Carolina Hurricanes Morning News: New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, and Matt Cullen
By Brett Finger
The Carolina Hurricanes weren’t in the news yesterday, but another Metropolitan Division team made an interesting splash in the free agent market.
More From Cardiac Cane – Top 5 Remaining Free Agent Options for the Carolina Hurricanes
Also, the St. Louis Blues got good word back on one of their top-nine centermen, and Matt Cullen looks to win one last Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Let’s take a look at today’s news.
Hurricanes Links
- Every Carolina Hurricanes fan takes pride in knowing that the team has a young star defenseman in Justin Faulk, but how good is he really? We discussed just how good he is, and we compared him to some other star blue liners. The results may shock you. (Cardiac Cane)
- How far away are the Canes from being in a good salary cap situation? Matt Karash discussed this topic and suggests that they aren’t far off. (Canes and Coffee)
New York Rangers Sign Jarrett Stoll – NHL.com
The New York Rangers went out and signed former long-time LA Kings forward Jarrett Stoll to a one-year, $800,000 contract on Monday, but the term of the deal was not what caught the attention of the hockey community.
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Jarrett Stoll pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges to resolve a felony cocaine case back in June. He was sentenced to community service and has since completed his legal obligations.
Stoll has moved past this incident and is ready to focus on hockey again, and Rangers GM Jeff Gorton feels like Stoll can make a positive impact on his club this season.
"“[Stoll is] a real character guy who made a mistake,” general manager Jeff Gorton told reporters. “It’s a belief in our organization that it’s important to have people that have won and been through it. So we view this as he’s someone that can possibly help us get over that hump that we haven’t been able to do.”"
He has a great reputation as a faceoff dynamo, winning 55% of his faceoffs throughout his entire career. He has never had a faceoff percentage lower than 51% in a season.
The faceoff ace has been to three Stanley Cup Finals, winning two with the LA Kings in 2012 and 2014 and losing one with the Edmonton Oilers in 2006.
In 792 career games, Stoll has 140 goals and 379 points. He isn’t an offensive machine by any means, but he is a great faceoff man and a player that can be relied on in a bottom-six role.
If he can move past his drug issues, the Jarrett Stoll signing will be a good one for the Blueshirts.
Jori Lehtera Has Successful Ankle Surgery – Blues.NHL.com
The St. Louis Blues announced yesterday that center Jori Lehtera had successful ankle surgery back on August 4.
The Finish forward is slated to be out 6-8 weeks with the injury that he suffered at the end of last season.
Lehtera, 27, was drafted by the Blue in 2008, but he didn’t come overseas to play in North America until last season after splitting the last 8 years with the Liiga in Finland and the KHL in Russia. He tallied 44 points in 75 games in his first NHL season in 2014-2015 and had a +21 rating.
The health of Jori Lehtera will be massively important for the St. Louis Blues as they look to finally get over the hump and become a Stanley Cup team after years of coming up just short in the playoffs.
Matt Cullen Looks for One More Cup – NHL.com
Matt Cullen was a member of the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes team that won the Stanley Cup, but since then, the veteran center has not been to a cup final. Will that change this season with the Penguins?
Cullen, 28, signed a one-year, $800,000 contract this summer with Pittsburgh, and this may be 1,212 game NHL veteran’s last hoorah as a pro hockey player.
He may be up there in age, but the guy can still play, and he knows what it takes to bring home a Stanley Cup.
"“You don’t get many opportunities to make a run at a Stanley Cup,” Cullen told the Penguins website. “Having been there once before, I understand how hard it is to get there and I’d just love to get another chance at it. I’ve lost to Pittsburgh twice in the playoffs (in 2009 with the Carolina Hurricanes and 2010 with the Ottawa Senators), so it’ll be fun to be on their side going after it instead of chasing them around.”"
Cullen brings a lot to this Penguins team. This team is extremely talented, so they need good role players who can step in and play a specific game, and that is what this veteran will do.
He will be a consistent player in Pittsburgh’s bottom-six. The addition of Matt Cullen was a good one for Pens GM Jim Rutherford.