Canes Sign Pitkanen, Melichar

Well, that didn't take long.

For all those ready to jump off ledges all over the Triangle, wondering why JR would trade their favorite player for an unsigned RESTRICTED Free agent, well, you can rest a little easier. There will be no long, drawn out negotiations and/or offer sheets from other teams.

Luke at over at the N&O announced today that the Canes have signed defenseman Joni Pitkanen to a 3 year deal worth $12 million. Thankfully, this deal was wrapped up in a hurry. The 24 year old Finn was acquired on Tuesday in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers, who picked up long time fan favorite Erik Cole. Cole was due $4 million for the last year of his contract and Pitkanen has bascially moved into that salary slot - $3.5 million in 2008/2009, $4 million in 2009/2010, and $4.5 million in the last year of the deal. This makes Pitkanen the highest paid Canes defenseman but quite a large margin. Joe Corvo is second on that list at $2.5 million.

JR obviously believes in this kid, and thinks he can blossom into the player he has always been projected to be. Let's hope he's right. JR has made some moves in the past that seemed questionable at the time, but they seem to work out for him more often than not. This decision could be a defining one.



But the Canes did not stop there, and moved to shore up their blue line even more by announcing another signing today. Josef Melichar has signed on to a one year contract at $1 million. Melichar played in 310 NHL games with the Pittsbugh Penguins from 2000/2001 through 2006/2007. He spent last season in Europe playing for Linkoping of the Swedish Elite League. Known as a defensive defenseman, the 6'2", 220 lb Czech has 7 goals and 33 assists in his NHL career. JR had this to say about the 29 year old Melchair:

Josef is a big, strong and experienced defensive defenseman who will be a shut-down player for us...

Melichar's signing makes 3 defensemen added to the roster in the last 48 hours.
So you've got to give Rutherford and company some credit. They said that they needed and would be targeting defensive help (obviously), and they went out and got it.
Now only time will tell if they made the right moves.

The payroll now stands at around $46.7 million for 2008/2009, which is slightly above the Cane's projected budget of $45-46 million. There are currently 7 (Corvo, Pitkanen, Gleason, Kaberle, Wallin, Babchuk, Melichar) defensemen under contract to the Hurricanes at the NHL level, with Dennis Siedenburg waiting in the wings as a restricted free agent who has been given a qualifying offer. Don't be surprised to see a salary-dump trade soon involving one or more of these defensemen (Kaberle? Wallin? Seidenberg?).

Stay tuned.

-m

More Moves on a Busy Day...

And we're likely just getting started...

Luke has announced over on Lord Stanley's Blog that the Canes have re-upped Ryan Bayda, Wade Brookbank and Tim Conboy. All three were part of the mid-season call-ups from Albany that helped the injury plagued Hurricanes stay in the playoff race all the way to the last weekend of the season.

Bayda was a key ingredient to the Canes' late season surge, teaming with Scott Walker and Keith Aucoin (also a call-up from Albany) to form perhaps the Canes' most consistent line, bringing energy, speed and effort every nite. The line's efforts were not always reflected on the scoreboard, but they set the tone for the rest of the team night in and night out. Bayda finished the season having appeared in 31 games, tallying 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists). His new deal is a one year contract worth $475,000.

Brookbank also signed a one year, $475,000 deal today. He was brought up from Albany in mid-December to serve as the team's "nuclear weapon" on the bench. His role was pretty simple, stand up for teammates and drop the gloves whenever necessary. He notched 76 penalty minutes in 32 games for the Canes last season.

Conboy was signed to a two year deal that will be two-way in 2008-2009 ($475,000 NHL/ $100,000 AHL) and NHL-only in 2009-2010 ($500,000). Last season was Conboy's first in the Canes' organization, and he made his NHL debut against Colorado on Jan. 12th. Conboy quickly became a fan favorite with his grit, hard work and willingness to scrap, hit and drop the gloves (60 PIM in just 19 games) despite his somewhat diminutive stature. He skated as both a forward and defenseman, chipping in with 6 assists, and providing valuable backup on a injury-depleted Canes' roster.

-m

Cole to Edmonton; Babchuck Re-signed

Cannot say that it comes as a surprise, nor can I say that I am completely against it, but it was still a bit of a bummer to learn that Erik Cole was traded today to the Edmonton Oilers, straight up, for defenseman Joni Pitkanen.

Cole was entering into the last year of a contract that is due to pay him $4million this season. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2008-2009. This made him an obvious trade commodity, and his name had been mentioned in trade rumors as far back as the 2007 draft, and again at the trading deadline last season. Still, I'll be bummed to see him go.

Here's wishing Erik and his family nothing but the best. UTTR will be keeping tabs and pulling hard for you in Edmonton.

Pitkanen is a 24 year old (offensive) defenseman who will hopefully add some scoring punch to the blue line, especially on the power-play. The terms "potential" and "upside" have been thrown around a lot regarding Pitkanen who was the 4th overall pick (Philadelphia) in the 2002 NHL draft, but he is now going to his third team in 5 seasons. Having not really lived up to the hype so far, his 2007-2008 season was marred by several nagging injuries (knee, hip). He appeared in 63 games for the Oilers, notching 26 points (8 goals, 18 assists). His best season in Philadelphia was 2005-2006, scoring 46 points (13 goals, 33 assists) in only 58 games. He was on the sidelines for 21 straight games that season with a torn abdominal muscle.

It seems that Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford has been high on Pitkanen for a while, as it was rumor that the Canes were in the running to acquire his services last summer as well. Pitkanen is currently a Restricted Free Agent.

