Ruuuuuutuuuuuuu!

The news the Caniacs everywhere had all been waiting and hoping for came from the Carolina Hurricanes early this morning - Tuomo Ruutu has resigned with the Canes, inking a 3 year deal worth $11.4 million.

Ruutu, a Restricted Free Agent, had filed for salary arbitration earlier this summer, and had a hearing date set for July 30th. While both parties had emphasized all along that they hoped to avoid going all the way through to arbitration, little movement had been seen in the last few weeks. In the end the two sides agreed to a 3 year deal with salary increases for each season - Ruutu will be paid $3 million in 2009/2010, $4 million the following season and $4.4 million in 2011/2012.

In a statement released by the team, GM Jim Rutherford had this to say:

“We are very happy to have Tuomo under contract on a long-term deal and to avoid arbitration. He is still quite young at 26, and is one of the cornerstones of our team moving forward.”

Javier Serna over at Canes Now managed to track down Ruutu at his family's summer cottage in southern Finland via mobile phone (evidently, not the easiest thing to do) to get the player's take on his new contract:

“I definitely like the deal, I’m glad it’s not going to arbitration. I really wanted to stay in Carolina.”

Ruutu is coming off season in which he set career highs in goals (26), assists (28) and points (54). He also led the Hurricanes in hits with 228. But the winger thinks his future could/should be even brighter:

“I hope those numbers will go up. I don’t think I’ve reached my peak yet. That’s why I try to work out every day. I’m 26 [years old] and I still think I can get better.”

The Canes are banking on Ruutu continuing to improve as well:

“I would expect for him to be somewhere between that 25- and 35-goal range with this contract,” said Rutherford. “He’s certainly in the age where’s he’s coming into his prime.”

In the end both sides essentially got what they wanted in the deal. The Cames locked up one of their most important pieces for the next 3 years and Ruutu got the security he was looking for, in a place that he had come to love.


Wit this signing the 2009/2010 version of the Carolina Hurricanes is falling into place. Rutherford has managed to retain virtually all of the pieces he targeted, and has added some key free agent depth, toughness and versatility. There's still talk from the GM of adding another top-4 defenseman via either free agency or trade, and with Ruutu locked up the Canes front office can turn all of their attention to that final detail. The coming days and weeks still promise to be interesting, but I'm already chomping at the bit for training camp and the first puck drop of the new season.

-m

Length of Contract Is Sticking Point for Ruutu

(photo: CarolinaHurricanes.com)



Interesting article over at Tracking The Storm on Tuesday regarding the ongoing negotiations between the Canes and forward Tuomo Ruutu.

It appears that the main thing the two sides are haggling about at the moment is the length of the contract Ruutu is willing to sign. The Canes want to sign him to a multi-year (3) deal while the player and his agent are angling for a one year contract, so that they will be able to test the market as an UFA after next season.

Here's what Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford had to say about the situation as it stands right now:

“Really I think what’s happening here is trying to decide if it’s a one-year contract and letting him go out as a UFA the following year or a longer-term contract. We really like Tuomo, we’d like him to stay here and we’d like to do this long-term.”

Interesting conundrum. While I understand Ruutu's desire for a possible larger pay day after next season, it could be risky to sign a one year deal - suppose there's an injury (which has been an issue at times in his career), or he does not put up quite the numbers he did this season. At that point the security of a long term contract might look pretty good in hindsight. Plus there's the real possibility that the salary cap could be reduced significantly next year, and there might not be as much $$$ being thrown around on the open market. A lot of the major market (big money) teams are likely to have some serious juggling to do when it comes to the cap heading into 2010/2011.

As of now, Ruutu's arbitration hearing is set for July 30th, and I would expect that neither side particularly wants to go through the process of a hearing, so something should be done by then either way.

Whether it's a one year contract or something longer term, I certainly hope that Ruutu is on the ice in a Canes sweater next season...and possibly for many seasons to come.

-m

Canes Sign Free Agent Tom Kostopoulos

(photo: Phillip MacCallum/Getty)


Ok. This one was a surprise.

The Carolina Hurricanes announced on Tuesday afternoon that they had signed free agent forward Tom Kostospoulos to a 3 year, $2.75 million contract. Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford had this to say about the signing:

“Tom is a character player who adds grit to our lineup. He is a strong penalty killer and plays a high-energy game that will fit our team’s style of play.”

Kostopoulos is 30 years old and has played 7 seasons in the NHL, the last two with the Montreal Canadiens. He was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft (7th round - 204th overall), and suited up with the Penguins in parts of 3 seasons. He then moved on to the the Los Angeles Kings for two years before ending up in Montreal.

Kostopoulos tallied 22 points (8 goals, 14 assists) for the Canadiens in 2008/2009, and was also 2nd on the team in penalty minutes (106) and hits (167), appearing in 78 games. He played in all 4 Hab playoff games last season, tallying 1 assist. For his career, Kostopoulos has tallied 105 points (40 goals, 65 assists) and 468 penalty minutes in 367 regular season games. He has 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in 16 career playoff games.

Kostopoulos is known as a gritty player, who is strong along the boards, has good speed, loves to get physical and is a solid and responsible 2-way player. He definitely fits the bill for the Canes getting bigger, stronger and perhaps a bit meaner.

This is probably a good signing based on talent, but the perplexing part for me is that all we have heard about over the last couple of weeks is how the Canes are in the market for a veteran, physical presence on DEFENCE. Instead we just added $2.75 million to the budget, on the 4th foward line.

One can look at this as an upgrade in size and physicality from Ryan Bayda. But I cannot help but wonder what it might mean in regards to how negotiations are going with Tuomo Ruutu. Perhaps there's absolutely no correlation whatsoever. But with this signing the Canes have around $47 million allotted, from what has been rumored to be a cash budget of around $50 million. Supposing we sign Ruutu for somewhere around $3 million - that obviously doesn't leave much room for bringing in a quality top 4-6 defenceman, without busting the proposed budget. Of course the rumored buyout of Frank Kaberle's contract could free up a little bit of $$$ for a possible defensive signing.

The other obvious possibility would be a trade for a top 4 defencemen. One speculative scenario here could involve packaging something - maybe Babchuk and Patrick Eaves - for a defenceman who is already under contract with another team. (I would hate to lose Eaves)

Or, if things bog down with Ruutu, and a long term/multi-year deal cannot be reached, perhaps the Canes look at moving him rather than facing the possibility of losing him to unrestricted free agency. I have to admit that - a trade or losing him to free agency - makes me shudder to think. I really, really want to keep Ruutu.

