Carolina Hurricanes: No Professional Tryout Contracts from Ron Francis Could be a Mistake
The Carolina Hurricanes have done nothing but good so far this offseason, but was the most recent decision from GM Ron Francis a mistake?
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Francis said shortly after the announcement of the trade with the Blackhawks on Friday that the team would not have any players in training camp on a professional tryout, so, in other words, UFAs like Jan Hejda, Jiri Tlusty, and others are not in the sights of the Canes at this time.
In looking to the start of training camp next week, Canes GM Ron Francis said no players would be in camp on professional tryouts.
— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) September 11, 2015
Up to this point, the Carolina Hurricanes have been spot on with their offseason acquisitions. They bolstered the defense with the acquisitions of Noah Hanifin and James Wisniewski, they upgraded their goaltending situation by going from spotty and still unproven Anton Khudobin to a younger and higher potential player in Eddie Lack, they got two NHL forwards from the Blackhawks in Kris Versteeg and Joakim Nordstrom, and they’ve added depth at all positions in their prospect pool with some solid selections in the 2015 draft.
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Such a great offseason shouldn’t get overlooked. It isn’t easy in today’s salary cap driven league to add so many quality players, but that is what Ron Francis and his staff has done for the Hurricanes, which makes the announcement of not a single pro tryout contract somewhat puzzling.
There could be several explanations for this. The first of which is that the Hurricanes felt that young players could fill the same roles as players that they could bring in. They think that guys like Jiri Tlusty, Jan Hejda, or Brad Boyes would just take needed playing time away from Andrej Nestrasil, Noah Hanifin, and Chris Terry while providing the exact production.
Another explanation is that they just weren’t able to get deals done with any players. I find this unlikely due to the fact that it is mid-September and a week from the start of training camp. Players are desperate, so it is a bit naive to think that Carolina couldn’t get a single player to join on a professional tryout, but who knows, this might be the case. If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on the first explanation.
It makes sense to give younger players a chance. Guys like Brock McGinn, Noah Hanifin, Haydn Fleury, and Sergey Tolchinsky among others could come in and have spectacular camps but not crack the NHL roster due to veterans taking up spots. This could be a blow to their confidence, and it is important to reward good play in a rebuilding situation that the Hurricanes are in.
On the flip side of that, what if young players disappoint and none of them are truly ready to make an impact at the NHL level? I find this scenario unlikely, but it is possible. The Hurricanes would then be rendered without players at key positions and they’d be forced to either rush young players to the NHL or play underwhelming players in those roles. They’d likely go for the latter of those two options, which sets them up for another bottom-five finish.
This is a risk you have to take if your the Carolina Hurricanes. They have preached that the youth will have to bring this team out from the depths of the NHL standings, and going against that plan would be quite reminiscent of what a certain general manager did with this team on multiple occasions from 2010 through 2014. We all saw how that went. This general manager didn’t know what he was doing at times, sometimes he treated the club like a playoff team, then a day later he’d treat it like a rebuilding project. That isn’t how you run an organization.
At first glance, no professional tryouts can look like a bummer, but in all reality, Ron Francis made a great decision staying away from adding more NHL-ready players. Young players need to enter camp knowing that there are spots available.
Francis continues to make the right decisions day in and day out, and it’s these kinds of decisions that create great hockey teams. The Carolina Hurricanes are well on their way to excellence behind good leadership from the top, down.
Next: Kris Versteeg and Joakim Nordstrom will Fit in Perfectly in Carolina