NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
In a relatively quiet draft day in terms of player movement via trades, the Canes made waves a couple of times throughout the day. As mentioned earlier, the Canes moved their second pick of the 2nd round, number 45 overall, to Edmonton for Cornell center Riley Nash, a former first-round pick who just completed his junior season at Harvard University. Nash projects to a third-line center who won't put up astronomical numbers but is a solid two-way forward in the mold of an undersized Ryan Kesler. Assistant GM Ron Francis is unsure whether Nash will stay for his senior season with the Big Red, but he was having trouble agreeing to a contract with the Oilers and he may have one foot out the door already. If he leaves Cornell, Nash will fall in line with the likes of Zac Dalpe and Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll as candidates for callups from Charlotte next season.
The biggest trade of the day (and really, that's a commentary on how quiet the trade market was today) saw the Canes acquire defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti from the New York Rangers for a sixth round pick this year plus Washington's second rounder next year, previously acquired as part of the Joe Corvo trade at this year's trade deadline. Sanguinetti is one of the not-quite-ready for prime time players Jim Rutherford loves to stock up on; he's developed in the Rangers' system, making his NHL debut this past season, and is a self-described offensive defenseman with a good transition game yet is defensively solid in his own end. If that sounds to you like a description of Joni Pitkanen, you're not the only one who thought that. Sanguinetti said that while he was disappointed to leave the Rangers, he had mentioned to them that he wouldn't mind being moved given the Blueshirts' logjam on defense with unsigned RFA Marc Staal, Michael del Zotto and Matt Gilroy all standing in the way of getting Sanguinetti regular NHL playing time. Sanguinetti is signed through next season with an NHL salary of $765,000 on his entry-level deal.
With the addition of Sanguinetti to the Canes defense corps, they now have four former first-round draft picks on their defense, including the impending re-signing of Anton Babchuk. Pitkanen and Tim Gleason are the other rearguards chosen in the first round, and a roster spot is almost certainly Sanguinetti's to lose at training camp. It sounds like with the acquisition of Sanguinetti and the eventual signing of Babchuk, Rutherford is basically casting his lot with this group next season, plus maybe Brian Pothier if the Canes can make the numbers work. He ruled out any quick strikes in free agency, although he said they'd sniff around in late July or early August if any bargains fall through the cracks. If they do, expect an Andrew Alberts-type signing, a near-minimum-wage signing that will keep the Canes well within their budgetary constraints.
Late in the day, the Canes flipped Washington's seventh round pick, previously acquired for Scott Walker, to Philadelphia (and it's been a while since the Canes made a deal with their one-time frequent trading partner) for AHL center Jonathan Matsumoto. A player the Canes have had their eyes on for a while, Matsumoto scored 30 goals for the Flyers' AHL team this season but he was stuck in a similar logjam as Sanguinetti; with Mike Richards, Claude Giroux and presumably Jeff Carter all signed in Philly there was no space for Matsumoto. Rutherford said that Matsumoto will be a depth center, so it's likely that he will start 2010 in Charlotte but he'll be on the short list of potential callups. Matsumoto is a restricted free agent on Thursday, partly explaining his bargain-basement price on the trade market, and he had an NHL salary of $550,000 last year although he has yet to play a game in the NHL.
It seems obvious that the Canes are planning for life without Rod Brind'Amour, and while a buyout seems increasingly unlikely the Canes are lining up potential replacements to fit in behind Eric Staal and Brandon Sutter, if not this season then next for sure.
Now the Canes will turn their attention to free agency, with a haul of players who will be without a contract on Thursday. In addition to the news today that Brett Carson and Alexandre Picard will be tendered qualifying offers, we expect offers to also hit the mailboxes of Matsumoto, Bryan Rodney, Justin Pogge, Justin Peters and Casey Borer. It wouldn't surprise me to see Nick Dodge and Nicolas Blanchard the odd men out, although both could certainly receive offers. Among the unrestricted free agents, only Michael Ryan and Tim Conboy seem like players who may return to the organization, plus Pothier if the Canes can fit him in their budget. Ray Whitney is not coming back; you can take that to the bank.
We'll be back if and when the Canes make a splash in the free agent market...
No comments:
Post a Comment