Canes, Seidenberg talking again
Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg may not be a goner, after all.
Canes general manager Jim Rutherford said today that he has resumed negotiations with J.P. Barry, Seidenberg's agent. Seidenberg, an unrestricted free agent, went into the free agent market July 1 hoping for an increase on his $1.2 million salary last season but remains unsigned.
"We do have interest in Dennis," Rutherford said. "We had a conversation with J.P. on Friday and that door is open again.
"When we first backed away from Dennis, it had nothing to do with Dennis. It was with his initial request. We could not go to that level. He's been out there as a free agent and able to talk to teams, and now we're talking again."
Seidenberg, who turns 28 this week, had career highs in games played (70), goals (5), assists (25) and points (30) this past season. He led the team and tied for 17th in the NHL in blocked shots with 160, and ranked third on the team in average ice time per game (22:19).
Rutherford said the Canes still are considering other available free-agent defensemen. He said there had been no significant movement in the negotiations with defenseman Anton Babchuk, a restricted free agent with the Canes who has no arbitration rights.
Rutherford said it was possible the team could look to buy out the contract of defenseman Frantisek Kaberle, set to be paid $2.2 million next season in the final year of his contract. He said if the Canes opted to make that move they would pay two-thirds of the salary over a two-year period.
"It's not that we think Frank can't play anymore," Rutherford said. "But it would free up some cash and allow us to change the defense the way we want to and give it more of a physical aspect."
Rutherford said negotiations would continue this week with forward Tuomo Ruutu, a restricted free agent who has filed for arbitration.
"Hopefully we can get it resolved," he said.
About the blogger
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is in his second season as the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at chip.alexander@newsobserver.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @ice_chip.
Comments
Anyone who crossed Shore
Tue, 11/17/2009 - 01:36 — jibran_pccAnyone who crossed Shore became a 'Black Ace,' one of the many extras he kept on the squad - but wouldn't dress for punitive purposes. The Black Aces had to work extra hard in practice and were always available to play should any of the regulars enrage Shore even more. In addition to scrimmaging with the team, the Black Aces were required to do odd jobs around the arena such as painting seats, selling programs, making popcorn, and blowing up hundreds of balloons before the ice shows.
And there you have it....The origin of the Black Aces!
DIY Video
we only have about 7-8 mil
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 11:23 — clementnormanwe only have about 7-8 mil under the cap and about 5 mil under our self imposed cap, with no ruutu or 4th dmen signed. also buying out kabs only saves 34% of his contract. which is only about 200,000 more than carson or rodney's nhl salary. theres no room to make any significant changes.
Kabs Buyout
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 13:49 — fizzbeeThe cost of Kab's buyout would be spread over 2 years so it would only cost us about $750K this season. That frees up about $1.5 mil for use this year.
overall picture
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 10:27 — louis12580It does seem that the team is looking to buy out Frank. No mention of what they might do with Nic. I feel that Dennis will be back, but not Anton. If all those scenarios play out, then the team will look to bolster the d-corps. All things being equal, I like our chances for next season. No team in the east has made the kind of OMG move that makes one quake in their skates. Some might think that the Flyers are the team to beat, but remind me who their Vezina trophy candidate goalies are. Ray Emery, Brian Boucher? Boston and Pittsburgh should be considered the favorites, but you never know. Should be a fun rest of the off-season followed by an interesting regular season. Just remember that this is an olympic year.....
Teams That Improved
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 11:31 — GoShelfI think there are 4-5 teams will be a lot better next year - Habs, Leafs, Lightning, Rags, and the Flyers. All of those teams made roster changes that will significantly change their teams. I am not going to predict who will get the most bang for their buck, but Tampa will be a much tougher team to play against next year, I am not a V.Hedman fan but based on what I saw at the WJC last year he's bigger than most dmen and skates better than most forwards (at 18 years old). Just when E.Staal was pleased to see J.Bouwmeester leave the SE division he gets essentially the same type of player sign in Tampa.
I'll agree with you on the
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 16:14 — C_LeaguerI'll agree with you on the Lightning and Flyers. The Rangers moved Gomez only to sign Gaborik, who has injury issues, won't stay healthy, and won't give the team the balanced offense it needs. Additionally they have the same cap issues. Montreal made a lot of changes, but I don't think what they have now is better than what they had. I honestly think you had too much pressure on that team last year with the centennial and it folded due to that, not lack of talent. The Leafs are better, but not enough to be competitive. Factor in that "The Monster" they'll have in net will be a rookie, and don't look for a big improvement next season. That's not to say they won't be better down the road, they're clearly building, but they won't be a playoff team next year. I also think that while the Flyers did get better with Pronger they're going to run in to some cap issues, so this might be a make or break kind of season.
