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Happy trails, James...we hardly knew ya |
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The Carolina Hurricanes bought out the contract of defenseman James Wisniewski on Thursday in a somewhat surprise move, considering the veteran rearguard appeared in just 47 seconds of action for the Canes in his injury-shortened debut last October.
The move does put Carolina about $8 million under the cap floor. But I'm more interested in the optics of this particular move.
The timing is not odd in nature. On the eve of unrestricted free agency, the Hurricanes are aptly primed to be a dark horse this July. With plenty of cap space despite being a budget conscious team, GM Ron Francis has even more options at his disposal to arm the Canes with a shot at securing a post-season birth. Sooner, rather than later.
The moves to bring in Teuvo Teräväinen and Bryan Bickell from the Chicago Blackhawks already speaks to this movement afoot on Tobacco Road. The youth will be served and no one has any allusions of grandeur that Carolina could become a President's Trophy contender. But with a few smartly timed moves from Francis, and some key additions in terms of the abundance of youth in the coffers, there's no reason to think Carolina can't be in the mix again come playoff time next season.
With the goaltending situation solved for the moment with Cam Ward and Eddie Lack secured for the next two seasons (pending the expansion into Vegas in 2017), it appears the forward unit is now the focus. Expect the Hurricanes to hone in onn at least one above-average forward to shore up the Top 6, and while they may not make major waves right away, don't be surprised to see Francis make a splash in the UFA market.
All in all, it should be an interesting summer for Carolina. The shift is on and the game is afoot - will the Canes use this offseason to continue towards their goal of perennial contention? Or will the club suffer a setback as the youth gets acclimated to the NHL game?
What say you?
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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