My Ultimate Canes Offseason Plan
The Canes season has come to an end in rather quick fashion, but that doesn't mean we can't look back at it fondly. There were a lot of positives that came from this weird season. This was only the second time since relocation and the first time since 2000-01 and 2001-02 that that Canes were in the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. There were some spectacular performances in both the regular season and postseason that are worth mentioning as well. In this post, I'll break down what I hope to see happen this offseason, an offseason checklist if you will. I'll start with my evaluation of the regular season and postseason, as well as give out some season awards for the team. I'll then move into the upcoming free agents for the team and what I think we should do with them. I'll also talk about some players I think could be moved via trade in the offseason. Next, I'll focus on the draft, though I'll admit I'm not as knowledgable about NHL prospects outside of the top few in the class. I'll then point out some of the free agents I'd like to see the team go after and sign before finishing with what I think the team will look like on Opening Night for the 2020-21 season. It's a lot to cover, but I'm more than excited to do it.
Regular Season Review
There were some high expectations for this team after finally ending a 10 season postseason drought in 2018-19 with a 99 point performance, securing the first Wild Card spot in the East, and reaching the Eastern Conference Final. The Canes were expected to be a playoff team that challenged for the top 3 in the Metropolitan Division. Before the season even began, shockwaves were sent out after a trade with the Defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues that sent D Justin Faulk out for D Joel Edmundson and F Dominik Bokk. Once the season got underway though, the Canes hadn't missed a beat. They opened the season by winning their first 5 and 6 of their first 7, including 3 OT/SO wins over Montreal, Washington, and Tampa Bay in the first 3 games. The team recorded only one winning streak of 4 or more games the rest of the season (11/11-19), five 3 game winning streaks (including the last 3 games before the shutdown), and only had 2 losing streaks of 4 games (11/2-9 and 2/25-3/5).
There were also loads of amazing moments, from Andrei Svechnikov scoring the first 2 lacrosse goals in NHL history (10/29 v. Calgary and 12/17 @ Winnipeg) to Sebastian Aho's hat trick against Minnesota (12/7) to the return of Justin Williams and his subsequent annihilation of the league upon doing so to the debut and performance of Morgan Geekie in the last two games before the COVID break (3 goals, 1 assist in 2 games). But the icing on top of the Canes' cake this season was the game on February 22 in Toronto against the Toronto Maple Leafs. After James Reimer was hurt when Jaccob Slavin was pushed into him and Petr Mrazek was run over (still legally in my opinion) by Kyle Clifford, the Canes had to rely on the Emergency Backup Goalie utilized in each arena in the NHL for the final 28:41 of an actual NHL game between two teams fighting for playoff positioning. This savior's name was David Ayres. I'm not going to lie, I thought the Canes were going to lose when he came in, even with a 4-1 lead once Teuvo Teravainen scored once Ayres came in. Things weren't helped when he allowed two goals before the end of the second period. When the Canes went up 6-3 in the first 4 minutes of the third period, I was still doubting it pretty hard. It wasn't until there were about 3 minutes left and the Leafs hadn't generated anything for the entire period that I felt we had a chance and once those remaining minutes and second cleared off the board, I was speechless at what I had just seen happen. A 42-year-old Zamboni driver for the Maple Leafs' AHL team, the Toronto Marlies, with zero NHL experience had just recorded an actual win in the NHL and beaten an actual NHL team, nevermind that it was within the organization he worked for. It was voted on by the fans as the best moment from this past season and I couldn't agree more. We might never see anything like this happen again.
