Carolina Hurricanes Morning News: New York Rangers, Curtis Glencross, and the Detroit Red Wings

The Carolina Hurricanes don’t seem destined to make a Stanley Cup push this season, but superstar goaltender Henrik Lundqvist thinks the New York Rangers are ready to take the next step.

Also, Curtis Glencross has his regrets as he took a look back at his tenure with the Calgary Flames, and the Detroit Red Wings are going to have some big decisions to make by this time next year.

Let’s take a look at today’s news.

Hurricanes Links

• By this time next year, the Carolina Hurricanes could have the best prospect pool in the entire NHL. (Cardiac Cane)
• Brett Pesce continues to rise up the Hurricanes prospect rankings, but will his college success translate to the pros? (Cardiac Cane)
• Matt Karash discusses 4 players that have the greatest wild-card potential entering the 2015-2016 season. (Canes and Coffee)

Are the New York Rangers a Stanley Cup Team? – NHL.com

After a couple years of just missing out on a Stanley Cup, are the New York Ranges ready to take the next step and bring hockey’s holy grail back to Manhattan?

Rangers long-time goalie Henrik Lundqvist thinks the answer to that question is yes, and he is motivated to make their dream a reality.

"“We’re close. We’re really close,” Lundqvist told reporter Pat Leonard. “We just need to take that final step. I think it feeds motivation, being close. You know you’re doing good things, doing the right things. You just need to make sure as a group and personally you take that final step.”"

In the 2014 final, the New York Rangers were a goal away from a Stanley Cup as they lost in overtime of game 7 to the Los Angeles Kings.

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Last season, the Rangers were a game shy of making it to the Stanley Cup finals again, but they fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Rangers definitely have a roster that can go the distance.

Their defense bolsters big names like Ryan McDonagh, Keith Yandle, Marc Staal, and Dan Girardi. Up front, Rick Nash, the recently extended Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, and Mats Zuccarello will lead the charge. Of course, the Blue Shirts will be set in goal with King Henrik holding it down.

With the Chicago Blackhawks potentially falling off with their lack of salary cap, loss of key players, and the allegations surrounding Patrick Kane, they may not even be a Stanley Cup Finals team in June, which means that the big players in the East may be New York’s biggest challenge.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will sport one of the biggest name offenses in recent memory in the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be returning nearly the exact same team from last season that got them to the Finals, and the Montreal Canadiens will also be in contention with Carey Price, the best goalie in the league, in net.

The Eastern Conference race will be a very fun one to watch this season. There’s a lot of teams that could go the distance out of the East.

Curtis Glencross Regrets “Hometown Discount” – Calgary Sun

Curtis Glencross, former long-time Calgary Flames forward, signed a four-year $10.2 million deal with the club in 2011, passing up big money on the free agent market.

Now, he is an unrestricted free agent who can’t find a place to sign with. As one could imagine, in a situation like this, Glencross has some regrets about passing up on the big money.

"“I love my time in Calgary and the organization, but you learn that eventually it’s a business and you’re just a number,” said Glencross from his northwest Calgary home where the unrestricted free agent remains one of the most surprising NHL veterans to be unsigned.“If I could do it again … as much as I love (Calgary) and call it home and met great people, at the same time, when it’s time for you to cash in, you have to take advantage and cash in. You can’t take a pay-cut or hometown discount because things change.”"

Glencross likely will never get an opportunity for big money again in his career, and he may not even get a contract before training camp starts in September.

Eric Staal is in a somewhat similar situation in regards to hometown discount. If Staal takes a hometown discount to stay in Carolina, it would likely make the Canes much more inclined to keep him around.

However, Staal has already had his big money contract, so that makes the situation much different than that of Glencross. Staal is also a much higher level player than Glencross.

Speaking of Curtis Glencross, he makes sense for the Hurricanes as a last minute signing or training camp invite. He would bring solid third-line minutes and production at a very cheap price tag.

Detroit Red Wings have Big Decisions to Make – The Detroit News

Among the many 2016 RFAs and UFAs are Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader, Petr Mrazek, Darren Helm, Danny DeKeyser, and Riley Sheahan, and with a lack of cap space available, the Wings are going to have to get creative.

Almost all the players listed above are poised to get considerable raises by next summer, but will the Wings have room for all of them under the cap.

Carolina Hurricanes

As of right now, the Red Wings are just under $400,000 under the cap, but they will need more than that next summer.

One obvious thing to do would be moving Jimmy Howard, a likely backup goalie behind Mrazek, who has a cap hit of over $5 million per season through the 2018-2019 season.

Money will continue to be tough in today’s NHL. There are a lot of really players, and all of them are going to want a lot of money, but the salary cap makes it hard to give players that money.

Detroit isn’t the only team struggling. The Chicago Blackhawks had to part ways with Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp, and Johnny Oduya due to cap issues this summer, and they still find themselves in big money issues as they near the start of the season.

Next: Toughest Road Trip of the 2015-2016 Season for the Hurricanes