There's obviously a few more chips to fall into place before this is all over with. The wheels are turning, and it's always fun to watch and speculate without having any real idea of what is going on behind the scenes.

One thing that is certain as we stand right now, the Canes have 4 pretty impressive forward lines (on paper) to work with. Lots of grit, savvy and speed, as well as some fairly deep scoring potential. Would be fun to watch, but I'm not sure the patchwork defense would be all that amusing behind them. Unless the young defencemen in Albany are ready to contribute big minutes right out of the gate (doubtful).

It also appears that the Canes might be leaning towards giving their young forwards (Sutter, Boychuk, Bowman, et al) a full season together in the AHL , or at least a significant part of the season . Which would be a great luxury to have. (The River Rats are looking like a monster next year as it stands right now).

Lots more to come I'm sure.

At least the off-season has not been boring so far.

-m

HURRICANES PROSPECT AND CONDITIONING CAMP

Carolina Hurricanes 2009 1st Round Draft Choice - Phillipe Paradis (photo: www.sbuisson.com)



The Carolina Hurricanes will hold their annual Conditioning Camp for young prospects this week at the Rec Zone (912 W. Hodges St) in Raleigh. The camp kicks off tomorrow, Wednesday, July 15th and runs through Saturday, July 18th. On-ice sessions at the Rec Zone start at 4:45pm and are open to the public.

10 prospects will be attending this year, including 2009 1st round draft pick Phillipe Paradis.
Bubba over at Canes Country does a great job (as per usual) of previewing the camp and offering some background on each of the players. Here's a list of this year's attendees:

Phillipe Paradis - F/LW - 2009 1st round pick (27th overall)
Zac Dalphe - F/RW - 2008 2nd round pick (45th overall)
Brian Dumoulin - D - 2009 2nd round pick (51st overall)
Matt Kennedy - F/RW - 2009 5th round choice (131st overall)
Matt Pistilli - F/RW - 2009 free agent signee
Mike Murphy - G - 2008 6th round choice (165th overall)
Kai Kantola - F/C - non-roster collegiate invitee - Bowling Green (grew up in Raleigh, NC)
Beau Schmitz - D - free agent try out
Scott Pitt - F - collegiate invitee - Mercyhurst College
Michael McKenzie - F - free agent tryout (son of TSN analyst Bob McKenzie)

Hopefully I'll be able to make it over on Thursday afternoon. I've never been able to make it to one of these camps, but have always wanted to. Sounds like a fun way to spend an afternoon.
If I'm able to make it, you can be sure I'll be all geeked out to blog about it.

BTW, the Hurricanes will also have their 2nd Annual Summer Fan Fest on Friday evening at the RBC Center. Live music, inflatables, interactive games, free giveaways, mascots, guest speakers from the Hurricanes, discounted concessions and a classic Canes game on the jumbotron. Should be fun for the entire family. Admission and parking are free. Things kick off at 6pm in the RBC Center parking lot.

-m

Canes Free Agency (So Far)

photo: Michael Ryan, Carolina Hurricanes (by Tammy Biondi, About.com)



Heading into Free Agent Frenzy, I don't think anyone thought the Hurricanes would be big time players. Canes GM Jim Rutherford was focused on keeping as much of his core in tact as possible following a great second half of the season and a completely unexpected playoff run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Rutherford tried the same strategy after the Stanley Cup run of 2005/2006. Let's hope the results turn out a little bit better this time around.

So far Rutherford has mostly achieved his goal with the resigning of UFA's Chad LaRose and Erik Cole, as well as RFA and playoff hero Jussi Jokinen.

The big question mark still hanging in the air over the triangle involves the status of RFA Tuomo Ruutu, who has received a qualifying offer from the Canes and, in turn, filed for arbitration. Now we all wait and see, fingers crossed, hoping that both sides can iron out a deal sooner rather that later (arbitration hearing are set to start around July 24th).

UFA Denis Seidenberg (as I commented on earlier today) appeared to be out the door, looking for more money than the Canes could possibly offer. But those negotiations seem to have started up again in the last couple of days.

RFA Anton Babchuk got a qualifying offer from the Canes, and was none too impressed by it.
Reportedly the Canes offered him a one year deal at essentially the same salary he made last season. Babchuk apparently thinks he deserves a raise (and he is probably right based on the season he had in 2008/2009), and perhaps a multiple year deal, but since he is not eligible for arbitration (due to spending the 2007/2008 season in Russia while still under contract to the Canes), the Canes did not feel compelled to offer him much. Both Rutherford and the Babchuk camp have taken hard line stances, and there do not appear to have been any qualifying offers from other teams. The Canes really hold all the cards here, as Babs really only has two options - play for the Canes under their current offer or take another year in Russia. Although, Rutherford reportedly gave the Babchuk camp the go ahead to dig around for trade offers if they are so inclined. However this thing shakes out, bringing Babchuk back into the fold will likely involve some give and take from both sides, not to mention a nice meal of crow.

Ryan Bayda is also an UFA, and both parties seem content for Bayda to seek opportunities elsewhere. Not much room in the Canes budget for a depth forward, and Ryan has earned a shot at a decent pay day somewhere.

The rest of the Canes free agents moves so far have mostly been two-way deals to improve their depth at Albany and to add some insurance for call-ups if needed by the big club. Although an impressive training camp could lead some NHL time for a few of these guys. Here's a quick run down of those deals:

Jay Harrison (UFA) - D - 26 y/o - 1 year, 2 way deal: Harrison's signing is a depth move on the blue line. Harrison was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round of the 2001 draft and has spent most of his professional career (minus a brief sojourn in the Swiss Elite League in 2008/2009) as a depth player in the Maple Leafs' system (including 2 years under current Canes coach Paul Maurice). He has played a total of 20 NHL games and 376 AHL tilts. He will have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot in training camp, along with some of the young defensemen the Canes already have in Albany. Harrison will make $500,000 at the NHL level and $125,000 in the AHL, with $175,000 guaranteed.

