• Moderators, please send me a PM if you are unable to access mod permissions. Thanks, Habsy.

2026 Hurricanes Off Season Thread

jeffbear

jeffbear

Mod Squad
Staff member
I said I was going to wait, but I’ve got stuff to do later on and I figured I’d get this pinned.

So, the Canes won the Cup, as you might recall. As we enter the summer, they have exactly two open contract slots from the current roster. Freddie Andersen is out of contract entirely and Alexander Nikishin is an standard RFA. It’s a no-brainer to qualify Nikishin but finding a salary slot for him could get tricky. They have plenty of money so it should be fine. Andersen is tricky. With the other two goalies operating on cheap deals ($3.9 million total for Bussi and Kochetkov), they might be tempted to re-sign Freddie and possibly play all three. Or they could bring him back, move on from Kooch and find another 3rd wheel. Time will tell on those decisions. Otherwise only Reilly and Deslauriers are out of contract, which is kind of irrelevant in the grand scheme.

Cap … the Canes have a slightly silly $11.98 million in available Cap space and only one or two roster spots. So … yeah.

Outlook … you could easily make a case to run it back, let the key younger guys grow from experience and see if you can’t defend. Nobody would blame them if they did that, but it really doesn’t seem like Tulsky’s vibe. Kotkaniemi will almost certainly be dealt, the Canes have a first rounder that they don’t really need and several prospects that are ready for NHL rosters. So, they have the ammunition you’d need to make a deal … maybe for a center to insure against Staal’s inevitable age curve, maybe for some Top 6 size, or maybe an upgrade in net. Who knows, but it wouldn’t shock me to see them make at least one move this summer. Tulsky is a poker player, and he knows you rarely get the same results playing the same hand twice in a row.

Either way, hard to imagine a 2006-07 style collapse. This team is built to compete for banners.
 
I do not see any way KK is back...so finding a new home and a change of scenery for him via trade would seem like a no brainer. Freddy also does not seem like a be back candidate, he easily could call it a career and head back to Denmark, Bussi and Koochie with perhaps Primeau as the third might be the plan or do you go out and sign a veteran third on a two way deal as better insurance? Could you bring Frolov over early and get him plying his trade in the AHL as an eventual future starter in net?

Tulsky kicking tires on a trade for a guy like Larkin would not shock me, you have to start thinking about a plan at center when the Captain eventually decides to maybe call it a career in a year or so. Larkin strikes me as a Rod type of center with his faceoff prowess and attention to the defensive side of the puck.

The roster already being locked in for next season is a wonderful perk after recalling how much of a scramble Old JR had that summer after the 2006 Cup run.
 
Staal‘s contract is up after next season. They need a replacement for him and I’m not sure any of the centers in the organization are cut out for that role. Cerrato, maybe? But he needs a full year in Chicago first. KK clearly ain’t it, his time is up. Based on the ridiculous contract McCarron got, there might be a better market for him than we think.
 
Cerrato was all offense in college, so that seems like a stretch. You could think about transitioning Aho down to a more defense-first role but not without finding another scoring center. Larkin, as much as I don’t really like him personally, IS a fit here. It would cost a LOT, but if it’s the right fit and helps get you past the Staal transition, then … I could see it.

I keep seeing Carolina linked to Trocheck … again … but the same issues apply as applied when he left, except even more so at his current age. That’s the kind of deal you look at when you’re chasing a Cup, not defending one. Mason McTavish might be interesting as a reclamation project. I think he’d be good in this system and he obviously needs a fresh start, and Anaheim could be a landing place for Kotkaniemi. I know they passed on him before, but not before kicking the tires. There was some initial interest.
 
OK … parties aside, I had an off season thought this morning and that’s what this thread is here for. My therapy.


With very little contract work to do and very few roster holes to fill, I do wonder if Carolina takes a long look at the RFA class. They have the draft picks to fund an offer sheet even up to the highest compensation level and there are couple of guys in that level that could be worth at least gaming out. They also clearly don’t mind pissing off other teams with offer sheets.

Pavel Dorofeyev, Vegas winger, 25 years old … yeah, he had a rough Finals but he’s a proven finisher and can play in a defensive system. He’s a little bit one dimensional on offense, but talk about a guy who can bury on the power play. And he brings offense without being terrible in other areas. His projected market value is in the $9-10 million AAV range and Vegas has all sorts of money problems. It’s worth noodling over.

Brandt Clarke, Kings Right Defense, 23 years old … I’m a big believer in this kid. He’s got a projected long term market value in the $8-10 million range and a Miller-ish tool box. Plus he plays the value position of RD and if Carolina has any holes it’s on the right side of that D. This is a guy who LA still shelters even though he probably doesn’t need it anymore (with a solid partner), and Dinosaur Man Ken Holland is likely to underrate a defender without much purely defensive upside. If the Canes front office isn’t as high on Nikishin’s offensive upside as they were this time last year (and personally, I’m not), then Clarke is the kind of guy who has shown a little more in that regard, plays the right side and has the feet to play the man to man system. This is the kind of kid you can plug next to Slavin for the next 3-4 years, or play with Miller for an all action pairing and drive teams nuts in transition. It’s a matter of belief and fit. I’m not sure the belief is there in LA and I’m pretty sure the fit here would be special.

