April 7, 2012: Sunrise, FL, USA; Carolina Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller looks on during the second period against he Florida Panthers at the BankAtlantic Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

We all have sports “truths” or “philosophies” we live by. The older I get, the more my sports truths are tested. Growing up watching Michigan football under Bo Schembechler, I believed that you had to run the ball and be able to stop the run to win. Now I see college and NFL teams throw the ball 35 plus times a week and win.  In basketball, even if you didn’t have a seven footer, a team had to get the ball inside to win consistently. Now I watch this years version of the “dream team” toy with the worlds best without any semblance of an interior offense. Baseball used to be a marathon race of 162 games. Now you can fail to win anything over the entire summer, and still win the World Series by being a wild card entry. My last defense against this brave new world of sports in the NHL. Even though the game and league has changed greatly since the lockout,  there is one truth that still applies. A team can win during the regular season with top line talent, but to win in the playoffs, you have to have depth.  It’s nearly impossible to go from April until June, winning 16 playoff games, without help from 3rd/4th line players and 5th/6th d-line pairings. This brings us to our Carolina Hurricanes.

Dec 26, 2011; Buffalo, NY, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alexander Semin (28) during the game against the Buffalo Sabres at the First Niagara Center. Sabres beat the Capitals 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-US PRESSWIRE

About $11 million was added to the payroll for the 2012/13 season. While it’s nice that the Canes have stepped up and actually added big name players, we shouldn’t get the idea that they are all of a sudden a “cap” team. Looking beyond this season, will the Canes have to sacrifice depth in order to pay for the top end talent the team has? What if Alex Semin turns back the clock to 2010 (40G-84pts.)? Jim Rutherford has already said that if things work out the Canes hope to have a long term relationship with Semin. That would mean multiple years instead of 1 year/$7 million. Jordan Staal’s contract goes up $2 million next year to $6 million. Jeff Skinner finishes his entry level contract, and if he bounces back like most fans think, the Hurricanes will want to sign him to a hefty raise, in case  the Flyers/Wings/Penguins try to snap him up. The following year Justin Faulk will have his salary raised from the $900,000 he makes on his entry level contract. If all this money is due to core players (excluding Semin),  do the Canes have to sacrifice in other areas? 

Mar 7, 2012; Buffalo, NY, USA; Carolina Hurricanes right wing Chad LaRose (59) against the Buffalo Sabres at the First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-US PRESSWIRE

The player I wonder the most about is Chad LaRose. Rosey turns 31 before the end of this up coming season. He will be a UFA  who carries a $1.7 million cap hit.  Chad has turned into a productive player since breaking in with the Canes in 05/06. Twice in the last 4 years, he has scored 19 goals. LaRose led the Canes last year with 5 game winners. Ten of his 19 goals came with the Canes tied or trailing by 1 goal. He was second on the team with 131 hits despite playing in only 67 games. Chad has his negatives. He is a combined - 38 for the past three seasons.  In the games the Hurricanes lost in11/12, Chad was a -27. Regardless of how you feel about the +/- stat, that is a big number. Of his 23 minor penalties last year , 13 were for hooking or tripping. Beyond the stats, LaRose is a heart and soul type player for the Canes. He is a talker, an agitator. He gets under guys skin. He tries to check Zedano Chara every time the Bruins are in town. That is worth the price of a ticket. He is a guy that every winning team has, faults and all. But is he a guy that the Canes would pay close to $2 million a year for? Does Rutherford let LaRose walk if Zac Dalpe, Drayson Bowman or ever Zach Boychuk take that next step forward? It’s hard to imagine Chad leaving the Canes or Rutherford allowing him to leave. But then again, Eric Cole was traded and then left as a FA.  The same goes for Matt Cullen.  We know where Brandon Sutter plays now.  Heck, even Ron Frances was traded. If it happened to them, it could happen to LaRose. After all, business is business.

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November 25, 2011; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Tuomo Ruutu (15) carries the puck past the Winnipeg Jets left wing Andrew Ladd at the RBC center. The Jets defeated the Hurricanes 3-1. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-US PRESSWIRE

Any time a trade is made in  professional sports, talking heads, fans, and media types rush to figure out which team won the trade. Sometimes a trade looks one sided.  On paper it looks like the New York Rangers won the Rick Nash trade. They get a 30 goal scorer and  power play monster for three players that were not key figures for the Rangers. In most cases, you have to wait over a period of time to see how a trade works out. The Hurricanes have been involved in their fair share a deals over the years. Some are major, like the Sutter/Staal trade, and others are non-blockbusters.  On February 26, 2008, Jim Rutherford traded 22 year old winger Andrew Ladd to the Chicago Blackhawks for 25 year old Tuomo Ruutu. The Canes were in a playoff race, and had just traded Cory Stillman and Mike Commadore to Ottawa for Joe Corvo and Patrick Eaves. Eaves had been hurt and was just returning to the line-up.  The team was dealing with other injuries and one of the positives Ruutu could provide was his versatility in playing both wing and center. When asking “who won” this trade, we have to look at it from the Canes perspective because the Blackhawks, after winning the Stanley Cup  in 2010, were forced to dump salary and trade Ladd to the Atlanta Thrashers. So let’s look at the trade four plus years later to see how things have turned out.

