2008-09 NHL Salary Cap: $56.3 million - Salary Floor: $40.3 million
No idea what the Canes will be willing to spend, but I would bet on around $49 million

Currently Under Contract For 08-09

Forwards
Eric Staal - $5 million
Erik Cole - $4 million
Rod Brind'Amour - $4 million
Ray Whitney - $3.55 million
Justin Williams - $3.5 million
Matt Cullen - $2.8 million
Scott Walker - $2.5 million
Jeff Hamilton - $800k
Brandon Sutter - $787.5k

Defensemen
Frantisek Kaberle - $2.2 million
Niclas Wallin - $1.725 million
Joe Corvo - $2.75 million
David Tanabe - $900k
Casey Borer - $510k

Goaltenders
Cam Ward - $2.5 million

TOTAL SALARY FROM EXISTING CONTRACTS: $35.292 million (15 players)

Restricted Free Agents

Forwards
Chad LaRose
Tuomo Ruutu
Patrick Eaves
Joe Jensen
Brandon Nolan
Pat Dwyer

Defensemen
Tim Gleason
Dennis Seidenberg
Tim Conboy
Joey Mormina

Unrestricted Free Agents on July 1st

Forwards
Sergei Samsonov
Trevor Letowski
Keith Aucoin
Ryan Bayda

Defensemen
Bret Hedican
Glen Wesley
Wade Brookbank

Goaltenders
John Grahame
Michael Leighton

Retirement Watch

Bret Hedican
Glen Wesley

2008 Entry Draft in Ottawa - June 20-21

Round 1, Pick 14
Round 2, Pick 14
Round 4, Pick 14
Round 6, Pick 14
Round 7, Pick 14

Pressing Needs

-Shutdown defenseman
-Legitimate backup goaltender
-Health

Prospects to Watch

Brandon Sutter
Drayson Bowman
Chris Terry
Jamie McBain

[Edited on April 8, 2008 at 5:30 PM. Reason : .]

4/8/2008 5:29:48 PM

Quote :

"-Health"

where exactly can i find that on my hockey card?

awesome thread. we need to look forward to a great 2008-2009.

4/8/2008 6:14:41 PM

FUN HOCKEY

4/8/2008 6:39:18 PM

Its going to be a while before I give a shit about anything hockey/canes related, I think.

4/8/2008 6:46:59 PM

4/8/2008 8:22:47 PM

This thread is way to early

4/8/2008 8:59:29 PM

Hurricanes fans outside the Triangle may now be fucked:

Quote :

"The NBA's league deal provides for far more games on TV than the NHL's league deal, so the Bobcats have a better chance of picking up a national telecast here and there. As far as conflicts go, my understanding is Bobcats games would be shown in Charlotte and Hurricanes games in Raleigh when they overlap. How the rest of the state splits, I have no idea. Based on the number of games televised, I would guess the Bobcats would be shown outside the Triangle. Clearly, they're the priority for FSN South now."

4/8/2008 9:03:18 PM

i am pickling everything till hockey comes back around!

4/8/2008 9:07:01 PM

I'll be really pissed if that's what goes down

4/8/2008 9:08:04 PM

That sucks. Time to invest in Center Ice.

4/8/2008 9:11:00 PM

GET RID OF NIC WALLIN!

4/8/2008 9:15:36 PM

Sadly that is impossible

4/8/2008 9:16:58 PM

NTC means NTC MUTHAFUCKAZ

4/8/2008 9:32:52 PM

Quote :

"Fox is also more accommodating than Johnson expected in 2003, he said. The network is planning pregame and postgame shows, and will air Bobcats games on its sister network, SportsSouth, if there's a conflict with Atlanta Braves baseball or Carolina Hurricanes hockey games."

So, basically, Canes fans are fine. Bobcats fans up here, on the other hand, are fucked unless SportsSouth is added.

4/9/2008 11:04:43 AM

Quote :

"Time to invest in Center Ice."

