Rutherford: 'Time to move on'
Canes general manager Jim Rutherford said Wednesday night that it now appears unlikely free agent forward Chad LaRose would be signed to a new contract.
Rutherford said he had been in discussions with LaRose's agent, Patrick Morris of Newport Sports Management, throughout the day. There were hopes LaRose would accept a three-year contract being offered.
"It's not going to happen," Rutherford said Wednesday night. "I informed (Morris) that we had another deal we were working on, that I was giving him a courtesy call. He said he would run everything by Chad and call back in an hour. I waited but they never called back.
"Obviously they have a deal somewhere else. So we're working on signing another free agent. It's time to move on."
Rutherford did not say which player the Canes might be talking to.
LaRose earned $875,000 last season, scoring a career-high 19 goals.
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
ohhh h-e-double hockey
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 16:42 — ncsurveygirlohhh h-e-double hockey sticks noooo. If he doesnt sign with us, I may have to quit and jump on the penguins bandwagon.
Recchi / Andropov
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 11:28 — JRs_FaultRecchi back with B's for $1M... ok
Antropov to the Trash for $16M over 4... (Gaack!!!!). Glad JR didn't pay that!
Maybe it's just time to move on...
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 07:49 — hurricanes17Actually, change can be a good thing. Certainly, I admire LaRose for his consistent work ethic, but he is not irreplaceable. He was a young call-up from Lowell when Rutherford first gave him the opportunity to play in the big league. There are plenty of young, energetic guys in our system, chomping at the bit to get their chance. After all, we must realize that we are a just few players away from improving as a team, and that is where our focus should be...
1) A Stillman-like player who can play on Staal's line. We have never fully recovered from losing him. Stillman is a seasoned veteran who sees the ice well,skates well, rarely makes mistakes, and feeds his line mates. I know he is under contract with the Panthers, but someone out there must be comparable and available. Maybe Marc Recchi???
2) A shut-down, stay-at-home, tough-minded defenseman. Given Babchuk's unwillingness to sign his QO, it is time to completely wash our hands of him. I hope that Rutherford contacts other teams about the possibility of a trade sooner rather than later (i.e., before Babchuk returns to Russia). We simply need to get more physical in our own end.
Picked the wrong guy to move on from.
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 08:23 — C_LeaguerMark Recchi is 42 and not much more than a depth forward now. He may be able to fill Chad's spot on the third line, but he won't bring the intensity, he won't be able to play on the PK, and he won't get under other player's skin the way LaRose does. Factor in that at his age there's probably a better than even chance he plays 55 games at most and I say pass.
Ray Whitney fills the Stillman role very well right now and not being afraid to shoot makes him superior, in my opinion at least. What that line needs is a top flight RW who can make his own shot. Havlat signed a 6 year 30 million dollar deal yesterday. So, for 2.9 we got Cole, while Havlat was had for only 2.1 million more. Not to mention Havlat is only 28 and a 6 year deal takes him only until 34, a time when he'll be starting to drop off but won't have fallen off the table. Havlat can make his own shot, and more importantly force the defense to guard him and give Staal more room. I don't know that Havlat would have signed here, but he'd be playing a much more open style here then he will be in Minnesota, and that's desirable for most players.
As for the young guys, the plan is right now to let them play a full season in the AHL, which is probably the best way to go. The jump from juniors to the NHL is huge. In the NHL every player has speed and skill. There are no cheapies. Going through the AHL is a great stepping stone. I'd prefer to see those guys stay there for a year, maybe come up for a few games when injuries arise. All that means that LaRose has to be replaced with an actual NHL player.
Hey greensborogeezer
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 04:50 — esteban1949I be only 62 ( come November) and even some of my grandchildren who live overseas think I am so "L 7" as in square because i don't have have a page or 9 on those ' social network places'
But i can live with that..and to be honest, i hope between now and say by 5:00 pm today that LaRose will wake up...again not faulting the guy or his "agent" for trying to get what they feel is an earned hefty pay raise for 3 years... but I know if i was in his shoes, and my grandma was alive..man, she'd ream my butt for being greedy instead of showing my appreciation & gratitude, that i still had a job, because many of us forgot who Jr & Chad danced around last year...sigh..but that's between them..all of us have more important things to be concerned over besides LaRose & the price of medicines at wal-mart huh ? I know i do !!! have a safe day and great week end sir !!
Go Canes !!
