Additions: C Jordan Staal, RW Alexander Semin, D Joe Corvo, D Marc-Andre Gragnani
Subtractions: C Brandon Sutter, D Bryan Allen, D Derek Joslin, D Brian Dumoulin
UFAs: D Jaroslav Spacek
Promotion candidates: C Zach Boychuk, C Zac Dalpe, D Bobby Sanguinetti, D Ryan Murphy
Forgotten
in all the hype surrounding Staal and Semin is the fact Rutherford
also signed defenseman Joe
Corvo to a one-year contract. Corvo, 35, just completed his ninth
NHL season, logging 75 games with the Boston
Bruins. The move makes up for the loss of defenseman Bryan
Allen, who signed on with the Anaheim
Ducks. Rutherford also inked defenseman Marc-Andre
Gragnani, who spent 58 games playing for both Buffalo and
Vancouver last season. He'll likely atone for the departure of Derek
Joslin (Vancouver) via free agency. Expect goalie Justin
Peters, who signed a two-year extension last month, to serve as
the primary backup to Cam
Ward to open the season. Brian
Boucher, who is entering the second season of a two-year deal,
has a shoulder injury and is expected to be sidelined until December.
The Hurricanes selected five forwards, two defensemen and two goalies
at the 2012 Draft. The club dealt its first-round pick (No. 8) to
Pittsburgh in the deal that brought Jordan
Staal to the team. Carolina used its first of two second-round
picks (No. 38) to select left wing Phil Di Giuseppe of the University
of Michigan. They then used the 47th pick on left wing Brock
McGinn from the Ontario Hockey League's Guelph Storm. One of the
more interesting selections by the Hurricanes was their sixth-round
pick, goalie Collin
Olson of the Under-18 National Team Development Program. He was
named the tournament's best goalie for gold medal-winning Team USA at
the IIHF 2012 Under-18 World Championship in April, going 5-0 with a
0.80 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage in five games.
Carolina
Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford knows when something
good is about to happen. At the time Rutherford opted not to
release young defenseman Justin
Faulk to the U.S. National Junior Team for inclusion in the
2012 World Junior Championship last December, he suggested that
Faulk was already playing too integral a role for the Hurricanes
despite his age. As it turned out, Faulk would lead all Carolina
skaters in average ice time per game (22:50), finishing first
among NHL rookie defensemen in that category. He also topped all
rookie defenders with five power-play goals, and was second with
22 points. He'd finish with eight goals and 1 assists in 66 games
during his first NHL season. Playing alongside Jay
Harrison or Tim
Gleason much of the season, Faulk became the eighth player in
franchise history to be honored on the NHL All-Rookie Team and was
one of 12 rookies selected to participate in the 2012 NHL All-Star
Skills Competition in Ottawa. Was Rutherford surprised by the play
of his first-year defenseman, a 2010 second-round draft pick?
"Yes," he said during his annual "State of the
Canes" address to fans last month. "Playing defense in
the NHL is very difficult and playing at 19 years old is even more
difficult. But as long as I've been around the game, even as far
back as when I played, I've never seen anyone handle the position
like Justin
Faulk has as a teenager." The organization is certainly
holding out hope that Faulk is able to duplicate that effort in
2012-13 in order to create some measure of continuity along the
back end. "We've had defensemen come into the League like
[Bobby] Orr, [Denis] Potvin and [Phil] Housley, who were great
offensive players, but I've never seen a player play so well
defensively and offensively at his age," Rutherford said. "I
can't describe it well enough to tell [fans] what they're in store
for having this great young player." With a year of
experience now under his belt, Faulk is looking forward to
2012-13. "When you don't make the playoffs, it's not a good
feeling, it doesn't sit too well especially when you start seeing
all the playoff stuff on TV and the Internet," Faulk said.
"You're not too happy about it and I think we're hoping to be
in a different position."
How
high was Carolina's managerial team on Faulk when they drafted him
in the second round (No. 37) in 2010? Consider that less than a
week after celebrating a national championship as a freshman at
Minnesota-Duluth in 2011, Faulk was already signing an entry-level
deal with the team in April. He led Bulldogs defensemen in goals
(eight), assists (25) and points (33) in 39 games in helping UMD
to its first NCAA championship. "In training camp, it looked
like he was ahead of schedule, and that proved to be the case,"
Carolina's director of amateur scouting, Tony MacDonald, told
NHL.com. "I guess you could say he made the transition a
little earlier than we thought he would. Not many 19-year-olds can
do that, especially on defense, but it looks like he'll be one of
our go-to guys for a long time, and that's tremendous." In
Carolina, Faulk was arguably the team's best puck-mover in the
absence of injured Joni
Pitkanen last season. That work ethic and consistency will
need to continue this campaign in order for Carolina to remain
steady in front of All-Star goalie Cam
Ward.