But for all the good moments, there were some bad ones too. There are two in particular that I am thinking of. The first is the awful injury to Star D Dougie Hamilton. Dougie was on an absolute tear. Through 46 games he had 14 goals and 26 assists and was playing on a shutdown pairing with Jaccob Slavin. He was likely on his way to a Norris Trophy nomination as the league's Top Defenseman. Then it all changed on January 16 in Columbus, Ohio. In a 1-1 game late in the 2nd period, he was tangled up Blue Jackets F Kevin Stenlund when he fell awkwardly with his leg bending in an unnatural way. There was nothing inherently dirty about the play, it just looked really bad when you saw the replay. It is worth noting this was just seconds after a penalty could've been called on Columbus for Too Many Men. Nevertheless, it wasn't called and the injury occurred and it was brutal. He was sidelined with a broken fibula with several teams breathing down the Canes' necks for a playoff spot. The Canes persevered through the injury, though they would also lose Brett Pesce to injury as well, but added D Brady Skjei, D Sami Vatanen, and C Vincent Trocheck at the trade deadline. Shortly after the deadline, however, the world was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Canes, clinging onto the top Wild Card spot for dear life, now had to stop playing. There were rumblings about what was going to happen next and whether the Stanley Cup was going to be awarded this season. The league eventually settled on a 24-team playoff to take place inside two bubble cities, Toronto in the East and Edmonton in the West. This ensured the Canes would in fact be playing hockey in the postseason, albeit in August.
Postseason Review
That postseason opponent for the Canes was none other than Metro Division rival, the New York Rangers, in a Best of 5 to advance to the first round. The Rangers sat only two points behind the Canes for a Wild Card spot, though the Canes had two games in hand at the time of the stoppage. The Metro was extremely tough from top to bottom, with only the New Jersey Devils not participating in postseason play. The Canes slotted in as the 6 seed in the East due to point percentage with the Rangers being the 11 seed. The Rangers had dominated the Canes during the regular season, going 4-0-0 led by C Mika Zibanejad, LW Artemi Panarin, and noted Canes killer G Henrik Lundqvist. The general consensus, despite the title, was young G Igor Shestyorkin would be the starter, but Lundqvist was given the first game in net against Canes G Petr Mrazek. The Canes accomplished a lot of firsts for the league in this game. This was the first game of the league's return to play, making it the first NHL game to take place in August. Jaccob Slavin scored the first goal of the game just 61 seconds in, making it the first NHL goal in August ever. The Canes would also go on to win the game 3-2, making them the first team to ever win an NHL game in August. It was pretty exciting since we hadn't seen a game in almost five months. Lundqvist and Mrazek were given the start again in Game 2 but faced a similar result when Andrei Svechnikov netted the first postseason hat trick in franchise history en route to a 4-1 win and a 2-0 series lead. The Rangers switched to the young Shestyorkin in Game 3 hoping to turn things around, with the Canes opting to use James Reimer in net for this one. The Rangers struck first just 12 seconds into the 2nd period, but from that point on it was all Canes. They tied it up over 3 minutes later in the 2nd and scored three times in the 3rd period, twice from Sebastian Aho, to send the Rangers packing and sweep the Qualifying Round series in resounding fashion.
By virtue of the results of the other rounds and the Round Robin games played by the top 4 teams in each conference, the Canes were re-seeded as the 5 send for the 1st Round and matched up with the 4 seed. However, this wasn't the 4th best team in the league. In fact, this team was the best team in the regular season, earning 100 points in just 70 games. The reason they were the 4 seed boils down to losing all three games in their Round Robin. This team also was the Defending Eastern Conference Champions and Stanley Cup Final losers that swept the Canes in the Conference Finals last season. I'm talking of course about your weird, loud, obnoxious uncle's favorite team, the Boston Bruins. This was the last team I was hoping to see in the 1st Round as I was rooting for Washington to be the 4 seed because I felt they were a better matchup for us plus that series would be a lot of fun after last year. Nevertheless, we had a date with Boston.
