Luke Decock of the News Observer on roster spots and the possibility of a Jeff Skinner deal:
The Carolina Hurricanes have a need in their top-six forwards after the departure of Alex Semin. The team also lacks an experienced defenseman to round out it’s pairings. Decock writes that GM Ron Francis is content to wait for the remaining free agents to lower their demands.
Francis said:
Some of what we’re looking at is not just guys who are out there, but there’s another week of arbitration hearings and teams might have to move guys or make people available.
Decock writes that, rather than bring back a UFA on a one-way contract like Jiri Tlusty, Francis may prefer to give a prospect the NHL job instead. Francis said:
I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing to have a spot open going into camp. It sends a good message to our younger guys.
While the Canes scour the free agent market for bargains, Decock reports that the Hurricanes continue listening to offers for Jeff Skinner and have been listening since before the draft. No offers have tempted Francis yet.
Ryan Dadoun of NBC Pro Hockey Talk adds on to the Hurricanes speculation.
Dadoun notes that Cody Franson and Christian Ehrhoff would be potential fits in Carolina, while Andrej Meszaros and Jan Hejda would present cheaper roster options. Like Decock, Dadoun speculates that Francis may elect to allow young players battle for the final defense spots. With James Wisniewski, Justin Faulk, J-M Liles, and Ron Hainsey all locked in, three roster spot on defense remain. 2015 first round pick Noah Hanifin would be among the contenders for one of those spots, along with Michal Jordan, Danny Biega, Rasmus Rissanen, and Ryan Murphy.
Amalie Benjamin on the Boston Globe on expansion:
In a one-on-one interview with Benjamin, commissioner Gary Bettman revealed that the NHL was “skeptical” about some of the groups that requested expansion applications.
Bettman was asked if there was a chance the application deadline would be extended for a group from Seattle. Although three potential ownership groups were in the mix in Seattle, Bettman said the chance for applications had passed:
Yeah. As we say in the release, we’re focused on the two bona fide applications and that’s the basis on which the process will proceed. We’re not going to bring in late applications. And we’re not, I don’t believe, focusing on another wave of an expansion process.
In the interview, Bettman discusses the problem of geography, saying that Quebec could play in the Western Conference and that accepting just one or neither of the expansion applicants was possible.
