Hurricanes Offseason Roadmap: Draft Picks, Free Agency, and the Nikishin Question

We celebrate the Carolina Hurricanes winning the Stanley Cup, then dig into the exact decisions and performances that turned a great roster into a champion. 

Then we flip the page to the NHL offseason. We talk draft pick 31, why teams are suddenly trading high picks, how Carolina’s limited draft capital shapes strategy, and the biggest roster questions: Alexander Nikishin’s market value, Freddie’s future, possible offer sheets, and where Jesperi Kotkaniemi fits if the Canes decide they need a new winger or center. If you’re tracking Hurricanes trade rumors, NHL free agency, or the 2026 NHL draft landscape, this is the roadmap we’re using.

If you enjoy the show, subscribe, share it with a fellow Canes fan, and leave a review so more listeners can find stormTRacker. What’s the one move you’d make to keep this championship window wide open?

Highlights:

• Jordan Staal’s Conn Smythe case built on faceoffs & clutch Finals' goals
• Nikolaj Ehlers’ role in driving Staal’s scoring renaissance
• Hall, Stankoven & Blake becoming a playoff difference-maker line
• Jordan Martinook’s jump to the top line as a matchup & energy move
• K’Andre Miller & Sean Walker emerging as a key pairing
• Jacob Slavin rounding back into form late in the Final
• Brandon Bussi stepping in for an injured Freddie Andersen & delivering
• Eric Tulsky’s roster-building track record & why standing still is risky
• Draft pick 31 strategy & why Carolina might trade down for more picks
• Unrestricted free agents & depth decisions around Chicago Wolves & the pipeline
• Alexander Nikishin contract questions & what trade inquiries really signal
• Freddie Andersen’s next step plus the reality of the goalie market
• Offer sheets & why the math can get ugly fast
• Canes' Winger & center needs, Kotkaniemi’s trade path & lineup fit debates
• League-wide trade frenzy & what it says about the draft & contenders

#soundthesiren #canes #hockey #erictulsky #raiseup #stormtracker23 #rodbrindamour #lockedonhurricanes #Canescast #thestormsurge #AlexanderNikishin #carolinahurricanes #JaccobSlavin #causechaos #sebastianaho #andreisvechnikov #nikolajehlers #philadelphiaflyers #nhlhockey #nhlplayoffs

Transcript

Cup Win & What’s Next

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, the Carolina Hurricanes, after 20 years, have won their second Stanley Cup, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup final in just six games. What an impressive performance it was. And what a tremendous accomplishment for the Canes organization, head coach Rod Brindamore, the players, and all the amazing fans who turned out in droves last week to celebrate the victory in Roll. It's great the Hurricanes just won the cup, but what's next for the Canes? What moves do we expect them to make to get even better? And as the NHL pivots to trade and draft season, what major moves are happening around the league that could impact the game? Joining me to break it all down? Storm tracker Hockey Savant, Aaron Manning. Hey Aaron, how's it going? Going pretty well, Tom. Well, we're gonna fly solo, as you know, Katie's on vacation, so uh Katie will return uh probably for the next episode, and we certainly hope she will when she gets back. And uh in the meantime, we'll uh we'll do our best to try to uh cover up all these great stories. And of course, the big one we haven't really talked about it yet on on the podcast is uh is the canes winning the cup. And what a what an incredible thing. I was away, I was actually uh on a cruise and I was watching the game with some other folks and cheering the canes on. It was incredible. But a lot of uh a lot of storylines, right? And Aaron, what caught your attention?

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Well, I think you gotta start with uh the Carolina Hurricanes, Captain Jordan Stahl. Um I know I've been a critic of Stahls at times over the past few years on this podcast, but um, this was a time for him to shine. I really feel like his supremacy, especially in the final round, um, was key to them winning the cup. And I think it kicked off, honestly, in round one, game one with that fight with Brady Kachuk. It was a silly thing for Brady Kachuk to do to drop the gloves with 37-year-old Jordan Stahl because once

Jordan Staal’s Conn Smythe Run

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Stahl uh took care of business in that game. And uh, you know, I just think he never looked back. Uh I think Rod used the phrase, it it's it's our year, you know, we then we weren't giving it up, you know, and and they they they really didn't. He was incredible in the final. He had six goals in the finals, which tied some records. Um, you know, over the 19 games played, he had eight goals and four assists. Um, and he won the con Smite. And uh there were some people that were a little bit shocked that it didn't go to a member of the Hall Stankoven Blake line because of how great they were in the playoffs. But I mean, which one of them would you pick? I think it's the conundrum for the voters, you know. They were they were kind of a unit, but uh when a 37-year-old captain steps up like he did in the final and becomes, you know, those weren't just six random goals, those were key goals at key moments that really drove the offense and kept the Canes in some games where it looked like they maybe weren't gonna be uh victorious. And so so that he deserved that 100%. And uh uh Nick Ehlers on on the one side deserves a lot of credit because I think that when you look at Stahl's renaissance this year in terms of scoring, you can't ignore Ehlers' role in that. It's been huge, it's been pivotal. And then um in the final, we had some line shuffling going on. Um so Seth Jarvis actually ended up back on what used to be called the dad's line, and uh he did a great job um rounding out that line and bringing the defensive capability that he has. So um it was just I think that uh they they caught my attention a lot um in the in the final, and uh and I couldn't be happier for Stahl. What a great thing to do to lead his team to victory and then be rewarded with the Consmite trophy.

SPEAKER_00 3:52

So that was tough. Well, you know, we talked a lot through the season about you know, this is the year that maybe Stahl and Freddie Anderson uh would have their chance to win a cup. You know, they're running out of runway, and here they do it, and not only did they do it, they both played outstanding. And you know, Stahl, as you say, is a beast, and he was incredible in the face-off dud. You know, watching the broadcasts, uh, you know, Sean McDonough just he couldn't believe it. He just keeps winning face-offs, you know, he wins them all. You know, like I thought that was great. Um, but he he was he was tremendous. And the you know, the whole thing with Ealers uh and the magic he has on that line, creating offense with whoever it is, and mostly Stahl, um boy, I tell you that that really was something. And and I'm excited about the possibility of this line actually staying together. I mean, we know Seth was not Seth, he was uh probably about 50 or 60 percent, and hopefully he'll get whatever's needed to sort out that shoulder problem. But he's a guy that, again, um these are excellent players, and you know, Jordan started to show that he's got a little bit of an offensive touch still with it, and he made some beautiful goals and a number of plays that were critical. So kudos to him, deserving con Smythe winner. And uh boy, I can't think of anyone I'd rather see uh lead the charge for the hurricane. So what a story! And you know, we talked about uh that second line you mentioned them, the whatever line you number you want to call them, Hall, Stankoven, and Blake. What a story that is. That's just insane. Um, you know, Taylor Hall in 19 games at 19 points. Okay, now that he was plus 14, and I don't think a lot of folks have seen this. He was actually plus fourteen, which was the best in the playoffs for any player. I mean, that's insane, right? So not only was he driving the offense on that line, and he made so many

