Carolina Hurricanes make moves during NHL free agency, but are they a better team?
The Carolina Hurricanes, after a few days of addition and subtraction, trade calls and negotiations, can now focus on a new season.
Gone from the roster are Vincent Trocheck, Tony DeAngelo, Steven Lorentz and very likely Nino Niederreiter.
Incoming are Brent Burns, Max Pacioretty, Ondrej Kase and Dylan Coghlan.
Did the Canes, the Metropolitan Division winners last season, become a better team? Most NHL observers believe they did.
“There are a couple of things that make us better,” Canes president and general manager Don Waddell said Wednesday. ”There are some players that we’re adding, but also the experience our young players have received the last couple of years in playoff runs.
“When you add guys like Brent Burns, it’s a huge addition to your team. I think eight or nine of our current players have texted me saying, ‘Wow, I can’t believe we got this guy.’ That’s also a positive sign.”
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour once played against Burns, who has been in the NHL since the 2003-04 season, and now will coach him after Wednesday’s trade with the San Jose Sharks. Burns, he said, is a defenseman that checks a lot of the “boxes” left open when DeAngelo was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers during the NHL draft.
Burns, 37, can produce the points. He can run the power play. He’s a former Norris Trophy winner. He was a leader for the Sharks. He’s big, strong, durable, not missing a game in the past eight seasons.
Check, check, check …
“I was really happy we were able to make this happen,” Brind’Amour said in speaking with the media Thursday. “He’s one of the best defensemen in the league. How can you not be happy?”
Brind’Amour was not happy about having Trocheck, the Canes’ second-line center last season, leave in free agency. Trocheck, an unrestricted free agent, signed a seven-year deal Wednesday with the New York Rangers, who again should contend with the Canes for the Metro title.
“I hate losing guys,” Brind’Amour said. “You kind of knew that was going to happen. It’s part of the business. But it’s all about who you’re bringing in and making sure that they’re quality people.”
The Canes believe Burns is a quality person. So, too, Pacioretty.
The Vegas Golden Knights, looking to shed salary, virtually gave away Pacioretty and Coghlan, a 24-year-old defenseman who has NHL experience. The trade exchange with the Canes was for “future considerations,” whatever that means these days in the NHL.
Pacioretty, 33, went through a tough season with the Golden Knights in 2021-22. The forward suffered a broken foot, then a bone injury in his hand that limited him to 39 games but was nearly a point-per-game guy with 19 goals and 37 points when he did play.
One thing Pacioretty has done well in his 850-game career is find the net — his 323 career goals lead the Canes.
“I work at my craft every day to make sure my offense doesn’t dry up, especially as you get older,” Pacioretty said Thursday on a media call. “These last couple of years I’ve gotten even better at that, whether it be a little bit smarter on the ice or off the ice with my body.
“So I feel I’ve got so much to contribute to this team. This team has had a lot of success. I’m looking to come in and just be part of the puzzle.”
Like Burns, Pacioretty has played in a Stanley Cup Final. Like Burns, he’s still seeking a championship ring.
“I’m coming to a time where winning and having a chance to win it all is really all that matters,” Burns said.
Pacioretty called the Canes a team “so close” to being a Cup winner. The struggled on the power play and in scoring goals in the playoffs this year, but Pacioretty can help in both areas.
“I’ve been on some teams that are close and you’re just one or two pieces away,” he said. “You just need to add one or two more guys and it helps out your depth tremendously.”
Brind’Amour said with a player like Pacioretty, “You know what you’re getting. We know what we have. It’s now just making sure he fits with the right linemates to get the best out of him. We know what he’s capable of.”
Pacioretty could fill the left wing spot that Niederreiter had on the Jordan Staal line opposite winger Jesper Fast, should Niederriter, another UFA, sign elsewhere, as expected. Or he could fit elsewhere.
Trocheck’s departure should have Jesperi Kotkaniemi moving into the No. 2 center spot. Brind’Amour indicated Thursday that Kotkaniemi, 22, was signed to an eight-year extension this past season with the idea Trocheck could be leaving in free agency.
“He’s got to step up,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s got the potential to turn into that center we’re expecting him to be.”
Brind’Amour said he was unsure where Kase, who played for Toronto last season, would fit best. The Canes also believe forward Stefan Noesen, who helped the AHL’s Chicago Wolves win the 2022 Calder Cup, can push for a spot in the lineup.
Burns and Pacioretty had some intense battles over the past few seasons in the Pacific Division. The glares and cross-checks were many. But they FaceTimed on Wednesday, Pacioretty said, and had some laughs about becoming teammates with the Hurricanes.
“He joked that he can win the Lady Byng now that he won’t have to cross-check me in the face,” Pacioretty said.
This story was originally published July 15, 2022 at 6:10 AM.
