The Carolina Hurricanes have acquired forward Cory Stillman from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forward Ryan Carter and a fifth-round 2011 draft pick.
Stillman, 37, was a member of the Canes' 2006 Stanley Cup champions. He also won a Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004.
"He's still a good player and he gives us more depth and balance up front," Canes general manager Jim Rutherford said. "He should be able to help up offensively and on the power play.
"He's won two Cups. He's a hockey guy. He understands the game. He has experience. On top of that, he still plays well and he's a very smart player. Going down the stretch of the season he can really add something to our team."
Stillman has played in 44 games for the Panthers this season, with seven goals and 16 assists. A year ago, he had 15 goals and 22 assists in 58 games for Florida.
In the Canes' 2006 run to the Cup, Stillman had 21 goals and 55 assists (76 points) in 72 games. Ten of the goals and 24 assists were on the power play.
In all, Stillman had 149 points in 170 games for the Canes from 2005-2008. He was traded with Mike Commodore to the Ottawa Senators in February 2008 for Joe Corvo and Patrick Eaves.
Rutherford did not rule out making another move before the Monday trade deadline but said the Canes would not be dealing away any of their young prospects.
"That's one thing I do not want to do," he said.
Stillman will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at
Comments
Commodore is...
Sat, 02/26/2011 - 11:09 — robotron2084too expensive. He's still got two more years after this one on his contract at roughly $3.5 million per. No way are the Canes paying that for Commodore. Maybe they sign him on the cheap over the summer if/when the Blue Jackets buy him out, but they'll not be adding him now with that contract.
As for Wallin losing a step, he had a really bad ankle injury toward the end of his stint with the Canes. Healthy he has more than enough mobility for a stay-at-home guy. Not saying the Canes should get him, or that the Sharks are even looking to move him, but sometimes these guys have injuries that most folks are not aware of that affect their play. Maybe he shouldn't have played but that's as much a decision by the staff as it is the player.
Not a bad move. Carter
Fri, 02/25/2011 - 11:35 — HockeydogNot a bad move. Carter didn't make much of an impact and a 5th rounder is an iffy propisition to make the NHL. If he can play at or close to his level of play in his first stint with the team he'll be an asset. The PP will improve and if he's still able to effectively play with Staal and Cole it will help with the overslotting issue this team has had with LaRose. I also like the positive impact he could have on Jeff Skinner. Cory has always been a very smart hockey player, and he gives Skinner another voice to learn from. Some are concerned with his foot speed, but his impact on the game has never been about speed. as long as his speed hasn't fallen to the levels of Roddy in his last years - and based on his play with the Cats I don't think it has - he will help this club. JR does like to recycle players, but sometimes it makes sense. There is no transition, either for the player to a new team and area, or for a number of his teammates who have played with him.
I'll be glad...
Fri, 02/25/2011 - 00:20 — robotron2084to see Cory score for us instead of on us.
Welcome back Cris Carter
Thu, 02/24/2011 - 21:53 — louis12580I have referred to Cory as the "Cris Carter" of hockey. All he does is score goals and rack up points. It used to be that at the end of a season you'd look up Cory's stats and see him with 75-80 points year in and year out and wonder how he does it. While not in his prime, he's still effective.With Cory back, there is more flexibility in the line pairings. Staal-Stillman-Cole, Jokinen-Ruutu-Skinner, Sutter-Samson-Samsonov, Tlusty-LaRose-Dwyer (Bodie) unless they decide to send Samson back to Charlotte. Then Dwyer goes to the third line. I don't think that Jim is done. Monday is right around the corner so it will be interesting to see what this team does and what some of the others do as well.
Stillman is a good move.
Thu, 02/24/2011 - 21:20 — ctillStillman is a good move. He's a known entity and he's unselfish when setting up other players. He's crafty when the other team has the puck; having a positive +/- in Florida isn't easy. Also he plays left where neither Samsonov nor Boychuk has been able to make consistent impact.
At 37 Stillman isn't young, but that's the age of Recchi when he helped propel the Canes to the Cup. Stillman will be a UFA this summer, so there's no long-term budget hit.
I hope JR gets a D next.
Stillman...Hmmm
Thu, 02/24/2011 - 21:00 — hellfishBring in a winger and winger(s) have to go...I still say a center and maybe a dman ,but JR is NOT done yet.
welcome back,cotter
Thu, 02/24/2011 - 20:12 — toddchrisswell atleast we got him for nothing, ryan carter wasnt much in the mix and from what they keep saying is how much talent we have in charlotte,to bad we dont just cheer for charlotte cuz they really dont contribute much scoring for the canes!!!!!!! seriuosly, we are going to need to somemore help, defensively, and offensively,we give up to many goals at the end of games that we should be closing out!!!!!offensively our power play has to be the worst ive ever seen, some of these games weve lost, we go 0 for 5 or 6 on the pp. terrible
GOOD MOVE OR NOT?
Thu, 02/24/2011 - 19:39 — hockey101I guess he'll play with Staal. Who's next, Commodore. We need to get younger not bring in guys past their prime.
Commodore...
Fri, 02/25/2011 - 09:41 — Caniac5Commodore is no longer playing with the Jackets and has 2-3 years left on his contract. It would still cost us about 1.5 to 1.75 mil to get him but he is a fan favorite here, willing to fight, and is a stay home d-man.
I would not mind having him back.
Commodore
Fri, 02/25/2011 - 20:53 — hellfishIf Commodore can't crack the Bluejackets lineup then what do we need a slow dman for?..NOT a just fan fave for sure.
turnover
Thu, 02/24/2011 - 19:15 — crashthenetThe revolving door continues. Wallin will be back next because the #7 is available. I heard Philly feels they score to many goals so they are looking to can coach Pete.
Good news is #12 had his best season when #61 was passing to him.