Steve Goertzen (UFA) - F - 25 y/o - 1 year, 2 way deal: Goertzen adds some depth at forward and will get the chance to compete for a fourth line spot in training camp. A more likely scenario is his spending a good chunk of the season in Albany as depth for call ups. Goertzen was originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 7th round of the 2002 draft. He split last season between the Phoenix Coyotes and their AHL affiliate in San Antonio. He has played in 62 career NHL games. Ironically enough, Goertzen scored his first NHL goal on Feb 7th 2009 against the Carolina Hurricanes (a 7-2 Canes victory). Goertzen will make $500,000 at the NHL level and $100,000 in the AHL.

Michael Ryan (RFA) - F - 29 y/o - 1 year/2 way deal: Ryan was signed as a free agent in October of 2008, made 18 appearances with the NHL club, and played 40 games in Albany. Ryan led the River Rats in goals (25) last season, despite playing in less than half their games. A valuable depth guy, he spent the last two months of the season with the big club providing depth/insurance as a gritty two-way forward. Ryan has played in 83 NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes, scoring 15 points - 7 goals and 8 assists. Ryan's new deal pays him $500,000 at the NHL level and $105,000 in the AHL, with $150,000 guaranteed.

Patrick Dwyer (RFA) - F - 25 y/o - 2 year/2 way deal: Dwyer made his NHL debut with the Canes in 2008/2009 playing in 13 games, including two playoff games. Like Michael Ryan, Dwyer provided solid depth, with gritty passionate play during 3 different call-ups from Albany.
Dwyer was originally signed as a free agent by the Hurricanes in July 2006. He was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 4th round (116th overall) of the 2002 draft. Dwyer's new 2 year contract will pay him $500,000 at the NHL level and $105,000 in the AHL.

Casey Boer (RFA) - D - 23 y/o - 1 year/2 way deal: Borer is widely considered one of the Canes best young defensive prospects, having spent the last two seasons with the Albany River Rats, but also enjoying some success during several NHL call-ups (1 goal, 2 assists in 14 NHL games). Unfortunately, he has suffered two significant injuries in the last two years. First, he blew out his knee near the end of the 2007/2008 season, then, after rehabbing and returning to form for 2008/2009 Borer was seriously injured (broken vertebrate) in the River Rats bus crash in February. Prognosis is good for a full recovery, but we will have to wait and see. Borer gets $500,000 at the NHL level and $60,000 in the AHL, with $65,000 guaranteed.

Justin Peters (RFA) - G - 22 y/o = 1 year/2 way deal: drafted by the Hurricanes in the 2nd round (38th overall) of the 2004 draft, Peters was once considered a possible "goal tender of the future". Now with the emergence of Cam Ward as a cornerstone of the NHL club, and Mike Murphy making lots of noise in juniors, Peters' future is a bit cloudy. He has been solid, but not spectacular thus far in his AHL career, and even managed to dress 4 games as a backup for the Canes when Ward was out with a groin injury last year. If he puts together a good year in Albany, and manages to hold off the hard charging Murphy, he could be in line for a back up job in Carolina if/when Michael Leighton moves on, or he could end up as trade bait at some point. Peters gets $500,000 at the NHL level and $60,000 in the AHL with $65,000 guaranteed.

Chris Terry - F - 20 y/o - 3 year/entry level: Terry was drafted by the Hurricanes in the fifth round (137th overall) of the 2007 NHL draft. The young forward finished the 2008/2009 season as the second leading scorer in the Ontario Hockey League. Terry scored 94 points (39 goals, 55 assists) as captain for the Plymouth Whalers (the junior team owned by Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos). In four OHL seasons with the Whalers Terry notched 289 points (114 goals and 175 assists), played in two All Star Games and was part of the OHL Championship team in 2007. Terry's entry level deal will pay him $60,000 AHL/$500,000 NHL in the first year, and $65,000 AHL/$550,000 NHL in the second and third years. He also received a $225,000 signing bonus.


WORK TO DO: Moving forward, the Canes will have to sort out the details of a new deal with Tuomo Ruutu and then see what they have left over to possibly spend on a free agent defenseman (or two). Rutherford's plan all along was to wait and see what kind of deals could be made with whoever is still around in August. There's also the possibility of the team buying out the last year of Frank Kaberle's contract in order to free up some extra $$$. There's always the chance that Seidenberg and/or Babchuk could return to the fold if the price is right. But those could still be long shots at this point.

-m

Seidenberg Back In The Picture?

(photo from nhl.com/hurricanes)



Well, we are two weeks in to the free agent signing period and most of the big deals have been completed. Now teams will be looking to fill holes and upgrade as best they can. While the economic crisis has not kept some teams from throwing around big money for "superstar" caliber players, there appears to have been a significant impact on solid middle of the road guys who were looking for significant raises on the open market.

One of those players who was looking for a pay hike was Hurricanes D-man Denis Seidenberg. Leading up to the free agency deadline, Canes GM Jim Rutherford seemed pretty sure that Seids would be lost on the open market, and seemed to have turned the page:

"Based on my conversation with his agent, and where they think he's at, he's a long way out of our reach"

This came from a story on Canes Now, posted just before the NHL Draft in late June.

(where have we heard this sort of rhetoric from Rutherford before...hmmmm?)

Well, it seems that the situation might have changed a bit over the last 3 weeks. Chip Alexander/Canes Now is reporting today that the Canes reopened discussions with Seidenberg's agent J.P. Barry over the weekend. Chip got this quote from Rutherford:

"We do have interest in Dennis... We had a conversation with J.P. on Friday and that door is open again....When we first backed away from Dennis, it had nothing to do with Dennis. It was with his initial request. We could not go to that level. He's been out there as a free agent and able to talk to teams, and now we're talking again."

My guess is that no one else on the market was offering anything near what Seids and Barry were looking for either, and suddenly a top 4 or 6 spot on the Canes blue line for a decent price does not seem all that bad.

Seidenberg is 28 years old, just coming into his prime as a quality D-Man, and had by far the best season of his career in 2008/2009. He set career marks in games played (70) and points (30 - 5G/25A). He was also top 20 in the league (17th/120) in blocked shots, and ranked third on the team in ice time (22:19 per game).

Seids can also have a bit of a nasty streak at times and is not hesitant in throwing his body around a bit if need be. While not particularly big or fleet of foot, 2008/2009 saw him make huge strides in his own zone. He still finished the season at a -9 overall, and was a -5 in the playoffs, most of that seeming to come against the Penquins in the Conference finals where he looked particualrly tired and/or slow (not unlike the rest of the Canes blue line).