I completely understand the necessity to trade a forward to get what we need on defense, and I completely understand that our most "marketable" assets at forward included Cole, Justin Williams and perhaps Ray Whitney and/or Tuomo Ruutu. I'm just a little bit skeptical that a Cole for Pitkanen is straight up fair value for the Hurricanes. I just have not been all that impressed with Pitkanen on the ice (forget the numbers) in the few times I've been able to watch him closely. But of course, its not my job to evaluate talent, and it's only a hobby at best to second guess. Pitkanen is young and has skills. Let's hope he puts it all together in a Canes uniform (Sergei Samsonov, anyone?). If not he is going to have a hard time living up to a trade that sent one of Carolina's most popular players away. Fans can tend to be a little impatient in such situations.


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Also in the news, the Hurricanes have announced that the have re-signed/agreed to terms with defenseman Anton Babchuck, who was with the team for two seasons before playing last year in his native Russis (Superliga - Avangard Omsk). Babchuck was embroiled in a bit of controversy when he initially refused to report when the Hurricanes assigned him to the minors (Albany), mid way though the 2006-2007 season. He eventually did report and play out the season with the River Rats, and from most accounts was not a bad apple. But the public spat with the front office was a bit, shall we say, messy.

Babchuck then left to play a season in Russia's top league, where he was fifth amongst defensemen in scoring with 26 points (9 goals, 17 assists) in 57 games played. So far in his NHL career Babchuck has scored 26 points and racked up 54 penalty minutes in 96 games with the Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks (drafted in 1st round - 21st overall - 2002). The new contract is for one season and will pay Babchuck $1million.

-m

Glen Wesley Announces His Retirement

After spending most of my day away from modern conveniences such as internet access, radio or TV, I decided to sit down late tonight and check in on Lord Stanley's Blog to see what was what. Maybe I missed another signing, or some news from the organizational meetings taking place over in Raleigh-wood. Boy Howdy!

After 20 years in the NHL, and 13 with the Carolina Hurricanes, Glen Wesley has decided to call it a career. I cannot say that this announcement was completely unexpected, but it was still bittersweet. Wesley was/is a classy guy. A quiet warrior and leader on the ice and a gentleman off it. He will be missed, but I certainly do not begrudge him his the right to end his career on his own terms.

Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford announced that though his playing days may be over, Wesley will be staying with the team in a new front office position created just for him - Director Of Defensive Development. This is both a classy and SMART move by the organization. Classy in that they are keeping one of their long tenured and most respected players involved with the team after their playing days are over (see Ron Francis as well), and smart in that not many folks could claim better expertise on how to get the most out of your talents as a defenseman in the NHL than Glen Wesley. He already has the respect and admiration of the youngsters on the Cane's blueline, especially Tim Gleason who has always been quick to point out the influence of Wesley's leadership and counsel in his development over the last two seasons.

Rutherford also announced that Wesley's number 2 will be the second Canes' jersey to be raised Up To The Rafters next season. A well deserved and hard earned honor. As a fan, you could always count on one thing when it came to Glen Wesley - that he was going to give you everything he had every time he stepped onto the ice. It may sound cliched, but that's really all you can ask of any player.

Congratulations to Glen Wesley on a stellar career. UTTR wishes you and your family nothing but the best for the future. We will miss seeing you on the ice, but are looking forward to having you as a "neighbor" for hopefully a long long time.


NOTES:
-Wesley finished his career in 6th place on the all time games played (1497) list amongst NHL defensemen.
-Wesley was the last remaining player who was on the Canes' roster from their inaugural season in North Carolina.
-Wesley played in 4 Stanley Cup Finals, 2 with the Hurricanes and 2 with the Boston Bruins.
-Drafted third overall in the 1987 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins, Wesley made the NHL straight out of juniors and was named to the All-Rookie team in 1987 with 37 points (7g, 30 assists)and a +/- rating of +21. He was also named to the the All Star game in 1989 and was considered one of the up and coming offensive defensemen in the league.
-Wesley was traded from the Bruins to the Hartford Whalers in 1994 in exchange for 3 draft picks, one of which ironically turned out to be Sergei Samsonov (1997).
-Once with the Whalers, Wesley was asked to be a number one, shut-down defenseman, and in the selfless way that would come to signify his career, he gave up his personal offensive numbers (which had been quite impressive up to that point) for the good of the team.
-Wesley's 913 games played for the Whalers/Hurricanes franchise is second only to Ron Francis in team history, and his 728 games in a Hurricanes jersey are the most by any player.

There are a couple of nice stories up on the Canes' website regarding Wesley's retirement (which is where I culled a lot of this notes/statistics). You can check them out HERE and HERE.


-m


(photo: schultzimages.com)

Former Cane Sami Kapanen Announces Retirement

The Phildelphia Flyers announced on Wednesday that former Hurricane Sami Kapanen has decided to retire after 12 seasons in the NHL at age 34.

Kapanen was drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the fourth round of the 1995 NHL Draft. He played 8 seasons with Hartford/Carolina before being traded to the Flyers in February of 2003 in a deal that sent Pavel Brendl and Bruno St. Jacques to the Hurricanes.

Kapanen was best known for his speed on the wing and his gritty play despite his somewhat diminutive size. A fan favorite in both Carolina and Philadelphia, Sami registered career totals of: 189 goals and 269 assists for 458 points and 175 penalty minutes in 831 regular season games. He posted 35 points (13G,22A) and 22 penalty minutes in 87 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.

I always loved Sami, and was amazed over the last few years at how much he had rounded out his game, especially on defense. His role with the Flyers of late had been mainly as a fourth line checker and penalty killer. Surely he had more left in the tank, but look for Kapanen to finish out his pro career in Finland. He is part owner of the KalPa Kuopio club in his hometown of Vantaa, and will likely play for them next season.

UTTR wishes you all the best Sami!

Check out the full story from the N&O HERE.

-m