Gut reaction: Canes trade Paradis to Toronto for Jiri Tlusty

By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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I'll be honest: my first reaction on seeing this deal was probably like many of yours.  I scratched my head and tried to wrap my mind around the fact that the Canes traded away the rights to a player they just drafted five months ago for an AHL player who's had a cup of coffee in the NHL.

I'm still a little confused at the deal, and I'll be honest: I don't think this is by any means a slam dunk. But it might not be that bad of a deal.

Paradis was universally thought to have gone at least ten spaces too high in the draft, because he is still very wet behind the ears and is nowhere near ready to contribute at the NHL level. When Jim Rutherford drafted him, he was banking on having plenty of time to develop Paradis in junior hockey before easing him into the professional ranks.  The most optimistic observer wouldn't have thought Paradis would have seen NHL ice before 2012, at the earliest.

Circumstances being what they are, the Canes' rebuilding project has been accelerated by a couple of years, so the team didn't really have time to let Paradis develop.  They don't need help right this very minute, but waiting for another three seasons for a #1 draft pick to develop suddenly doesn't seem like a viable option.

Enter Tlusty.  The 13th overall pick in 2006 is essentially Paradis with two more years of seasoning. He's not the world-beater that many thought he would be when he was drafted so high (but then again, he was drafted by Toronto, whose fans assign sky-high expectations to everyone right down to the locker room attendant), but the important point is that he's close to NHL-ready now.  Indeed, he's played 50 games in the NHL, posting 20 points (including three against Carolina last year), but he's a point-per-game scorer in the AHL over his 100+ games with the Toronto Marlies.

In short, this is the prelude to what's to come.  I don't think Jim Rutherford will turn around and package Tlusty for someone else down the road, but much like Manny Legace bought the Canes time to figure out what to do with their two AHL goaltenders, Tlusty will buy time for the Canes to commence rebuilding by trading the Matt Cullens and Aaron Wards of the world. He immediately jumps ahead of Zach Boychuk in the Canes' pecking order, and depending on how aggressive Rutherford wants to be, Tlusty could take the roster spot of a guy like Chad LaRose or Stephane Yelle.

This is the first salvo in the coming rebuild of the Hurricanes. It wouldn't shock me to see another prospect-for-slightly-more-developed-prospect in the next few weeks, as the Canes will need warm bodies to fill out the roster when the anticipated dismantling begins. Given the events of today, it seems obvious that dismantling isn't far off.