Right off the bat, I knew it was going to be a long one. Never mind that the Blue Jackets and Lightning played so long in the first game of their series our Game 1 got pushed to the following morning, but with a 1-1 game in the 2nd period, Charlie Coyle netted a goal with Mrazek way out of his net to give Boston the lead. But then there came the challenge. It appeared there was a hand pass on the play and then Mrazek covered the puck but the whistle didn't blow. The puck was then dislodged from under Mrazek's glove, ended up on the stick of Coyle, and into the back of the net despite a good effort from Nino Niederreiter to save it. This should not have been a goal because either it was a hand pass and play needed to be stopped or Mrazek froze the puck and the subsequent dislodging of the puck would've been goaltender interference, or at least that's my interpretation after Rod Brind'Amour's comments following the game, which we will get to in a second. Apparently, we challenged the wrong thing because the goal was upheld despite all the logic in the world and the Canes were assessed a minor penalty for delay of game. Call it karma but Brock McGinn scored a short-handed goal to even the game just over 20 seconds later. They traded goals in the third to force overtime and in the second OT period, Patrice Bergeron scored to give Boston the 1-0 series lead. RBA was later fined $25,000 by the league for comments he made after the game, but I still hold he wasn't wrong at all. Also worth noting that Dougie was back for this series after missing the series with the Rangers.
Things got better, sort of, for the Canes in Game 2 despite another abysmal effort from the officiating crew. The Canes won Game 2 3-2, but it didn't really feel like they did. Between the no-goal call due to "goalie interference", the "interference" on Teravainen after Torey Krug tripped skating backward right into him that resulted in Brad Marchand tying the game in the remaining second of the 2nd period on the PP, or Charlie McAvoy ripping off Jordan Staal's helmet right in front of an official with no call coming as a result, it didn't feel like Dougie had scored the game-winner. It didn't feel like we had just evened the series 1-1. Then Tuukka Rask announced he was leaving the bubble and it looked like there was hope. But let's not forget Jaroslav Halak was just as good in net during the regular season and he held the Canes in check for the remainder of the series. He led them to a 3-1 win in Game 3 where the big storyline was the injury of Andrei Svechnikov. I'm not sure whether Zdeno Chara slew-footed Svech, all I know is it looked bad and it might have been the difference in the series. Game 4 rolled around and the Canes looked good through 2 periods, taking a 2-0 lead into the break. For my money, that 3rd period in Game 4 may have been the worst period of the series and effectively ended the series in the minds of many. The Bruins scored 4 unanswered goals in under 7 minutes in the 3rd and won the game 4-3 to take a 3-1 series lead. That 7 minutes was the biggest turning point of them all. It was that 7 minutes that prevented this series from being 2-2 instead of 3-1 Boston. Boston finished the Canes off in Game 5, scoring twice on the PP in the 2nd period to win the game 2-1 and the series 4-1. The Canes fought, they just lost to the better team.
Season Awards for the Team
Hart (MVP)- Sebastian Aho over Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov
Frankly, this is a three-horse race because 4th and lower are a ways away. The dreaded SAT line finally saw significant time together this season and they clicked really well together. I know on a team that isn't known for putting up huge goal totals, you need to spread out the scoring but this line works and needs to stay together. The reason I pick Aho over Turbo and Svech isn't just because he led the team in points (66 to Turbo's 63 and Svech's 61) but because he was on the verge of challenging Eric Staal's 45 goal record from 2005-06. Aho ended the season with 38 goals in 68 games before the pause and was going to break 40 at the pace he was going, but there is no doubt he would've hovered around 45 and maybe even gotten it if there'd been a full season. What was also important is his ability to play and score in every situation. He scored 8 goals on the PP and 4 goals short-handed, both tops on the team. His 38 goals tied him for 6th in the league, behind Ovechkin, Pastrnak, Matthews Draisaitl, Zibanejad, and tied with Kyle Connor. Aho's 66 points tied him for 20th in the league, while Turbo's 48 assists were 14th most in the league.