Hall Line Sparks The Playoffs

SPEAKER_00 5:47

plays that led to goals and scored some key ones himself, but he was also taking care of business defensively. And I think, you know, this is a story that uh boy, I tell you, we can we can look at this and look back on this, and it's gonna be incredible. And boy, those two guys, uh Stancoven and and Blake, man. Um we couldn't have written a story that said they would play this way in the playoffs this year. I mean, let's be honest, right? They're younger players. Uh, you know, Stankhoven really hadn't a full year in the NHL before, and and Blake had one single season. And Stancoven, all he does is score 11 goals, and that's good enough for third in the playoffs, and all Blake does is get 13 assists, and that's good enough for third in the playoffs. I mean, that's incredible. So wasn't that something?

SPEAKER_01 6:36

It really was, and I think that, you know, um going into the playoffs, we still had questions a little bit about whether that was going to work this way, because you never know with the physicality that can ramp up how smaller players are going to be able to handle that. Um, Jackson Blake uh last season in the playoffs uh certainly did have some issues um at times with some of the the bigger, heavier guys coming at him. That was not the case this year. He was he did not back down at all. He was right in people's faces. I think we nearly had a fight at one point, you know. So he was he was ready to scrap. And and I think that that attitude for all of them really kind of helped them too. And then just um the way that they battled for those pucks, the way that they didn't give up on plays. It's just it was they were able to do, you know, to be the best versions of themselves. And for Taylor Hollow, we saw that coming all season. But I think that the key for Stankovit and Blake is that they really did get hot at the right time because they were they were up and down more in the season. There were some long periods of, you know, um kind of that scoring kind of went into a bit of a malaise and they didn't have it coming together as much. Um, but if you remember, the month of April, they really started to click and to look very good, and then they just carried that straight through into the playoffs. So, like a lot of people say with the with with playoff hockey, it's not just about, you know, being great in the regular season, it's about getting hot at the right time and being able to then sustain that into the playoffs. And I think that they're an example of that line. You know, that line is an example of doing that and doing that the way that you want a line to do it in the playoffs.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Well, very true. And and you know, Logan's Tankover, and he was smoking hot at the end of the season, as you say, carried it through. And the other thing with Logan, uh, boy, you you talk about playing bigger than size. Boy, he wrote the book on it. He was uh he was hitting people all over the place and getting you know smashed here and there and didn't seem to miss a beat. So I think uh our concerns and they were justified that smaller players in the playoffs, it can be tough. These guys did it extremely well. So it's a good story. And uh, you know, one of the other stories was uh something you talk a lot about, uh Aaron, and that's uh first line Martinuk.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Yes, and that was such a funny thing because we all know over the years there's been a lot of fan groaning and complaining whenever the solution to the top lines woes is to put Martinook up there. You know, he's been kind of an unofficial Keynes babysitter over the years, as you know, the younger guys were on that top line and sometimes things weren't going well. But in this case, this was a totally different kind of move. This wasn't,

Martinook Boosts The Top Line

SPEAKER_01 9:08

I don't think Rod Brendamore put Martinook on the top line because Ajo and Svet were having trouble scoring. They he they were he was happy with the work that those guys were doing to shut down Eichel's line. And, you know, when you think about the how difficult a job that is, that you know, that the fact that you might not be able to generate a bunch of scoring chances on top of that is not going to bother anybody as long as you're stu stifling their scoring chances. And they did that extremely well. Eichel barely scored in these playoffs. I think the reason Martin Nook was put up there with um Aho and Smechnikov was to provide a little bit of that extra um energy because, you know, as you said, um Seth Jarvis was having a little bit of a harder time. Um we know that Jarvis usually is the energy guy and the defensive guy on that line, and and you know, uh helping to facilitate those plays and get those pucks to the net. And he just wasn't able to do that. I think you're right about maybe something being going on there. So you put Martin Hook up there, and then all of a sudden, Aho and Spech, I believe it was game five, they just kind of took off and uh they looked like the best version of themselves that we've seen in some of those comeback victories that the Kanes have had, those exciting ones over the course of the year where all of a sudden it is Aho and Spechnikov leading the charge. So we needed that from them, and I think that that scoring threat made it harder for the Vegas Golden Knights to um ignore them. They had now they have three lines they have to key in on because you've got Stahl scoring like he's 17 years old, you've got Aho and Spechnikov back in the game, and then you've got the line that just doesn't quit, the Energizer Bunny line, if you want to call them that, um, of Hallstein, Coven and Blake. So they they didn't have the chance to generate to get the good matchups even on their own ice. And we saw that in game six very much so, you know, and that was an incredible game to watch. So it was all um really good coaching and really good moves that were being made um all throughout that series. And I think that that's the most encouraging thing that we can say, really, is that it wasn't about at that point, it was about what do we need to do to win, you know, and putting Martin Hook on that top line is what they needed to do to win.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

But you know, we look at the D-Corps, and there was a there was kind of an evolution on the D-Corps because uh the uh Kayandre Miller and Sean Walker duel actually became the go-to duel for the Canes. That's interesting. And you know, we're used to uh, of course, Jacob Slavin handling that that uh heavy lifting uh part of the decor work significantly, but they they really gave uh Miller and Walker a chance to shine. They ended up with a combined plus 23.

Miller & Walker Shift The Blue Line

SPEAKER_00 11:43

What did you see with those guys?

SPEAKER_01 11:45

Well, I think that their speed was an incredibly important part of what they were able to do on the ice. Um, you know, uh both of those guys are very fast skaters. Um, and uh and then you've got, you know, it it I think Sean Walker's physicality takes players by surprise at times because he you don't expect it from a player of his stature. He's not one of those big guys that you expect to be throwing his weight around, but he is, has been really consistently for the Keynes, one of the most physical defensemen on the team. And that did not let up against Vegas, and you can't because you know we all know that that's one of those areas where Vegas can be very uh difficult to deal with. But the combination of physicality and speed and skill from that pair was, you know, I think incredible to watch. And and just I don't think that I'm not sure that uh Tortarella and the coaching staff had enough uh uh of a an idea going into that series that that was going to be such a hard pair to deal with on their end and that they were gonna be so disruptive. Um Miller's stick work is still really incredible. I think that that's where he reminds me the most of Jacob Slavin, too, is the fact that you know he is able to get, he has such a long reach, he gets that stick into the passing lanes, he's able to disrupt everything that the other side is trying to do. And it's just really fun to watch because he's also so fast getting back there and getting to those pucks. So um, and I think that the you know, having somebody like that, having a pairing like that, given that Jacob Slavin has had a more difficult year this year, was so crucial for the Canes to get where they did and then get through the playoffs the way that they did and then win the cup. Um, I did find it encouraging. I thought that Slavin started looking a lot more like himself um in games, probably games four through six was when I really started to see that kind of come together. It's just a reminder, I think, that when you're returning from a difficult injury and then you know it's interrupted, your your recovery process is interrupted by this little thing called the Olympics. So, you know, it I think that we will see Jacob Slavin at the top of his game with no issues whatsoever next year, but having two players like that who can impact the game that way, I mean, it's almost not fair for other teams for the for the Canes to have both Slavin and Miller. It really is, you know, because they're so similar in so many ways. Um, and the areas where they are different, um, they each complement each other's skill really well. So um so Slavin with Chatfield, Miller with Walker, they just you you you can you can just count on them being able to frustrate and stymie the other team's offense as much as they can, and you know, that's a huge story of the victory.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

