Canes line up trade for forward
as clock ticks in Cole showdown
By David Droschak
Erik Cole has promised Jim Rutherford and the Canes they will have the last crack at signing him – but that will likely come after Friday's noon start for unrestricted free agency, and after the nine-year NHL veteran shops his services.
Will that be too little, too late?
With Rutherford saying things are going to move fast this time around because of the numbers of teams expected to be active — and that Carolina will be aggressive with its needs Friday — Cole’s strategy is somewhat mystifying.
He and his agent apparently haven’t told Rutherford exactly what the asking price is — because they may not know themselves. But if Cole picks up the phone an hour into free agency, saying a team has offered him $12 million to $15 million over three years, the answer from Rutherford will likely be "good luck, Erik."
The signing of Jussi Jokinen on Thursday further hurts Cole’s leverage with the Canes. Rutherford and the coaching staff are now willing to create a Staal-Skinner-Ruutu top line, place Brandon Sutter at center on the second line with Jokinen, and shop in free agency for a third-line center. Further, Rutherford said there is a 50-50 chance a trade will be made for a top-six player with a team up against the cap.
The Canes are willing to dangle the second round pick they acquired from San Jose in the Nic Wallin trade and a prospect to get that type of player, but don’t expect any of the Carolina D-men to be dealt.
"We’ve talked to one team in particular that if they need to move some money that 50-50 chance moves up considerably," Rutherford said.
Carolina pulled out all the stops Thursday in an effort to sway Cole, including flying in coach Paul Maurice from Canada for a face-to-face meeting, while Rutherford was on the phone with Cole’s agent.
No budging occurred.
"The tough part is we’ve never been given a number as to what Erik wants, so it’s a tough one to read," Rutherford said. "He says this is the first time he’s had a chance to go into free agency, but he must have forgot two years ago. He views this as a great opportunity for him to see what the market is.
"He did say he would come back to us and give us the last chance," Rutherford added. "But he also knows pretty much within a very small ballpark – let me say more like within the infield, not the ballpark – as to where we can go with this."
Rutherford can’t wait around for Cole to make up his mind Friday or Saturday.
"But we can’t just go and sign a player because we have a place in our budget," he said. "We do have young players coming, so we do feel good about that, but we want to be in the right position to put the right number of young players in our lineup because it makes it too difficult for the team and too difficult for the players. At least we have a few options here."
It would have been a shame if the versatile Jokinen had gotten away, considering he was one of Rutherford’s steals of the last 10 seasons. Remember, the 30-goal scorer was acquired for Wade Brookbank, Josef Melichar and a fourth-round draft pick – in other words – not much.
And don’t underestimate the signings of the last two days when it comes to team chemistry, as Finns Jokinen and Joni Pitkanen remain with Ruutu.
"I had a couple of really good conversations with Jussi and Joni, and it was nice to hear how much they wanted to stay here and how much they think the team is going in the right direction and willing to do some of the things we need for them to do in order to move that 91-point needle up," Rutherford said. "The conversations were really, really positive."
On another front, Rutherford also said he was willing to spend at least $1 million for a backup goalie (a departure from his normal financial numbers), and that he expects the club to land one of its top three targets Friday. He said former Canes player Martin Gerber was not high on Carolina’s list of potential free agent goalies.
"That’s not to say I won’t bring somebody back," Rutherford said.
Who might that be? Stay tuned Friday.
Comment by Doug Abrams on June 30, 2011 at 10:32pm Comment by David Lee on June 30, 2011 at 11:10pm "That’s not to say I won’t bring somebody back,"
You don't think he's talking about former Whaler J-S Guigere, do you? I think he'd make a fine backup. He's in the twilight of his career, trying to re-establish himself, trying to focus on getting healthy, trying maybe to have one last crack at it. Sounds kinda like our brief time with Manny Legace.
I'm not nuts about Gerber, who is the only other "bring somebody back" goalie I can think of.
Comment by David M. Droschak on July 1, 2011 at 11:45am Comment by Doug Abrams on July 9, 2011 at 11:21pm The signing of Ponikarovsky, Stewart, and Brent has transformed the Hurricanes into a much more physical team and adds critical size. In my view, re-signing Jokinen was more critical than re-signing Cole. To be certain, I would love to have been able to sign Cole for 3 years at $3.5 million. I would never have paid Cole $18 million over 4 years.
In fact, if I were given the choice of Jokinen, Ponikarovsky, Stewart, and Brent on the one side, or only being able to afford Cole, I'd let Cole go. The next step for the Hurricanes will be having not only Dalpe succeed at the NHL level, but also to have Boychuk make the jump to a productive NHL forward. If Dalpe and Boychuk can each score 18 to 22 goals, the Hurricanes will make the playoffs. Cole's 26 goals were not enough to get the Hurricanes to the playoffs. Dalpe and Boychuk need not only to replace Cole's goals, but they need to combine for more goals. Stewart and Ponikarovksy have the skills and size to add 20 goals each. Both Ponikarovksy and Stewart battle in front of the crease and crash the net. How many times, did the Hurricanes lose a game due to the lack of net presence. With Stewart and Ponikarovsky the Hurricanes have dramatically improved net presence and the ability to screen goalies.
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