Calder (Rookie/Newcomer)- Martin Necas over James Reimer and Joel Edmundson
The Canes had their fair share of newer faces, both rookies and guys in their first year with the team after a trade or free agency. For this award, I chose a true rookie, though he played 1 game in 2017-18 and 7 in 2018-19, instead of an acquisition, simply because I thought he was a standout amongst the team. Necas finished 5th on the team in points, behind the SAT line and Dougie, in 64 games. He was also in the Top 10 amongst all rookies in the league in goals, assists, and points (4th in goals with 16, and 7th in assists and points with 26 and 40). The future is bright for him. Other notable newcomers were James Reimer, more on him in a minute, Joel Edmundson (7-13-20), who I felt was quietly solid for the most part, Ryan Dzingel (8-21-29), who didn't perform quite to the level I'd expected, and Jake Gardiner (4-20-24), who was scrutinized heavily by the fan base at different times this year though he scored the OT winner against Washington in the 2nd game of the season.
Norris (Best D-Man)- Jaccob Slavin over Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce
If he'd played an entire season and not gotten hurt, Dougie Hamilton would've been my pick for this Norris and the actual Norris for the entire league. This is not to take away from just how great Slavin was but is a statement to just how well Hamilton has performed since we traded for him. Jaccob Slavin did play a full season and remains one of the most underrated players in the entire league. It is a shame he didn't receive a spot in the Norris conversation. He is constantly assigned to the opponent's top lines every game and is constantly the best player on the ice. His offensive game took a step up this year as well. He posted a career-high in points (36) and assists (30) while adding 6 goals, 3 of which were game-winners. He holds a defensive edge over Hamilton, whom he's often paired with. Pesce's offensive production dipped a little, but he is just as important to the team's defensive identity. His injury in the EBUG game is likely the driving force in the acquisitions of Skjei and Vatanen at the deadline and he was sorely missed in the playoffs.
Vezina (Best Goalie)- James Reimer over Mrazek, Nedeljkovic, Forsberg, and Ayres
Goaltending is often brought up when the team is struggling as the source of the problem. This year was no exception despite again rolling out a tandem of goalies that helped lead the team to a playoff berth. Much like Mrazek/McElhinney in 2018-19, Mrazek and Reimer were the oft-overlooked duo in net. Though Mrazek was the "starter" or at least considered as such this season, Reimer, when he was on, was a scary guy to face. In 25 games, 24 of which were starts, he went 14-6-2 with a .914 SV% and 2.66 GAA. These numbers don't jump off a page, but he felt more consistent than Mrazek. Mrazek (21-16-2 .905 SV% 2.69 GAA) didn't play as well as the previous year but took on much of the workload for the team. Both goalies had 3 shutouts as well. When they both went down, and when Ayres wasn't signed to a full-time contract, the goalie duties were taken over by Anton Forsberg, who we acquired in the Calvin de Haan trade in the offseason, and Alex Nedeljkovic, the guy we all assume is next in line and has been for what feels like forever we just haven't pulled the trigger yet. They were fine though the numbers don't look great. They combined for 2-3-1 before we finally got our starters back. Ayres only appeared in about half a game, albeit memorable, but game up 2 goals on 10 shots so better luck next year, legend (joking, of course, he is the best).
Best Moment- EBUG FTW over Svech's Lacrosse Goals and Willy's Return
Speaking of the GOAT, this game is the stuff of myth. This is the story you tell your grandkids about the night a regular man ascended to the peak of the mountain equipped with a set of pads, a mask, and a Canes jersey. This is a game that will forever list in history, or infamy if you're the Toronto Maple Leafs. He ran the talk show and late-night gauntlets in the days after and will forever be a life-long Hurricane. This is a feat no one will ever be able to take from him. Just think, that one game is the difference between us playing the Rangers as the 6 seed or the Panthers as the 7 seed, or, if the season had gone on like normal, possibly missing the playoffs altogether. The lacrosse goals, either one, would've been the top moment any other year. They in themselves are history too. No one had ever done it before and the same player, a 20-year-old kid, managed to do it twice before anyone else did it in the NHL. The return of Justin Williams felt inevitable. When he signed back on it was a waiting game as to when he would lace up again. Then on January 19 at home against the Islanders, Mr. Game 7 returned. As if it was written for the moment, the game went to a shootout and was deadlocked after 7 shooters each. Then Willy stepped up and notched the game-winner, surprising Thomas Greiss by going 5-hole. He would go on to score 8 goals in 20 games and score 3 shootout winners along the way.