After failing to
qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight year,
Carolina
Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford made several bold
moves. He started by acquiring two-way center Jordan
Staal from the Pittsburgh
Penguins and followed with the signing of unrestricted free agent
left wing Alexander
Semin, in an attempt to alter the landscape of the Eastern
Conference. The moves certainly give coach Kirk
Muller plenty to ponder with regard to line combinations entering
training camp. The arrival of Staal immediately gives the Hurricanes
a boost down the middle and Semin provides complementary scoring the
team has lacked in recent years. "It's great to have a
right-handed goal-scorer like Semin to balance out our lines,"
Muller said. "Who plays with who, this guy with that guy, can be
sorted out in preseason. For us, having Semin adds another dimension
to our lineup, with a right-handed shooter we know can produce.
Whether he plays with the Staal brothers or splits time with them,
we've got an elite player to play with them."
One
of Kirk Muller's biggest tasks will be figuring out where to play
offseason acquisition Jordan Staal. Don't be surprised to see Jordan
join forces with Eric
Staal in training camp and throughout much of the preseason. "I
think that's the great opportunity with training camp, is to
experiment," Muller told the Raleigh News & Observer. "We've
got lots of [preseason] games. The first initial thing, right now, we
definitely want to give them an opportunity to play together in those
games and see if there's chemistry." Jordan is embracing his new
role with the Hurricanes as an opportunity to become one of the
League's top performers. "I'm obviously looking to expand my
role and be more of an elite player," Staal said. "I know
the opportunity is here and obviously there is pressure. Hopefully I
can have a big year and a big career here and try to be the elite
player I can be." Despite the fact both Staals are natural
centers, Eric has spent time on the wing for Team Canada during
international stints. Jordan had been the customary third-line center
behind Sidney
Crosby and Evgeni
Malkin the past six seasons for the Pittsburgh Penguins. "Lots
of times, until you put guys together … you know, you've got to get
a feel for it," Muller said. "I know they have a little
history from before. But I think it makes sense right now to start
off with them and see how they work together."
Maybe
Muller should just throw names into a hat to determine his top three
line combinations. The addition of Semin in late July really opened
up several options for Muller. While he will probably give the Staals
every opportunity to play together, there's also the chance Eric
could be flanked by Semin and Chad
LaRose. That would allow Jordan to center the second line between
Jeff Skinner
and Jussi
Jokinen. Tuomo
Ruutu could then play pivot on the third line with Jiri
Tlusty and Patrick
Dwyer. How's that for offensive depth? Furthermore, Rutherford
doesn't envision there being any issues with Semin's work ethic once
he becomes acclimated to how the organization operates both on and
off the ice. "We like to think that the way Kirk does things and
with our approach and how our training camp is and how our practices
are and fitting him in with Eric, that we can get that consistency
out of him," Rutherford said. "And if we can, he's a guy
that certainly is capable of getting back to the 40-goal mark."
It
remains to be seen whether the arrival of Staal and Semin will have a
direct effect on the balance of power in the Eastern Conference. Fact
is, Staal was the biggest offseason acquisition in Carolina's
history, so that has to account for something. He's one of the best
two-way pivots in the League, capable of producing on offense while
consistently shutting down the opposition. Semin, in seven seasons,
all with the Washington Capitals, has 197 goals and 408 points in 469
games. He also has 34 points in 51 playoff games. The Hurricanes
ranked 16th in the League with 212 goals scored last season, so both
players will certainly aid in that department. Staal posted career
highs in assists (25) and points (50), and finished with his
second-highest goal total (25) in 2011-12 despite playing in 62 of
Pittsburgh's 82 regular-season games. The additions of Staal and
Semin should at least keep Carolina in the thick of the Southeast
Division race all season. Both players might also help improve the
team's lackluster overtime mark. The Hurricanes played 20 OT games
last season and finished 4-16, including 3-10 in games ending in the
five-minute overtime period.
From
the moment he was hired, Muller spoke of getting his players
believing in his system and being accountable for each other. He
guided the Hurricanes to a 25-20-12 record in 57 games, including a
15-9-7 mark after the All-Star break. "If you give [players]
something, a way to believe in how they play and why you're going to
win that night, I think that's what players want," Muller said.
The Hurricanes earned points in 16 of their last 23 games (11-7-5),
and were 7-4-1 in their final 12 games of 2011-12. The Canes went
35-for-179 (19.6 percent) on the power play under Muller. With even
more weapons and a full season to work with, the coach should have
his players motivated and raring to go from the start of training
camp.