4/9/2008 11:08:31 AM

Center Ice is the shit, I got drunk one night when we played Washington back in the beginning of the season, and the damned game wasn't on tv so I ordered it. I will be going back to it next year.

4/9/2008 11:10:30 AM

Quote :

"Canes fans are fine."

No need to panic here. Not that I won't be ordering Center Ice anyway; it is indeed awesome.


Jim Rutherford:
http://www.wral.com/sports/999thefan/audio/2706291/

Eric Staal:
http://www.wral.com/sports/999thefan/audio/2706349/

Tim Gleason:
http://www.wral.com/sports/999thefan/audio/2706405/

Peter Laviolette:
http://www.wral.com/sports/999thefan/audio/2706393/

Sergei Samsonov:
http://www.wral.com/sports/999thefan/audio/2706457/

4/9/2008 11:54:15 AM

The new NHL Network Online is pretty fucking nice.

Judging by the number of times we have small highlight clips inside the playoff promos it looks like they expected us to be in the playoffs

4/9/2008 2:49:55 PM

I should be taking a break from this team for a while, but it's hard to quit. So, I've pulled out all my spreadsheets and shit to review my offseason proposal that I made a while back on here before the big trade with Ottawa. Things have changed a lot.

The more and more I look at it, the more I come to the same conclusion I did last offseason, and throughout this season. If the team is going to improve, specifically the defense, thinking is going to have to be done with the head and not the heart. I will advocate an Erik Cole for Kevin Bieksa trade to the death. I love Erik Cole, but I love winning more, and I think Cole will be going for nothing after next season anyway.

Carolina and Vancouver are in identical yet opposite situations. They both barely missed the playoffs, and quite frankly should not have. We are stacked up front, but desperately need defensive help. Vancouver is the complete opposite, and a guy like Erik Cole could literally be perfect for them. Bieksa has got some great offensive skills, but he is also a shutdown defenseman who can go against another team's best line every night. Pair him with Gleason, who I expect to sign a major long term deal this offseason, and maybe this team could actually contain some guys.

I don't think we're going to be in a position financially to sign any free agents. Make that trade, take care of all of our own free agents, and come into camp healthy. Hopefully Keith Aucoin and Ryan Bayda will sign 2-way deals. They may not. If they do, then we have great forward depth and guys we know can step in from the minors in the event of injuries. With guys like Carson, Babin, and Conboy in the system on defense, I think we will be okay there too. We also have Jamie McBain and Kyle Lawson to look forward to in the future; I have no doubt both of these guys will wear Hurricane jerseys eventually, but not for a year or two.

Whitney - Staal - Samsonov
Ruutu - Cullen - Williams
Eaves - Brind'Amour - Walker
LaRose - Sutter - Hamilton (or) Brookbank (or) another tough guy that we sign

Bieksa - Gleason
Corvo - Kaberle
Wallin - Borer (or) Seidenberg (or) Tanabe (obviously not Tanabe but he will be on the books)

Ward
Leighton


No, this defense is not instantly transformed into a world class one. But, that simply isn't going to happen. I do think getting a guy like Bieksa who can play in every situation and log 20+ minutes a night will be a huge help. We'll also have to count on a guy like Borer to come in and be an asset. It's hard to predict how much our UFAs and RFAs will re-sign for, but by my estimations the above roster will be pushing close to $50 million.

[Edited on April 9, 2008 at 3:32 PM. Reason : .]

4/9/2008 3:31:48 PM

Vulcan, I fully agree with your trade for Erik Cole


And we could get rid of Nic Wallin.

4/10/2008 12:28:53 PM

when did we start re-upping guys after the season ended last year? Any chance we get anyone to sign back up soon?

4/10/2008 12:54:38 PM

Nevermind, found it.

Whitney April 13
Walker Jun 20
Ward May 31
Bayda July 3
Wesley July 6
Leighton July 27

4/10/2008 1:00:57 PM

Here are quotes from Rutherford's end of season press conference: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/canes/index.php/canes?title=rutherford_november_and_december_cost_us&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

There are some incredibly interesting things in there. Basically, it looks like Lavi's job is on the line. It's going to be do or die this season.