Best Single-Game Performance- Reimer's 41 Save Shutout over Aho's Hat Trick and Geekie's Debut
Fun fact for the season, we shut out the Los Angeles Kings both time we played them this season. Granted the Kings were a very bad team, but a shutout against anyone is still pretty impressive, especially when you face 41 shots. While Mrazek shut them out early in the season in LA, Reimer threw his at home during the final game of a really long homestand on January 11. Scoring a hat trick is hard, but so is staying on the ice for 60 minutes and not conceding a goal to your opponents. The game was particularly memorable outside of the 41-save shutout, I just felt facing that many shots without giving up a goal is impressive. It was the 2nd most shot our goalies faced this year, only behind a 6-3 win over Florida in October. The goalie for that game, stopping 47 of 50 shots, was also Reimer. Aho scored the only hat trick of the regular season in a 6-2 win over Minnesota in December. He scored each goal at a different strength, with the final goal being an ENG while short-handed. Geekie's debut was notable for a couple reasons. First, it's two goals in your first game in the NHL, which is pretty special. Second, it's against a division rival on the road in Pittsburgh, which adds to the excitement. Third, it was right before the break before we knew we'd have to stop playing so it was right in the middle of the race for the postseason. Lastly, he followed that up with a goal and an assist in the next game.
Conn Smythe (Postseason MVP)- Sebastian Aho over Reimer/Mrazek and Svechnikov
We only played 8 games in the postseason but there was a clear best player during that time. Aho was 2nd in the postseason with 12 points, only trailing Nathan MacKinnon, at the time of elimination. He'll obviously fall as a result, but he was killing it before then. He had 3 goals and 5 assists in the sweep of the Rangers and added 4 more points, all assists, in the series against Boston, with those 4 points leading the team. Obviously, you'd like to see some more goals given that the team was eliminated, but an production is good production in my book. I also thought the goalie duo was spectacular in the postseason despite losing in 5 to Boston and everyone feeling like it's always their fault when we lose. Despite the 4-4 record across the two series, the duo posted a .931 SV% and 2.18 GAA allowing 18 total goals. Svech really shone in the Rangers series. His 3 goals in the series were tied with Aho, all 3 coming in the second game hat trick. He added a goal and assist against Boston to finish with 7 points in 6 games.
Pending RFAs and UFAs- To Re-sign or Not to Re-sign? (I'll only be looking at major guys, not all the minors players too)
Our Pending RFAs
D Haydn Fleury (4-10-14 in 45 G)
I think slam dunk resigns will be Foegele and Fleury. After being instrumental in the series win over Washington in 2018-19, Foegele performed well this season. He isn't going to go out and score 30+ goals for you every season, but he is definitely a sand-paper, hard nose player that is perfect for the gameplan. No player helped themselves more than Fleury did when Dougie got hurt. His time on the ice went up and allowed him to be a more consistent member of the lineup. He finally scored his first goal against Anaheim and three more after that. But his performance in the playoffs helped bring him to a new level. He scored twice in the 8 games and played solid defense. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Canes sold high on him after his performance, but I think it'd be a mistake if he wasn't in the starting lineup on Opening Night next season. The other names are toss-ups to me. Given their production on the back end, I could see the organization keeping Forsling and McKeown around, though I'm not sure whether they fit into the lineup next season. I wouldn't be surprised if they let Clark Bishop walk either. He didn't factor much in the 5 games he played this season and wasn't a consistent enough scorer in the AHL.
