Matt Karash: The most top-heavy team in the NHL salary-wise is...?

this wouldn't be an issue if we had those entry level contract dudes to fill the necessary spaces. We don't have ANY organizational depth and we have to overpay for players (since we can't win). Bad trades (J Staal) and a serious lack of player development has hurt the team.

If I had to make the puzzle pieces work:

FORWARDS
Jiri Tlusty ($1.600m) / Eric Staal ($8.250m) / Alexander Semin ($7.000m)
V. Stalberg ($2.250m) / Jordan Staal ($6.000m) / Tuomo Ruutu ($4.750m)
Patrick Dwyer ($0.900m) / Jeff Skinner ($5.725m) / E. Lindholm ($1.600m)
Kevin Westgarth ($0.725m) / Jeremy Welsh ($0.850m) / Jared Staal ($0.750m)

DEFENSEMEN
Joni Pitkanen ($4.500m) / J Faulk ($0.900m)
Tim Gleason ($4.000m)/ Ryan O'Bryne ($1.875m)
Andrej Sekera ($2.750m) / Jay Harrison ($1.500m)

GOALTENDERS
Cam Ward ($6.300m)
Justin Peters ($0.538m)

OTHER
Buyout: Derek Joslin ($0.125m)
RETAINED SALARY TRANSACTIONS (1.400% of upper limit)
Jussi Jokinen ($0.900m—0.3%)
------
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP USED: $63,788,000;
CAP SPACE: $512,000

Re-sign J Staal, him and Sutter can battle it out for the last 4th line slot. Sign Stalberg to a 4 year 9mil deal. Sign O'Byrne to 4 year 7.5 mil deal. And I used last season's 5th pick as the line for a cap hit for Lindholm. O'Byrne isn't a top 4 guy, I just put him there because it would be a L and R combo. O'Bryne is a righty and the only other righty on the D is Faulk. He blocks a ton of shots and lays down the hits. We are just stuck with peters though. We would have to buy him out but we still would only have a mil for a backup.

You should be looking at John Michael Liles from the Leafs. I think his cap hit is just under 4 million a year.

You should be looking at John Michael Liles from the Leafs. I think his cap hit is just under 4 million a year.
- PrinceLH

doubtful

You should be looking at John Michael Liles from the Leafs. I think his cap hit is just under 4 million a year.
- PrinceLH

It should be less when the Leafs finally cave and just buy him out. Though I still don't think he is a good fit for the defensive safe and soundness that the Canes need in their last D add.

- The_Buffaslug

Double

The tight budget and the need to fill several roster spots says a few things to me first:

1. Lindholm is going to make this team, come hell or high water. Hopefully he is ready, but I think JR is going to basically stick him on the third line no matter what. He's the most cost effective way to fill out the forwards at this point.

2. Peters will be backing up Cam Ward. There's just no room in the budget to spend even 1.5mil on a backup goalie.

So with a limited budget, the Canes need to somehow avoid two crucial things that killed them last season: overslotting forwards and lack of depth at D.

-We need to sign one 2nd-3rd line type of forward. The guy I actually think makes sense is Matt Cooke. Stick him with Jordan and Ruutu and you've got one physical line. Stick him with Lindholm and Skinner, and you've got some protection for the two smallish forwards. 2 years at 2.5 mil should do the trick there.

-I'm less certain what to do about the D. Scuderi would be a nice option,but I think he's going to get bid out of our range or he'll stay with LA. Ference, maybe, but not sure he's really a top 4. Suffice to say, we need to find another 4/5 type of dman in free agency. I'd really prefer to not deal Skinner and I'd like to have Murphy and Bellemore start the season as the big two in Charlotte as opposed to the 6/7 press box tandem.

After the Sabres trade Miller & Vanek, we'll be at about 23.8mil....
We are gonna suck
Top3 pick for sure!

After the Sabres trade Miller & Vanek, we'll be at about 23.8mil....
We are gonna suck
Top3 pick for sure!
- jdfitz77

See ya there!

Hedberg to be bought out. Possible cheap back-up?

I saw that Tom Gilbert was placed on waivers nd I going to be brought out by the wild. I wonder if he would be a good fit at a 4/5 slot? He has some size and a somewhat decent defensive mindset. I liked bellemore in his short stint here lat year and wouldn't mind seeing him in the 6/7 slot this year. Murphy I'm not sure of I think he needs some time with the checkers and see what happens. Maybe put him on the jr revolving door with call ups a few times to build some experience.

I saw that Tom Gilbert was placed on waivers nd I going to be brought out by the wild. I wonder if he would be a good fit at a 4/5 slot? He has some size and a somewhat decent defensive mindset. I liked bellemore in his short stint here lat year and wouldn't mind seeing him in the 6/7 slot this year. Murphy I'm not sure of I think he needs some time with the checkers and see what happens. Maybe put him on the jr revolving door with call ups a few times to build some experience.
- fosterjdhockey

I am also in the camp that thinks Murphy is much better off long-term development-wise playing 20 minutes/night against some of the best in the AHL versus being a 3rd pairing power play specialist type that you try to hide/limit minutes somewhat in the NHL. Then let his development/performance combined with injuries dictate if, when and how much NHL action he sees next season.

I like what I saw from Bellemore as a depth defenseman in his limited audition last year. He was physical and while not a puck-mover type he was decent not panicking and coughing the puck up under pressure. More importantly, he had a decent knack for getting the puck on/off his stick quickly which is arguably the most important skill for a non-skating/puck carrying defenseman. In the NHL it tends to be the longer you hold/don't move the thing the better chance for the forecheck to set up, pressure you and ultimately take it away. With Bellemore on a 2-way contract ideal is to add 1 more experienced opening night defenseman and maybe finally have some decent depth in Charlotte for when needed.

this wouldn't be an issue if we had those entry level contract dudes to fill the necessary spaces. We don't have ANY organizational depth and we have to overpay for players (since we can't win). Bad trades (J Staal) and a serious lack of player development has hurt the team.

