The Carolina Hurricanes have made some “bold” statements this week. Last night on Insider Trading, Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger broke some expected news, but they also revealed some very surprising news.
A few of the players in rumors ,like Tuomo Ruutu, Jiri Tlusty, and Riley Nash, are not shocking. Drayson Bowman and Brett Bellemore are two players that are new to the trade rumors and are players that should not be traded. Let’s take a look at these players.
Tuomo Ruutu
Tuomo Ruutu has been in trade rumors since late November of 2013. Now it looks like he will be dealt soon. Tuomo Ruutu has just played too poorly to expect anything decent in return for him. He is also going to get paid $4.750 million through the 2015-2016 season.
Right now, it is hard to tell what would be a reasonable return for Ruutu, but it certainly is not a top-six forward that the Carolina Hurricanes are looking for. They may be able to get the third-line center they seek out of Tuomo Ruutu.
Tuomo Ruutu has a No Trade Clause, but he said that he will “do his best to work with Carolina”.
Jiri Tlusty
Jiri Tlusty is also a player that has been involved in trade rumors, but not to the extent of Tuomo Ruutu, this may change now. Jiri Tlusty has struggle mightily this year following his big goal scoring season last, in which he finished in the top-five in NHL goal scoring.
Jiri Tlusty would get very little for the Carolina Hurricanes by himself, but if he was thrown in with Tuomo Ruutu, it is possible that the Carolina Hurricanes could get a top-six forward.
The Jiri Tlusty trade rumors are also a bit surprising though. Krik Muller is trying to bring back the magic of last year’s first line of Tlusty, Eric Staal, and Alex Semin. This could be a move to motivate Tlusty to play better.
Tlusty is a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
Riley Nash
Riley Nash is a player that won’t get a lot in return, but he has not been the Carolina Hurricanes “replacement for Brandon Sutter” as the third-line center. Usually putting him on the fourth-line center spot would be the answer, but Manny Malhotra has been great in that role.
I think it is the right move to trade Riley Nash, especially if the plan is to package him in with another player to get a third-line center. Riley Nash has an ok two-way game, but he was supposed to be Brandon Sutter replacement. The Carolina Hurricanes hoped that he’d be the Swiss army knife that they could use in almost all situations. Instead, he only plays 5 on 5 time and a little bit of penalty kill time.
Drayson Bowman
Right now, trading Drayson Bowman seems pretty foolish. He has played very well with Manny Malhotra and Radek Dvorak on the Carolina Hurricanes fourth-line, and the Canes would get almost nothing for him.
He is a valuable bottom-six player that can still develop into more than that, Trading Drayson Bowman would be a bit surprising right now.
Brett Bellemore
This one was the one that surprised me the most. Brett Bellemore has had a good year. He has been a very solid defense-man for the Carolina Hurricanes, and he has played well with Ron Hainsey all year.
Brett Bellemore is a cheap “replacement” for what Tim Gleason used to bring the Carolina Hurricanes at a salary of $600,000. He is a tough player with shut down potential. Mike Komisarek would take his place in the lineup, and that would be a significant drop off from Bellemore.
He is a restricted free agent at the end of this year.