The downside to his game over his career with the Canes has been his tendency to spend an awful lot of time on the injured list. Foot and ankle problems seemingly being the biggest bugaboo. He only played in 52 and 40 games respectively in his previous two seasons. But 2008/2009 was relatively injury free and the increased ice-time, along with the development and increased confidence in his game that comes with that, seemed to have brought out his best.

I would probably rate Denis as a borderline top 4 guy, but a solid top 6 defenseman. He made $1.2 million per season on his last contract and if the Canes could get him for a slight raise (say $1.5-$1.75 million?) on a one year contract (where he can prove that his injury-prone days are behind him - which is probably what is hurting his value on the open market), it would seem like a good deal for both sides.

For the right price I, for one, would welcome him back.

BTW, Bubba over at Canes Country posted a nice breakdown today on some of the remaining UFA defensemen left on the open market.

In today's Canes Now post Rutherford continued to claim that the Hurricanes are still looking at/for that "veteran defensemen" he has been alluding to for the last few weeks. I'm thinking that it has been more of a concept than any actualy player(s) so far. But what the hell do I know?

Rutherford also mentioned the distinct possibility of buying out the remainder of Frank Kaberle's contract to free up some room in the budget:

"It's not that we think Frank can't play anymore, but it would free up some cash and allow us to change the defense the way we want to and give it more of a physical aspect."

-m

Ruutu Files for Arbitration

According to TSN, 20 players chose to file for salary arbitration with their current teams by last night's deadline. Among those, not surprisingly, was Carolina Hurricanes winger Tuomo Ruutu.

Ruutu recieved a qualifying offer from the team as a Restricted Free Agent, and the move for the player to file for arbitration is a natural development in the process at this point. Arbitration hearings will take place sometime around the end of July (not sure if the exact date(s) has been set), and teams and their players will continue to negotiate between now and then. Historically, deals are reached before any actual arbitration hearing. As a point of reference, Chad LaRose filed for arbitration last season, but ended up signing with the team a week or so before any hearing took place. Of the 15 players in the NHL who filed for arbitration in the summer of 2008, only 2 went all the way through to arbitration. In general, arbitration hearings can turn into pretty contentious affairs, so both players and management usually try to avoid them at all cost.

If teams wish to take a player to arbitration, they must file before 5pm today (July 6th).
(This is not an issue for the Hurricanes.)

Bubba has a good recap of the Ruutu situation, as it stands right now, over at Canes Country.

I'm hoping they are able to get creative within their budget and lock Tuomo up for a long term (3-4 years) deal. But that's still to be determined. If not, a one year deal is likely, at a slight raise, and Ruutu becomes a UFA next summer. Based on his numbers and performance, Ruutu definitely deserves a raise. Fingers crossed that the team and the player can reach an agreement that is seen as fair by both.

If you want to see the full list of players filing for arbitration and some background on the process check out James Mirtle's post over at From The Rink.

-m

What a difference a day makes...

So, Wednesday night I come home from work exhausted, and log online to find out that the Canes had managed to work out a contract with Erik Cole, but that the prospects for a new deal with Chad LaRose seemed to be going south fast.

Canes' GM Jim Rutherford had spoken with Chip Alexander over at Canes Now on Wednesday evening and stated bluntly that it was "time to move on"..."It's not going to happen". Evidently the Canes were talking with another free agent about joining the Canes Wednesday night, so Rutherford gave LaRose's agent a courtesy call:

I informed (Patrick Morris, LaRose's agent) that we had another deal we were working on, that I was giving him a courtesy call. He said he would run everything by Chad and call back in an hour. I waited but they never called back. Obviously they have a deal somewhere else. So we're working on signing another free agent. It's time to move on.

Sounded pretty ominous. So I went to bed torn...relieved that we were able to resign Cole at a decent price, but bummed that things seemed to have spun down the drain with LaRose. I wasn't too confident that things could turn around from that point.

All through the day on Thursday I kept one eye on the TSN Free Agent Tracker, curious to see where LaRose's name might pop up, or who this mystery free agent that Rutherford referred to Wednesday evening might be.

Nothing. A slow day all around for the most part as far as new signings, and absolutely nothing from the Hurricanes.

I left around 3:30, and headed off for what turned out to be a real shitty evening at work.
Come home and decide to check in for my hockey fix before heading off to bed. And whadda ya know:

Carolina Signs Chad LaRose For Two Years - Rioting In Street Ensues.

WOO HOO!

Of course, Bubba sums it up as well as I could ever hope to.

So, 3 down, one to go as far as keeping the core intact. Jokinen, Cole and LaRose are staying at home. Now to just wait and see how the details sort out with Ruutu. Heard Jim Rutherford on 99 The Fan this afternoon saying that moving forward, the Canes will just have to wait to hear back from Ruutu as to whether he will accept their qualifying offer, or opt for arbitration. Either way he seemed confident that something would be worked out for next season at the very least. Still to be seen if any kind of long term deal can be reached beyond 2009/2010. If not, Ruutu would become an UFA next summer (and we get to go through all of this again).

Rutherford also mentioned that with Seidenberg (definintely) and Babchuk (most likely) gone, the team would now turn their attention using their projected salary numbers in trying to find a top 4 defenseman in free agency to take their slot(s) in the budget. Will be interesting to see how that turns out.

But I'll worry about that another day.
For tonight (at least) I should sleep well.

BTW, check out LaRose, from Thusday afternoon, moments after resigning, on the radio with Scott Jackson and Mike Maniscalco from 99.9 The Fan.

Dude sounds ecstatic. I cannot imagine a more genuine or enthusiastic ambassador for the Canes and the NHL in general that Chad LaRose.

-m

Welcome Back...Again

Erik Cole decided to dip his toe into the free agent pool, take a look around the market and see what might be out there for him. Well it seems the water was a bit on the chilly side and he decided that the comforts of home were a bit too much to pass up.

After a few hours on the open market, Cole returned to the Carolina Hurricanes, signing a 2 year deal totaling $5.8 million with the team who drafted him (3rd round/1998), and with whom he has spent all but a few months of his 7 year NHL career. The new deal will pay $2.8 million in 2009/2010 and $3 million in 2010/2011. This represents roughly a 25% pay cut from his previous contract with the Canes, that paid out at $4 million per season.

