On busy day, Carolina Hurricanes GM Ron Francis pleased but still talking

In the course of four hours Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes traded for goalie Eddie Lack, traded away goalie Anton Khudobin, acquired defenseman James Wisniewski and managed to make eight picks in the NHL draft.

Add in the Canes selection of Boston College defenseman Noah Hanifin in Friday’s first round – an unexpected pickup with the No. 5 selection – and it made for a productive, full two days at the BB&T Center.

General manager Ron Francis came away pleased with the work, yet noted there’s unfinished business.

“I think there’s still potentially more to do,” Francis said. “You’re always talking to different teams. There’s so many things going on this week that sometimes it takes some time to get away and think things out and go from there. We’ll continue to have conversations.”

Some believed the Hurricanes might make a major trade at the draft, and forward Jeff Skinner’s name was mentioned a lot.

Instead, the Canes got things started by moving out Khudobin, dealing the backup goalie to the Anaheim Ducks for Wisniewski, then acquiring Lack from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a pair of draft picks.

Lack, 27, appeared in 41 games last season, finishing with an 18-13-4 record with a 2.45 goals-against average and .921 save percentage. He took over as the starter in February when Ryan Miller went down with an injury and helped Vancouver reach the playoffs, but he was 1-3 in the playoff series against Calgary and was replaced by Miller.

Like Khudobin, Lack has a year remaining on his contract but at a lesser price. Lack has a $1.3 million salary and Khudobin is to receive $2.5 million.

Wisniewski, 31, has played 10 NHL seasons and brings a veteran presence to the locker room. He had eight goals and 26 assists in 69 games with Columbus and Anaheim last season, and was tied for third among defenseman with seven power-play goals.

“When you look at our team, an area we want to improve on is defense,” Francis said. “The first deal we got was Wisniewski and it took Khudobin to do that. When you do that you need a goaltender and we feel Lack is more than capable of stepping in and playing games. We think he’s a guy who’s coming into his own in the league.

“Wisniewski is a skilled defenseman who can give you offense on the power play. I think he’s sneaky tough. He’s just a competitive, competitive guy and we’re trying to get that culture in our organization, and we think he’ll fit in nicely in that regard.”

The Hurricanes, out of the Stanley Cup playoffs the past six seasons, have made some significant moves on the back end. They used the No. 7 pick in last year’s draft to take defenseman Haydn Fleury. They traded defenseman Andrej Sekera to the Los Angeles Kings late last season for the Kings’ 2016 first-round draft choice and defensive prospect Roland McKeown.

Hanifin was considered the best defenseman in this year’s draft. And Wisniewski said he’s excited to be coming to a team and a system under coach Bill Peters that enables defensemen to be on the attack and use their speed.

“I’m almost speechless,” Wisniewski said. “I think this could be the best thing for me. I wish the season was starting next week.”

Wisniewski has two years remaining on his contract – a $5 million salary next season and $3 million in 2016-17. Francis said the Canes will pick up all of the salary.

Lack, a native of Norrtälje, Sweden, was a popular player among fans in Vancouver. An online petition – “Keep Eddie Lack!” – had 1,724 signatures as of 6:30 p.m. Saturday trying to convince management to keep him. The Canucks got the Canes’third-round pick this year and a seventh-rounder in 2016 for him.

“I’m relieved it’s done,” Lack said. “Now I know where I’m going to play next year. It’s a great opportunity for me. I still feel like I have a lot to give, still feel I’m two or three years away from my prime.”

Francis has said he hopes to be able to sign goalie Cam Ward to a contract extension, and Lack said the two could “push each other and hopefully achieve some great results together.”

The Hurricanes used their second-round pick to take Sebastian Aho, a forward from Finland who lacks size at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds but has speed and playmaking ability. Carolina also drafted five other forwards, defenseman Jake Massie and goalie Callum Booth.

“We walked out of here with Noah Hanifin and a real good prospect in the second round as well,” said Tony MacDonald, the Canes’ director of amateur scouting. “With all the other players, we’re willing to wait on them. We want them to develop, evolve and become better players.”

The free-agency period begins Wednesday. In the meantime, Francis will return to Raleigh to continue contract talks with Ward and team captain Eric Staal and to field calls on potential trades.

“There’s still work to do,” he said.

This story was originally published June 27, 2015 at 6:54 PM with the headline "On busy day, Carolina Hurricanes GM Ron Francis pleased but still talking."