Another option, and this one would be wild, is Jack Drury. Without a real Staal deputy in the mix, Drury is a known commodity, albeit one without a lot of patience. But he wants to be on a winner and wants a real role, and Carolina is the kind of team that actually uses their depth and doesn’t gripe when a guy with Drury’s usage “only” produces 25-ish points. Good PK, good faceoff guy, good character, big drive to win. And Carolina can afford to over term and over pay him a bit in a way Colorado simply cannot. Worth some thought.

Just food for thought as you start to ponder the Draft and how far back the Canes will go when they inevitably trade down out of the first round.
 
jeffbear said:
OK … parties aside, I had an off season thought this morning and that’s what this thread is here for. My therapy.
...

Just food for thought as you start to ponder the Draft and how far back the Canes will go when they inevitably trade down out of the first round.
Click to expand...
I would like to see the team do another try at Robert Thomas. Yeah, he's going to be overpriced, but the Canes have assets to move. Draft picks and young guys in the system that are probably NHL ready on other teams.

But dang it, JB, you've got me really interested in this Brandt Clarke fella.
 
I think they’ll break the traditional script and continue to fill in where it makes sense and there’s a need, but to work on reloading the picks and prospects. Really for next year there are very few holes that need filling.

When does personal pride start kicking in for players wanting to come here. At some point instead of players not wanting to play our system the discussion flips to “you don’t have what it takes to play here”

Then there’s the fan side. Are we going to be able to relax a little in the knowing that this team is not overrated, not fatally flawed, not destined for a great regular season and then get bounced hard in the playoffs? They proved that discussing the Canes as Cup contenders was correct. Seems like there might/should be more confidence as fans going forward.
 
NoMich said:
I'm seeing these videos floating around and I get really jealous that I'm not there. But then I remember the following items:
  • I'm waaaay too old for that shit.
  • I don't drink anymore.
  • I freaking hate Glenwood South.
Click to expand...
Add: I'm not a fan of Raleigh traffic and there's no shortcut to Hillsborough.

Jim
 
NoMich said:
I'm seeing these videos floating around and I get really jealous that I'm not there. But then I remember the following items:
  • I'm waaaay too old for that shit.
  • I don't drink anymore.
  • I freaking hate Glenwood South.
Click to expand...
Yes
No
Yes

I never heard of Teets, so I couldn’t have gone if I wanted to.
 
NoMich said:
I would like to see the team do another try at Robert Thomas. Yeah, he's going to be overpriced, but the Canes have assets to move. Draft picks and young guys in the system that are probably NHL ready on other teams.

But dang it, JB, you've got me really interested in this Brandt Clarke fella.
Click to expand...
I just don’t think St Louis is actually serious about trading Thomas. Kyrou, maybe.

On Clarke, a lot of people woke up to Jackson LaCombe in Anaheim during these playoffs, and I think Clarke has every bit of the same upside if he’s correctly deployed. But LA is never going to get that out of him, IMO. You put Clarke here or in Montreal, I think he goes from pretty good to real good, real fast.
 
cmon3 said:
Then there’s the fan side. Are we going to be able to relax a little in the knowing that this team is not overrated, not fatally flawed, not destined for a great regular season and then get bounced hard in the playoffs? They proved that discussing the Canes as Cup contenders was correct. Seems like there might/should be more confidence as fans going forward.
Click to expand...
God I hope so. I’m done with that negative crap, personally.
 
andyt said:
The 19 game trip through the playoffs has washed away the last vestiges of the PTSD accumulated between the 2009-10 season and December 31, 2018.
Click to expand...
You mean you can now wax nostalgic about Nathan Gerbe and Keegan Lowe without getting the shakes? Wow that 2015 team had a well-deserved last place finish in the division (yet somehow Buffalo was worse).
 
andyt said:
The 19 game trip through the playoffs has washed away the last vestiges of the PTSD accumulated between the 2009-10 season and December 31, 2018.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that season. Started out like the others, firmly established in Loserville, USA, population us. But then the calendar turned to 2019 and the Canes clicked with Rod's system. I was in the arena the night they clinched a playoff spot and it's been an awesome ride ever since then. I also somehow got into a seat for game 3 of that series against Washington. I was blown away by much more rowdy and loud it was in for that game compared to all other playoff games played in there.
 
NoMich said:
Looks like it's owned by Bates and his brother. Not sure if it's just a renamed Lucky B's or another venture in the area by them.
Click to expand...
They closed Lucky B's and opened Teets......Lucky B's.....and Teets, get some pretty bad reviews on social media. One person asked if they knew why it closed and someone responded, "THe City made Bates put a door on the bathroom stalls and he refused"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top