Quote :

"“We probably had five or six games we lost in regulation time that we should have played like other teams that are in the playoffs and secured a point. … The game that sticks in my mind is the game in Nashville. We played a good game and competed and their goalie played great but we were still pushing to win the game. Our defense was pinching and we got caught on their goal, on a two-on-one and it’s right in our net. Late in the game, we’ve just got to get to overtime. … Clearly there were games we gave away just on our own. But we could have picked up three or four more points just by getting to OT.”"

Are you happy Gary Bettman? Fuck the loser points. The system should nto be set up so that teams and coaches get punished for playing exciting hockey at the end of a game rather than mucking it up and shutting down the game.

Quote :

"Signing Sergei Samsonov is the No. 1 priority: “I’m pretty confident he’ll end up staying here.”"

Quote :

"Don’t count on Ryan Bayda and Keith Aucoin coming back"

Quote :

"Do we have to change our fourth line and get bigger?"

Yes. Yes, you do.

Quote :

"On David Tanabe’s concussion situation: “He’s still not doing that well. I’ve requested meetings with him and he hasn’t come in. We had an exit meeting scheduled and he didn’t come in for it. … His wife drives him to the doctor, and it’s more important to see the doctor than me. But he could be driven to see me.”"

Not very happy with Tanabe. Signing him to a 2 year deal is looking even dumber now, which is amazing, because it looked really fucking stupid at the time.

4/10/2008 2:59:37 PM

Does Samsonov keep his #14, or does Sutter somehow finagle it away. Sergei Samsonov 3rd jersey is a priority

4/10/2008 3:15:49 PM

Sutter is wearing #23 in Albany. He can take that here. Samsonov bows to no man (or in this case, boy).

[Edited on April 10, 2008 at 3:17 PM. Reason : BOY]

4/10/2008 3:17:02 PM

Full Rutherford comments: http://hurricanes.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=360009 (scroll down past the summary)

4/10/2008 3:59:02 PM

i'm glad rutherford was candid

4/10/2008 5:10:43 PM

Tanabe, being a bitch? I DON'T BELIEVE IT!

(Yes, I know he has really bad PCS. With that said, fight through an hour with the man who went out on a limb and gave you a contract TWICE.)

4/10/2008 6:14:10 PM

hear hear

4/10/2008 7:10:26 PM

the Bayda/Aucoin quote came from the N&O writer. the transcript quotes Rutherford as follows

Quote :

"But I give them a lot of credit, and they may very well be back with us. "

just fyi

4/10/2008 8:25:05 PM

With LaRose making smarter plays and scoring more, Aucoin could easily be the new LaRose.

4/10/2008 8:26:43 PM

http://tinyurl.com/3gaan2

Link to Yahoo! Rumors that Lavi is out.

But I can't find their link to the Ottawa Sun article. So take it for what its worth.

4/10/2008 11:15:09 PM

If it happens, it has to be because of some behind the scenes issues. He's an excellent coach.

4/11/2008 12:01:40 AM

i'm not going to be happy if this is the case

Quote :

"The talk is the Hurricanes are going to give coach Peter Laviolette his walking papers. If they do, Laviolette could end up with Atlanta."

http://www.ottawasun.com/Sports/Senators/2008/04/10/5242991-sun.html

[Edited on April 11, 2008 at 12:38 AM. Reason : ]

Atlanta blog: http://thrashersprospectsannex.blogspot.com/2008/04/laviolette-watch.html

Quote :

"I talked to someone recently who should be in the loop regarding Laviolette, and he said that he'd heard there were some "personality issues" that might contribute to Laviolette getting canned. He also said on the other hand that three years left on his rather rich contract may deter the Canes from dropping the ax right now. We'll see. Don Waddell thinks a lot of Laviolette, as do a lot of people, so I agree that if he becomes available, he rockets to the top of the Thrashers list."

