The free agent period is now less than two weeks away from opening up and there are several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Here is a breakdown of Carolina’s free agent situation.
Key Restricted Free Agents: F Brock McGinn – With the recent two year contract for Teuvo Teravainen, McGinn is the lone RFA remaining that spent more time in the NHL than in the AHL. After being an injury fill-in in 2015-16, McGinn played himself into somewhat of a regular role in the bottom six and did a reasonable job, picking up 16 points in 57 games while averaging 12 minutes of ice time per night. He’s due a qualifying offer of $840K and his new deal should come in close to that amont.
F Phillip Di Giuseppe – After turning some heads in 2015-16, Di Giuseppe didn’t build on that this past season and wound up spending 40 games with AHL Charlotte as a result. He also got into 36 games with the Hurricanes but managed only a single goal and six assists, well off the 17 points he had in half a season the year before. His qualifying offer comes in just over $800K but this might be a case where he takes a little bit lower to get a higher guaranteed salary either in the way of higher AHL pay or a one-way contract.
Other RFAs: G Daniel Altshuller, D Trevor Carrick, D Jake Chelios, F Andrej Nestrasil
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Derek Ryan – It’s not often that a player isn’t too well-known by the time he’s eligible for unrestricted free agency but that’s the case when it comes to Ryan. At the age of 30, he has just 73 career NHL games under his belt, 67 of which came this past season where he collected 11 goals and 18 assists. His breakout season came back in 2014-15 in Sweden which got him his only NHL contract so far and given how little action he’s had at the highest level, it’s fair to wonder if he may have another level to his game. Considering he’s also strong at the faceoff dot (over 55% this past season), he could be an intriguing middle six center to watch for on the open market.
F Jay McClement – The veteran has been a fourth line defensive center for several years now and while his offense has cooled off since joining the Hurricanes in 2014-15, he can still fit into a penalty killing role. One thing that may hurt him in free agency was a drop off at the faceoff dot from 55% to 48%. At the former, he can fit in as a faceoff specialist but at a below average rate, that’s a harder sell to make. When McClement has made it to the market, he has signed quickly but that may not be the case this time around.
Other UFAs: F Connor Brickley, F Patrick Brown, F Danny Kristo, G Michael Leighton, D Dennis Robertson, D Philip Samuelsson, D Matt Tennyson, F Brendan Woods
Projected Cap Space: Cap room is rarely an issue in Carolina and won’t be again in 2017-18. They currently have a little more than $26.5MM in cap space per CapFriendly and already have 17 players under contract. If they decide to up the budget to make a push for the playoffs, the Hurricanes could be a team to watch this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.