Patience - Plenty of Work Ahead for Canes

by Bob Wage on Jun 17, 2008 1:20 AM EDT

So far this off season, new contract signings have been few and far between for the Carolina Hurricanes. Other than Sergei Samsonov, Trevor Gillies, Michael Leighton, and Patrick Eaves, the rest of the unsigned Canes are still waiting for contracts.

LSB recently reported that negotiations between Jim Rutherford and restricted free agents Tim Gleason and Tuomo Ruutu have "stalled". Rutherford was quoted as saying that the process will "just run it's course".

There are other RFA's as well who still need contracts. Here is a listing-

Tim Gleason

Tuomo Ruutu

Chad LaRose

Dennis Seidenberg

Tim Conboy

Mark Flood

Joey Mormina

Joe Jensen

Brandon Nolan

Kevin Nastiuk

Pat Dwyer

While it has been mentioned that the franchise will not offer goalie Kevin Nastiuk another contract, how difficult can it be to lock up a few of these other Albany guys?

Mormina reportedly played very well in Albany last year, as did Nolan. Joe Jensen was hand-picked by Ron Francis to be here late last year. It's a surprise that he hasn't been signed.

The good news for Caniacs is that since these players are restricted, the Hurricanes will have the final say concerning their eventual whereabouts this summer.

If the two sides can't come to an agreement by July 1st, a couple of different scenarios could play out.

The parties could end up going to salary arbitration where a one year contract amount will be determined by a neutral entity. If the amount is too high for the Hurricanes liking, they would have the option to walk away from the award which would automatically make the player an unrestricted free agent and allow them to negotiate with any other team.

Another possible situation which could arise is that the RFA could receive and accept an offer from another team. The Hurricanes would then have the option to match the offer, or receive compensation in draft picks if they choose not to match it. (the number and ranking of draft picks is determined by the amount of the contract)

As you can imagine, it can get a little complicated and nerve-wracking if things continue to drag out.

In addition to the RFA's, there are some UFA's who need contracts as well. The following players will be free to negotiate with any team come July 1st if they remain unsigned.

Keith Aucoin

Ryan Bayda

Wade Brookbank

Trevor Letowski

Of course Carolina management also has the draft coming up this weekend. They will certainly be busy for the next couple of weeks.

Speaking of the draft, we will start to look at possible selections and trade scenarios within the next day or two. The Canes currently have the 14th overall pick.

The blog has a new poll on the right sidebar.

Do you think that the Canes should trade up and get a higher pick? Should they trade down and perhaps get two lower picks? Maybe they should include their top pick in a trade for a top 4 defenseman? Maybe they should just stay put and take the best rated player available at that time?

What do you think?

Guns 'N Roses

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Comments

Do you think arbitration would work out in the Hurricanes’ favor in the cases of Ruutu and Gleason? I can see Ruutu finally becoming the player he was supposed to be with the Canes, but as it stands he’s not worth much more than he’s making now. Gleason was a solid defenseman last year, but how much money could he possibly draw in arbitration?

by John on Jun 17, 2008 2:38 AM EDT reply actions

All i can say is that if Gleason walks, the Jack Johnson trade is the worst trade in the history of our franchise. It will have gotten us nothing. I know JJ was not gonna sign here, but I still believe had Rutherford been more patient and NOT let the situation play out in the press like it did, we could have at least gotten a decent return on him. It is also pretty crappy to see that Ruutu is in this boat as well. That makes two top 5 picks that were apparently squandered away. People around here love JR, and he does seem to excel in reclamation projects. But the truth is, he drafts HORRIBLY and as a result we are left swinging wildly form year to year regarding whether we are going to be a good team or not. Ward and Staal are the only 2 first rounders we have had to make any significant long(ish)term impact on our club. He got lucky with Cole. Until we get a GM who is willing to build through the draft, we will continue down this road.

by wylde4canes on Jun 17, 2008 9:47 AM EDT reply actions

The Francis / Cullen trade was the worst trade in the history of the franchise ;)

by Benjamin repenttokyo on Jun 17, 2008 10:37 AM EDT reply actions

John-

The Canes have rarely gone to arbitration because I believe that it’s a difficult and unpredictable process. I don’t think that there’s any telling who would benefit more from a possible award, but most arbitration amounts made in the past have not been perceived as under-market, that’s for sure.

While I don’t think that there will be any offer sheets from other teams for Ruutu or Gleason, they could still receive big money depending upon who their agents want to compare them with. There are always a few over-priced players out there with low stats, which help drive up the inflation of contracts in arbitration cases.

One might think that the recent Suter signing in Nashville (3.5 million each year for 4 years) would help to be a yardstick for Gleason’s negotiations. Looking at the Suter deal and comparing each player’s stats, maybe Gleason is worth 10-12 million for 4 years?

I don’t know, maybe Gleason’s agent could convince me otherwise.

by Bubba on Jun 17, 2008 4:31 PM EDT reply actions