Canes happy with deal

Carolina comes to terms with Tim Gleason but could seek another defenseman this week

With Tim Gleason signed for four more years, the Carolina Hurricanes have secured another of their key defensemen for the future.

The question now is whether they add a third to the core of Gleason and Joe Corvo before draft weekend is over.

Gleason signed a new four-year contract worth $11.5 million Thursday as the Hurricanes locked up their most important restricted free agent, bridging the gap at a lunch meeting in Ottawa between Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford and Pat Morris, Gleason's agent.

The Canes also made the first of what could be a few trades this weekend by sending a fifth-round pick in 2009 to the Nashville Predators for the rights to tough-guy forward Darcy Hordichuk, who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

As the Canes prepare for tonight's first round of the draft -- they're picking 14th overall, with rounds 2-7 on Saturday -- the watch is on for Carolina's next move for their next core defenseman.

If the Canes are going to make that trade, there's a pretty good chance it will happen over the next couple of days in Ottawa.

"The groundwork's been laid," Rutherford said. "People know we're looking for a defenseman. You don't know if or when that's going to happen."

Re-signing Gleason was one of the Canes' top offseason priorities, and he'll more than double the $1.175 million he made the past two seasons. The 25-year-old emerged as Carolina's defensive stopper last season and was arguably the Canes' best defenseman during the final few months of the season.

Negotiations with Gleason weren't always smooth, with the two sides discussing a one-year deal at one point as an interim measure.

In the end, they were able to sign Gleason for two years after he could have become an unrestricted free agent.

He'll make $2 million this season, $2.5 million in 2009-10, $3 million in 2010-11 and $3.5 million in 2011-12. Efforts to reach Gleason for comment were unsuccessful.

"I think it's a very fair deal for both sides," Rutherford said. "In our case, this is a relatively young defenseman that we have tied up for four years. We really want Tim to build on the second half of this season. As long as he does that, he'll be a very important part of our team."

The Hurricanes still have three other restricted free agents to re-sign at the NHL level: forwards Tuomo Ruutu and Chad LaRose and defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.

Hordichuk joins that to-do list. If signed, he would fill Carolina's need for fourth-line toughness. At 27, he has 747 penalty minutes in 302 NHL games with the Atlanta Thrashers, Phoenix Coyotes, Florida Panthers and Predators. Efforts to reach Hordichuk for comment were unsuccessful.

"He has more NHL experience," Rutherford said. "He's played that role in the past. He's a great team player, and he really fits into the character of our team."

If the Canes don't sign him by the beginning of this season, they get Nashville's fifth-round pick in 2010. Hordichuk made $517,000 last season with the Predators.