Um okay, one last thing we'll spend a couple of minutes on, then we'll start talking about what's going on on the streets these days. Um Brandon Bossey, you know, we talked a lot about him during the season. He he was incredible. I'm just delighted that the Canes made a decision to, you know, give him a chance to come into the playoffs. We talked a lot about this before. We felt that it's important that the Canes play another goaltender throughout the playoffs, just in case. Uh and in Bussey's case, he didn't get that, and he had to come in at the 11th hour in the biggest uh stage of uh NHL hockey, which is uh the Standing Cup finals. And all he

Bussi Steps In & Shines

SPEAKER_00 14:54

did was uh accord himself extremely well.

SPEAKER_01 14:57

He did. Um he um I think uh you know he had a what a 3-1-0 uh uh win rate, um, you know, 1.60 goals against average and 931 save percentage. That's not bad work for four games. And yes, I know, a small sample size, but these are the most important games, like you said. This is the kind of sample size you want. And and you know, getting a shutout, you know, that's just incredible too. So um, and then uh I think like you said, you know, we've talked about this a little bit, but uh and and I believe it was Walt Ruff who um mentioned it the other day on on Twitter, uh Paul Schoenfelder's role in making these important calls. That if there's anything that has changed a little bit this year, and this happened during the regular season as well, there was a time when um the the question was, do we pull? I believe it was Freddie, and the uh the call said was no, no, you don't need to. He's he's gonna be fine, and he was. And in this situation, as we now know, we didn't know it at the time, but Freddie did suffer some sort of an injury to his lower body in game two. Okay. We don't know exactly what it is, or you know what, it's probably not something that's gonna be too significant, but it was enough of an injury that it was impacting his performance. So that's where the call came out in game three for Busy to come in in relief, and that is why Bussey remained in for the final games. That's the kind of call that I think in the past, if it was down to Rod personally, he hates to sit his veterans, he hates to take that away from someone. You've played all the way through, you've been the guy for all these games in the playoffs up until this game of the Stanley Cup final when we don't even know how many games are left. It's hard. It's hard to let your emotions rule in those moments. And I think that that is if there's one thing that when they talk about Rod, they say he's a player's coach. He understands how players feel about these things. You don't want to be pulled, you don't want to have to say, I can't go. So having the goalie coach be the guy to make those calls, you know, you can't argue with that if you're the player. You you know that he wants what's best for you and he wants what's best for the team. And so Bussy coming in and then just cool as a cucumber right off the bat. Didn't feel like he had missed a beat from the regular season. He was ready to go, and it was just a joy to watch him. Um, it is so hard to come in cold like that, and then so hard when you have a a team that stifles so many shots.

SPEAKER_02 17:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

You know, he hard he didn't have to do to work real hard. But when he did, they were always high danger chances. So that's what you love about Busy is that he gives you those saves. He he stops those goals that he has to, and he was fantastic. And what a story for him. I mean, what a story.

SPEAKER_00 17:33

Well, and you gotta laugh about uh the situation with Mary. We saw her frequently uh in the crowd, and and of course, they're getting married this summer. So um that's a great story. And he's got a new contract, of course, and and uh he's definitely uh a key part of the future for the hurricanes right now, I think, in the bulletin side. So we'll talk a little bit about that. So that's a wrap for uh the season. Boy, we we covered a lot this year, and it's it's a little bit surreal to say that we won the cup. But you know, how do the canes get better? That's uh kind of a tough one. There's a lot of folks out there saying, hey, don't touch them, you know, like like leave them alone, right? Like uh, what are you talking about? Uh but you know, I think if we look at history, uh it tells you you can't be stagnant. And we're all of a sudden seeing uh some madness out there that we didn't think we'd see at this stage, and and uh for sure

Improving A Champion & Tulsky’s Plan

SPEAKER_00 18:28

we'll talk about that. But I wanted to mention as we go into this, uh, and I've talked about this an awful lot this year, and that's Eric Tulski's work. Um he he has done him and his team of of uh folks that support him have done such a great job. And I mean, last summer, just to put it in perspective, the two big deals they did were to get Nikolai Ehlers signed up and then acquire KayAndre Miller. And let's think about what they meant for the Canes winning the Stanley Cup. They were huge, huge, huge elements of it. So, you know, kudos to Eric and his staff for getting the right players. And of course, we had talked previously about how he tried to rebuild the Canes when they had that disastrous free agent situation in 24, you know, up against the cap and losing a lot of excellent players. And of course, some of those guys have been key for the Canes. I mean, Shane Gossespare, he had a tremendous playoff. Sean Walker, we just talked about. I mean, Carrier and Robinson on the fourth line. These are all guys that made a difference and helped the Canes win the Cup. So, what do we think Eric's gonna plan? And we'll talk a little bit about that because I'm sure he's busy with his discussions. But first up is the NHL draft. And you know, there's trade talks going on, and we'll talk a little bit about the trade talks going on, but I wanted to spend a few minutes and talk about a few of the players that the Canes might look at. And I guess the first thing I'll ask you before I do that, Aaron, is will the Canes use pick 31? Are they gonna take that first round pick or what are they gonna do?

