Williams dealt to L.A., Cole a Cane again

Love the move ,brings back some size and physical play and mabe the glue we need right now...welcome back Erik...did you get my message from Ladislav Smid...looks like it anyway.

Anyone who thinks this is a bad trade has ZERO hockey OR business sense.

Agreed. Williams has barely played for us in the last two years with his injuries. An organization gets tired of paying millions of dollars for a guy who can't stay healthy.

Cole gives us a chance at making the playoffs this year for a lot of different reasons. He is exactly what we've been missing in the Top 6. He'll be a UFA this summer so we also have an option to bring him back or let him go.

If we let him go, we'll have an extra 3.5 million to work with in the off-season. And that 3.5 will buy a lot more this off-season than it did last year. With all of the concerns with the cap going down, long-term, inflated contracts should be a rarity.

OK-How this "works out better for us" financially...(1) you are paying 500k for a known commodity who is actually on the ice playing (unlike Williams). (2) If Cole is not able to come to terms on a deal this summer then you have 3.7mil to spend on another player, something you would NOT have as Williams still has years left on his contract. Who knows if he will be healthy? He is injury-prone...face it! Also, as bad an experience as Cole seemingly had in Edmonton, I would suspect he will have a willingness to sign for a "home-team discount" this summer.

Yes, Patty-O is a nice player and sure, he could be a great player. But who knows if he is going to enjoy playing here or if he will develop chemistry with his new team? We KNOW what Cole is capable of, and we KNOW that he WANTS to be here, we KNOW he is familiar with his mates/surroundings. Given the CURRENT situation of our Canes playoff hopes I would choose a little more "now" over a "maybe" in the future. Anyone with half a hockey brain would agree with me on this. And to all of you who will try and rebuke this with the Mark Recchi signing-shut up! The 2006 team and situation was totally different that what we are facing this season.

Do you think it is any coincidence that Staal is having an off year without Cole? Maybe it is. But Staal is still relatively young. Cole was his best friend, his road roomie, and a great linemate. So, you trade away his closest friend AND add the pressure of 2 seasons not making the playoffs A N D add the pressure of his huge contract and him being the face of hockey in Raleigh-I think these pressures all can be looked at as contributing factors to Staal's sub-par year. Mark my words-Staal will be the best forward in the Eastern conference between now and the end of the season. Go ahead-quote me on it!

Now, more on Cole...

Speed? He has it. Size? He has it. USES HIS SIZE? YES HE DOES. Offensive skill? He has it. Passion? Has it EVERY shift. Stanley Cup ring? Has one. LOVES to hit? Oh yeah. Crashes the net? Constantly.

Our playoff chances are much better now with Cole than with a player that may not even make it back in time to help us get there.

Anyone who thinks this is a bad trade has ZERO hockey OR business sense.

I'm not sure how to take this trade. I like Cole and I know some people will be happy, but what about the expiring contract? Staal will hopefully be sparked by the reunion with his best friend, but I honestly like the first part of this trade more than anything. O'Sullivan is a good young player with alot of potential and upside. He is a center but he can play the wing and is signed for another two seasons. I was willing to give up Williams but I don't think Cole is much of an upgrade because of his contract. Perhaps he will sign an extension, but I still think in the long run O'Sullivan will be ther better player. More than anything I think we should have kept O'Sullivan because he is the only professional hockey player born in North Carolina, so how much sense does it make that the only chance you get to have him on your team you pass up for a reunion with an older player who is about to walk this summer instead of keeping player who could ultimately help hockey grow even more in this state. I don't like this organization trying to take the cheap way out of everything. Everyone is feeling the economic crunch but other teams still realize you have to pay to play.

well hopefully here comes some toughness, speed , and scoring, and maybe staal will have a gleam in his eye instead of looking like a zombie. i hope they change the failing line of staal, ruutu, and samsinov. maybe that line is why staal is way, way, way of his normal pace but it seems like no one inthe upper rooms can see that the first line looks like a second line in the scoring column.thhank god for cullin.

"From a contract point of view this works out better for us,"
he said.

wow. I'm just a beer-guzzling fan and not a gm, but I don't see how this "works out better" from a financial standpoint. Cole will be, as he always has been, impossible to deal with in negotiations this summer, then he'll sign a one year deal for way more than he's worth.

Shoot, I like nostalgia as much as the next guy, but this isn't a good hockey move or a good business move. Willie for Patio would have been brilliant if that was the only part of the trade. Patio has two years left on his contract at less than $3m each. He'll be worth more than that.
I'm upset by this. I still like Cole, but I'm upset.

What is their infatuation with bringing back cruddy former 'Canes players ?!?!?!!?!?! What's next-- another Tanabe reunion?

let the winning begin!