Canes vets uneasy with trade chatter
Bryan Allen at least has some control over his situation. He had to waive his no-trade clause to come to the Carolina Hurricanes at the trade deadline in 2011 and he'll have to waive it again if the Hurricanes try to trade him at the trade deadline in 2012.
Still, Allen knows, with each passing loss, that it becomes more likely he'll be asked.
Staal deals with trade rumours, losingWhen Eric Staal steps onto the ice against the Maple Leafs at the RBC Center on Thursday, hordes of television viewers back in Canada will dream of what the gifted centre would look like in blue and white.
They aren’t alone.
When rumblings out of Toronto prior to Christmas suggested a Staal-to-the-Leafs trade was in the works, the Carolina captain was besieged with inquires from friends and family from north of the border.
They called. They e-mailed. They texted.
All wanted to know the same thing.
Were the reports true? Was he, in fact, the big centre the Leafs have so badly thirsted for ever since Mats Sundin left town?
Monday debate: trade 'untouchables'Monday debate: trade 'untouchables'Ok, so lets pretend that you are the GM of the Hurricanes, a team that is off to a horrible start. What would you do?
Canes general manager Jim Rutherford continues to say he's looking at potential trades and has often mentioned dealing a defenseman for a forward. But should that be it? Or should more players be available and on the table when deals are being discussed? And which ones? Question: which players would you consider the "untouchables" in potential trades? The floor is open.
Canes call out KaberleFor more than a decade, Tomas Kaberle was an institution at a Maple Leafs-Boston Bruins game.
Now he’s in the doghouse in Carolina.
Up until last February, Kaberle had been a Leaf for his entire career. Then he was traded to the Bruins, the team he would go on to win a Stanley Cup with.
The Bruins opted not to re-sign Kaberle during the off-season, allowing him to ink a three-year, $12.75 million US deal with the Carolina Hurricanes.
HURRICANES REPLACE HEAD COACH MAURICE WITH MULLERThe Carolina Hurricanes have fired head coach Paul Maurice and replaced him with former Montreal Canadiens assistant coach Kirk Muller.
Muller, who spent five seasons with the Canadiens as an assistant under Guy Carbonneau, Bob Gainey and Jacques Martin, joined the Nashville Predators this season as head coach of their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee.
CANES SEEKING OFFENSIVE BOOSTThis isn't new to the former Toronto Maple Leafs coach, who has had to deal with an undercurrent of speculation of his demise over the course of the past two seasons in Carolina.
Sources say Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford is trying to make a deal for a forward and even though his top defenceman Joni Pitkanen is injured, it's believed Rutherford would trade either Tomas Kaberle or Bryan Allen in return for an offensive boost up front.
Hurricanes Trade TalkMuch has been made of the surplus on defense in Toronto and the eventual and likely trade the Maple Leafs will make using that surplus sometime this season.
But another team that's willing to move a defenseman is the Carolina Hurricanes, a source told ESPN.com this week.
The idea is to give more ice time eventually to the likes of Justin Faulk or Derek Joslin, both promising young blueliners. The Hurricanes need to open up that ice time by moving a defenseman.
Can Canes afford Pitkanen?ou take the good with the bad with Joni Pitkanen. His talent tantalizes, which is why he was drafted fourth overall and has been traded for significant returns twice since. His inconsistency also frustrates, which is why he has been traded twice since.
Given the Carolina Hurricanes' financial situation, along with their sudden surfeit of defensemen, it's fair to wonder whether Pitkanen is a luxury the Hurricanes cannot afford.
Canes Begin Youth MovementThe Carolina Hurricanes could not carry over the success from 2009 into 2010. The team faltered badly and dug itself too deep of a hole to gain a playoff spot.
Because of that, the organization decided that this was perhaps the best time for change. The team said so long to long time captain Rod Brind’Amour and named franchise player Eric Staal captain. The team said good bye to veterans like Ray Whitney, Aaron Ward, Matt Cullen, Scott Walker and Nik Wallin who were all long time Canes.
Now, the team is turning things over to a younger, cheaper crew of Canes. This is something relatively new to the franchise as they’ve always seemed to have gone with a veteran laden lineup. Whether this translates into greater success remains to be seen, but the change is refreshing.