Our Pending UFAs
I don't think it is out of the realm of possibility that all these names hit the market. I think Justin Williams is likely to officially retire from playing now that the season is over, but if he chooses not to, he's the most likely to be re-signed of the group. The other name that I think might be re-signed, or at least we attempt to, is Sami Vatanen. He only played 7 games in the Canes uniform, but he is a special teams specialist and could slot in nicely on the 2nd PP unit. The rest of the names here are likely to be gone. The Edmonson trade worked out for this season, but he is likely on to bigger and better things. TVR on cracked the playoff lineup twice and has been officially passed by Fleury in my mind. Gibbons and Forsberg didn't perform well enough in their stints on the team to warrant re-signing.
Players on the Trade Block
These are the players I feel are most likely to be traded, though I doubt they will be or what we could get for them.
Nino failed to eclipse his point total from half a season in 2018-19 in a full season this past year. This is not a knock on his abilities because he proved in that abbreviated stint that he was more than capable. He just couldn't get hot and sustain any momentum he had. I'm not sure if it's because of who he was playing with or if the Canes aren't the fit, but a move could be in the cards.
Ryan Dzingel (8-21-29 in 64 G, 1 yr x $3.375 m. left)
Dzingel is a better scorer than his totals would indicate and he has shown hints of greatness in the past. But he was barely in the postseason lineup and only has one year left on his contract. This will make him a possible piece to move. I think he is due to rebound this coming season after failing to post 20+ goals since 2016-17. His ability to play center might keep him on the team.
Jake Gardiner (4-20-24 in 68 G, 3 yrs x $4.05 m. left)
Outside of the goalies, no player was more scrutinized by this fan base than Jake Gardiner. His tenure began better than I expected with an OT winner against Washington in the first road game. But his defense was suspect and he could be labeled as unreliable at times. The three years remaining on his contract will likely keep him in Carolina, where he needs to show instant improvements or he'll be out of the lineup.
This is not a statement of how the goaltending played this season but there is going to come a point in time where Alex Nedeljkovic needs to spend at least a full season in the league before he takes over the starting job once their contracts run out. Plus Ned's contract becomes a one-way contract next year which means it's now or never. Between the two Reimer was the better performer during the regular season, but Mrazek is a force in the playoffs. They each have one year left and Reimer's cap hit is larger. Either move one or risk losing the possible future of the team in net.
The Draft
I'm not well-versed in NHL Draft prospects but I do know we are getting a lottery pick this year. After taking the cap hit of Patrick Marleau for this season from the Toronto Maple Leafs, we also got their 1st round pick all for a 6th round pick. However, we also traded our 1st round pick to the Rangers for Brady Skjei at the trade deadline.
Toronto's 1st round pick, as a result of their loss to Columbus in the Qualifying Round, is a lottery pick. Since they didn't win the Draft Lottery that pick is the 13th pick overall. I honestly have no clue who the Canes are going to take but I do know this class is considered to be pretty strong. I'm basing who I want us to take on the other things I have read from all the other sites. I think our biggest needs are true scorers and goaltending, as it always is. We're in a position to take the best player available when it gets to us. By looking in various different places, I'm looking to see who the mid-round projections are. Every player that can be drafted comes with their share of risks, so take what I say with a grain of salt. So here is my attempt to evaluate four potential options.
Dylan Holloway- C/W, 18, Wisconsin, L, 6' 0"/192, 8-9-17 in 35 G in 19-20, 2-2-4 in 7 G at WJC U18
Having just finished his first year in the NCAA, it is extremely likely that Holloway will return to Wisconsin for at least another season. The sample size is small so if we were to pick him it'd be because we have faith in his ability to develop and accept that he won't be ready right away. His draft stock was really helped by his 2018-19 season with the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League where he notched 40 goals and 48 assists for 88 points in 53 games and an additional 13 points (9 G, 4 A) in 11 playoff games.
