Carolina Hurricanes: Are They Looking To Deal?

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

The landscape for the Carolina Hurricanes does not look good. Marred in a five-game losing streak, the Hurricanes have looked out of sync, out of breath, and outclassed.

With a record of 5-17-5 on the season, the Canes look to have the “coveted” 30th overall position all wrapped up and, unless there is a drastic change in their fortunes, plenty of changes are coming.

There are many candidates to be traded from the Canes. The question is, how much interest will there be in Carolina’s tradeable assets? One player that comes to mind is Ray Whitney, who carries a cap hit of $3.55 million this season and is an unrestricted free agent at it's conclusion.

Whitney has amassed six goals and 15 points through 25 games, but, much like many of his teammates, Whitney carries with him a minus-eight rating. Clearly, if you are considering bringing in a player of Whitney’s ilk, you are not expecting a lot of defense out of him, but his one-dimensional play may make contenders weary.

Rod Brind’Amour has had another tough year. His plus/minus rating of minus-19 ranks him 754th amongst all NHL skaters, or, in other words, dead last! It was just one year ago when Brind’Amour was in the exact same position, something many GMs will remember.

Trading Brind’Amour comes with a $3 million cap hit this season, and a $3 million cap hit in 2010-11, which is another reason Brind’Amour may be difficult to deal.

Sergei Samsonov has netted a pathetic three goals in 27 games and has an appalling minus-12 rating on the season. Add to that his $2.8 million cap hit in 2010-11, and once again you have a tough sell on your hands.

Erik Cole would be another hard sell, as would the likes of Aaron Ward, who has a -15 rating on the season. What the Canes are left with is the prospect of having to consider trading away one or more of their younger and/or star players in order to fix what’s wrong with this club.

Make no mistake about it; despite the Canes' strong playoff performance in 2008-09, this team is in a major free-fall that seemingly has no end in sight. The Canes are beyond making a “tweak” here and there in order to get the team back on track. We are talking about a major face-lift and, perhaps, a change in philosophy.

If the Canes so desired, they could put a number of players on the market that would attract a ton of interest from NHL clubs. Eric Staal has had a terrible season and, in many fans' minds, has been disinterested of late. Perhaps Staal is looking for a change in scenery?

You have to think that the Hurricanes would be very hesitant to trade goaltender Cam Ward. Sure, he’s having a spotty year, but his reputation as a great goaltender and the fact that he is a Stanley Cup Champion are reasons for the Canes to hold onto their franchise goalie.

Jussi Jokenin is very marketable, but you have to think the return would be for draft picks and not for players that could help the Canes now.

Tuomo Ruutu has the potential to bring back a decent return, but with over $8 million due to him over the next two seasons (2010-11, 2011-12), he is out of many teams' budgets.

The reality is, Carolina is in a tough spot, unable to trade their less desirable players and likely unwilling to trade their stars and youngsters. Trouble is, given the team's performance, something has to give.

What may make sense is a multi-player deal, but the Canes will be hard-pressed to find a team willing to pull the trigger.

I guess what I am trying to say is that any improvement the Canes are expecting is liable to come from within. (Good luck with that, Hurricane fans.) If that means giving away the likes of a Brind’Amour, Samsonov, and/or Cole for next to nothing in return, with the reward being the ability to fill their roster spots with younger, up and coming players, then so be it.

Taylor Hall, whom many expect to be the No. 1 pick at this year's NHL Entry Draft, would look good in a Hurricanes uniform, but there is no guarantee that the Canes will win the right to draft Hall.

It appears as if that is what Canes GM Jim Rutherford is selling the fans these days (the opportunity to land Hall) and, if the Canes fans are willing to buy into it, good on him.

Clearly Rutherford is in a bind: playing in a fickle market, attendance on the decline, star players that are not delivering, and a coach that is being thrown under the bus at every opportunity.

What was supposed to be a great season in Carolina has turned out to be a toad and, from what I gather, there is no magic potion out there that can turn this toad into the beauty this franchise was in last year's playoffs.

Until next time,

Peace!