Cole was traded from Carolina to the Edmonton Oilers in the summer of 2008 (in exchange for defenseman Joni Pitkanen), but returned to the Hurricanes in February of 2009 in a three team deal that sent forward Justin Williams from the Canes to the Los Angeles Kings. In 17 games with the Hurricanes to finish the season, Cole had 15 points (2 goals/15 assists), and provided a spark that helped the Canes surge to a 12-3-2 finish and their first playoff appearance in 3 years.

Once considered one of the most feared power forwards in the NHL, with a lethal combination of speed, size and physicality Cole had his best season during the Cane's Stanley Cup season of 2005/2006. He tallied 59 points (30 goals/29 assists) in just 60 games. Unfortunately, Cole missed the last 22 games of that season after suffering a broken vertabre in his neck after a blindsided hit into the boards from Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik (booo!). Cole made a dramatic return to the ice for the last two games of the Stanley Cup finals against Edmonton, and skated the Cup around the RBC Center with his teammates. In the offseason following the Stanley Cup run Cole signed a new 3 yr contract with the Hurricanes at $4 millon per season. Unfortunately, since his injury, Cole's production has slowly but steadily dropped off - 61 points (29G/32A) in 2006/2007 (71 games), 51 points (22G/29A) in 2007/2008 (73 games), 42 points (18G/24A) in 2008/2009 (80 games).

Heading into free agency, it seemed 50/50 at best that Cole would return to the Canes. It was obvious that GM Jim Rutherford wanted to resign him, but the question remained whether or not Cole would be willing to accept the pay cut that Rutherford and the Canes were sure to require. Over the last weeks and days speculation and rumor had centered around Cole and fellow UFA Chad LaRose, and which of the two the Canes could afford and should push to resign. Rutherford repeatly stated that he wanted to get both back in the fold - assuming that could work out the price.

After signing Cole this afternoon, Rutherford had this to say (from Canes Now):

Erik clearly had an instant impact on our team when he returned to Carolina in March...He has been an important piece for our franchise for a long time and we are pleased that he has decided to remain at home in Raleigh.

Today, Cole is back with the Canes and LaRose appears to be out the door for greener pastures.

Welcome home Erik. Again.

-m

ULTIMATE FRANCHISE: Canes #2

So I had ESPN on in the background as I was obsessively following the free agency live blogging on TSN and Canes Country (someone take this computer away from me now before I hurt myself), and Sportscenter was running this bit about ESPN The Magazine's annual Ultimate Franchises fan poll.

Wait a minute...What did he just say?

Under the category "fan experience" the Carolina Hurricanes come in at #1 out of 122 professional sports franchises? Sweet. I gotta check out this list.

So I go online, and though navigating the whole list is a bit wonky, I find that the Canes are ranked #2 over all in this year's survey. Wow! That's a move up from #17 last year. We are second only to the LA Angels of Anaheim. If my math is correct, that makes the Canes the #1 ranked franchise in the NHL. Other NHL teams in the top 10 - Detroit Red Wings at #4 and Washington Capitals at #6. The survey criteria includes affordability, quality of coaching, fan relations, commitment of ownership, stadium or arena experience, team success and "bang for the buck." So there.

#122 on the list? You guessed it...the LA Clippers.

Normally I could not care less what ESPN says, especially when it comes to their coverage of hockey in general (all kudos to Barry Melrose, who I respect a lot, and appreciate the 3-5 minutes of air time he gets once or twice a week during the season), or more specifically their coverage (natch) of the Hurricanes, but this fan vote in The Magazine makes me proud.

Of course we all know that the Canes are #1, but to see this sort of national recognition, well, it leaves me a bit...flumoxed??

Go Canes!

You can read the full survey recap on the Canes HERE.

Have fun searching for your favorite team(s).

I'll probably spend a few hours geeking out over this once I'm through with geeking out over free agency. Heck I might even have to buy a copy of the magazine. Yikes!

-m

Door Left Open For Cole; LaRose and Babchuck, not-so-much...

Canes Now is reporting that Erik Cole's foray into the free agent pool might be short lived. Canes GM Jim Rutherford said today that, while there are no guarantees at this point, Cole might be back with the Canes:

Erik is working hard to work with us...He'll still go into free agency but has said he will not stay out there long if he does not see a big deal he can get...I don't think we're far apart with Erik. We've had several good conversations in the last 24 hours in Erik's case. I see his point of view. He's willing to take a pay cut but wants to see if there's a big deal out there. There's not the same frustration with Erik.

[NOTE: Is it just me, or does Rutherford stating this publicly, in the media, severely hamper Cole's ability to get a "big deal" out there? If he is saying that Cole has admitted he is willing to take a pay cut in Carolina, does that not temper the amount of money another team would be willing to offer? Wiley public negotiating for sure, but I know if I was Cole's agent I would not be too happy right about now. ]

That last line, referencing "frustration", seems squarely directed at the LaRose camp. As is this little nugget:

I'd like to sign both, Rutherford said. My position has changed. I only have so much (money) to do it. If we can do it within those numbers, we'll do it.

I've got to wonder if there might be some sort of lingering animosity left over between LaRose (or his agent) and the club after last year's drawn out negotiations and arbitration?

There also seems to be a significant snag in negotiations with RFA defenseman Anton Babchuck. The Canes offered Babs a qualifying offer of $1 million, the same salary he made last season. But apparently the 25 year old Babchuck is not interested, wants a raise and could return to Russia (again) . Sigh. I was really impressed with Anton's development this year, his playoff performance not-withstanding, and for whatever reason he's always been a favorite of mine. So much potential there. He's still a young guy and I would love to see him continue to develop under the all seeing Eye. But the guy definitely seems to be high maintenance.

Hell, the Canes actually gave him a break in accepting him back into the fold and providing him with the opportunity to play quality minutes, after he skulked off to Russia two years ago. Now, here we go again. I got to wonder if this is the kid, or if he is just getting bad advice from his agent. He has already screwed up his arbitration status by leaving for a year. Sure he might be worth a bit more than $1 million a year, but signing this offer now allows him to PROVE that again next season, continue to develop at the NHL level, and to make even more money down the line. I don't see how returning to the KHL (again), helps him at all in the long run, except in theshort term pocket-book of course. Just seems a little short sighted as a negotiating ploy.