There's
a nice blend of young talent and experience on the back end. The
experience comes in the form of Joni
Pitkanen, Joe
Corvo and Tim
Gleason, who led the team with a plus-12 rating in 2011-12. Corvo
returns to the team for the third time in his career. Pitkanen did
miss 52 games last season with concussion and lower-body ailments,
but is expected to be healthy entering camp. Jay
Harrison surprised by scoring nine goals and 23 points while
logging more than 20 minutes per game. He also ranked second among
Carolina defenders in hits (117) and blocked shots (153). Justin
Faulk showed plenty of promise as a rookie, and Jamie
McBain, who should be able to handle 22-plus minutes a game, will
be entering his third full season with the club. The Canes also
signed 25-year-old Marc-Andre
Gragnani, who is expected to battle for a roster spot. Top
prospect Ryan
Murphy, the team's first-round draft pick in 2011, and Bobby
Sanguinetti, who signed a two-year deal in May, will challenge
for a roster spot out of training camp. The guess here is that goalie
Cam Ward
will have plenty of support in the upcoming season.
Unless
a move is made between now and training camp to replace injured Brian
Boucher, expect Justin
Peters to rightfully serve as Ward's exclusive backup in 2012-13.
Peters, who signed a two-year contract on April 1, split the 2011-12
season between Carolina and the team's American Hockey League
affiliate in Charlotte. He went 2-3-2 with a 2.48 goals-against
average and .931 save percentage in seven appearances for the Canes
last season. He appeared in 28 games for the Checkers, going 10-13-2
with a 2.77 GAA. Peters, chosen by the Hurricanes in the second round
of the 2004 NHL Draft, has appeared in 28 career NHL games (11-11-3,
3.23 GAA, .900 save percentage).
A
year after missing out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the final day
of the season, the Carolina
Hurricanes took a step backward in 2011-12. The Canes slumped at
the start of the season, costing coach Paul
Maurice his job. Carolina improved under new coach Kirk
Muller, but it was too late for a comeback, and the Hurricanes
missed the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons. General
manager Jim Rutherford went on the record with his desire to add a
marquee player (or two) this offseason, and he landed one in a trade
on the first day of the 2012 NHL Draft by bringing in Jordan
Staal from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Rutherford
also tried to lure the top free agents to Carolina, and eventually
added another top-six forward on a big money, one-year deal. Staal
and Alexander
Semin give Muller a lot more firepower, and adding Joe
Corvo and possibly stud prospect Ryan
Murphy on defense could give the team a chance to compete for the
Southeast Division title.
Forwards
Alexander
Semin - Eric
Staal - Chad
LaRose
Jussi
Jokinen - Jordan
Staal - Jeff
Skinner
Zac
Dalpe - Tuomo
Ruutu - Jiri
Tlusty
Andreas
Nodl - Tim
Brent - Patrick
Dwyer
Anthony
Stewart
Defensemen
Joni
Pitkanen - Jamie
McBain
Tim
Gleason - Justin
Faulk
Jay
Harrison - Joe
Corvo
Marc-Andre
Gragnani
Goaltenders
Cam
Ward
Justin
Peters
NOTES:
One of the first decisions for Muller is where to play his newest
Staal brother. Jordan
Staal could be the team's top-line center, pushing big brother
Eric to the wing. That would likely make Ruutu or Skinner the No. 2
center. The other option is to play both Staals at center, leaving
Skinner on the wing and Ruutu as either another top-six wing or the
No. 3 center. Semin played right wing for years with the Washington
Capitals, but that was initially done to keep him and pal Alex
Ovechkin from waiting for each other to come back to the bench
for line changes. Semin could slide back to the left side. This could
be a big year for Dalpe, though he needs to hold off a few other
prospects, namely Jeremy
Welsh, Zach
Boychuk and Drayson
Bowman, to even earn a full-time role. Stewart had better
offensive numbers than the other players on that projected fourth
line, but offense isn't likely to be a problem for the Hurricanes.
Faulk played with Harrison near the end of last season, but with
Bryan Allen
departing he could fit well with Pitkanen or Gleason. Corvo had
success with Carolina before, so a return to a comfortable setting
could be the elixir after a rocky year with the Boston Bruins. He was
a low-risk signing at the price, and adding Gragnani as insurance
could prove a sage move. One to watch in camp is Murphy, who could
force his way into the team's immediate plans. Ward is a workhorse,
and with expected backup Brian
Boucher out to start the season, expect him to be in net a lot.
The Hurricanes need Peters to gain Muller's trust, Ward has had some
crazy workloads in recent years, and getting him some rest before
Boucher returns would be helpful if the Hurricanes can return to the
postseason.
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