Cole Perfetti- C, 18, Saginaw Spirit, L, 5'10"/185, 37-74-111 in 61 G
This is a guy I think is going to go higher in the draft, but I'd be all for taking him if he were to fall into our laps. His track record of being a close to 2 point per game player makes him an extremely attractive pick. The Canes are pretty solid up the middle on the NHL roster and in the system, so this would be more about adding to an area of supposed strength. Like I said, I don't think he falls to the 13th pick but the possibility he does is an intriguing one.
Jack Quinn- RW, 18, Ottawa 67s, R, 5'11"/176, 52-37-89 in 62 G
This is the first of two that is very likely to fall to our slot. Quinn netted over 50 goals this past season for Ottawa, showing his goal scoring ability as one of his best skills, which is something this team sorely needs. This was a massive improvement from his 2018-19 season in Ottawa where he only put up 32 points (12 G, 20 A) in 61 G. To pick him would be banking on getting the Quinn of this past season. I think he is one of the best goal scorers in the class outside of the Top 10. This would be a high risk-high reward pick.
Yaroslav Askarov- G, 18, SKA-Neva St. Petersburg, 12-3-3 .920 SV% 2.45 GAA in 18 G
When it comes to who I want us to take, this is the pick I'd like to see the Canes make. He is a goalie and I've been making the point that Ned is the future of the net for Carolina, but if we have the chance to take Askarov, I'd take him. He played a great year in Russia and was part of the Russia World Junior team that won the silver medal at the World Junior Championship, going 2-1-0 with a .877 SV% and 2.71 GAA as a 17-year-old. He is touted as one of the best future goalies and I think he'd be worth the risk to draft.
Free Agency Targets
Before making it known who I want us to target, there are a few things that need to be ironed out. First, I am doing this under the notion that a) Foegele and Fluery are both retained through deals ranging from 1-3 years, b) All the UFA's from the team are not re-signed and Justin Williams retires, c) All the names I put on my trade targets list are NOT traded and are on the team on Opening Night, including both goalies still under contract and not Alex Nedeljkovic. It isn't realistic, both because of the salary cap and the nature of these players, to think the Canes have any shot at any of the big names on the market, ie Taylor Hall, Alex Pietrangelo, and they won't be spending draft picks on any RFAs, ie guys like Matthew Barzal and Max Domi. These are players I think would fit well with the Canes. I'll be giving a rough idea of what a contract for them might look like.
With the cap to remain at $81.5 million next season, it is important to note that they already have $72,360,666 going towards the cap according to CapFriendly, which means they have roughly $9.42 million remaining. I'll add to that the contracts of Morgan Geekie and Jake Bean to make that cap hit $73,977,332, giving us about $7.5 to play with. My math and logic might be off, so just work with me. I personally don't envision the Canes making most of their moves through free agency. Outside of Hall, Pietrangelo, and the handful of really good RFAs, this free agency class isn't all that great. The names I listed here are names I'm intrigued by and would be perfectly content with the Canes signing.
Projected Lineup for Next Season
Ultimately, I have no clue who is going to be on the roster once the new season begins. I don't know who will be coming and going during the offseason, so I just created my roster based on who we have in the system and on the roster now. These are the lines and pairing that I would like to see. At the end of the day, I'm going to pull for anyone that puts on a Canes jersey. If the Canes were to sign someone, the first names out would either be Dzingel or Niederreiter. I also feel the time is now to bring up Jake Bean to play in the NHL. He needs to get some experience and it is doesn't pan out at the beginning of the year, that's when you can send him back down. I'd put him in the lineup over Gardiner since he is the "weakest link" amongst the defensive core right now.
The last big thing I want to see happen is for John Forslund to be re-signed to be the play-by-play commentator for the foreseeable future. I love the job Mike Maniscalco did with Tripp Tracy during the postseason, but John Forslund is the voice we all grew up with. He is the Carolina Hurricanes. It was a shame the way Chuck Kaiton was let go and I would hate for history to repeat itself.
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