Rutherford did not seem to have much patience as he summed it up this way:

We have an issue with Babchuk.

Ok.

Now, any word on Ruutu?

-m

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

12:01pm.
Let the free agent feeding frenzy begin.

Always interesting to watch the carnage as frantic GMs try to buy a Cup, which is always easier said than done. I wonder to what extent the $$$'s being thrown around this year will be affected by the looming issue of a shrinking salary cap. Should affect the length of big money deals at the very least, one would think. But its tough to say that any of this ever makes much financial sense.

The Cane's have an MO of staying out of the fray earlier on, waiting for the dust to settle and not overpaying until the market evens itself out. Can be frustrating as hell sometimes for a fan, but probably makes sense with the budgets we are usually working with.

Will be interesting to see if Rutherford is a little bit more aggressive this year after failing to lock up Cole or LaRose.


Follow along with live blogging:

TSN

CANES COUNTRY

-m

Jokinen Drops Bubba A Line from Finland

I was ecstatic to hear the news that the Canes had reached a contract ahead of the deadline with RFA Jussi Jokinen. The Juice was solid from the time he joined the team in early February, selflessly pitching in whatever role whereever he was needed. And of course he became a fan favorite and local legend with his exploits in the playoffs.

Well, his status as a fan favorite probably spiked even higher when he took time out of his summer activities back home in Finland to respond to an email from Bubba over at Canes Country:

I am VERY excited to be returning to Carolina for the next two years.. It's been very nice seeing and hanging out with family and friends here in Finland. I started my summer training program last week. I noticed that the Canes drafted two defensemen from Finland this past weekend. They are pretty young and I do not know much about them, though.

I hope all Canes fans are having a great summer!

Best Regards,

Jussi Jokinen

The dude just seems like a down to earth all-around good guy.
Excited to have him back in the fold for at least 2 more seasons.

Kudos to Bubba for yet another scoop!

-m

The clock strikes midnight

As I type this the clock is passing across midnight in the Eastern time zone and June gives way to July. The deadline for teams to negotiate exclusively with their unrestricted free agents has officially passed, and since there has been no news out of Hurricanes HQ or from various media outlets (good job staying on top of this one N&O - natch), one can only assume that Chad LaRose and Erik Cole are now officially free agents, free to field offers from any NHL club.

And according to a post on the Canes website earlier on Tuesday, GM Jim Rutherford is not keen on taking part in any bidding wars for either Cole or LaRose:

“If they go into tomorrow [July 1st] then they’re obviously making the choice to go somewhere else...We’ve given our best offer within our budget to try to keep them, and at this point it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.”

Sure this might just be tough talk, taking a bargaining position through the media, and in general being a hardass, but it does not sound promising.

I would love to keep both guys, but feel stronger about keeping LaRose. He is definitely due a pay raise based on his performance this past season, but I wonder how much money is out there for him on the open market - or at least how much MORE money than the Canes are offering. LaRose is such a valuable player to this team on and off the ice, it could be a blow to lose him. And to be honest, seeing as how he had really found his niche and even exceeded expectations on this team, he might be hard pressed to find a good fit elsewhere. My guess at a fair price would be around $1.5-2million per season. And even that might be a little steep unless it is a short term deal.

Cole was making $4million per year on his current contract with the team, and based on performance over the last few years I'm sure he will have to take a pay cut no matter where he ends up. I'm guessing anything more than $2.5-3 million would be significantly overpaying for the production he provides at this point in his career. I remember when he signed the contract for $4 million per 4 or 5 years ago, some folks thought the Canes were getting a discount. But with the way things turned out in the long run (injuries, inconsistency), he was probably overpaid. If he ends up in another sweater next season I would be bummed, but not distraught.

It also appears that UFA Ryan Bayda will be on the market, and not back with the team. The Canes offered him a two-way deal (after having him on a one-way this season), but I don't really blame him for trying to keep a one-way deal elsewhere.

Man I hope I wake up tomorrow morning to read about some sort of last minute deal for LaRose, or that Rutherford does not just slam the door shut on principle.

-m

Canes vs Avalanche

The Hurricanes will try to keep things rolling with an afternoon matinee against Colorado today. Coming off 2 solid wins over the Islanders and Lightning, this afternoon's match up promises to be more of a challenge.

STREAKS: Colorado enters the RBC Center on a 3 game win streak with victories over Red Wings, Senators and Capitals. This streak of success comes on the heels of a 4 game losing streak for the 'Lanche. Both the Canes and the Avalanche have had up and down seasons, with both clubs struggling to develop any sort of consistency. The Avalanche enter today's game having gone 5-5 in their last 10 and 9-11 in their last 20 outings. The Canes are 6-4 in their last 10 and 10-10 in their last 20.

STANDINGS: The Canes currently sit in the 9th place slot in the Eastern Conference with 65 points (30-25-5), while the Avalanche currently occupy the cellar in the Western Conference with 57 points (28-30-1). The Canes currently sit 3 points out of a playoff slot, while the Lanche is 6 points out, but have 6 teams ahead of them.

TEAM LEADERS: Ryan Smyth leads the Avalanche in points (49) while Milan Hejduk leads in goals with 21. Ray Whitney leads the Canes with 49 points overall, while Eric Staal leads the team with 27 goals.

INJURIES: Colorado has been decimated by injuries this season. Stars Joe Sakic, Paul Stasny and John-Michael Liles have all missed significant time with a variety of ailments. Phillipe Dupuis and David Jones are currently listed as day-to-day. The Canes are currently without the services of Justin Williams, Scott Walker and Joni Pitkanen, though Pitkanen could return to the ice this afternoon.


Let's go Canes!

-m

Just what the doctor ordered?

Let's just say you are an NHL franchise just outside of the playoff picture having just lost 3 very important games at home by a combined score of 15-2. Your confidence is reeling and you have suddenly lost any sort of identity as a team. What might be the subscription to cure your ills?

How about back-to-back games against the Islanders and Lightning?
Yeah, that seems to be the ticket.

Having come off a 6-2 pasting of the Islanders on Long Island Thursday night, the Hurricanes followed up with a 4-1 win over the hapless Tampa Bay Lightning Friday night in front of what could have only been a anxious crowd at the RBC Center.

