With playoff expectations this season and a vacant GM spot, the Carolina Hurricanes are already trying to fill in the blanks before the offseason officially begins
On paper, it’s a promotion. In reality former Carolina Hurricanes General Manager Ron Francis was fired by new majority owner Tom Dundon. The management decision was puzzling to say the least. Firing a GM without a successor is uncommon in today’s NHL. Making Francis President of Hockey Operations was just bizarre.
The GM meetings came and went. Current President of Gale Force Sports & Entertainment Don Waddell attending the meetings as Dundon’s eyes and ears.
Since then, crickets.
Ron Francis gets the "not actually fired but also not the GM" bump up. https://t.co/n8DsVcJHZC
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) March 8, 2018
The Carolina Hurricanes had playoff expectations this season, but they will come short. Head coach Bill Peters did his best with what he had, but ultimately it came down to roster construction.
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Scott Darling was unimpressive in his first season in Raleigh. The defense corps did not live up to expectations. The lack of trades could also be the reason Dundon had enough with the direction of the squad.
But there’s a lot to like with this roster especially heading into the offseason. Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal, and Teuvo Teravainen looked unstoppable at points in this season. Justin Williams and Jeff Skinner have done their part, and Victor Rask is starting to look like a steal at $4 million per season.
Capfriendly.com currently has the Canes with just under $16 million in cap space. They have an estimated $26 million to play with come July 1, 2018.
The Restricted Free Agents are manageable. Forward Elias Lindholm is eligible for arbitration and is having a so-so campaign. Ditto for winger Joakim Nordstrom and Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk. Noah Hanifin will get a long-term extension. However, the average annual value might not be as high as prognosticators originally thought.
Phil Di Giuseppe and Valentin Zykov still have a lot to prove before the Canes dole out cash for those forwards
With Cam Ward, Lee Stempniak and Derek Ryan the only pending UFA’s, the incoming General Manager will have plenty of avenues to explore with his roster.
Next: 3 Potential Hurricanes GM Candidates
With no management announcements, people around the hockey world are starting to wonder what exactly the new owner is doing. One thing is for certain, Tom Dundon and co. didn’t purchase a professional sports franchise to settle for mediocrity.
They came to make waves.