SPEAKER_01 20:02

The overwhelming history of the Canes is that they will trade that pick. That doesn't mean that they will. If there's a player they really like in the first round, and one of the interesting things that we've seen from all this frenzy, like

Draft Pick 31 Options

SPEAKER_01 20:13

you said, that we're gonna talk about in a minute, um, teams are trading picks. They're trading high picks. They're trading high picks for players and help right now. Usually, typically, when that's the case, um, it it points to a draft that may be um on the weaker side. There may not be as many guys after the top few that that get picked up, and even the top few guys may not be the guys that they may not may or may not pan out to be superstars. They're probably you're probably not looking at someone like a Macklin Cellebrini in this year's draft. You're not looking at you're not looking at those kinds of those caliber players. Now, anybody could end up developing into something more than is expected. But the fact that so many NHL GMs right now are willing to trade high picks is an indication that this draft probably doesn't have a lot of those stellar candidates. Will the Canes use pick 31? If a player that they s they personally in-house believe has the ability to be a great canes player, and that player does not get selected in the first round, then I would see that they would go for it. Otherwise, they will do what they have always done, they will trade the pick because they don't have very many picks in this year's draft, they need more draft capital. So I don't see them keeping it unless they just have an internal candidate that they know they want. So and you would know more than I would about who that might be.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

Let's spend a few minutes on this, but you know, you mentioned something which I think is critical. They only have four draft picks right now. This is rare. I mean, the Canes usually have lots of draft picks, and then they parlay them into more. Uh so they have their first round pick at 31, and then they don't uh have a pick until the fourth round, and then they have two sixth round picks. So they're in a situation where this is going to be a very slight draft for them. Unless they make some moves. And there could be some other things we'll talk about that might shore that up. But as we sit today, that's where they are. So some of the players that I think fit in that mold of they could be at 31, they could move to the second round. You know, there's a lot of uh gyrations around where these players are going to end up. So let's talk about a couple of them. Uh Casey Moutrin is one, um, 6'2, 190 pound center. He's in the uh U.S. 8 under 18 program. He's a guy that a lot of folks like. Uh Adam Kimmelman of NHL.com said he plays the way the current hurricanes like to play, quick, aggressive on the four check, strong on 101 battles, and has a

Potentials: Bleyl, Ruck, Piipiranen, Nordmark, Mutryn, Sokolovskii, Lagerberg Hoen

SPEAKER_00 22:40

high hockey IQ. He's got a power forward build that he can continue to develop next season when he plays at Boston College. So Adam Kimmelman of NHL.com thinks he's a good fit for the Hurricanes. Tony Ferrari of the Hockey News said there's so much more to Moutrin's game that than what a stat sheet says. He's a physical beast who brings a true power forward style to the ice. So he's a bigger guy, uh, can skate, can do a lot of good things. So he's of interest. Tommy Blale is another one, six feet, 170 pounds, right-hand defenseman, right-hand shot defense with Moncton and the QMGHL. Uh Stephen Ellis of Daily Faceoff says uh Blale is a highly skilled two-way defender who came out of nowhere to register 81 points as a QMJHL rookie. He's exceptional exceptionally crafty, skates very well, and doesn't let bigger competition bother him. Scott Weo, the Athletic, says the game is defined by his effortless mobility. So another guy that's uh he's a good mobile defenseman. I don't think the Canes will take a defenseman too early, so they might get him in the second round. Jonas Lagerberg Hone, uh, this is Corey Promin's pick for the Kanes. All these folks I'm talking about have been selected by different folks to be on the Canes. Uh pick at 31. Promin says he's a tall, fast winger with a great shot. His game lacks east-west playmaking, but he has good hands and can beat opponents with skill. He works hard enough, although he's not overly physical. Six foot two, 190 pounder. Um he played in the under-20 league in Sweden last year, right wing. Uh he was out quite a bit last year, and what I'm hearing about uh this young man is that he could be a player that moves up in the first round. So he could be of interest to the Kings. Marcus Nordmark, NHLDraft.com, and Sporting News picked him. Uh right wing, left-wing guy, 6'1 ⁇ , 183 pounds. These Swedish guys playing in the uh junior 20 league. Um and Jason Bakala of Sportsnet said Nordmark could be one of the disruptors in the first round of the draft. He brings a combination of size, speed, and willingness to make plays in traffic. And Sam Cosantino of Sportsnet also said Nordmark possesses top-notch puck handling ability. He's got deception in his game, and he can get pucks to the net with speed and accuracy. So he sounds like a guy that could fit the canes as well. Uh Maxim Sokolovsky, uh, this is draft prospects, and Sportsnet picked him to be 31 for the Kanes. He's a monster defenseman, six foot eight, 238 pounds, playing with London in the OHL. He's just a monster. The size and sure upside of this player will see a team take a flyer late in the first round, or whenever the added comfort of a player coming out of London night's program will also be key in this decision. So again, um, you know, another guy that's there. And finally, uh Juho Piperenin. This is Tony Morielli with NHL.com. This guy, some other folks really liked. Again, he picked him at 31, 6'2, 203-pound defenseman playing with the Paran Liga uh in Finland. Um Scott Wheeler said he gaps and defends well, he moves well, he has a pro frame and game, his puck movement is clean and efficient, his reads are consistently sound. He projects a really solid two-way D. Um, Jason Bakla said uh Paper Rainan isn't going to move the needle a great deal deal offensively, but he gets to pucks ahead of opponents most of the time, launches the attack via stick-to-stick outlets, and has the agility and vision to make subtle plays in the offensive zone. So another one, another guy that could make, and finally Liam Ruck. And there's a number of Rucks in the draft. So this is interesting. So Liam is one of them, six foot, 175-pound right winger with Madison hat. Uh, he had a big year last year. He had 104 points with a hat, 45 goals. He led all draft eligibles with 45 goals, and that's good for seventh in the country. He's extremely dangerous around the net with a variety of quality shot choices at his disposal. That's Stephen Ellis with Daily Faceoff. Scott Wheeler said he's a right shot winger who has a good touch, a quick release, likes to go short side, and can pick his spots in the net. Uh the scorer had picked him to be number 31. So that's just a number of players that uh, you know, again, uh we may see one or none end up with the canes. You know, that once you get up to 25, even 20 and above, it could go anywhere. Uh, we've seen this before. We saw it last year uh with uh Ivan Ryapkin. Uh he was expected to go in the first round, the canes got him later in the second round, so that's great. So again, uh will the canes go with a Russian? Will they go with someone from uh you know Sweden or Finland? Who knows? We'll end up seeing this. But I don't I don't have particularly high expectations of the draft. Um, you know, I mean I could, I could, uh somebody could change that and and we'll end up with a different situation. But I mean, starting next year again, the Canes have got all their draft picks pretty well. I mean, it's fantastic. Um they've got, in fact, uh extra draft picks over the next couple of years. So this is really the anomaly for them, and they've historically not been a team that trades their draft picks, you know, for these deals. So um, yeah, we'll have to see how it plays out. But they'll probably surprise us. Uh Darren York and his his crew uh doing the uh the draft side usually do an outstanding job. So that's kind of fun. So let's uh let's move on to free agency. Um as we set up for that, uh just a quick kind of clearance on where the Keynes are. Uh unrestricted free agents for the hurricanes. We've got uh, of course, Freddie Anderson, and we'll talk about him. Uh Nicholas Delorier was one of the unrestricted free agents, and the deal was done, right? Mm-hmm. That was great. So we had Nicholas uh announced at the Big Canes party uh celebration

