Matt Karash: 2015 State of the Hurricanes: Part 2-UFAs and starting to define the core

This team needs the big shake up. We need the big contracts gone, but more importantly we need the players that don't play 100% the majority of the time gone. That means Eric, Skinner, Semin. If your captain can't be looked at to show everyone else how to play on and off puck, you're in a bad way.

3 coaches have tried to turn this team around, and all have failed in very similar fashion. Its time for the players JR bet the house on to go.

With Ward's recent play I believe his trade value is rising. If you could shed his salary I would try to move him. This team needs to find some offense. 1 goal per outing is not going to win many games.

The biggest problem the 'canes have is Semin I believe.I don't know what you could do with him except try to convince him to retire and head to Russia.

Can we send Semin down and bury his cap hit or does he have a NMC?

Can we send Semin down and bury his cap hit or does he have a NMC?
- kedobi

The problem with that is that the Canes still have to pay him, and this team cannot afford a $7 million AHLer. What astounds me is just how completely impotent he has been offensively.

Yes, this team needs help, of that there can be no doubt. We don't have the greatest depth in the world, and the talented players that we do have are not scoring enough or with enough regularity. We are currently averaging exactly 2 goals for per game. Even if our defense was incredibly formidable (it isn't) and Wardo was playing phenomenal goal (he hasn't been the issue), you are pushing your luck trying to win every game 2-1 or 1-0.

Defensively, we are averaging 2.72 goals against per game. This area has looked stronger than the past few seasons, though there is still plenty of room for improvement. However, if you are only scoring 1 or 2 goals per game, there comes a point where it doesn't matter if you give up 3 goals in a game or 7, you just are not going to win much. The powerplay started off looking strong, but has dropped below middle of the pack. We need offense.

I agree that moving Sekera looks good if we get a solid return, but what does his loss do to the defense? Granted, he is currently a -6 (ten point swing to the bad versus last season) and his offensive production is down, but who fills his place? We are already looking at a negative differential in goals for/goals against, and that would likely be exacerbated if Sekera is moved.

There is no quick fix for this team. If RF can find willing partners and move out some big money contracts, who plays in their place? If you supplement the core of the team, you will likely see some improvement, though probably only marginal. Whichever path RF chooses, I hope that he sticks to it wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, I see at least a few more years of struggling mightily for this team. That said, I've been here since Greensboro and I have no intention of leaving now.

With Ward's recent play I believe his trade value is rising. If you could shed his salary I would try to move him. This team needs to find some offense. 1 goal per outing is not going to win many games.
- Barbecued Hockey

This is for the next blog, but I think Ward is playing his way up to tradable. I think it takes 2 things:

1) He must keep playing at his current level for another 1-2 months. Because of the cap hit, I don't see anyone (Edm could be the 1 wild card) taking him much before the trade deadline.

2) A team with a shot to go deep in the playoffs needs to have an opening (so most likely an injury) in goal near the trade deadline and no decent backup option.

At that point, Ward becomes tradable. As long as he fits under the 2014-15 cap, no one should care about that. The 2015-16 commitment is an issue, but it is only 1 year. A big market team could buy him out and take a cap hit of only $1.8M and $2.0M in the next 2 years. That is not ideal, but it is a manageable amount. The other possibility is that the Canes, yet again, have to eat a chunk of salary on a trade (ugh).

I think this team is miles away from where they need to be if the goal is to have a team competing for a top 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. They are at least 3-5 high quality NHLers short of having a team that can make the playoffs at all.

It's time for a rebuild, with a goal of having a team that can be competitive in 3-5 years. The current core is not good enough to make the playoffs. If we are going to miss the playoffs and watch losing hockey, I would much rather cheer for a team of young players with a hope for the future than watch the current group of middle aged, overpaid players who have proven for last several years that they can't get it done. The fan base needs to feel that there is a plan, that the team is building towards something. Currently there is none of this and the attendance figures bear this out.

Eric Staal and Cam Ward, given their ages, have only 2-4 years max of their prime years (one could easily argue that their prime has passed). So if the goal is to have a competitive team 3-4 years out, they should not be part of any future plans. Given their salaries, if they can get a return for these two via trade that does not involve other bad contracts coming back, they should take it.

The Semin situation is a mess, not sure what to do there other than hope that he is injured and can get back to where he was 2 seasons ago. I think we are stuck with this one.

If I were GM I would build around goalie, defense, and centers. I really like Khudohbin and would ride him for the next couple of years and hope that last year's 2nd round draft pick (forgot his name) is the longer term answer. I would build around Faulk and Fleury on D. I would keep J Stall, Lindholm, and Rask down the middle, with the goal of finding a longer term answer for a #1 (in a perfect world, McDavid or Eichel, but I am dreaming). I do think Lindholm's development is key, ideally he develops into a strong two-way #2 center. J Staal is the ideal #3

I like both Sekera and Tlusty but with the goal of being competitive in 3-4 years, if they get some good offers of prospect/picks I would move them now. Skinner I think would be a great addition to a solid team looking for some more offense, so I would guess he is one of the more tradeable assets we have right now. If the return is good I would move him, otherwise given how offensively challenged the team is right now, I would hold on to him as well. To me, the rest of the team is a dime a dozen so would move anyone we could to anyone who is interested in having them.

The current situation is bad, and can be attributed to JR's horrible management over the past several years. Bad drafting, bad trades (the Jordan Staal trade was really really bad, wouldn't it be nice to have Dumoulin right about now), overpaying for talent, and bad free agent signings has left the Canes and the Checkers in horrible situations. It took a while to get here, it will take years to dig back out of this hole.

I'll never understand how JR got a job with the Penguins after the mess he left here..........

I mentioned this before on a previous thread. In regards to Semin, it's a numbers game. Anyway you look at it, it makes you cringe.

Semin has 3 years left at 7M cap hit ($21M dollars). Only way you can move him is to absorb the max cap hit of 50%. Is Semin worth $3.5M to any other of the 29 teams... No. Is he worth $3.5M to the Canes, only if he's putting up 35-45pts a season, which he's not. By trading him you pay him $10.5M over 3 seasons to play for another team.

To buy him out: You save $7M cash, and pay him $14M cash over 6 years ($2.333M). Is Semin worth $2.333M to play for the Canes... I would say yes, if he was producing 30-35 pts a season on the 3rd line... however, that is not the case right now. CBA allows a team to retain salary on 3 trades per season, we already absorbed 30% in the Harrison trade (per Capgeek). I hopeful that RF can pull off some magic, but I don't envy the situation he is in.

I would agree that Staal and Ward should be traded. Jordan can jump up to be the number 1.

We are stuck with Semin.

If we can sign Sekera for 3 years, we need to keep him. Needs to bridge gap to Fluery.

Tlusty should stay as we don't have a lot of nhl wingers in the AHL.

Staal, Ward, Gleason, and McClement should get us a decent return to build off of.

The biggest problem with the Canes is Karmanos. To paraphrase him he said he likes our team and its good enough to make the playoffs. With that mind set it is clear he does not know Hockey and until he sells the team RF hands are tied. I don't think Karmonos is going to let RF make too many changes. E. Staal is a good player with talent around him but he is not a captain. Brind'amour is a captain, RF is a captian E Staal is not. The best player on your team is not always the player that needs to be the captain. Skinner refuses to pay defense or is just not equipped mentally to play that way. He is anther player who does not have the right mix of players to complement him. Tlusty is a keeper, a hard worker and an inspiration for the younger players. Just my opinion and I am sure some will disagree.