The Canes played a solid game overall, but did have some obvious trouble moving the puck out of their own zone at times. This team seems to pull the string a bit on way too many passes on home ices - cross ice passes to defensemen who apparently aren't even looking at the play, a lot of pucks in skates and turnovers at the blueline. BUt on this night, after some shaky moments that were enough to make this Caniac cringe, the home team was able to put the game away in the third period and continue to climb in the Eastern Conference points race.

Joe Corvo iced the game in the third with two goals 39 seconds apart, to give the Canes a 4-1 lead. Both goals came with the Canes enjoying a 5-on-3 powerplay.

Eric Staal got the scoring started mid way through the first period with his 27th goal of the season. It was Staal's 4th goal in his last 4 games, but his first on home ice since January 29th, which just so happened to be the game winner in a 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay.

The Lightning only managed to generate one shot on goal in the first period. But they did get a tying marker early in the second when Vaclav Prospal found the back of the net to make the score 1-1, and the RBC Center grew tense once again.

But what turned out to be the game winning goal came from former Lightning Jussi Jokinen at 14:30 of the second. The tally was Jokinen's first goal for the Hurricanes after being acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay on Feb 7th. Rod Brind'Amour forced a turnover deep in the Lightning zone and was credited with an assist on the game winning goal, his first point since Jan 27th.

Corvo's two goals in the third then put the game out of reach.

Tampa Bay managed only 13 shots on goal for the entire game, and their star forwards Martin St. Louis and Vinnie Lecavalier were kept off the score sheet entirely.

Sergei Samsonov picked up two assists, giving him 5 helpers in his last two games.

Ray Whitney also scored two assists for the Hurricanes.

Next up is what promises to be a sterner test against the Colorado Avalanche at 3pm on Sunday at the RBC Center. Colorado will come into town on a 3 game winning streak, including a 4-1 victory over the Capitals on Friday night in DC.


-m

Canes Rally to Tank the Sharks!!

Coming off a heart-wrenching loss to Vancouver on Tuesday night, the Hurricanes faced a stern test Thursday night at the Shark Tank in San Jose. Captain Rod Brind A'mour was back in Raleigh with a "lower body injury", rumored to be a groin. Jakub Petruzalek got the call up from Albany for his 1st NHL game. Michael Leighton got the start in goal for the first time in 17 games (a bit of a surprise move if you ask me). The Sharks were in a foul mood coming off a rare home loss. Not exactly the recipe for success if you are a Hurricanes fan.

But the Canes played a gritty hard nosed road game, keeping things simple and coming away with an unlikely 4-3 shoot out win over one of the NHL's top teams. The Canes came back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 in the second period, and played the entire third period without Eric Staal ("lower body injury") to force overtime. After a scoreless five minutes of overtime, Tuomo Ruutu and Sergei Samsonov tallied for the Hurricanes while Michael Leighton stopped 2 of 3 from the Sharks. A tremendous win for the Canes, picking up 2 points to stay just one point behind the Florida Panthers for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern conference.

The Sharks led 1-0 after the first period on a goal by Ryane Clowe at the 12:33 mark.
It was a hard fought first period from both teams as the Sharks came out strong, and the Hurricanes tried to keep things simple and clamp down on defense. Leighton was challenged early but stood his ground well, showing little rust from more than month of bench time. The Canes seemed to get their legs around the 10 minute mark of the first, and even though they trailed heading into the first intermission, the men in the white sweaters had to feel good about their overall effort.

San Jose grabbed the momentum early in the second on a goal by Alexi Semenov at the 3:10 mark. It was Semenov's first goal in 46 games - deflecting off Anton Babchuk at the top of the circle and catching Leighton leaning the wrong way. Things did not look too good for the road team at this point. But Matt Cullen got the scoring started on a penalty shot 5 minutes into the period to give the Cane's life. Marc-Edouard Vlasic extended Sharks' lead to 3-1 with a power play goal less than 3 minutes later. Still the Canes would not go away. At the 14:50 mark of the second, Sergei Samsonov found the back of the net off of a great hustle play and beautiful feed from Petruzalek to make it a game again heading into the third. The assist was Petruzalek's first NHL point.

Both teams played it pretty close to the vest early in the third, with the Canes shuffling lines to make up for the loss of Staal. Seven and half minutes into the third Matt Cullen struck again, this time with a dazzling feed to Ray Whitney. Whitney tied the score with his 17th goal of the season.

From there both teams had chances, with Sharks' goalie Evgeni Nabakov making at least 3 stellar saves and the Canes defense playing strong in front of Leighton with several key blocked shots, helping keep the high powered San Jose offense off the board in the period.

Overall a gritty, hard fought team win. One that was sorely needed after the point given away in Vancouver. On this night the Cane's secured that point and then were able to steal a 2nd point in the shootout. Now they head into Phoenix on Saturday night against a Coyotes team that has lost 5 straight and will have the opportunity to salvage a key road trip that got off to a brutal start. The team showed character and drive to step up and take two points from a team the caliber of the Sharks. Let's hope that Staal's injury is not serious (John Forsland commented during the broadcast that Staal wanted to come out for the third, but the team sat him as a precaution) and the Hurricanes can harness a little momentum and bring it back home to Carolina.

-m

NHL/CANES announce 2008/2009 Schedule

The NHL officially released its 2008/2007 schedule this afternoon. The Canes open the season on Oct 10th, 2008 at home against the Florida Panthers. For the full story and a downloadable PDF of the schedule you can check out the Hurricanes' Website.

Quick Initial Observations/Comments:

- The Canes get to kick off the season against the team that essentially assured that they would stay home from playoffs last season. The Florida Panthers' won in Carolina and then lost in DC the following evening sealing the Canes' fate on the last weekend of the regular season. The Carolina/Florida division rivalry has had a lot of spark over the last few years, even though the Canes have dominated for the most part in the W-L column, especially at home. Unfortunately, Cane hater and all around cry baby Olli Jokinen has been traded away to Phoenix, but there still should be some juice between these two teams. This game will see the return to Raleigh of former Cane Cory Stillman, who signed with the Panthers as a free agent this summer.

- 14 back-to-backs on the schedule, which seems a bit more manageable that in seasons past. But the Canes get their first one right out the gate as they open the season with Florida and then quickly hop on a plane for a game at new-look Tampa Bay on Saturday 10/11/08.