[Edited on April 11, 2008 at 12:42 AM. Reason : ]

4/11/2008 12:22:49 AM

(Preface: I am drunk)

LAVIOLETTE WILL NOT BE GIVEN SHIT.

THE OTTAWA SUN WANTS IT BUT TOO BAD

NOW IS NOT THE TIME. RUTHERFORD IS NOT THAT DUMB.

IF I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND LAVIOLETTE IS FIRED I WILL NEVER POST IN A HURRICANES THREAD ON THIS BOARD AGAIN

4/11/2008 3:00:37 AM

I can't imagine why Lavi would be fired.

I think that would be a goddamn travesty.

What a great way to round out a disappointing collapse.


Better break out a Laviolette-o-meter for his job security.

ACTUALLY

now that I think about it, In Rutherford I trust. I can understand his argument about our shitty 2 months stretch of hockey, and that sometimes you have to make hard decisions to bring about change in a team.

I would be unhappy to see Lavi go, but JR generally knows what the fuck he is doing.

Or maybe he hates Karmanos, is gonna fire Lavi, and then bolt for Toronto and take over the organization by force.

Let me put it this way: I would not want to piss off Jim Rutherford.

[Edited on April 11, 2008 at 9:51 AM. Reason : .]

4/11/2008 9:47:38 AM

^I disagree.
Rutherford is mostly a good a good GM, but he has made some retarted moves.

These include the re-acquiring of Joe Vasicek
Refusing to sign Keith Primeau to a contract of 5 mil a year and turning around and given it to Ozo

There are a few more, trust me he has made some dumb moves.

4/11/2008 11:04:48 AM

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/hurricanes/

vote retain him

4/11/2008 11:22:40 AM

The only coach I would consider replacing Lavi with is Ted Nolan.

4/11/2008 12:41:24 PM

^^^ Every GM has made some dumb moves. JR's worst move by far during the Carolina era was Langdon/Malik for Druken/Hlavac, and that trade doesn't even come close to the worst trades made by dozens of other GMs (I'm looking at you, Don Waddell). The fact that he's also made at least a half dozen dynamite moves means I won't question him in the short term with what he thinks is right.

(BTW, reacquiring Joe Vasicek netted us Scott Walker for basically nothing...so I got no problems with that.)

4/11/2008 1:02:36 PM

Tom Rowe comes to mind as a replacement. He has done a great job in the A, but I hope they aren't banking on him if they look for another coach. I would rather have him than a bunch of the other options out there though.

4/11/2008 1:35:35 PM

^^I look at Jo as a negative, any team with him is costing them stuff.

4/11/2008 1:42:02 PM

He's great at scoring on Brodeur and he's not bad in his own zone...there are many players worse than him at this level.

4/11/2008 1:58:17 PM

I agree, if Lavi is gone I may never be the same Canes fan again. That would be ridiculous. SO ridiculous it can't be true.

4/11/2008 3:11:28 PM

^He won't be, it would just be to bad of a move.

4/13/2008 6:30:48 AM

the worst loss in my mind was the 5-4 loss to colorado when Svatos daggered us with 2 goals in a 5 minute span to give them the lead after we lead 4-2 going into the third period.

4/14/2008 5:11:23 PM

that was worse than the 8-1 loss to buffalo?
or did you just feel like typing svatos which is understandable

4/14/2008 5:15:15 PM

^well, we were never in that game, and had won 5 in a row at the time of that loss so it was easier to take. The one against the Avs was one that we needed. We in the middle of our January swoon and had it in the bag but totally choked in the final 20 minutes. Right after that game, I thought the season was over. Thankfully, the next couple months were a complete turnaround and a fun ride....until the end

[Edited on April 14, 2008 at 5:57 PM. Reason : asdf]

4/14/2008 5:38:05 PM

hmm so it sounds like when Laviolette is assured he will be keeping his job he will build another house in Pinehurst

I know Recchi already has one and someone else has one too, i want to say Stillman?

4/15/2008 10:14:10 PM

I really hated the game against the devils where oduya walked through the defense and scored on cam

that was embarassing

4/15/2008 10:59:17 PM