February 8, 2012; Anaheim, CA, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Tuomo Ruutu (15) moves the puck against the Anaheim Ducks during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

Tuomo Ruutu-  The 6 feet 205 pound Fin has become a fan favorite in Raleigh. It started the very first shift of his first game with the Hurricanes. Arriving minutes before face off, Ruutu  takes the ice on his first shift and lays a bone rattling hit on Colin White of the Devils. He spends the rest of the period hitting everything in site. He is forced to leave the game in the  second period when he receives a high stick form Patrick Elias. Ruutu goes on to score 11 points in the last 17 games of the season. During the next four seasons, Ruutu has shown to be a fairly durable player. Despite his style of play , he has  averaged 77 games in three of four years. In those same years, Tuomo has scored 22 goals and 47 points on average. In 2009/10 he played in only 54 games when he suffered a broken hand in a fight against Darcy Tucker. Earlier in the year Tuomo had been suspended after boarding Tucker in a game in Colorado. When they met again in Raleigh, Ruutu fought Tucker on the first shift they were on the ice. Being suspended by the league is one thing, but Ruutu did the stand up thing by fighting Tucker. He showed to the fans and his teammates that he would be accountable for his mistakes. That is one of the many reasons he is a fan favorite. He is an important part of the Canes playoff push this year, having signed a 4 year, $19 million contract during this past season. Having sung Ruutu’s praises, would Canes fans rather have Andrew Ladd back in the 2008 trade?

Dec 20, 2011; Winnipeg, MB, CANADA; Winnipeg Jets forward Andrew Ladd (16) celebrates after scoring a goal against the New York Islanders during the second period at MTS Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-US PRESSWIRE

Andrew Ladd- Ladd has become a 29 goal power forward in the NHL. He teamed with Troy Brouwer and provided toughness and grit to the 2010 Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks. Playing a similar style as Ruutu, the 6′ 3″ 205 pound 26 years old, has missed only one game in the past four seasons. He has scored an average of 29 G and 54Pts for the Thrashers/Jets the last two years. He is what Canes fans dream of having, a top line power forward to play with Eric Staal. He is the Captain of the Jets, not an easy task for a young man playing in a Canadian city. He signed a 5 year $25 million contract in 11/12.

Tale of the Tape- Ladd is younger (26) than  Ruutu (29) and has a $4.4 million cap hit as compared to $ 4.75 to Ruutu. Ladd plays 19.30 minutes a game to Ruutu’s 16.27. Their power play and penalty kill time are almost identical ( Ladd 2:36/1:32 TOI-Ruutu 2:28/1:26TOI), while Ruutu out hit Ladd in 11/12 151-76. In the end the Blackhawks got a Stanley Cup with Ladd and the Hurricanes got a solid 20 goal scorer. So what do you think? Was this a good trade for the Canes or do Caniacs have regrets? Will the same question be asked 4 years from now about Brandon Sutter and Jordan Staal?

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March 3, 2010: Sunrise, FL, USA: Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Tim Gleason (6) checks Florida Panthers right wing Radek Dvorak (14) during the third period at the BankAtlantic Center. Panthers won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

With most of the dust settled on summer free agents, I wanted to look at what each team in the Southeast has done this off season. If the NHL and NHLPA can show some common sense and come to a CBA deal, the agreement might include a restructuring of the divisions. We could be looking at the last season of the division that is sometimes called the “Southleast”. Most years I chalk those comments up to fans and media who think hockey should be played many miles north of the Mason-Dixon line. Southeast fans had to wear that title last year. Of the 16 teams who made the playoffs in 2011/2012, only two gave up more goals than they scored. You guessed it, the Panthers gave up 227 goals and were -12 while the Capitals were -8 in giving up 230 goals. The Panthers played well in the playoffs taking the Devils to a game 7 overtime and the Capitals were one game from playing for the Eastern Conference title. In fact all 5 teams in the Southeast scored fewer goals than they gave up. What I think this means is that the division is there for the taking. The Hurricanes had only 5 fewer wins than Florida and scored 10 more goals. I am not sold on Florida being a favorite in the division. I look for them to take a few steps back and for the rest of the teams to improve enough to make the last (perhaps) Southeast race a dog fight. Lets look at mid-summer grades for all the Southeast.