Free Agency Board & Depth Decisions

SPEAKER_00 28:45

uh that he had a two-year deal signed with the Canes, and we'll talk about him in a minute. Um Amir Miftakov is a group six, he's a UFA, he's I don't see him coming back. Uh Noah Philp down in Chicago, uh great season down there uh when he went down after uh after he was picked up by uh the canes on waivers from the Oilers. I would not be surprised and would be happy if Noah Phillip was re-signed on a two-way deal. He's a guy that can certainly help out uh on that fourth line center spot if need be. So and he played extremely well down the the run for uh for the wolves. He was outstanding. So yeah. Mike Riley, don't see him coming back. Giovanni Smith, I don't see him coming back. A couple more guys with the Wolves, Josiah Slavin. Um I could see him re-upped to go to the Wolves. Uh he's their captain and a veteran down there, so I see that. And Ryan Suzuki. Um, Aaron? Thoughts on Ryan?

SPEAKER_01 29:47

Well, um, like you uh pointed out, he's uh, you know, he's also a UFA, I believe. Um and and so, you know, um it I think it's gonna depend on whether he wants to continue playing in Chicago, because certainly um I don't see any reason that they wouldn't be glad to resign him if they could. Um I I could see him deciding that he wants to sign elsewhere. I mean, he'd be a nice addition to the Laval Rocket, and then he would be in Montreal where his his brother plays, so um, or near Montreal. Um but uh but you know, um I I do think that when your player reaches this age and they're still, you know, pretty much an an AHL player, that they're probably not looking at an NHL you know kind of career or anything like that. Um he hasn't had enough games in the NHL for us to expect that. I know some fans on the Keynes would be disappointed to hear that because there were a lot of people that were really happy when he was selected, you know, in the draft and and uh thought that he was gonna pan out. But he has been a great player for them, he's been very solid for the Wolves. And uh I think that um whether he chooses to to sign with them or whether he chooses to sign elsewhere, he's gonna continue to have a really good career.

SPEAKER_00 30:54

Yeah, and and for sure. And and you know what, he he was he was tremendous, and he, of course, he was on sp on uh our storm tracker podcast, and we had a lot of fun with Ryan, and and we sure hope he comes back because uh we'd like to get him back on and have more conversations for sure. Uh the other uh unrestricted free agent is Yusso Valamaki, and you so signed in Sweden. So uh he's gone on a two-year deal uh over across the ocean. Now, there are a number of restricted free agents, uh, a bunch of guys with Chicago, not sure where they're gonna end up. Skyler Brendemore is one of them. Uh they would have to re-up him. I think they probably will. Uh Dominic Vinsori, I fully expect he'll be back uh on a deal. Uh Alexi Hemosalmi, all these guys I think will return. Victor Neutra, I'm not so sure. Uh, we'll have to see how that plays out, but he did a good job at the end of the year. Caden Primo, Justin Robota, Ronan Seely, all these guys will be signed, in my view. I don't see any question about that. Unless some of them are traded, I think they'll all be back with Chicago. Now, the big one on the RFA list, and we'll talk about him now, is Alexander Nikishan. So, Nikishian is uh his contract is up, he needs to be signed, and there's a lot of discussion as to what should happen with Alexander Nikishan. Um what's going on?

SPEAKER_01 32:17

Well, um, you know, I know we've gone back and forth about whether he

Nikishin Trade Buzz & Contract Logic

SPEAKER_01 32:21

would, you know, what kind of deal he would get and if he's going to sign long-term and what what where the numbers would come in. Um, but uh today the topic of conversation on Twitter from you know some several really reliable sources is that the canes are actively um taking inquiries about Nikation. They're they're kind of trying to gauge, I think, his market value. And we don't know if that is a strategy right now to try to get those numbers for a long-term deal or even a bridge deal to where um you know it's realistic for both sides. Um, because I think a lot of times you you really have to see, well, what what is the value of this piece in the market? It would be um remiss for the Keynes to not do their due diligence with this, you know, since he is their their one big RFA that that would be a trade chip in a big deal. They they're gonna need to ask these questions and look into what would teams out there be willing to offer them for Nication. Um at the same time, I could just as easily see them coming back and saying, okay, well, we've we've gauged all that value, we've looked at the numbers. There's nothing we really want to get or nothing we can realistically get for Nication. And at that point, they will probably go ahead and work out the details of that contract and get him signed long term. I know he's become uh a fan favorite in a relatively short amount of time. You know, everybody uh applauds when he lays one of those booming hits, and you know, his shot is certainly incredible. That uh absolutely lethal shot of, you know, 90 plus miles an hour, you know. So it's gonna depend on how the Canes see him fitting in long term and what role they think he's gonna play for them. Um, I think uh the way that I put it just a little bit ago is that I think that on any other team or many other teams right now, not every team in the league, but many teams right now in the league, um, Alexander Nikishin could already be a top four defenseman.

SPEAKER_02 34:09

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 34:09

Um so the question for the Kanes is do they see him stepping forward and taking that role on in a reasonable amount of time, a year or two, or are they unsure about that? And and they'll make that decision, I think, uh, based on uh both uh what might be available out there and what they might think they might need going forward, because like you said, you can't stagnate. We love the roster that won the Stanley Cup. That will always be a special roster for Keynes fans, but that does not mean that every piece of that roster will remain even into next season. So it's gonna be an interesting one. I think this is gonna be interesting to watch, and it's gonna tell us a lot about the relationship between the player and the team and what they see long-term on both sides, because you know, if he's not gonna have that shot in the top four in a realistic amount of time, um, then he may not want to sign long-term either because you know, he clearly he can be that somewhere in this league. So um he's not a young rookie, he's 24 right now, he will be 25, I believe, in October. So later this year.

SPEAKER_00 35:15

Yes, correct.

SPEAKER_01 35:16

So, you know, he's he's he's someone who they have to make these decisions a little bit faster than they might if he was a 22, 23-year-old defenseman. So it's gonna be interesting to see. I I was thinking this would be a sign and it would be no big deal, and maybe it'd be a bridge, you know, or if they decided to go long term, they'd get a little break on the price. Now it's looking like that may not be as easy of an assumption to make.