If I had to make the puzzle pieces work:

FORWARDS
Jiri Tlusty ($1.600m) / Eric Staal ($8.250m) / Alexander Semin ($7.000m)
V. Stalberg ($2.250m) / Jordan Staal ($6.000m) / Tuomo Ruutu ($4.750m)
Patrick Dwyer ($0.900m) / Jeff Skinner ($5.725m) / E. Lindholm ($1.600m)
Kevin Westgarth ($0.725m) / Jeremy Welsh ($0.850m) / Jared Staal ($0.750m)

DEFENSEMEN
Joni Pitkanen ($4.500m) / J Faulk ($0.900m)
Tim Gleason ($4.000m)/ Ryan O'Bryne ($1.875m)
Andrej Sekera ($2.750m) / Jay Harrison ($1.500m)

GOALTENDERS
Cam Ward ($6.300m)
Justin Peters ($0.538m)

OTHER
Buyout: Derek Joslin ($0.125m)
RETAINED SALARY TRANSACTIONS (1.400% of upper limit)
Jussi Jokinen ($0.900m—0.3%)
------
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP USED: $63,788,000;
CAP SPACE: $512,000

Re-sign J Staal, him and Sutter can battle it out for the last 4th line slot. Sign Stalberg to a 4 year 9mil deal. Sign O'Byrne to 4 year 7.5 mil deal. And I used last season's 5th pick as the line for a cap hit for Lindholm. O'Byrne isn't a top 4 guy, I just put him there because it would be a L and R combo. O'Bryne is a righty and the only other righty on the D is Faulk. He blocks a ton of shots and lays down the hits. We are just stuck with peters though. We would have to buy him out but we still would only have a mil for a backup.
- gocanes0506

I like most of this, but think Nash should be ahead of Sutter, Welch and J Staal!

I like most of this, but think Nash should be ahead of Sutter, Welch and J Staal!
- randycane

I'm still not sold on Welsh.

I'm still not sold on Welsh.
- ward30nhl

Me neither, but i think he's on the right track...he just needs time!

I'm a Canes fan from PA and I've been reading blogs on this site since '08. I think Matt is a great blogger for the Canes on this site. His reviews, analysis, and own interpretations are usually 90-95% spot on with my own. Great work Matt, keep it up!

My hypothetical guess of the current situation facing the Canes this off season goes like this:
1. Jeff Skinner gets traded (to a team in the West)
After seeing the Bruins move out Seguin and his similar contract to Dallas, I can't see how the Canes land a top 2 Dman with the $6.4ish M left in cap space without moving Skinner. The 2010 Draft was a 2 horse race between Taylor and Tyler. Long story short, in their rookie seasons Jeff Skinner was the best from that class. Since then, it is very debatable as to who is the front runner, but I feel it's safe to say that the three of them are pretty close in terms of development. Each has had some issues staying healthy, putting up consistent numbers, maturity, etc. To me, this kind of a player should be able to bring the kind of return we currently need. Skinner is by far the best trade chip in the Canes cupboard, and seeing how Seguin's contract moved with ease, I can see Skinners moved too.

Where does Skinner go? I can see a trade with Phoenix for Yandle, or OEL. I don't know what completes the trade, but Skinner for Yandle or Skinner for OEL are the bones of the trade. Phoenix could use a highly-skilled, scoring forward too.

Other guesses would be:
Winnipeg (Byfuglien or Bogosien)


2. Call me crazy, but I think JR needs to move out Pitkanen. His current contract was a 3 year deal signed in the summer of 2011. Joni missed 52 games in '11-12 and missed 26 games this past season. In those two seasons he scored a combined 26 points. I just don't think the $$$ adds up. When healthy Joni is a solid top 4 Dman. He plays a lot of minutes, gets the puck moving well, plays a good two way game, and is a big body on the ice (although not the most physical). JR said at the Draft that Joni is on track to be back at preseason at 100%.

So, what does Joni bring back to the Canes/how does that improve the D? I'm hoping it clears some cap room and maybe brings a 3rd or 4th liner (with some size and grit) back. Because of the injury history I can't see teams offering up the value they would need to if Joni had played 2 full seasons.

Now, moving out Skinner wont give any cap relief. The price of a top 2 Dman (OEL, Yandle, Byfuglien, etc) are almost identical to Skinners deal making it all but a wash. The only other place you could gain some cap relief on the Canes is moving out Pitkanen. Trading out his $4.5M and somehow only bringing back in around $2-2.5 would be ideal. But I would expect the Canes would have to be on the hook for part of Joni's cap in order to move him.

I really like the idea of moving out Skinner sooner than later. If we can pretty much swap out his Cap hit with a similar cap hit for the top 2 Dman I think we are in good position. The current $6.4M could be used to fill out the bottom 6 and get a more reliable/seasoned back up Goalie. And maybe a couple M more in Cap space if we move Joni. Plus, I can't see the Canes paying Joni or Gleason as a 4/5 Dman. Plus, maybe that cap space allows us to get in on the likes of a shutdown type UFA? We would need to move quickly though, I can't see the Scuderi/Ference, etc signing past this weekend.

How nice would it be to see a Defense of:

Yandle - Faulk
Gleason - Lydman/Scuderi/ insert shutdown type
Sekera - Harrison
Murphy - Bellemore

GO CANES!