Matt Karash: Initial thoughts on Tuomo Ruutu trade

Salary dump here, but best of luck to Ru in Jersey. Not sure of Loki's salary but definitely frees up $ for future acquisitions. Will work fine for the future.

As a Devil fan I think this is a good salary dump for the Canes, as this put them with just over $10,000,000 in cap space going forward.

That's plenty of money to work with in the off-season.

Salary dump here, but best of luck to Ru in Jersey. Not sure of Loki's salary but definitely frees up $ for future acquisitions. Will work fine for the future.
- CappyJr.

Loktionov makes $725,000 per

Supposedly we got a conditional 3rd in 2017 as well. Would be surprised if didnt eat some money

I liked Ruutu a lot. But our big goal here was dumping salary, and Ruutu was probably the #2 guy to get rid of for that (#1 being Cam Ward, but good luck finding someone to take that contract right now).

From Devils fan. WHY? This trade does not address any of our needs and we take a huge salary cap hit for a player that is VERY overpaid. I think Lou had a liquid lunch and lost his mind!

From Devils fan. WHY? This trade does not address any of our needs and we take a huge salary cap hit for a player that is VERY overpaid. I think Lou had a liquid lunch and lost his mind!
- Crushers68

The good news for you is that if Ruutu returns to his old form, he's worth the money.

Bad news is, you're taking a huge chance on that actually happening.

They lose the physicality, but now they have 4 million dollars free to do something about it.

The good news for you is that if Ruutu returns to his old form, he's worth the money.

Bad news is, you're taking a huge chance on that actually happening.
- OMEGA919

The only good news in this trade is IF he can score 30 goals a year. Not likely!

The only good news in this trade is IF he can score 30 goals a year. Not likely!
- Crushers68

Even at his best Ruutu was not a 30 goal scorer you could rely on, but when he is on his game he does create space for skill players to operate. He does things that do not show up in his stats. He would make players around him better.

Initial thoughts on Tuomo Ruutu trade



Someone actually traded for that contract...... ..

Looks like the Canes are retaining $950,000 per year for the life of the contract. I was afraid that might be the case.

I'm somewhat disappointed with this trade deadline. I know I should stop expecting it given JRs track record for not doing much at the deadline. However, the Canes have not shown that they are a playoff team in their current form. But instead of being sellers and preparing for the future or being buyers and adding a few pieces to push them over the top, they basically did nothing. That leaves me feeling a little frustrated.

Looks like the Canes are retaining $950,000 per year for the life of the contract. I was afraid that might be the case.

I'm somewhat disappointed with this trade deadline. I know I should stop expecting it given JRs track record for not doing much at the deadline. However, the Canes have not shown that they are a playoff team in their current form. But instead of being sellers and preparing for the future or being buyers and adding a few pieces to push them over the top, they basically did nothing. That leaves me feeling a little frustrated.
- wsbeauchamp

$0 sounded better, but I think $950k is a decent middle ground between that and the max $2.5M.

I think the way to think of it is, if given the chance would you sign Tuomo Ruutu at $4.05M for 2 years or would you pass and take your chances and use the $ for something else. As much as I like Tuomo Ruutu and hope he gets back to where he was a couple years ago, I think I would take the cash and the option to shop with it.

$0 sounded better, but I think $950k is a decent middle ground between that and the max $2.5M.

I think the way to think of it is, if given the chance would you sign Tuomo Ruutu at $4.05M for 2 years or would you pass and take your chances and use the $ for something else. As much as I like Tuomo Ruutu and hope he gets back to where he was a couple years ago, I think I would take the cash and the option to shop with it.
- CarolinaMatt63

I agree 100% that moving him was the best option. I really have no concerns at all with the trade. And the money savings in a way is potentially addition by subtraction (if they put it to good use). I guess I was just hoping for a little more direction concerning this year's team. They basically did nothing to improve or worsen this team. So we'll continue out the year being .500 at best, most likely missing the playoffs again, and getting a middle of the road draft pick. I would honestly rather see them dismantle this whole team and rebuild instead of going down this same mediocre path year after year. It gives the appearance that the front office just doesn't give a flip. I'm sure that's not the case, but it's the vibe that is given off to the fan base.

EDIT: I guess the one caveat to all of this is coaching. I maintain the stance that this coaching staff isn't getting it done. The lackluster play often seems to indicate that they aren't prepared or simply don't understand what is expected of them. If JR feels this same way, then maybe he doesn't see the need to trade players and feels like a coaching change in the offseason is the answer.