SPEAKER_00 35:40

Well, and and you know, there were different times I thought they would have already signed him by now. Uh-huh. So, I mean, there was no discussion, there was not really anything going on. And as we looked in the playoffs, you you know, his workload was lessened over time. And we know that uh, you know, Rod Brendan Moore, he's he he has a certain thing with players that he trusts, and and I think I think uh Alex had some challenges getting that trust. And and I think uh you know, we we we saw the outstanding career that Alex had in Russia, but you know, it doesn't necessarily translate to you know the NHL. And and it could be that his his particular style of play, as you mentioned, may not translate to the Canes. And that's okay, that's fine. Um, you know, he's worth a lot if they do trade him. Gosh, I mean maybe they trade him to San Jose for the second overall pick. Who knows? I mean, there's lots of possibilities here. Uh they can make any number of deals. And I think, on the other hand, yeah, they would do a bridge and it would be a short-term deal, maybe a couple of years, because I think his his uh agent and and he would want something where he could turn that this around quickly. Um but yeah, it's turned out to be a bit of a story, and like you said before, I think a lot of us felt this would just get taken care of like everything else has. But the only other guy that sits out there is is Freddie Anderson. And Freddie, of course, uh boy, he had three outstanding series. He was incredible. And we don't want to take that away from him because he kind of you know had a little bit of challenge in that final series. He was something else. And you know, the Canes are in an interesting position because they've got two goalies right now. If you look at uh Brandon Bussey and of course Piotr Kochekov, neither one of them has claimed a leading

Freddie Anderson’s Next Chapter

SPEAKER_00 37:37

role as a goaltender, so they haven't been the go-to for a team in the NHL. So do you re-up Freddie on a short-term deal, team-friendly deal, or does he retire? Where does he go? What do you think happens with Fred?

SPEAKER_01 37:53

Well, someone pointed out something to me that I honestly admit I hadn't been thinking about, and that is that Freddie just lost his agent in the tragic death of Claude Lemieux. So the difficulty here is that you know, even if the Canes wanted to go ahead and have another feel good moment and have him extend for a year, you know, and and announce that at the at the parade, it wasn't gonna happen because this is not he's gonna have to get set up with you know someone new. We don't know that he's if he's done that yet. Obviously, that's gonna be something that will, you know, take a little time. I think that I could see Freddie going home and thinking this over and deciding that he's done and he wants to retire. At the same time, I could see him signing a one-year deal with the canes. I don't really see him testing the market and trying to sign somewhere else. I mean, why would you at this point? You've just won the Stanley Cup, he's not he's not cup chasing, you know. Um, and he will um he is uh I believe uh 36 or 37, I can't remember now.

SPEAKER_00 38:53

36.

SPEAKER_01 38:54

So, but you know, yeah, so so it's it's not it's not something that he has to do if he if he's really done playing. But um my my gut instinct is that he will probably sign that team-friendly one year and just come in and be part of the rotation and you know be a mentor figure to uh Busy and Kochekov. But that's all depending on whether the canes actually take a wild swing at one of the goaltenders that's out there and available. I can't rule it out just yet. I can't say that it'll happen. On the other hand, we know that the canes are not inclined to spend a lot of money on goaltenders, and I don't see them aggressively pursuing somebody that's gonna cost them a lot against the caps. So, Mike, I I really feel like a one-year deal for Freddie is the safe assumption.

SPEAKER_00 39:41

Yeah, I I I don't see any world where they go after a Connor Hellibuck or somebody like that. I just don't see it because you know the Keynes game is not, and Rod has said this many times. They don't need the best goalie on the globe, they just need someone that can make the saves. And and I think it's uh it's been proven. Uh you know, they their shot totals in so many of these games are so low, it's stupid. I mean, we saw a number of games where they had less than 10 shots in the first two periods. It was crazy, right? So um I don't see that. I don't see that happening. Now, you know, there they're when we talk about free agency and players that are out there, I mean, this is an interesting situation, right? Okay, if you're gonna do something for a goalie, one of the guys that's out there is Stuart Skinner. You know, he had been with the Oilers in Pittsburgh. Is he a guy you can pick up cheap and have as a third goaltender? Sure. Um that's the kind of guy I think the Keynes might consider. But where it gets interesting is on defense, because don't forget Rasmus Anderson is out there as a free agent, who looks like he will be on July

Targets & Offer Sheet Reality Check

SPEAKER_00 40:45

1st. Uh, 29 years old, four and a half million dollar deal with Vegas and so on, and previously, of course, Calgary. Um, Anderson was a guy that was potentially in the Keynes radar before. Uh so if they were going to do a deal with Alexander Nikishan, uh, would they go and sign Erasmus Anderson? Okay, this becomes interesting. Right shot guy, uh veteran, you know, pretty good player, uh, bring some offense. He had 17 goals last year. So, you know, I see a guy like Anderson as one of the free agents that you might actually tilt at. There's not much. I mean, there's not a lot out there, as you know. Um, another guy that I saw was Kevin Stenlin with Utah, fourth line centerman. Okay, if the Kanes want to shore up and have some cover on that fourth line, I'm still, you know, still not totally sold on uh Mark Jankowski as the go-to guy all year. A guy like Stenlin on a $2 million deal, he's 29. He's a big guy, 6'4, he's about 2'10. Um great in the face-off dot. Like he's one of the best in the league in the face-off dot. Right shot guy. Again, you know, uh, another kind of depth piece. And those are the kind of guys that I think the Canes can probably look at. You know, and there's other guys like Tolbinan and Ferrero and other guys that I don't necessarily see the canes going for, but they're interesting free agents, I guess. Um, now there's also possibilities of offer sheets. Okay, there's been a lot of a lot of rumor on X and other social media spots saying, hey, there's going to be some offer sheets coming out for some of these uh restricted free agents. Two of the guys that seem to be at the top of the list are Maverick Bork with uh Dallas Stars. Of course, uh he was kind of the air apparent to uh Logan Stanhoven because when Stancoven left, uh Bork got a bigger role. Uh actually scored uh 20 20 plus goals this year. He had a pretty good season with Dallas. So he's a guy that's interesting. But the guy that I think would be really interesting is Pavel Dorofia, okay, with Vegas. Now, uh they expect he's gonna get a $9 million deal, and if he did, it would be a first, second, and third in 2027 is what the cost would be to the Keynes. And they can do that. They do have a first, second, and third next year. So how about getting a guy like Pablo Dorofia?

SPEAKER_01 43:11

I don't know. I I think, you know, I know that we're talking about whether they should add somebody in the top six. Um, Dorothyo is certainly an interesting guy. I just think that Vegas matches um most offer sheets that the Keynes could afford to do, um, you start getting into those really expensive ones because you know you remember the the way offer sheets work is you overpay for the play. Yeah. You don't play, you don't pay market value for the player. You're you're overpaying to get the player, and then you hope to negotiate a market value contract down the road. So I don't think that's a realistic offer sheet that the Keynes could pull off. Um and I think that the Vegas is very much uh determined to re sign or to sign uh Dorothyev. So I don't I don't see that one being realistic. Um and I'm gonna go ahead and agree with you or disagree with you on one other player. I do not see Rasmus Anderson as being a good fit for the Keynes at all.