Tampa is clearly better. I still don't like thier goaltending situation, and the defense will be young next year, but they may have done enough to put themselves back in to playoff contention.
On the defense
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 08:57 — HockeydogI hope they can get Seidenberg back in the fold. He has a good blend of physical play and some offense. Babchuk should be officially told to look elsewhere, or his rights traded for whatever. He's not worth the trouble. He bailed to Russia once already and now won't take a reasonable contract. I get looking after yourself, but this is not helping his cause in the long run in the NHL and overall play is not good enough to
be too picky right now. As for Kaberle, buying him out might not be a bad idea. Free up a bit of cash now and give Frankie a chance to play somewhere else. He's a pretty good player to call on as a healthy extra but is that worth 2.2 mill?
There is no doubt that Rutherford has given some stupid contracts out. Wallin to a no trade is one of them.
My ideal situation would be
Mon, 07/13/2009 - 22:50 — irbefanMy ideal situation would be to buy out Kaberle's contract and bring Dennis back while also signing a guy like Martin Skoula. I've liked Skoula's game over the years, he comes from a great system in Minn. and was under the influence of Jaques Lemaire if I'm not mistaken. Look at these lines..
Corvo - Gleason
Pitkanen - Seidenberg
Skoula - (Wallin, Borer, Carson, etc.)
Skoula
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 08:24 — GoShelfI like Skoula too - he skates really well and usually makes a good first pass. I think he's a little too expensive slotted in as the fifth dman, he made $1.9 mil. last year, so you'd probably have to flip Seidenburg and Skoula. That would be a decent d-core, unfortunately most of SE division has gotten better on defense, especially Tampa (Florida's gotten worse).
I'd like to see more of an improvement on D
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 08:21 — C_LeaguerIt's not that I don't like Dennis, or Skoula for that matter, but we tried that last year, and while it got the team to the conference finals, it wasn't enough. I'd rather have Backman then Seidenburg, regardless of the money. While Dennis is somewhere between servicable and solid, Backman is much more of a shut down guy. I think he's also more of a top 4 D-man then Dennis. I know the budget constraints, but I think that adding Backman could be the move that really pushes this team in to true contenders status.
true
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 10:01 — irbefanLast year our attempt to remodel the defense included signing a player away from overseas that proved to be too ld to play the NHL game anymore (thanks Tampa for taking him off our hands). Pitkanen was an awesome peice to add. This offseason I'm just saying that by bargain hunting to get a defenseman you, well, get what you pay for...
Let Seids go and get Backman and Skoula, for I like Backman as well. He didn't perform so well last season but look what we are doing for Samsonov, Pitkanen, Corvo, etc.
Backman
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 11:00 — GoShelfHe's never really performed well, I've never like Backman, he's another large and slow Euro dman that takes too many obstruction type penalties, kind of like Melichar with a larger price tag. We played against him when he was with the Rags in 07-08, he took 3 dumb penalties which he is accustomed to doing. His last contract was 3.4mil, I wouldn't take him at half that price.
Esteban, I hope this answers
Mon, 07/13/2009 - 14:50 — RonMexicoEsteban, I hope this answers your questions about what in the world "Black Aces" are?
Eddie Shore, an Honored Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, was owner of the AHL Springfield Indians. Shore bought the Indians in 1940 after his playing days with the Boston Bruins. He started to to call the players who were working their way back into the line-up of his club, his 'Black Aces.' These were players who were coming off of injuries or were being punished. They had run out of luck as far as Shore was concerned. Former Boston Bruins coach and current color commentator for Hockey Night In Canada, Don Cherry, was one of Eddie Shore's most celebrated 'Black Aces.'
From "Grapes: A Vintage View of Hockey" by Don Cherry with Stan Fischler:
"Anyone who crossed Shore became a 'Black Ace,' one of the many extras he kept on the squad - but wouldn't dress for punitive purposes. The Black Aces had to work extra hard in practice and were always available to play should any of the regulars enrage Shore even more. In addition to scrimmaging with the team, the Black Aces were required to do odd jobs around the arena such as painting seats, selling programs, making popcorn, and blowing up hundreds of balloons before the ice shows."
And there you have it....The origin of the Black Aces!
Hey Ron
Mon, 07/13/2009 - 21:43 — esteban1949Thanks for the information...but what i was " hinting" at and about was" a certain" member of the N&O sports reporting staff said or implied, or gave the impression that, he would get some time to talk with the Cane's edition( during the playoff run) of the Black Ace's ( that the canes had, as in Sutter, Boychuk & etc) . Now i was hoping that and while some of the younger players ( sutter,Boychuk &etc) were in the building or on the ice when the Canes were...we fans might have gotten a few words of what they saw,felt and etc...but alas...it seems that and even though it was reported that those " black aces' were there...somehow the interviews we fans who were led to believe that were to happen but didn't either show up here or possibly someone from the watergate hotel complex broke in the the N&O's sports offices ( dressed as "plumbers" ) stole all the tapes,notes & zip drives so what was implied, or promised never happened. And several fans ( myself included) felt oh so disappointed ! but hey,i didn't think about this...somebody had a human streak go through them, and they (he) forgot...sigh that has happened a time or 2 in the sports world you know . But such is life.i thank you for information and i believe there is a link to a site that had that on there...And chip...if you be reading this ( which i doubt) relax dude...was just messing with ya !!!