- The Canes will get to test their meddle early as the Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings visit the RBC Center on 10/13/08. Immediately after that, the Canes head out of town for 6 straight road games - their traditional early season road trip to make way for the State Fair. This year's opponents on the swing: Los Angeles, Anaheim, Pittsburgh, NY Islanders, Montreal and St. Louis. A tough trip for sure, with lots of frequent flyer miles. Should provide a stern early test. Supposedly this is the annual trip where the team "really comes together as a unit" (or at least that's what John Forsland and Tripp Tracy tell me every year).

- Canes fans will not have to wait long to see Erik Cole back on the RBC Center ice as the Edmonton Oilers pay a visit to Raleigh on November 1st for a 3pm Saturday Matinee. Something tells me that might be a sellout, and I'm sure Cole will receive a warm welcome.

- The first match up between the Hurricanes and last year's SE Division Champion Washington Capitals will come on the road 11/6/08. The Caps then travel to Raleigh the very next week for a tilt on 11/12/08. The final regular season match up between the two will come on March 21st, in Raleigh.

- Personally, I always look forward to the Philadelphia Flyers coming to town, and this year the two teams first meet on 11/26 in Raleigh. The teams then clash in Philadelphia two days later (11/28) with the Thanksgiving Holiday sandwiched in between. In fact, all 4 games between the Canes and Flyers this season occur over a two week span.

- FIVE Sunday home games for the Canes in November (Toronto, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Nashville and Anaheim).

- The Canes will be hosting their annual New Year's Eve game, with division rivals Atlanta Thrashers providing the opposition this season.

- The Buffalo Banana Slugs do not show up on the Canes' home schedule until February 26th, and then return for the final home game of the regular season on April 9th. The Canes end the season on the road with a 4/13 tilt against the NJ Devils. I would recommend that the Canes not put themselves in a position to have to win a game against Martin Brodeur on the road in order to make the playoffs. If memory serves, the last time we finished our home schedule with Buffalo, the Canes went on to win the Cup. I'm just sayin'.

- Looking at the stretch run: 5 of Carolina's first 7 games in March are on the road, but they finish out the season with 8 of 11 at home. In an interesting twist, of the Hurricanes final 34 games, after the All-Star Break (Jan 25th), only 10 are against the Southeast Division, and only 2 of the last 10 games are against Southeast foes. This is probably in large part due to the NHL adjusting it's schedule and reducing inter-divisional games from 8 to 6 in order to make room for additional games against the opposing conference. It's interesting in that should the Canes be in a tight divisional race down the stretch, they will have to do a lot of scoreboard watching and not count on head-to-head 2 (or 4) point games.

- As part of the new expanded Eastern Conference vs Western Conference play this season, the NHL assigned each team 3 "wildcards" from the opposing conference. A team plays it's "wildcard" opponents twice in a home and home series. The Canes' wildcard opponents for 2008/2009 are Anaheim, Phoenix and St. Louis. That's a pretty boring slate if you ask me, but then again, no one asked me. The Canes will play one game against every other team in the Western Conference, 4 games against each Eastern Conference (non-divisional) team and 6 games against each divisional rival.

I'm sure I'll come up with more useless anecdotes and comments regarding the schedule once I've had a chance to absorb it a bit more. I've become just that much of a geek. Until again...

-m

Catching Up With The Kids...

A few of the Hurricanes young prospects have been in Raleigh over the last few days taking part in what has become an annual right of passage - Pete Friesen's Prospect Conditioning Camp. Participants this year include prized prospects Brandon Sutter and Jamie McBain as well as this year's draft picks including Zach Boychuk, Zac Dalpe, and Samuel Morneau. Newly signed back-up goalie Micheal Leighton has been taking part as well.

Luke DeCock has been providing updates over on Lord Stanley's Blog, including a short interview today (Thursday) with Jamie McBain.

I'm hoping to be able to make it over to the Rec Zone tomorrow (Friday) to catch some of the on ice "action". Meanwhile Bubba over at Canes Country is rubbing elbows with the real media types and scoring a Q&A with Brandon Sutter. He will be unstoppable if he ever learns how to operate a video camera. The always entertaining WufPirate over at Carolina On Ice was also on hand to check on the kids and give his take on the proceedings.

Also of note in the offseason updates department, Tim Conboy, recent recipient of a new 2 year contract, has a Q&A over on the Albany River Rats website. Some of my favorite nuggets:


You told me earlier, and you’re not the only one to say it, that the Hurricanes have really treated you well and it is the only place you want to be. How come so many people say great things about the ‘Canes organization and how they treat their players?

Top to bottom, you look at the organization and it’s everything you want. A class organization. The general manager, the coaching staff, the equipment staff, everything from top to bottom, you just couldn’t ask for anything better. They got a great thing working right now; they’re doing the right things.

You made your debut with the Canes last year and it seemed like you became an instant fan favorite as well. Were you at all surprised at how quickly the fan base really seemed to take to you?

Yeah, it was crazy. I think the first fight I had against Scott Parker they were playing that old trucker song “You Got a Great Big Convoy”. (Laughs) I remember hearing that and thinking ‘Wow that was fast, I can’t believe they even knew that song was out already.’ It was definitely surprising to see that many people cheering for me every night, it was nice.

Obviously, you’re where you want to be which is in the NHL. And to play in such a great atmosphere at the RBC Center, is that the pinnacle of what a hockey player dreams about?

Yeah, it’s unbelievable. Going out there, you throw the littlest body check--it doesn’t even have to be a big check, you can just be rubbing out a guy--and the place goes nuts. It’s a pretty intense atmosphere to be in and something I think every kid dreams of when they step on the ice for the first time.

Does the big crowd add to your play? You have always been a pretty fiery, energetic guy. Does that just fuel your passion and hunger?

Definitely. You hear the roar of the crowd and it just puts a fire in your belly. You want to go out there and do something so they get loud again.

The other part of your first stint with Carolina was playing as a forward. Do you think that really makes a difference in your appeal to the team because of your versatility of being able to play both forward and defense?

You know I was telling everybody I probably don’t even need to use a stick out there, so just stick me wherever and I’ll just try to run guys over. (Laughs) But no, it was fun playing forward; it’s something I’ve gotten to do a little bit before in my pro career. I’m glad they trust me enough to think I’m able to go back and forth like that. I just think it’s a great asset for me to have.

If you so desire, you can also check out Offseason Q&As with Casey Boerer and Michael Leighton as well.