Quick Hits and Clicks

If one makes the logical leap that other than Ward, Staal, Skinner, and Sutter, everybody is replaceable and will be traded if the offer is sufficiently high (and to be clear I do to ascribe to that belief), the ramifications could be dramatic and long term. I happen to strongly disagree that Ruutu is replaceable or that it is logical to trade all four of Spacek, Harrison, Gleason, and Allen. Even so, given the article by Kurt Dusterberg and others it bears a brief examination here with a focus on the impact on the 2012 draft.

Gleason: based on the market, Rutherford likely will receive a first round pick for Gleason at minimum.

Ruutu: again based on the market, Rutherford is likely to receive a first round pick for Ruutu at minimum.

Allen: given his steady and physical performance as a Hurricane, he would command a second round pick and/or a solid prospect.

Spacek: his experience and calm approach makes him worth at least a third round pick, if not a second round pick;

Harrison: given Harrison’s low salary and his value to the Hurricanes, it would take at minimum a second round pick and a prospect. I would not be at all shocked to learn that Jim Rutherford declined to give up Harrison except for a first round pick because it will cost far more than Harrison’s salary to replace him.

LaRose: I think LaRose would come a third round pick and a prospect.

Jokinen: I doubt Jim Rutherford would trade Jokinen except for either a third round pick and a very solid prospect or a second round pick.

Tlusty: If Jim Rutherford is cleaning the shelves, Tlusty may well command a third round pick. Tlusty is a player who can play all four lines and has a very inexpensive contract.

Dwyer: Again, if Rutherford does into house-cleaning mode, Dwyer might command a third round pick.

McBain: McBain may well command a second round pick, if not a prospect for prospect trade.

One can argue that with UFAs, one can always enter the bidding wars and re-sign a player. Joe Corvo’s re-signing an example. My take is that Jim Rutherford needs to decide which players are truly critical to having a team that plays Muller hockey very successfully and needs to find out which of those players will sign extensions. Any UFA player with whom the negotiations with the player’s agent and Rutherford don’t yield a signed contract, it’s time to trade them. Not getting anything for Whitney or Cole was unfortunate. All it took was for Jim Rutherford to have asked Whitney’s and Cole’s agents what they wanted for an extension. Cole’s agent would have said, there is no offer we will give you to sign. At that point, it was time to move Cole. Whitney’s agent would have asked for a three year commitment, and Jim Rutherford would have made the best deal he would in light of Whitney’s no-trade clause. Why go down that same path again.

As much as I disagree with the house-cleaning approach, it does have the advantage of giving the Hurricanes a prominent position for draft choices in the first two years. I would likely mean another two years perhaps outside the players, but there is no question with a successful 2012 draft, the Hurricanes long term would increase significantly the talent pool in the system. I suppose as well that this post is a cautionary tale. One has to be care what one asks for because you just might get it.

and to top them off..they both make alot of sense too!! but we all know that there are times when the business side of Hockey makes NO Sense at all. With that said..I have a feeling and based on JR’s past preformaces in trades & etc…both AD & Sittler are very much on target ..this fan sees Gleason,Ruutu along with Allen,McBain ( possibly) along with a Boychuk,Sutter(42) tossed in to sweeten a or the deal…but like everyone else..we the fans will have to sit back and wait & see who and what will happen…until then…have fun speculating !! Hey it quit raining here woo hoo..now if it wil;l just warm up a wee bit!!