Losing LaRose sucks. There's
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 23:00 — caneshockeyfanLosing LaRose sucks. There's not an announced signing at this point, so there's a sliver of hope.
with babs potentially not
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 22:03 — clementnormanwith babs potentially not resigning as well we HAVE to get a top 4 dman. not to many left out there either only scuderi and beauchmen if i remember correctly
Plenty of D-men
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 04:42 — robotron2084There are plenty of defenseman available. It's called acquistion by trade and is a much more realistic approach for the Canes as it a) costs way less than an over-priced, frenzy UFA signing and b) allows the team to move some exisiting salary to offset the cost of the new player.
your right about a trade but
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 08:02 — clementnormanyour right about a trade but no one on our curent roster other than babchuk is tradable and has value. we dont have the deep forwards to do a cole for pitaknen type deal this year. with williams gone and brindy in decline we dont have the depth to do that. So the only option left is to send some solid prospects for an established Dmen. which doesnt help the cap. the only possible option would be cullen and prospect or pick. because jokinen can center the second line but he is a downgrade from cullen who is already a questionable 2nd line guy.
Replacing LaRose with a Power Forward
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 21:22 — abramsdougThe refusal by LaRose to sign gives the Hurricanes an important opportunity to obtain the much-needed power forward. I hope Jim Rutherford, either through a trade or signing a UFA, is able to add size and speed at forward. With Ruutu and Cole, the addition of a hard-hitting and fast power forward would be ideal.
I second that
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 10:35 — HockeydogOne door closes, another opens up. This team needs to get bigger and while Chad played as pysical as he could he still bounced off most players he checked. So maybe JR gets a player who scores 18 goals but can play a pysical game instead of being a great skater. That is a compromise that I could live with. And with some decent prospects in the system it doesn't have to be a young guy either. Somebody with a couple years of effective hockey left in him to bridge the time between now and when the prospects are ready.
If you lool at the history of Rutherford dealing with free agents you'll see he doesn't tolerate too much stinging along.
Keith Primeu is a prime example. If Rosey doesn't sign today with the Canes JR will have shut the door completely, if he hasn't already.
There's no reason to be
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 20:48 — redblackhockeyThere's no reason to be nervous about Ruutu. He's a RFA, meaning the Canes have the right to match any offer made by another team. There's not really any reason to hurry it along. Also, any team that takes him away would have to compensate the Canes with at the very least, a second round draft pick. If the offer sheet goes above $2,625,623 the team would have to give up a first and third round pick.
I would have liked to have gotten a guy like Joel Ward, but the Preds re-signed him.
The Pens parted ways with Mike Zigomanis, and he could probably be had on the cheap. Knowing JR's tendency to bring back the blasts from the past, I wouldn't be surprised if he lands back in Raleigh.
Ruutu
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 21:05 — gasgoyneThanks for the information. I remember Zigomanis from several tears ago. Has he done well and is he worth bringing back? I lost track of him. Thanks
Thanks Chip
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 20:46 — esteban1949I too appreciate the news...and this is from a guy who has no need of Face,Space Twitter,AIM,ABC or XYZ social networks.
I'm an old guy who was alive and kicking when ...if you was gay, you was happy ! We had no color TV,a coke or a pepsi was a nickle a bottle. But i could go on & on,but not too many people, unless you are between 55-70, wouldn't understand...Bye Bye Chad...C-Ya !!
Go Canes !!
Me, too!
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 07:28 — ammy144I can relate. I am a card carrying senior citizen remembering when your WORD was everything.....the only thing you were born with that no one can can destroy but YOU. People today pay a lot of "lip service" and apparently do not mean anything they say. I find the lack of honesty and honor in our society today very troublesome. So far, the Juice is the only one to back up his exit interview statements. Go Juice!
Also Appreciate Chip
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 01:46 — greensborogeezerI also appreciate Chip's way of reporting. Being in the 80+ age group, I hate this malarkey of twitter, facebook and even text messaging. Anyway, I am betting Rosy signs with the Canes by noon today
Chad, say it ain't so....
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 20:21 — AN0NYM0USHe may get more money, but I doubt he will be more appreciated by fans and teamates. I don't think JR is bluffing, but I hope that Chad comes around and rejoins the Team. His tangible--and intangible--contributions make the Canes a playoff team and, as we saw this year, a legimitate Stanley Cup contender. I would take Chad over Recchi any day.
I can only hope..
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 19:35 — irbefanthat Rutherford sees Mark Recchi still on the market...
Lets get it all together
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 19:24 — CanesGoyeah, all this quietness about Ruutu is making me nervous .... I hope not to be surprised when it comes to his contract, suppose to be all done and dandy, but I'm sensing that maybe not everything is going to happen as planned ....
Thanks Chip!
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 19:13 — covaittThanks for getting this stuff posted so quickly. Any chance there's a Twitter Link for Canes Now that I'm missing somewhere?
I'll be watching to see which FA Rutherford was referring to? Is it Ruuts as a RFA? or is there a new UFA we may be welcoming to Raleigh?
Rosie
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 18:59 — ammy144Sad, but somehow, not surprising. Hope we sign Ruutu.