Hurricanes- B  This grade could go to an A if Jim Rutherford adds a top winger before the start of camp. As much as I hated seeing Brandon Sutter leave, I can’t wait to see Jordan Staal play for the Hurricanes. If Kirk Muller goes with Eric and Jordan at center, the Canes have as good a 1-2 combo as there is in the league. Although Joe Corvo was not the guy I was looking for Rutherford to bring in to help the blueline, there’s no debating that Joe has played his best hockey in Raleigh. The addition of Marc- Andre Gragnani was a nice addition for defensive depth. Losing Bryan Allen hurts the blueline and  team toughness. Rutherford said at the Canes FunFest on July 20 that he also wanted to add a “enforcer” to the roster. Whether there is anyone left who fits that description remains to be seen. But when you have a guy like Jordan Staal, you have a guy that is going to be there for his teammates.

February 28, 2012; Raleigh, NC, USA; Nashville Predators goalie Anders Lindback (39) makes a 2nd period save against the Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC center. The Hurricanes defeated the Predators 4-3. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-US PRESSWIRE

Tampa Bay Lightning-A  I give the Lightning an A for effort and results. This team went from being one overtime goal away from playing  for the Stanley Cup in 2010/11 to giving up 281 goals last year, the most in the NHL. GM Steve Yzerman wasted no time on July 1 by signing Matt Carle for the Flyers. Carle has been a workhorse, missing only 2 regular season games in the last 3 years, while scoring close to 40 points.  Yzerman also adding veteran Sami Salo from the Canucks. The biggest improvement the Lighting made was trading for Nashville back-up Anders Lindback, who will replace Dwayne Roloson. Lindback brings a 2.53 GA and a .914 SV% to Tampa Bay.

Mar 19, 2012; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks left wing Brad Winchester (10) fights Anaheim Ducks right wing George Parros (16) during the second period at HP Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

Florida Panthers-D  I’m not sure what the reigning SE champs are doing this off season. They lost Jason Garrison and his 9 PP goals to Vancouver, and replaced him with Filip Kuba. Kuba  had 32 points last year with the Senators and 11 PP goals. He was +26 last year, but -26 in 2010/11. Adding Peter Mueller seems like a low risk move. Mueller has been plagued with injury issues the last few years but did score 22 goals in 2007/08. Besides that, Dale Tallon has been busy turning the Panthers into the Charlestown Chiefs. I don’t think adding the likes of Geroge Parros, Andre Deveaux, and Jean- Francois Jacques gets you closer to the Stanley Cup.

Winnipeg Jets-C+  The former Atlanta Thrashers ( sorry, had to do it for all the years I had to hear WhalerCanes from ESPN), finished with 84 points in 2011/12.  The Jets added Olli Jokinen and Alexi Ponikarovsky and brought back Kyle Wellwood. Jokinen scored 23 goals for the Flames last year but faded at the end of the year. Former Cane/King/Leaf /Devil Ponikarovsky had a good playoff with New Jersey and turned that into a $1.8 million contract. The Jets summer all depends on signing Evander Kane to a contract.

May 9, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby (70) celebrates with defenseman Mike Green (52) after the Capitals

Washington Capitals-B  It’s kind of hard to grade the Capitals. On the one hand I think it is a step forward to get rid on Tomas Vokoun. This will clear the way for Braden Holtby, who really stepped up in the playoffs or Michal Neuvirth. These young goalies might need a veteran back-up, but Vokoun was not that guy. The Caps added Mike Ribeiro from the Stars, and regardless of how you feel about the former Hab, Ribeiro teams with the Nick Backstrom to give Washington great scoring down the middle. It seems the Caps are replacing Alex Semin with a player with the same reputation that he has in Wojtek Wolski. Wolski’s best season was way back in 06/07 when he scored 22 goals while playing for the Avalanche. Getting Mike Green locked up for the next three years is a great signing if he returns to the Mike Green of 2007-2010. With these moves and a happy Great 8, the Caps should be back up to the top of the division and conference.

There is still work to be done by all the Southeast teams. No matter how things turn out, I look for 2012/13 to be a dogfight. Let’s hope the teams can make the division more “southbeast” and less “southleast“.

Thanks for reading. You may follow CardiacCane on Facebook and Twitter: @CardiacCane, @Caniac176, @Caniac_John, and @PJT_Caniac