In my journey through evaluating the Canes roster for 2013, I have worked my way through the top 5 forwards of Tlusty/EStaal/Semin and Skinner/JStaal. Next up I will work through the remaining 2013 forward evaluations in 2 parts. Part 1 (today) includes the remaining veteran forwards. Part 2 (tomorrow)covers the youth/system players trying to earn permanent roster spots.
The last of the top 6 is Tuomo Ruutu. It is difficult to really grade Ruutu’s 2013 season given that he played only 17 games after returning gradually from hip surgery. But I think the importance of his role was very apparent even for a limited season. On a team that was short on size, physicality, grit and just difficulty to play against, Ruutu clearly brought more of this. In the Tuomo Ruutu style that Canes fans are accustomed to, Ruutu flew around and collided with stuff, went straight to the front of the net (and more importantly stayed there instead of gliding by) and just generally played with the physical warrior mentality that challenges the opposition. His 45ish-point (over 82-game season) scoring pace was nothing special and his minus 6 was roughly in line with his most regular line mates Skinner/JStaal suggesting that he could not singlehandedly make that combination work. But in watching the games, he clearly brought more of what the Canes need in terms of grit and physical play. And while the sample size was much too small to draw broad conclusions, he managed a bit of a scoring streak and a plus in the box score in the last few games of the season when Skinner moved to center the 3rd line and a little more defense was added to JStaal/Ruutu for the last couple games of the season. The Canes will need to solve some math puzzles both this summer and next to someone add a top 4 defenseman (this summer), re-sign Faulk and Tlusty (next summer) for more $ and make it all fit under the salary cap. In terms of salary hit, Ruutu seems to be 1 of the few players with significant cost who could be outside the core group that the team is being built around. But because he is so heavy on the size/grit/difficulty to play against that the Canes lack but really want per Kirk Muller, I just don’t see him as an option to leave to clear salary cap space and/or land the defenseman needed. It feels more like 2 steps back for only 1 step forward in terms of desired style of play and personnel needed for it.
Past Ruutu and the top 6 forwards, things get dicey in terms of both 2013 performance and production and also the future for the Canes forwards.
NHL Vets (Dwyer, Larose, Brent, Westgarth)
--Patrick Dwyer. C+. I think the biggest problem with Dwyer is the role he was put in partly out of necessity (Ruutu’s long-term injury). While it was a slight increase from previous years, his 16 points in 48 games just is not enough for a 2nd-liner if the 2nd line is top-heavy (versus balancing out scoring/skill across 3 lines). But this should not have been a surprise. In previous seasons, he was a 15-20 point type of player with a significant amount of that offense coming from an occasional scoring chance off the rush from his breakout speed NOT from gelling in an offense role with skilled line mates. I don’t think you can fault Dwyer for being pushed into an unfamiliar role necessitated by the Ruutu injury, but I also don’t think he fits real well in the same role. I think he can be a decent complementary top 9 forward but it must be either: 1) He could maybe be the lightest offensively on a 2nd line ONLY if it leans defense and the team balances scoring across 3 lines with the 3rd line being very good offensively; 2) On a 3rd line if the team is a little more top-heavy offensively needing high-end scoring from the 2nd line.
--Chad Larose. D. I like Chad Larose. I appreciate his contribution over many years as a Carolina Hurricane. But in saying it like I saw it, I don’t think he was very good in 2013. As a veteran who has made key contributions in the past in terms of secondary scoring, penalty kill minutes and general boost to team energy, Larose past contributions were exactly what the Canes needed and ultimately lacked in 2013. His role and performance on the penalty kill has diminished over time to the point where he is no longer a player that you look to. And his 15-20 goal-scoring pace from the previous 4 years was nowhere to be found when the Canes desperately needed secondary scoring.
--Tim Brent. D+. I put him in a similar category to Chad Larose. As a 4th-line center, you would not expect as much offensively as from Larose, but 0 goals and 3 assists over 30 games just is not enough even for this role. An ideal 4th-line center would also eat up some PK minutes and maybe provide some grit toughness. To be fair to Brent, the toughness and grit part just is not his skill set or role. But somewhere along the way, like Larose, he mostly fell off the radar for quality PK minutes in a season where the Canes struggled and needed help here.
--Kevin Westgarth. B. In his primary role of enforcer, I think Westgarth was fine. He fought when necessary, provided a physical presence and just generally did his job. In watching him for a full (abbreviated one anyway) season, I just don’t think he is mobile enough to skate regular shifts/8-12 minutes on a regular basis, but I think he fills the role of 4th-liner/#13 forward for nights when you need it. He did not score a goal until a strange 2-goal outburst in the final game of the season. If you get to the point where you are losing regularly because your 4th-line enforcer is not scoring enough, you have much much bigger problems. But the upside to this role can be scoring just a handful of meaningful goals. It is not about quantity. It is about scoring a single goal early in the 3rd period to pull the team even and heading to overtime on 1 of those nights where the team is sluggish and unable to muster offense. Score 4-5 goals all season but where 2-3 help get a point in the standings, and that is a HUGE offensive contribution from this role.
I will cut to the chase with this group in terms of future roles:
--Ruutu. His name will come up here and there whenever the next discussion starts about fitting under the salary cap and/or trading a forward to improve the defense, but I think he is nearly indispensable because of a lack of other players of his physical, gritty, difficult to play against style. So when that debate starts, look elsewhere.
--Westgarth. He is proven and priced about right for his limited role as a 4th line/#13 forward. He is also signed for 2013-14, so I figure he stays in same role.
--Dwyer. Because of his cost ($900k for 2013-14) and versatility (speedy, decent defensively, PK capable) I think he definitely finds a slot somewhere for 2013-14 ideally somewhere where scoring is a bonus not a requirement.
--Larose. His role and contributions diminished in 2013. I would be surprised if Larose is not replaced in the summer quest to get bigger/grittier. He is a free agent this summer, so the separation happens easily.
--Brent. Same as Larose. Because of a lackluster 2013, I think the team looks elsewhere with an eye for bigger and grittier on the 4th line. If the team does this at wing, it is also possible that Nash takes this spot on the 4th line with an eye toward developing him upward from there. Brent is a free agent this summer, so he hits the open market unless the Canes want otherwise.
Not yet considering any trades of higher-end forwards, that leaves the Canes with 8 of 13 forward slots filled. Best guess is that the #5 pick fills 1 of the remaining slots leaving 4 spots to be filled by youth covered in the next blog plus infusions from the UFA and/or trade market.
What say you Canes fans? Is Ruutu as indispensable as I think because of his style of play? Or does his style of play, injury risk and value make him a valuable trade commodity to add defense? Of the other more bottom 6ish veteran forwards who would you keep?
For a quick heads up when I post a Canes blog follow me on Twitter at CarolinaMatt63.
Go Canes!
Google 
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»