The Hurricanes' recent moves — the re-signing of Tuomo Ruutu, the trade that dispatched Patrick Eaves and brought Aaron Ward back to Raleigh and the buyout of Frantisek Kaberle — put a fine polish on what the Hurricanes will look like next season.
There may be some tinkering here and there before the season starts, but as things stand now, the Hurricanes could go into training camp on target and under budget.
Those moves also offered a look at what the Hurricanes' roster will resemble in 2010-11, when a few big contracts expire, the cap is likely to decrease and a few prospects may be ready to jump to the NHL.
First of all, let's look at 2009-10. As things stand, Carolina's roster breaks down like this:
Whitney-Staal-Ruutu
LaRose-Cullen-Cole
Samsonov-Brind'Amour-Jokinen
Kostopoulos-Ryan-Walker
Conboy
Pitkanen-A. Ward
Corvo-Gleason
Wallin-Alberts
Ward
Leighton
That's 21 players for $49.225 million (we're talking actual salaries here, not cap figures, because that's what Carolina's budget is based upon) plus the Kaberle/Jeff Hamilton buyouts, which are an even $1 million. Carrying Conboy as the 7th defenseman/13th forward would leave the Canes two players short of the 23-man limit but only $225,000 over their budget, an acceptable figure to start the season.
Now, after the season, the contracts of Ray Whitney, Matt Cullen, Scott Walker, Aaron Ward, Joe Corvo and Niclas Wallin all expire. Let's assume for the moment that the Hurricanes decide not to re-sign any of them (which of course they could) aside from Ward, who would probably accept a cut-rate deal to finish his career here, say $1.5 million. Let's also assume that prospects Brandon Sutter, Drayson Bowman, Zach Boychuk, Jamie McBain and one of the goalies (Mike Murphy or Justin Peters) are all ready to make the full-time jump to the NHL as Cam Ward's backup.
That leaves this breakdown for 2010-11 (numbers -- and conclusion -- corrected):
(1)-Staal-Ruutu
LaRose-Jokinen-Cole
Samsonov-Brind'Amour-(2)
(3)-Sutter-Kostopoulos
Pitkanen-A. Ward
McBain-Gleason
(4)-Alberts
C. Ward
Peters/Murphy
For slots (1) and (2), the Hurricanes could use Bowman and Boychuk, if they're ready. We can also assume slots (3) and (4) can be filled by players already with the organization for around $600,000 each, with someone like Conboy or Pat Dwyer at forward and Rodney or Carson on defense.
Cam Ward is a restricted free agent, and let's assume for the moment his salary increases to $6 million, which seems in the ballpark for a No. 1 goalie with his playoff credentials.
So where does that leave us?
At about $51.3 million for 20 players. That's more than the Hurricanes have spent lately, which means they'll either have to expand their budget or make a deal to trim some salary.
At about $46.2 million for 20 players, which leaves room to add a free agent to play with Staal if the budget stays at $50 million -- and there should be some deals out there with the declining cap.
Either way, it certainly feels like this team's look is set for the next two seasons.
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 829-8947 or 
Comments
Canes
Mon, 08/03/2009 - 09:59 — SWFAN24With the roster that we have this year, I believe that we are one of the best teams in the NHL. We will not get any respect though like normal. From what I see with the team this year, is that we are greatly improved on the defensive. I hope that will lead to playing more aggressive on the offensive end. The only change I see with the lines is that I think Cole will be back with Staal and Whitney with Cullen. Also I do believe we have one superstar in Staal, but we also have the capability on this team of have 5 to 6 30-35 goal scorers: Cole, Ruutu, Cullen, Whitney, Larose, Samsonov. Plus 20 goals from Walker, Jokinen, and Brindy. Defensively very much improved from where we were. Carson and Rodney will both play games this year because of injuries. Joni can now play how he wants to because of Ward. Corvo and Gleason are probably top 5 second pair defensmen in the league. To tell you the truth I really do not know much about Alberts except that he is physical and slow from other's post. I never really like to look to far ahead, but I do feel good that we have people that can and will step into their roles in NHL. Sutter will score 50+ if he plays in the AHL. I will say it here now. He will be a superstar in the NHL, and sometimes I feel that we are being too patient with him. I'm not the coach or GM though. GO CANES!!!
Future of the team
Sat, 08/01/2009 - 12:48 — louis12580Sutter, Boychuk, Bowman, et.al. represent the future of the 'Canes. It is vital that they all get playing time to give them a better chance to develop. By then, they will be in their 20's as opposed to their teens and that makes a world of difference, as does a year to put on some weight (Sutter), and improve their all around game. It will be interesting to see what shakes out after this coming season with all the players whose contracts are up. With the widely held rumor that the cap for the 2010-2011 season will come down (maybe substantially) from this seasons cap, it is imperative that the team have the flexibility to sign a free agent or two. With all the other teams out there who are currently at or over the cap, there will be some name players available to fill in any holes.
