The NHL free agent signing period starts Wednesday and the Carolina Hurricanes are expected to be active in the player acquisition party. For a team that has made the playoffs for three consecutive seasons -- the first time that’s happened since relocation -- there are a fair number of holes to fill and nearly $30 million to spend on players of all stripes.
That doesn’t mean you’ll be happy with what you hear.
With just hours left until a flurry of announcements about player signings NHL insider Frank Seravali from DailyFaceoff.com tweeted that the Hurricanes were closing in on signing free agent defenseman Tony DeAngelo, formerly of the New York Rangers until being bought out this week.
This Tony DeAngelo…
But, also the Tony DeAngelo that was exiled from the Rangers amid a series of off-ice issues that ranged from highly-charged, political interactions on social media to a rash of insubordination toward his former head coach and personality clashes with teammates. In this last category there were reports of a racial issue with New York defenseman K’Andre Miller, though both Miller and his agent have vehemently denied those allegations.
However, there’s a reason why the Rangers jettisoned a 25-year old, right-shot defenseman who piled up 15 goals and 53 points in 68 games a year ago. Teams don’t throw that out with the trash in this league unless there are underlying problems.
Now, here’s the part where I remind you that DeAngelo has not committed a crime and that professional sports is littered with people with whom we would rather not associate. People that disagree with us politically, socially, spiritually, or in any number of other ways. And, it’s up to teammates and coaches to sort all of those things out and work towards the common goal of winning a championship.
There’s also the possibility that the public humiliation DeAngelo dealt with as a result of being fired, as it were, might have been enough to facilitate a change in his behavior. We don’t know how this has impacted him. And, we won’t unless and until we see him interact with new teammates.
Again, nothing is official yet, but this appears to be a thing that will happen.
What we do know is that former Rangers and current Hurricanes Brady Skjei and Jesper Fast haven’t told the Hurricanes to stay away from DeAngelo. In addition, Marc Staal, now with the Red Wings but a former teammate and defense partner with Tony, also vouched for him as a teammate. Of course, there aren’t many players willing to go on the record denigrating someone who might one day be sitting next to him in a dressing room, so take those votes of confidence with whatever degree of skepticism you will.
Here’s the challenge for head coach Rod Brind’Amour and the Hurricanes as it pertains to the potential acquisition of DeAngelo -- or even former Vancouver forward Jake Virtanen, who has also been linked to the Canes since being bought out by the Canucks (I sense a pattern). In a game that is rooted in character, trust and simply being reliable, why are the Hurricanes even contemplating getting in the mud with a player that has seemingly not displayed enough of any?
In every conversation about bringing in a player from the outside, whether in free agency or at the trade deadline, the most important thing to consider, well beyond the quality of the player, is the quality of the person. It is the first thing on Rod’s checklist.
Next on the list is the talent, and offensive talent is what DeAngelo possesses. See 15 goals and 53 points in 68 games before the Covid-19 shutdown two years ago. See 3 goals and 19 points on the power play that year. And, with the almost certain departure of Dougie Hamilton and Jake Bean already hitting up Brad Bellflower for a “place” in Columbus, the Canes are in dire need of someone who can direct a competent power play.
Yes, I know that Jake Gardiner is still here. But, the Canes are actively brainstorming ways for that to not be the case at the start of next season.
You know what’s really puzzling about this entire situation to me, though? How come a team that is seemingly knocking on the door of winning a title, with the likes of Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov and Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce and Jordan Staal, coached by Brind’Amour and with fistfulls of millions to spend in free agency has been connected with NONE of the best available free agents?
If Hamilton is gone, why not Brandon Montour, who finished this season with Florida? Why not Tyson Barrie who led NHL defensemen in points this year playing for Edmonton? You might even be able to add Montour and former Blue Jackets and Lightning rearguard David Savard for what it will cost New Jersey to sign Hamilton alone?
Note: Montour is off the board. He resigned with the Panthers for $10.5 million over 3 years.
Maybe the Hurricanes don’t have any interest in any of those players. But, what about Ryan Suter who was bought out of the final years of his contract by Minnesota? To me, this is the bigger problem. Good players, those that can help you bridge the gap between the second and final round of the playoffs are not interested in Carolina it would seem.
You might not like the free agent market as an organization, and when you don’t like something you’re probably not very good at it. The Hurricanes aren’t.
Jesper Fast, Calvin de Haan, Ryan Dzingel and Jake Gardiner are the four established players brought to Carolina on free agent contracts. Fast has been fine. Not sure he’s as valuable playing down in the line up as he’s basically been used as a checking winger, but he’s been a solid player for the Canes.
Gardiner and Dzingel are/were utter disasters. You can blame fit or injuries or the heated eastern vs western barbeque debate for the cause. But, neither player performed well for the Canes. Dzingel is gone and a free agent again and we’ve already discussed Gardiner. As for de Haan, at more than $4.5 million annually, that was a curious decision for a player who doesn’t score goals, but they dumped him in order to afford Gardiner.
It all adds up to a free agent market failure. Oh, and the restricted free agent world hasn’t been any more kind to the Tom Dundon era. Do I have to remind you that Aho signed an offer sheet with the Canadiens two summers ago and Svechnikov remains unsigned today?
So, it brings us back to where we started. A team with money to spend, opportunity to offer and a style to be excited about finds itself sifting through the bargain bins hoping to find a player that will do here what he couldn’t elsewhere -- or maybe one that won’t.
DeAngelo the player answers a lot of the questions the Hurricanes had to address heading into life without Dougie Hamilton. Unfortunately, it creates even more about what this organization stands for going forward.
Gold: Canes free agency move might create more questions than answers - WRALSportsFan.com
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