The Carolina Hurricanes Won’t Re-Sign Any of Their UFAs

The Carolina Hurricanes will have to decide if they want to re-sign any of their seven pending UFAs. Here is why they won’t re-sign any of them.

Seven players will go into the offseason looking for new contracts from either the Carolina Hurricanes or any of the other 30 teams in the league. There will also be nine restricted free agents but it is far too early to tell which will be given qualifying offers and retained.

For now let’s break down the seven UFAs and why none of them will be Carolina Hurricanes come next season.

The seven pending UFAs are broken down into three Forwards, three Defenders, and a Goalie. Only a single forward and the three defenders are technically rating at the NHL level. Let us take it position by position.

The Forwards

The biggest thing to note here is that outside the of the single RFA, Warren Foegele, the Carolina Hurricanes won’t have anyone looking for a new contract from their NHL squad this summer. In fact it will be the following summer that guys like Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Martinook, Ryan Dzingel, and Brock McGinn will be knocking on the Waddell’s door looking for more money.

What about the one UFA I mentioned? Well that would be none other than the man the myth the legend;

Justin Williams

Simply put, after taking an extra five months to decide to return to the roster this season, I cannot see him decide to add another season. The future Hall-of-Famer has already passed much of the mantel down to the younger players on the roster and quite frankly is ready to retire from the league.

Perhaps there is a coaching gig ahead of him somewhere. Wouldn’t surprise me to see the Hurricanes add him to their coaching staff.

The Canes in the meantime could use the open forward slot to bring in excellent free agent forwards like Tyler Toffoli or even Taylor Hall this offseason or give another young prospect from Charlotte a shot at making the opening night roster.

Brian Gibbons and Max McCormick

Speaking of prospect forwards, these are the two names of the pending UFAs that are currently down in Charlotte. We’ve seen Gibbons, who has played NHL games for five other teams, up in Raleigh before, but his numbers were extremely lackluster (0 G, 0A, 4 PIM, -7 +/-). He isn’t doing much better down in Charlotte with a string of injuries keeping him from playing consistently.

McCormick, another summer FA pickup, on the other hand has yet to be called up having only played 71 NHL games over four seasons with the Ottawa Senators. He seems to be doing well with the Checkers scoring 15 goals and earning 18 assists for 33 points. The glaring issue that won’t get him re-signed? Discipline.

McCormick has racked up 116 PIM in only 52 games played with Charlotte. He goes to the box like there is a dunkin donuts in there and he needs his coffee before anyone can talk to him. If those of us doing the math he is averaging over 2 minutes per game. Absolutely not the guy Rod Brind’amour wants to keep around and call up.

There are plenty of fish in the sea and the Hurricanes have plenty of prospects yearning for a chance to play with the checkers, not to mention the plethora of draft picks coming up this summer. No reason to keep either of these guys around Charlotte.

Defense

The defense is the most interesting piece in my opinion. All defensive UFAs are currently on the NHL roster, which now features nine defenders with three on the IR. With the new additions and the fact that there are hungry, good, defenders down in Charlotte, it’s time to bid adieu to these three gentlemen.

Trevor van Riemsdyk

TVR was a great addition to the team. He got here via a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights from the the Chicago Blackhawks and quickly became a fan favorite. He started strong for the Carolina Hurricanes but since has seen his numbers, from goals to average time on ice, dwindle down.

Right now he is a great depth player, but next season he will be keeping a good young player from truly starting his NHL Career if he stayed. There is no reason to pay him and put more money against the cap than a player still on his ELC. I love TVR and what he brings to the team, but Waddell is not going to keep him around, especially over the next two guys.

Joel Edmundson

Steady Eddy was a surprise addition late in the offseason when he came from the Blues in a trade for Justin Faulk. He has absolutely been an upgrade in the position from Faulk. But he hasn’t been perfect. In fact he has been inconsistent, playing excellent some nights and being completely invisible other nights.

One thing you cannot deny is his physical presence. That all said, the same reasons that TVR is hitting the street is the same Joel is going to be doing the same. There is simply too much exciting young talent to keep paying guys like TVR and Eddy, especially with big contracts coming up the following summer for guys like Svechnikov and Dougie Hamilton.

Sami Vatanen

This one I am not 100% sure about. The only reason I say he won’t resign is because of the amount of cap space he will demand. There is also the question of his health.

At 100% health Sami can make the Carolina Hurricanes a defensive force to be reckoned with and is worth the cost of holding back defensive prospects like Jake Bean, especially if guys like Brett Pesce and Dougie Hamilton need the extra time to get healthy again.

But the thing is that he is going to ask for more than the $2.5 Million that he is currently being paid. Not to mention that he is going to want some term. If the Waddell is going to be forced now to choose between Hamilton and Vatanen in 2021, he is going to chose Hamilton every time. That means Sami gets new threads this september.

Goaltending: Anton Forsberg

This one is an easy analysis. Forsberg, who came to Carolina on a trade that saw Calvin deHaan leave for Chicago, was brought in to compete for a spot on the NHL roster. He lost to James Reimer and is currently backing up Alex Nedeljkovic after both Reimer and Petr Mrazek got hurt in Toronto.

Goaltending has always been a sore spot for the Carolina Hurricanes. Forsberg is the seventh netminder to between the pipes for the Hurricanes since the start of last season. Petr Mrazek, Scott Darling, Curtis McElhinney, James Reimer, David Ayres, and Alex Nedeljkovic have all gotten between the pipes for this team since.

But Forsberg will have to compete for a roster spot somewhere else next season. For starters the NHL slots are extremely full with Mrazek and Riemer both with another contract on their season. Add on Ned, who is on a one way next season, and there is no reason to expand the goaltending competition further.

Between that and the rich goaltending UFA market coming up there simply is not room for Forsberg in Carolina at any level. There is plenty of guys who are coming up from other levels of hockey who could use the opportunity to play more minutes in Charlotte and prove they can compete at the NHL level as well.

Conclusion

More from Cardiac Cane

This is a very early and speculative look at the upcoming UFAs. There is a lot that can happen between now and July 1st when they officially stop being Carolina Hurricanes. Injuries, early offseason trades, and other factors can change the landscape for this team.

Perhaps Williams will take another team friendly contract to play another year. Perhaps Sami will decide that he loves Raleigh’s friendliness to Finns too much to leave and keep himself affordable.

Perhaps there will be another summer blockbuster trade that Waddell is very fond of that will bring in new players and see some others leave that will make the space needed to sign these players. We will never know until free agency starts.

Question for CC Readers: Which of these players do you believe is going to re-sign in Carolina?