Hard hits: Free agency wrap up

Hurricanes finished dealing

after 5-man free-agent haul

by Kurt Dusterberg

The Carolina Hurricanes snapped up five players in the first five days of free agency, but the wheeling and dealing is likely over for the summer.

Some speculation lingered that the team might still be in the market for a winger to replace Erik Cole on the top line, but the Canes intend to stand pat with their new acquisitions.

"We will start the season the way we are now, unless a hockey trade comes along and makes its way to us," said general manager Jim Rutherford on Monday afternoon. "I won't be the aggressive person out looking now. I do want to keep the door open for some of these first-year guys, whether it's (Zak) Dalpe, (Zach) Boychuk or (Drayson) Bowman. I'd like to have at least two out of three of those guys in our lineup."

For the three young guns, cracking the lineup will be tougher than it appeared on July 1. After the Hurricanes lost Erik Cole to Montreal on the opening day of free agency, they signed two forwards who fit into the top 9 — Alexei Poikarovsky and Anthony Stewart (pictured). That leaves just one spot open in the top 9.

But don't think that leaves the Charlotte Checkers veterans on the outside looking in.

"If somebody comes in and lights it up in camp, then we will look to move somebody else out," Rutherford said. "I'm not going to close the door on those guys if they come in and earn a spot in the top nine."

While Rutherford hopes the prospects can earn an NHL roster spot, the veteran signings indicate that Carolina is rooted in the here-and-now. The Hurricanes intial needs — a backup goaltender and fourth-line center — were quickly met by the signings of Brian Boucher and Tim Brent. But when Cole accepted the Canadiens' four-year, $18 million contract, Carolina changed direction.

"Part of it evolved from not re-signing Erik Cole, and part of it is some players came available that we like at a price that fits what we're trying to do," Rutherford said. "I thought Erik would wind up staying here one way or the other. That didn't happen. That opened the door a little bit from a budget point of view that we decided we were going to move some of that to the defense."

That's when the Hurricanes began focusing on Tomas Kaberle, a coveted puck-moving defenseman who anchored the Toronto power play for most of his 13-year career. Along with Joni Pitkanen, who re-signed with Carolina, that gives the franchise a prominent one-two offensive punch on the blue line for the next three seasons.

The Pitkanen-Kaberle combination will require some adjustments.

"Those two guys are playmakers who like to move the puck around," Rutherford noted. "We've got to make sure we've got a guy on the point who is willing to shoot the puck."

The other tweak will be moving a defenseman to the right side. Jamie McBain is the only right-handed shot on defense.

"We have to figure out which left-side defenseman is comfortable playing on the right side. To get him the kind of minutes he should play — and to have him play a huge role on our defense — ideally Timmy Gleason would go to his off side. That would work well for him and our defense."

Just one holdover player remains unsigned: Brandon Sutter. Rutherford has been trying to find common ground for a new deal since Sutter rejected a long-term offer a few weeks ago. The two sides had a conference call on Monday, with another scheduled for Tuesday morning.

"I would be surprised if we don't get his contract done this week," Rutherford said. "It's probably going to end up being a two- or three-year deal."

Once Sutter is on board, the focus will be on hockey — and what kind of team the new-look Canes will be.

"I feel we've upgraded our team. We have a chance of doing some better things on special teams, and moving the puck in transition like some of the good teams do. But all the teams ahead of us upgraded too. They spent a lot of money and it seems like they all added one or two players."