While we have gotten bigger,
Sat, 08/01/2009 - 12:46 — twinfanWhile we have gotten bigger, we have also gotten a lot slower. This will not bode well during the season. The team had better get off to a good start because sales are down and will stay down if the team falters. I don't think this team is as good as the one that finished the season but we'll see. Who will shoot from the blue line, especially on power plays? Will the games go back to 2-1 and 3-1 boring losses like we had before Maurice was fired the first time? I sure hope not but I'm not optimistic. As one earlier post said, the main reason we lost to Pitt was that we were worn down. We played them well last season. I don't think we will play them as well this season.
wallin and alberts for a
Sat, 08/01/2009 - 07:35 — greg_98wallin and alberts for a defensive pairing ....wow I bet other teams in the southeast are salivating at the prospect of that speedy duo.....I guess the charlotte basketball would shed some light as to what happens when you dont invest in quality players , you have losing seasons with low attendance and the spiral starts .hopefully that wont happen here but it can.....
it is
Fri, 07/31/2009 - 20:18 — esteban1949articles like this Luke that really does make one have to think...not only look at what is on paper as far as "match Ups" go, but trying to stay in or on budget...And when you add up the salaries ( as you did Luke) and compare them say when The Great One was with Edmonton,Orr with Boston...and the budgets those teams had then...it really makes me oh so happy I don't have JR's job...Hell, if what he has done and with some timely call ups from the Rat Squad...it looks like JR once again, made it possible ( again on paper) for the canes to repeat as far as getting into the playoffs for the 09-10 season...but in reality...we all must sit,wait,and hope...do we not ?
Go Canes !!
1. I believe Sutter et al
Fri, 07/31/2009 - 19:18 — ldecock (author)1. I believe Sutter et al will all be in the minors this year. A full year of AHL hockey will only help him. Just because he's a No. 1 draft pick doesn't mean it's required to rush him. As for Conboy, he's certainly capable of filling in for a game in an emergency until Rodney, Carson and Co. arrive. He's a pretty capable AHL defenseman who hasn't had much of a chance to play the position in the NHL.
2. The Hurricanes had three straight top-five picks. They got Staal, Jack Johnson and Andrew Ladd. The Penguins had five straight top-five picks. They got Ryan Whitney, Marc-Andre Fleury, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal. That's not a reflection on how the Canes did in those spots, because it's not an even comparison, but it does show how valuable those picks are -- and how costly it can be if they don't turn out to be impact players.
Drafts
Fri, 07/31/2009 - 20:13 — lewpulsIIRC Fleury, Crosby, and Malkin were all the first pick of the draft. Hurricanes got a #2. Pitt did well with what they had, for sure, but Pitt were also lucky to have all those #1s.
Appears to me that the Canes will generally be a team that attracts free agents for more than "just the money", and won't have a draft pick to get another dominant player unless they get lucky (C. Ward can be dominant but wasn't a top five pick). With those kinds of free agents they can get a pretty deep team (as appears they have now).
JR let Cullen and Ward leave, and that appears to be much of what went wrong for two years. I wonder what he'll do with the free agents next year. He's certainly good at "playing chicken" in negotiations.
But I'd feel better with Seidenberg in the fold as well...
Future team
Fri, 07/31/2009 - 14:41 — lewpulsWhile a lot of the talk has been about size and the defense, and I agree that the Hurricanes wore down by the time of the Pittsburgh series, I think there was a second big reason why Pittsburgh won. In terms of players who can dominate a game, we were outnumbered two to one, Crosby and Malkin vs. Staal. Even Detroit, because of Datsyuk's injury, was outnumbered 2-1 for some of the finals, just long enough to tip the scales to Pitt.
You could say that Cam Ward was a dominant player, though he didn't play oustandingly well against Pitt, but Pitt's goalie canceled him out. Whether you say outnumbered 3-2 or outnumbered 2-1, the result is the same.
This would not have happened in 2006, when Rod Brindamour could have won the Conn Smythe. But Rod isn't at that level any more. So who could substitute? Ray Whitney for short periods, but he was injured (fingers) and didn't show much against Pittsburg. Eric Cole, before he was hurt, could do it, but now it appears not, especially not in the playoffs where he tends to disappear. Ruutu? I don't think he's quite at that level. Justin Williams might have made it, if not for injuries, but he's gone now in any case.
Hockey is so much a team game that it seems odd to speak in terms of dominant players only, but it seemed to work that way this past year. Parise vs. Staal, various people for Boston (but only one at a time, really) vs. Staal, then Staal vs. Crosby and Malkin, then C & M vs. Zetterberg.
So, do we have anyone coming up who might become that kind of player? Seems unlikely. Boychuk? He's a bit small, though that never stopped St. Louis or Theo Fleury. Players who can dominate don't grow on trees, some teams don't have any, so we're fortunate to have one who's under long-term contract.
But Luke, do you really think Sutter is going to be in the minors this year? And won't we need a seventh defenseman with the team regularly, or do you think Conboy can be the emergency defenseman if someone is suddenly unable to play?