Matt Karash: Justin Faulk re-signs // Jim Rutherford might resign

JR has done a lot of great things for this organization and a lot of dumb things. His time has come, but I will always be thankful that I was able to attend two SCF's because of him. And to a lesser degree an All-Star game and Draft.

Hi Matt,

1) Fully agree that we yet again overpaid on a long term top-end player. Very frustrating, now a patented JR move. I am not a huge Faulk fan. In addition to those comparables you mentioned.....Shattenkirk, John Carlson both better players than Faulk IMO making substantially less on similar length deals....Ryan McDonagh much better player than Faulk IMO making about the same. Maybe we get lucky and Faulk will get better with age, but its just too risky giving $29M for 6 years to a player based on potential. I just don't get it.

2) Time for JR to go. Thanks to JR for the cup in 2006 as he made some great moves that year, but too much failure in recent years and too many bad contracts/deals that just don't seem to stop. Last year we paid Jussi to score a hat trick against us, this year we paid Ruutu to score a GWG against us, I can already see that next year we'll be paying Ward to shut us out.

I agree with you on Faulk's salary. Great defenseman, and obviously a top 2 for us, but I don't get why Rutherford seems to throw the money at him. Averaging close to 5M per year? I'd say he's worth about 3.5-4 right now based on his body of work. This is one of the reasons he needs to go.

On to Rutherford actually stepping down: it's necessary. I agree with the above poster, he did a great job building this organization, but he has made some awful moves in the past couple years, most notably the Jordan Staal deal and the behemoth contract he doled out to Ward.

I also am glad to see his recycling policy headed out the door. Bringing Paul Maurice back for round 2 was a horrible move, as was Corvo, Cole, and basically any active player that is an ex-Cane today. Here's to a much better future.

Rutherford should have been fired for giving up so much for Jordan Staal when he could have had him a year later for free

Then after giving up a kings ransom to get him, handing him 6 mill per year to score a point every other game

Rutherford should have been fired for giving up so much for Jordan Staal when he could have had him a year later for free
- TheGame316

I still don't understand that move.

The Faulk deal seems like too much too soon and like you Matt, seems like the high side of what would be available on the free market. JR signs his "core" guys to deals like this and is then commited to deals that may or may not pan out (see Ruutu, Gleason, Ward, EStaal, JStaal, Semin, Skinner). The JStaal trade has to go down as one of the most lopsided trades in recent history when you consider that it was no secret that the Pens were holding a weak hand and knew that JStaal would be gone.

The panthers would love Eric stall. What's your asking price?

You know the situation for Cam Ward is bad when Tripp Tracy openly criticizes him in the broadcast for his lack of consistency.

The panthers would love Eric stall. What's your asking price?
- harveykline

you had your shot at him on draft day 2003, traded the #1 overall to the pens and took horton instead at #3, how did that work out for you

you had your shot at him on draft day 2003, traded the #1 overall to the pens and took horton instead at #3, how did that work out for you
- monty burns

Oh, we suck no doubt. What would it take if you do look to trade him?

You know the situation for Cam Ward is bad when Tripp Tracy openly criticizes him in the broadcast for his lack of consistency.
- Barbecued Hockey

Tripp is the model of consistency. He consistently talks about east/west, north/south, calling timeouts after icings. and what freakin junior team every person on the ice played for.

Tripp is the model of consistency. He consistently talks about east/west, north/south, calling timeouts after icings. and what freakin junior team every person on the ice played for.
- icemutiny

True, but he is such a homer that he never criticizes anybody on the team. Him calling out Ward in the broadcast is extremely unusual. He usually leaves the criticism for Forslund to do.

True, but he is such a homer that he never criticizes anybody on the team. Him calling out Ward in the broadcast is extremely unusual. He usually leaves the criticism for Forslund to do.
- Barbecued Hockey

Tripp has at least one major laudable quality...as i was taught when growing up "If you can't say something good about someone, don't say anything at all!!"
I wish more of you would take this advice... or at least modify the degree of NEGATIVE criticism. JR may have made moves which failed to suit ya'all, but he's got a lot more experience and knowledge about hockey than any of us here...so maybe some things you don't understand explain your ignorance/ not his failure!

Tripp has at least one major laudable quality...as i was taught when growing up "If you can't say something good about someone, don't say anything at all!!"
I wish more of you would take this advice... or at least modify the degree of NEGATIVE criticism. JR may have made moves which failed to suit ya'all, but he's got a lot more experience and knowledge about hockey than any of us here...so maybe some things you don't understand explain your ignorance/ not his failure!
- randycane

I agree with you for the most part. If you look back at my previous posts you will see I was a holdout for Cam Ward to turn things around. I like Cam and I'm grateful for what he has done for the organization but it has become clear to me that he may not be the best option going forward. I'm glad that Khudobin is under contract. All I was pointing out is that it is unusual for Tripp, a paid employee of the Hurricanes, to be critical of a Canes player. In broadcasting being critical of the team that pays you is a quick way to be shown the door. Look at what happened to Rudzinski with the Carolina Panthers.