NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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With news emerging yesterday that the agent for forward Scott Walker has been in contact with the Canes' front office, and Jim Rutherford summarily dismissing the likelihood of Walker re-signing with the team, it's time for anyone who wants to see a youth movement take hold in west Raleigh to thank their lucky stars that Peter Karmanos is interested in selling a share of the team.
And yes, those two seemingly unrelated issues are actually connected in a fundamental way.
Twice in the past ten years, circumstances beyond Rutherford's control have forced him to make decisions that he otherwise would have been hesitant to make. The first time was in 2004, when the lockout wiped out the season and, as a result, a decent-sized group of players who otherwise would have been in Raleigh (Eric Staal chief among them, as well as Cam Ward, Chad LaRose, and probably Mike Zigomanis) instead spent a year in the American Hockey League sharpening their skills.
In a classic case of good things emerging from a bad situation, all of those players came back up to the NHL the following year, and were all instrumental in one way or another in delivering a Stanley Cup to the Hurricanes. Zigomanis was traded in the Doug Weight deal, so while he was an indirect part of the puzzle he was nonetheless a necessary component of the championship team.
To prolong the success of that 2006 championship team, Rutherford loaded up on veteran players in the '06-07 season.
And again in '07-08.
And again, with some success, in '08-09.
And again in '09-10.
The roster reads like a who's who of cautionary tales against signing veteran players to low-dollar contracts: Trevor Letowski, John Grahame, David Tanabe, Jeff Hamilton, Josef Melichar, Stephane Yelle. Every one of those players took a roster spot from a younger player who, especially in '07-08, could have benefitted from a slot on an NHL roster.
Finally, Rutherford's hand was forced this offseason. With Karmanos interested in selling a portion of the team, the Canes' self-imposed salary cap is significantly lower than it has been in the recent past. Unlike the past two seasons, where the Canes spent in the low- to mid-$50 million range on payroll, this year the Canes will be in the mid-$40s. And on top of that, Cam Ward's new contract extension kicks in this season, so the Canes will have $21 million - nearly half of their current $42.5 million payroll - tied up in four players: Staal, Ward, Tuomo Ruutu and Joni Pitkanen.
So with only $20 million or so left to fill out the rest of the roster, and with the Canes requiring flexibility to keep payroll as low as possible, the youth movement has begun in earnest. Look no further than the battle for the centers of the bottom two lines. Instead of names like Yelle and Hamilton being batted around, you're hearing the likes of Zac Dalpe, Riley Nash and Jiri Tlusty being mentioned. And with Erik Cole and Sergei Samsonov both unrestricted free agents after this season, that's two more slots that will open up for a Zach Boychuk or a Drayson Bowman to grab after spending this season on the Charlotte-to-Raleigh shuttle.
Last time Rutherford's hand was forced and he had to get out of his comfort zone, it resulted in a championship season. The same thing has happened this year, and we can only hope that it leads to good things down the road yet again.
It might be one of the rare times that a fanbase actually looks forward to a reduced payroll and ownership uncertainty. Who knew?
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