SPEAKER_02 43:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 44:00

I really don't. I've been listening and paying attention to some of the Vegas Golden Knights post-game chatter among the fans, and they're rather disappointed with uh with the how he turned out, and some of them are actively hoping he won't, you know, re-sign in Vegas because they don't really like the guy. So I'm I I can see where you know there were some moments when you felt like he took some shifts off here and there, and I can understand their frustration with that. So those are the two I don't quite agree with you on. But I mean, I agree that Jordan Coop would be a great ad, but I don't think we're gonna get him.

SPEAKER_00 44:32

So yeah, I I totally agree. I don't think there's any way that he comes out of Vegas, but I thought it would be interesting to uh to postulate that. But you know, when when we talk about the Canes, though, and we look at the lineup for next year, uh, one of the possibilities is your man uh Martinuk on first line. Uh if the Canes decided to keep Nikolai Ehlers and Seth Jarvis with uh Jordan Stahl, which I think would be great, uh that would give the Canes a an outstanding line there. They've got the junkyard dogs, of course, then they'd have Aho and Svechnikov, but they'd need a winger

Winger Needs, Center Questions, Kotkaniemi update

SPEAKER_00 45:05

for those guys. Okay, and the question becomes you know, is it is it someone like Bradley Nadeau coming up? I don't think that's gonna happen, which means the Canes would have to acquire a winger. Okay, and and this would allow them to move Martinouke down to the fourth line. He can fill in, you know, when folks are injured, he can move up and down the lineup. He's you know, and I think he's getting to the stage where they have to kind of expect he's he's gonna be getting less ice time. So um, so yeah, so if you take a look at that, I know one of the guys that's been uh bandy around, which would be an interesting one, is Matthew Nyes.

SPEAKER_01 45:43

Um I think Matthew Nyes would be a great uh fit for the Keynes in a lot of ways. I I'm not 100% sold on his defensive work, um, so that would be something, but you know, Toronto has had its issues, so we'd have to see how that would work out. But certainly he's a power forward, you know, pushes all those buttons. The cost to acquire him would will be high. Um there it does look as though Toronto, the latest reports out there are that Toronto is indeed actively seeking, you know, the potential of moving him, but they're going to want a lot back, they're gonna be wanting to look at you know rebuild status type stuff. So um I don't know if the Canes will pursue that for the given the cost. Um I do think that on a line opposite Andre Spechnikov, it would be a lot of fun to watch a player like that for sure, you know. Um you get a couple of big physical guys up on that top line. Um but uh but yeah, he would uh apart from Nyes, given that you know the Kyru's already been moved, Alex Tuck is uh signing somewhere. You know, you you don't have a lot of big physical wingers. And the reason I would push for that type of winger as opposed to a smaller skilled winger is you want somebody ideally who can play on either Aho's line or that line with Stenkovin and Blake as guys move around and get injured and so on. Um without Taylor Hall on that line, that line suddenly becomes very small with the options they have to put up there. So you're gonna if you're gonna add a winger, you're gonna want it to be one of these guys that's got a bit of heft to his game. So um in that sense, NIS would fit.

SPEAKER_00 47:11

Now, the other option for the hurricanes, of course, is to start to look at shoring up at center ice. We've talked about, you know, the the runway for Jordan Stahl. Of course, he plays a darn well this year. You you can't really think about that. But if that's the case, do the canes start tilting at a centerman? And we know there's some centers out there, Dylan Larkin apparently is going to be available again, big cost. Uh Elias Peterson is back available. Uh he's uh apparently they're willing to take back salary now, so that becomes a little bit more interesting. And of course, the canes have been talking with them about Pederson, and that could be a spot where they could move uh Yosperi Kokaniami, and that brings up a question. What happens with Yosperi Kokaniami?

SPEAKER_01 47:58

At this point, after watching some of the utterly insane deals that were made for players yesterday, I don't think there's any reason to expect that the Canes have to buy out Kokoniami. I believe that they can move him in a trade, and I I don't, you know, obviously we're not talking about a trade where they're gonna get some kind of significant return. He could be part of a bigger trade because with, you know, if you're having a package that's going somewhere, you you might have, you know, a play a team that would like to get a center back as part of that package. Or even if they were to just accept draft capital and they were trade him at the draft for some draft picks. Um, but I don't think they're gonna walk away with nothing because right now um there are very few centers available. And you you mentioned Larkin, you mentioned Larkin, and you mentioned Pederson, and after that, the caliber of of centers available is really is these fourth-line guys that you know don't move the needle for teams. Um, you know, Kokanyemi, if he recovers his regul his usual form, is a third-line center at at worst. He's not a fourth line center. So um as long as a team is you know willing to look at the at the body of work with Kokinyemi and not just this last season, which was clearly you know a bad season for a lot of reasons that have nothing to do with hockey. Um I think that they that the Canes should be able to get something for for Kokinay and they should be able to make a trade. Um there's they do have to make the decision by um the end of the day on June 30th. June 30th at 5 p.m. is when the buyout window closes. By the time the next window opens, Kokinami will be 26, and then it's a one-third buyout or two-thirds buyout instead of the one-third buyout that they have right now. That's the cheap buyout. So if they don't feel confident in their ability to move him, we will see that buyout happen. I don't think that's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 49:51

No, I agree. I don't I don't see any world that uh sparry kokinami has bought out. And I think it's one of two things. I think he's either gonna go in the next few days, like at the draft. Uh, I think he's gonna be traded for a draft pick, you know, and it could be a later round pick. It's fine. Um, or if they're going to use him as a piece in a bigger trade. So we'll have to see how that all plays out. I know when they talked about Elias Peterson previously, uh Kokinami was definitely part of the mix. So we'll see how that goes. But you know, we sit there right now, and what's been happening in the last few days is probably the craziest trade session I've seen in years. It's more active than uh the trade deadline. It's insane. I mean, we look at some of the deals that have been done. You mentioned, I mean, Alex Tuck uh is has gone over to Washington on a deal with Buffalo for a third-round pick, and he signed a long-term deal at 10.5 mil for eight years. Jordan Cairo goes over to Washington. They're gonna be someone to watch. They traded uh McMichael and others to get Cairo.

