It's a little later than usual, but Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford will make his annual end-of-season appearance with the media on Tuesday, the team announced Friday.
Typically, Rutherford discusses the season within a few days of the final game, but has gone through a prolonged evaluation process this year. He has also been spending a lot of his time watching the team's AHL affiliate progress through the playoffs. The Checkers are down 2-0 to Binghamton after losing Thursday and Friday in Charlotte in the conference finals.
Rutherford has some big decisions to make this summer, most notably the future of unrestricted free agents Erik Cole, Jussi Jokinen, Chad LaRose and Joni Pitkanen.
Luke has worked for The N&O since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist in August 2008. A native of Evanston, Ill., he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at (919) 829-8947, @LukeDeCock on Twitter or
Comments
Speech
Sat, 05/14/2011 - 16:52 — hockey101Hopefully he'll tell where things stand with the UFA's especially with Joni and how many of the kids from Charlotte will be here next season. It will also be interesting on what he thinks about fixing the PP and what type of player they are looking for at this year's draft.
I am hoping Jim Rutherford
Sat, 05/14/2011 - 16:01 — abramsdougI am hoping Jim Rutherford will be announcing the re-signing of Cole and Jokinen. I also hope he'll give some indication about his thinking with regard to bringing up some of the young prospects with the Checkers, including Dalpe, Boychuk, Sutter, Bowman, and Osala.
Huh?
Sat, 05/14/2011 - 21:41 — CanarseIf the Canes resign Cole and Jokinen where are all these forwards you want brought up going to play? That's almost two lines worth of guys?
Who Will Be Brought Up Among the Forwards
Sat, 05/14/2011 - 23:31 — abramsdougThe point is that there are some excellent choices available to Jim Rutherford in terms of bringing up forwards from Charlotte. There are more qualified young forwards than spots which should make for an extremely competitive camp. Assuming only Cole and Jokinen are re-signed, that opens only two spots at forward from the current roster. Bowman was already on the current roster. Dalpe has been the best forward for the Hurricanes at least since the start of the playoffs. Boychuk is generally considered a player who needed to play in the top six to be most effective. Brett Sutter has been a beast for the Checkers. Osala is also playing his best hockey since joining the Hurricanes organization/farm system. Chris Terry has been identified as perhaps the most improved player on the team. The Hurricanes also have a #12 draft choice in the 2011 draft.
I believe Bowman's spot is open and Samson's spot is open. Dwyer's spot may also be open. As I see it there are three roster spots in contention: the spots held at the end of the season by Samson and Bowman and one of the roster spots from letting Stillman and LaRose or Dwyer leave. The battle for the three spots will be among Boychuk, Bowman, Brett Sutter, Osala, Samson, Terry, Dwyer, and Bodie (if LaRose is not re-signed). I think Tlusty has a spot on the roster and that he'll be re-signed to another 1 way contract. If the #12 draft pick is somebody like McNeill, Armia, Zibanejad, Jenner, or perhaps Jensen, that player could conceivably push for a roster spot.
I would assume all these young forwards realize they have to come to Brindy Camp in Jeff Skinner conditioning shape. They know the math and whoever is in the best NHL condition when they arrive will have the best chance at taking a roster spot.
I get it...
Sun, 05/15/2011 - 04:52 — CanarseI wouldn't mind seeing that competition. For the life of me I don't know why Tlusty has a spot on this roster. I just don't see the value. Little to no offense and by the end of theyear he was getting benched for defensive breakdowns. At minimum or a little more you couldn't ask more from a 4th line centre or wing than the Canes got from Dwyer. Cheap and great on the PK.
Dwyer and Cost/Benefit
Sun, 05/15/2011 - 10:51 — abramsdougI think Dwyer is very high on the cost/benefit ratio. He can play all three forward positions, although I much prefer him playing as a wing on the fourth line. He is fast, quick, and has tremendous judgment in terms of avoiding boneheaded penalties or killing the team with ill-timed turnovers. Dwyer also seems to have a knack on defense for reading a play and preventing goals by coming back to help the defense. He seems to be in the right place at the right time on defense. His lack of size hurts him at center, I think. His near league minimum salary helps the team afford more elite talented players. I view Dwyer as an excellent utility role player that every successful team needs.
I am hoping jim Rutherford
Sat, 05/14/2011 - 16:49 — louis12580I agree wholeheartedly about Jokinen. Cole to a somewhat lesser extent. While he did have a wonderful season and helped mentor that Skinner guy, one wonders if he can stay healthy for an entire season. Of all the UFA's on this team, Jussi would be the biggest loss. The team out there that might make a big play for him is Buffalo. Ruff likes players who are attentive in all zones on the ice and Jussi is that. One thing we've learned about Jim is to expect the unexpected.
Cole has played in the NHL
Sat, 05/14/2011 - 17:21 — ctillCole has played in the NHL for 9 seasons. In only 2 of those 9 has he not played at least 60 games. In 4 of the 9, he has played at least 80 games. The statistics say he's not as injury-prone as people seem to believe.
In only 4 of those 9 years
Sat, 05/14/2011 - 21:45 — CanarseIn only 4 of those 9 years has he scored 50 points or more. For the kind of money he's likely going to want that's a risky bet.
Other UFAs in a similar
Sun, 05/15/2011 - 17:58 — ctillOther UFAs in a similar position with salary vs output are Michael Ryder, Tim Connolly, and ex-Cane Radim Vrbata. Will be interesting to see where the prices land.