Go Canes !!
Well Folks
Mon, 07/13/2009 - 14:09 — esteban1949This fan feels that seeing that today is Monday...ANY News is good news...Yet I see and understand Jr's reasoning. actually makes sense to me...who would have thought huh ? and here when Jr brought Mo back, i was ready to hang him in effigy & xyz too...my how time and a good & hard run in the playoffs makes everyone look at things a wee bit differently huh ??
Thanks Chip...good to see you again...have you seen any of those hard to find & reach & invisible "black aces yet" ?? or did we trade them all away yet ? fans who grew up on tabloid fodder are just dying to know...you know ?? HeHehe
Go Canes !!
Black Aces
Mon, 07/13/2009 - 20:00 — AMOKEsteban, every team in the playoffs have their Black Aces...it's a term used for the extra players that the teams call up for the lenght of the playoffs.
Buyout now?
Mon, 07/13/2009 - 13:15 — C_LeaguerKaberle has only one year left on the deal. Unless the Canes are going to bring in someone like Backman, I'd be just fine waiting out the deal and being completely done with Frank. This being the last year of his deal, it will likely only take until the trade deadline to be done with Frank.
Buying him out will save 1.5 million this season, which is nice, but I don't think it's worth the cost incurred next season (about 730K) to buy out Frank and bring in someone like Alberts.
Wallin and Kaberle
Mon, 07/13/2009 - 17:51 — hellfishThe Canes have been in a contract mess since giving Wallin a "no trade" clause and signing Kaberle for too much $ unlesss your a 28 yr old shutdown D man plus score 30+ points NEVER give a no trade JR could have had Pitkanen 2yrs ago w/out trading Cole and now it's Seidenberg $ for franky.
Huh?
Mon, 07/13/2009 - 18:56 — fizzbeeHuh?
Wallin for Pitkanen
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 08:17 — C_LeaguerIf you remember two off-seasons ago there was a deal in place to move Wallin, but he refused to waive his no trade clause for the deal to proceed. That deal was rumored to be Pitkanen for Wallin heads up. If that deal had gone through then the Canes would have moved out Wallin, kept Cole and Williams, and had Pitkanen.
Yep, but it was a reward
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 08:31 — wxray1Thanks for the translation of the original post. :-)
What you say is good. But I think JR was "rewarding" a lot of players after winning the Cup. It is an intangible. Players like this organization. As a smaller market, I think that matters. JR's contract hand outs after the cup were part of a reward, and part of gaining good will.
That said, JR did dig a hole. Not sure if the overall good will gained outweighs some of the negatives. Seems like he is going easier this year with the long term contracts.
One other thing... JR probably let out some of those long contracts because he saw the cap going up (and he was right). Unfortunately, Kabs and Wallin were not the best bets. Kabs hasn't been the same since that surgery, which conveniently came right after the nice contract was signed.
I'm thinking JR will wait
Mon, 07/13/2009 - 12:56 — caniactrailer19I'm thinking JR will wait for conditioning camp to see how the rookie D are looking before signing any D. Hopefully Ruutu gets signed before arbitration.
Good News
Mon, 07/13/2009 - 12:38 — JRs_FaultIt's good that the communications are still open with Dennis' agent. I suspected that we might be seeing this shift all along, after the first week or so of July passed without Seidenberg getting another offer.
Agree that's it's time to buyout Kaberle as well. Now that they're down to the last year, they can do it with minimal impact to the budget & cap (not that the latter is really an issue for the Canes).
Kaberle and Buying Out His Contract
Mon, 07/13/2009 - 11:37 — abramsdougBuying out Kaberle's contract makes sense for everybody involved. The Hurricanes need to go toward a larger and more physical defense -- which runs contrary to Kaberle's skill sets. The impact of the economy is being seen in the UFA market for players who are talented but not superstars. As a result, there are a number of quite talented players available; and I suspect they and their agents are surprised that they are still unsigned. Some of those players may well not be signed.
Yes
Mon, 07/13/2009 - 14:58 — GoShelfWith approx. 9-10mil in cap space with removing Kab's we would have between 4-5mil in budget for Dmen, so after re-signing Seid's & Babchuk (assumption) we would be in Albert's etc. price range (1.5mil)