He has a good shot with a pro like release as well as good creativity and maturity when passing the puck. (Tyler Parchem, EP 2016)"

Would fit in nicely with our group. Then again, screams status quo and not the superstar center stud we all dream of.
 
Look ... any superstar stud centers we end up with are going to be homegrown anyway. So ...
 
What happens at seat selection? Not sure what to expect..


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This March 5th Greg Wyshynski article and Mike Bales interview seems relevant:

The secret to the Carolina Hurricanes' goaltending turnaround

Bales was a Francis hire after Fleury left the Penguins and Bales lost his position there. Have read quotes in the past from Fleury crediting Bales with turning his game around by having him focus on finding the post before attacking the puck.

Seems from what Bales himself and others say he was a fairly hands-off in his coaching unless the goalie asked for some help in working on something.
 
Am I the only one who hates that resigned and re-signed look just about the same but mean opposite things? Someone needs to fix that.
 
cmaleski2 said:
Am I the only one who hates that resigned and re-signed look just about the same but mean opposite things? Someone needs to fix that.
Click to expand...

I mean ... they are different words, so typing them correctly is sort of the only solution.
 
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