NHL Trade Frenzy & Draft Chaos

SPEAKER_00 50:54

So they've got Tuck and Cairo now. That's gonna help that hockey club a lot. Uh the senators made some moves. Of course, the big thing was uh uh again, uh yeah, Brady Kachak heading down to uh Florida to play with his brother. Um and we understand uh in that deal that the Canes actually were one of the four teams that Brady had put on the list, and I'm just as happy that uh he was not at the they weren't at the top of the list. I'm uh just as happy to see him go to uh Florida. But the Senators again uh getting some picks and doing some things. So they're making some changes, and they were a tough team when the Canes played them, for sure. Uh so they're gonna try to improve. Uh the Sabres, they've been busy. We saw the tuck move, we saw a big deal that they made uh with uh Chicago, sending Bowen Byron and Jordan Greenway and getting the fourth overall pick in the draft from Chicago plus Louis Crevier, who I thought was a pretty solid defenseman for Chicago last year. So I think uh the Sabres made a good move. Uh and there's lots of discussion that they could move that pick, that fourth overall pick as well. So there's lots going on. The Flames got uh uh Simone Nemitz and Maxim Siplikov from New Jersey. So Nemetz finds a home, but again, uh big, big first round picks, two of them, uh going in that trade. I mean, we're seeing crazy, crazy moves with draft picks. What what do you make of this?

SPEAKER_01 52:25

Well, I think it comes back to what we talked about before that this year's draft is probably a weaker draft. And um, you know, when you were talking about the Canes only having four picks in this year's draft, that kind of made sense to me from that perspective too. I hadn't thought of it that way before, but the Canes would be acquiring draft capital left and right, and they have lots of ways to do that if this was a draft that they felt very keen on getting players, you know. The fact that they have not done that, the fact that they've still got the exact same four picks they started, you know, the year with, or you know, that they've traded away a lot of the other picks from this year's drafts in part of those deals to land some of the players you mentioned earlier that uh have been brought aboard over the last year and a half, two years. I mean, I don't think they see this as a draft that they need to be heavily involved with. And, you know, if if other teams around the league maybe looking at Carolina and and and uh you know, they're they're certainly uh trying to shore up because of us. I've I've never seen anything this crazy. I mean, other teams have won the Stanley Cup and business has continued as usual, but the Canes winning the Stanley Cup seems to have set up a frenzy among general managers to uh to do these insane you know deals, and and so it's kind of been fun to watch. Um I think that this draft will probably end up being a kind of a weak draft. Um, that doesn't mean that teams aren't gonna get good players. That doesn't mean some of these young kids couldn't develop quite well, but I don't think you're gonna see any instant stars or any celebrities coming out of this one. So um I just think that the Canes are probably happy where they are and not, you know, trying to gain a lot. They could even throw in that 31st pick uh into a move if they're trying to make some moves. So um it's gonna be interesting to see. And uh, you know, I I just think that that uh it's gonna be fun to continue to watch over the summer. I don't know if it's the shorter season, the fact that the hockey season will resume in late September that's got general managers. But it I I've really never seen anything like this. I've never seen um, you know, we're not even to free agency day. And I know free agency is a bit disappointing this year, but um, because so many players that would have been of interest have already re-signed with their original teams. So not having an interesting free agency, I thought this was gonna be a dull summer, and it certainly hasn't started out that way. So um gonna be interesting to see what the Keynes do.

SPEAKER_00 54:41

And and you look at some of the players that have been re-upped. I mean, the Oilers uh signed Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson to five-year deals, you know, a pretty good day A Bs uh Bobby McMahon's back with uh Seattle on a six-year deal. So the players that are, I think, important to their teams are being signed quickly. Uh I think I think it's gonna continue with the trade discussions. I believe it's gonna be that kind of a of a week where there's gonna be a lot of moves. Uh there'll be some players going, there'll be draft picks going, the whole thing. Uh, because yeah, uh these teams are trying to figure out how do they catch up to the canes. The canes are the bar now, and they need to know what it's gonna take to get there. And so you're gonna see all kinds of moves to try to jockey into that position. And boy, this is exciting. I uh for sure I didn't expect much action.

SPEAKER_01 55:33

I I was I was having trouble putting my phone down to go to bed last night because I just kept seeing these things roll across the transom, so to speak, and it was just insane.

SPEAKER_00 55:42

Yeah, you walk away for a few minutes, come back, and uh take a look at X, and there's another deal. Yeah, so and and they're big deals. These are not insignificant deals, these are some significant players for sure. And uh and so, yeah, there'll be more. Uh again, and there's even discussion at the top of the draft that's kind of interesting, is there's a lot of conjecture who actually goes in the top five and where they go. Um, you know, there could be some jocking there, you know, that a lot of folks thought Gavin McKenna was the the uh de facto standard at number one, but I'm seeing other folks who don't think he should be number one. So it's gonna be kind of interesting. But again, um what are you thinking? Do you think anything happens with the canes when we wrap up all that discussion?

SPEAKER_01 56:28

I think that the way the canes are positioned right now, nothing has to happen. I mean, that nothing really has to happen. They can sign uh that team-friendly one-year deal with uh with uh Freddie Anderson, they can um go ahead and extend Nikation, and you know, that can pretty much be it. You know, um I do think that they will um probably move on from Kokaniami, and I think that in order to do that, if they're not making a big move for a a top center, then they will probably shore up with a depth center, and there's plenty of those, you

Closing thoughts: Likely Offseason Moves & Philosophy

SPEAKER_01 56:59

know, available too. So those small moves might be all they do, and that would be fine. They're coming back with a team of Stanley Cup champions. But like you said, you don't want to stagnate. You look down the road, you're not looking at what do we need today, what do we need in September. You're looking what do we need two years from now in September. Um, Eric Tolski is extremely good at playing that long game. We know that from the kind of moves that he made over the past few years to get them to this Stanley Cup moment. He's not going to do nothing if there's something to do that makes sense. He's also not gonna do something just to do something, which is what I think we're seeing from some of these general managers. There's no way that Tulski will make a stupid move and overpay for someone that isn't gonna work out for the canes. He's he if he makes a move, it will be something that you can pretty much count on working out for the canes.

SPEAKER_00 57:54

Yeah, and and he's shown that at the trade deadline last year. Yeah. He had cap space, he had assets, he had all kinds of things he could do, and he chose not to. And his uh his you know response was hey, the deals weren't there that I liked. Simple. Yep. It just didn't work for the canes. So yeah, we'll see. Uh I suspect something will happen with the canes over the next uh week or two. Um they'll add some players, and whether they'll be major or or not major is the question, but I do believe that that Eric will make a couple of moves um and continue to shore up the team uh as best he can. In any case, uh Aaron, great to talk about this stuff. And I know that uh when Katie gets back uh in the next uh week or two we'll we'll get a chance to take a look at what's happened uh with the Canes and we'll uh be able to dissect the draft picks and some of the moves they've made and you know some of the other moves that are going on in the NHL. It's always great fun. For those of you who've been watching or listening, of course, Aaron and I are delighted to spend time with us. If you like this episode, please press the like button. If you have comments or questions, please put those in the comment section. And if you want to be alerted of future episodes of Storm Tracker, please press the subscribe and the bell buttons, and we'll alert you just as soon as they're available. As always, we thank you so much for spending time with us, and look forward to getting together with you real soon right here.