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Can anyone answer this question for me. Suppose the arbitration process awards LaRose more than the Canes are willing to pay. I understand they have 48 hrs to notify him of rejecting the arbitration decision, at which point he becomes a UFA. What next? Does any other interested team have to also meet the arbitration amount or can they negotiate a lesser salary w/ Rosey. What are the Canes' options at that point? Also is he looking for one or two years? Can I speculate he's looking for something more than Sutter and less than Eaves (basically doubling his last year's salary)?

You guys are right about Sutter. Based on what I've read, to play in Albany, he would have to be 20 by 12/31/08. He doesn't turn 20 by 2/14/09. So he misses the AHL this season by a month & a half. Forgot about that rule. I guess if his junior team is that bad of a situation, the Canes might be more likely to keep him around. But like I said before, I don't know if playing on Laviolette's 4th line will be enough ice time for him to develop. I still want Chad back.

He can't play in the AHL next year! He will either make the Canes roster and his entry level contract will kick in & count against the cap, or he will be sent back to juniors and play for Red Deer next year. The CHL / AHL agreement ensures that players under 20 years old with junior eligibility left have to either play in the NHL as a pro, or go back to their junior team. You do get nine games at the NHL level before the entry level contract kicks in. So, the Canes will have all of training camp, preseason, and up to 9 regular season game to decide on Sutter.

Apparently I've missed something ... but ... where's Letwoski in all this? He's not listed here, he's not on the roster on the Canes home page ... NHL.COM still shows him as a Cane as of end of '08 season and there's no further mention of him.

Ruutu and Pitkanen are buddies. With the rumors of Pitkanen being a fairly moody player it probably wouldn't be in our best interest to trade his best friend on the team out. Plus, we need that jam in the Top 6 without Erik Cole.

I think that if Carolina gets Kaberle out the door they can still finish the year at or around the budget if they let the natural progression of the roster shake out. Just because you start the season over your budget doesn't mean you're going to actually pay out that amount of money. If we feel good about where we're at with our defensive unit in Early November then we can send Melichar, Seidenberg, or Babchuk either to another team or through waivers and not have to pay them another thin dime all year. It's the nature of a competition for a roster spot here with three players on one year contracts. I actually think that may be the intention.

As for Larose.... I really can't figure that one out. As much as it pains me to say, they may very well walk away from the arbitration reward and cut ties with the young man all together. It's terrible for us as fans because we love the guy for the most part.... but it's a business and we've got a lot better forwards under contract.

It is remarkable how, many years ago, the problem was always getting enough good players. Now we're trying to get rid of players, and while Kaberle has not done well lately, the same cannot be said of LaRose.

I'm not sure how impressed fans will be with the intentions of the ownership if someone like LaRose is sacrificed to "the budget" that is $10 mill+ below the league maximum. Arbitration followed by an award so large that the Canes walk away from it would be a PR disaster.

If Luke is correct, (typically is) then the team is 4.4 million dollars over budget, moving Kaberle won't free it all up. I'm hoping Karmanos won't force another salary dump trade and partially dismantle the team so he can meet his cheap self-imposed budget.