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The Carolina Hurricanes made some minor signings this week and were also the subject of some reports regarding other potential offseason moves. Here’s the recap:
HURRICANES MAKE SEVERAL MINOR SIGNINGS
The Hurricanes haven’t made any big moves since the Jesper Fast signing but they have made several small ones. The Hurricanes re-signed Clark Bishop, Steven Lorentz and Spencer Smallman, then also signed second-round pick Vasily Ponomarev, as well as free agents Jeremy Bracco, David Gust, Sheldon Rempal, Joakim Ryan.
DON WADDELL REPORTEDLY LOOKING TO ACQUIRE A TOP-SIX FORWARD
According to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, the Hurricanes are looking to add a top-six forward. Pagnotta said that Waddell is believed to have interest in Anthony Duclair, Mikael Granlund and Mike Hoffman.
HURRICANES EXPLORING OPTIONS WITH GARDINER
Pagnotta also mentioned that the Hurricanes are shopping Jake Gardiner. I wrote an article earlier this week looking at why this could be a difficult task, which you can read
here.
VATANEN REMAINS UNSIGNED
Another week has passed and defenseman Sami Vatanen remains unsigned. I maintain that it’s very unlikely that he’ll return to Carolina but you never know.
As for this week’s polls, here are the results and my thoughts on how they turned out:
QUESTION: How many games do you think Joakim Ryan will play with the Hurricanes next season?
(Votes: 58)
Less than 20 games: 62%
20-35 games: 22%
35-50 games: 12%
More than 50 games: 3%
I have to agree here and while I think Ryan will be a spare on the roster, I think there’s even a possibility we’d see a call-up before Ryan plays a long stretch of games. Carolina is too deep on defense for Ryan to get into much game action.
QUESTION: Do you think the Hurricanes will be able to move Jake Gardiner in the offseason?
(Votes: 357)
No: 68%
Yes: 32%
It’s certainly going to be a difficult task for Don Waddell. I think this one could really go either way but if the Hurricanes aren’t able to move Gardiner, they likely won’t have the cap space to make a major addition to their top-six.
QUESTION: Which of the forwards signed do you think is most likely to play games with the Hurricanes in the 2020-21 season?
(Votes: 190)
Jeremy Bracco: 78%
Steven Lorentz: 11%
David Gust: 5%
Spencer Smallman: 4%
Sheldon Rempal: 2%
Despite the overwhelming response in favour of Jeremy Bracco here, I’d actually say I disagree. While Bracco may be the most promising prospect out the the five, he’d only really fit in a top-nine role, where the Hurricanes really don’t have for him. If there’s an injury, it’s possible we’d just see Brock McGinn shifted up the lineup, rather than a call-up. I could, however, see Steven Lorentz getting into games on the fourth line or even making the team as a spare, to see if he’d be able to take on a fourth-line role down the road.
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OTHER RECENT HURRICANES ARTICLES:
Draft Options for the Hurricanes: Who could be a steal at 13th overall?
Draft Options for the Hurricanes: Potential targets at 13th overall
Draft Options for the Hurricanes: Potential targets at 13th overall- Part 2
Weekly Recap: Hurricanes Edition (October 4)
Draft Options for the Hurricanes: Who to avoid at 13th overall
Hurricanes select Seth Jarvis at 13th overall
Recapping all of Carolina's picks in the 2020 NHL Draft
Weekly Recap: Hurricanes Edition (October 12)
Hurricanes sign Joakim Ryan and Vasily Ponomarev, extend Clark Bishop
Hurricanes may have a difficult time trading Jake Gardiner
Hurricanes sign several forwards 
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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