Lee Stempniak has been a bit of a journey man throughout his NHL career. This past summer he signed a two-year deal with the Hurricanes—this marked the 10th team that he has played for. He was first traded in the 2008-09 season and in the past eight seasons has now been moved six times. In fact, he has been traded around the trade deadline the past three consecutive seasons.
This speaks volumes to the type of player that Stempniak is. He is a smart hockey player who can learn a team’s system quickly and be a positive impact. Almost anywhere he has played, he averages close to a point every other game in his 842 NHL game career. Given his history of being traded and ability to instantly help teams , it begs the question about his status this trade deadline.
I personally believe he is the only veteran player GMRF is not willing to move. The main reason that I believe that GMRF intends to hold onto him is because of the two-year deal. I wrote
about the Canes expansion picture and still believe that Stempniak was signed to help the Canes meet the expansion draft requirements.
If the Canes were to deal Stempniak at the deadline, they would have to extend another forward to meet the requirements for the expansion draft. As of now, I still think that the Canes are planning to leave Stempniak and Nordstrom unprotected. Looking at the list of forwards, they are the only two expendable guys on the roster that currently meet the contract and game requirements.
Stempniak also has value for the Canes if he isn’t selected by Vegas and returns for the 2017-18 season. While the FA market could probably give the Canes an upgrade for the third line, Stempniak provides a solid option too. He has a very cap friendly deal and still appears capable of getting close to 40 points. He also provides some more forward depth to allow some of the young prospects more time and less pressure to be NHL ready.
If GMRF were to move Stempniak, he would have to choose to either extend McClement, Nestrasil or Stalberg to meet expansion requirements. Leaving one of those three unprotected with Nordstrom would almost guarantee that Nordstrom would be picked. Nestrasil wouldn’t be terrible to have back as a depth player, but I think the Canes will want to upgrade McClement/Stalberg in FA this summer.
It will be interesting to see what transpires over the next few weeks, however, I think that Stempniak will remain with the Canes. In the meantime, I think McClement, Stalberg, Murphy, Ward/Lack, Tennyson and Hainsey will continue to be listed as potentials to be dealt this trade deadline. While he can enjoy not having to move for a fourth trade deadline, I would be surprised to not see Vegas take him this summer.
Canes are off to Dallas to take on the Stars for an afternoon game tomorrow. I have some family obligations for the day, so I won't have a pregame up-Puck drop is 2:00 (EST) and on FSCR.
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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