Roster Building XXV: Winning Rantanen's Undying Love

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

I've come around to being open to Zegras but really depends on what we'd have to give up. He's not as good as Necas and as a lefty provides less value for us. I'd consider picks/prospects not named Nikishin, Morrow, Arty, Nadeau but not sure why Anaheim would want future scraps like that rather than just keeping him.

As for Gibson, it feels kind of inevitable, but I don't see why we would have any interest in doing that before the offseason.

A lefty acquisition makes a huge amount of sense in our context, actually. The vast bulk of our forward prospect capital (Blake, Nadeau, AND Unger Sorum) is right-shot guys and Rantanen is most comfortable on his off-wing.

Also, I don't think that the Canes felt like they had much of a choice but to capitalize on the Necas chip sooner rather than later considering his free agency in 2026 and the general instability of the relationship here making him an unlikely re-sign in their eyes. Zegras will be an RFA rather than a UFA in 2026, which will give the Canes more time to evaluate.

 

[User13452]

I've come around to being open to Zegras but really depends on what we'd have to give up. He's not as good as Necas and as a lefty provides less value for us. I'd consider picks/prospects not named Nikishin, Morrow, Arty, Nadeau but not sure why Anaheim would want future scraps like that rather than just keeping him.

As for Gibson, it feels kind of inevitable, but I don't see why we would have any interest in doing that before the offseason.

I just wonder if they trust Kochetkov enough to play in the playoffs I know it’s not a big sample size but 6 games his numbers aren’t good

 

[robbieberns]

A lefty acquisition makes a huge amount of sense in our context, actually. The vast bulk of our forward prospect capital (Blake, Nadeau, AND Unger Sorum) is right-shot guys and Rantanen is most comfortable on his off-wing.

The context with this is specifically centers and face offs, really hurts not having a right handed guy on to win those strong side draws.

 

[baconandbread]

A lefty acquisition makes a huge amount of sense in our context, actually. The vast bulk of our forward prospect capital (Blake, Nadeau, AND Unger Sorum) is right-shot guys and Rantanen is most comfortable on his off-wing.

Also, I don't think that the Canes felt like they had much of a choice but to capitalize on the Necas chip sooner rather than later considering his free agency in 2026 and the general instability of the relationship here making him an unlikely re-sign.

Nadeau also plays and prefers his offside

 

[spockBokk]

A Gibson move seems so obvious in the summer, now, it’s a little iffy cap-wise unless they take Andersen back and even then, not really room for anything else unless you subtract roster players.

Zegras also, likely could be fit in if they flipped Roslovic + for him, but why would the Ducks be interested in that?

Maybe there was some discussion about Gibson + Zegras + for Rantanen and that’s where Friedman and now Strickland are basing their speculation on, probably much ado about nothing.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

The context with this is specifically centers and face offs, really hurts not having a right handed guy on to win those strong side draws.

Right-handed centermen are relatively rare and usually get paid accordingly in UFA. I wouldn't be shocked, however, if the Canes took a swing at Jake Evans in UFA.

 

[User13452]

A Gibson move seems so obvious in the summer, now, it’s a little iffy cap-wise unless they take Andersen back and even then, not really room for anything else unless you subtract roster players.

Zegras also, likely could be fit in if they flipped Roslovic + for him, but why would the Ducks be interested in that?

Maybe there was some discussion about Gibson + Zegras + for Rantanen and that’s where Friedman and now Strickland are putting out there.

Gibson and Zegras for Rantanen makes zero sense for Carolina

The context with this is specifically centers and face offs, really hurts not having a right handed guy on to win those strong side draws.

Pageau?

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

A Gibson move seems so obvious in the summer, now, it’s a little iffy cap-wise unless they take Andersen back and even then, not really room for anything else unless you subtract roster players.

Zegras also, likely could be fit in if they flipped Roslovic + for him, but why would the Ducks be interested in that?

Maybe there was some discussion about Gibson + Zegras + for Rantanen and that’s where Friedman and now Strickland are basing their speculation on, probably much ado about nothing.

I'd imagine that any trade involving Roslovic would have him being dealt to another contender, thus making such a trade a three-way transaction.

 

[Chan790]

Maybe there was some discussion about Gibson + Zegras + for Rantanen and that’s where Friedman and now Strickland are putting out there.

Not a huge fan of that. If that's the best offer we get...ugh.

 

[robbieberns]

I’d definitely take a left handed legit 2C over a Pageau or Evans but definitely think we’ve either got to upgrade at 2C or 4C.

Pageau and Evans definitely being my 4C options

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

I’d definitely take a left handed legit 2C over a Pageau or Evans but definitely think we’ve either got to upgrade at 2C or 4C.

Pageau and Evans definitely being my 4C options

Pageau would be a great pickup at 50% retained. He's a very Rod kind of player, he's fantastic defensively, and he's elite on the dot as a right-shot. Also has another year remaining on his contract.

 

[chaz4hockey]

4 games until TDL.

Since I think the current roster is currently far from SC material (D & G are substandard compared to typical winners) put me in the camp that says if MR doesn't affirm that he will sign then trade him before the TDL (but not for Zegras or Gibson).

I would hope that MR would provide Canes with markets he would sign a new contract with and then Tulsky could negotiate away.

I wouldn't want draft picks unless a non-protected top 10 and would prefer young highly touted cost controlled players versus mediocre picks/old players.

btw: it was rumored that part of Necas' itch to leave Carolina was that his girlfriend wanted to live in a different city. I wonder if that is in play with MR too?

 

[bleedgreen]

I think we need another righty in the top 6. We always have plenty of lefties and often are short a righty. If Blake is going to be a consistent top 6 guy as soon as next year it helps, but I don't know that I see that automatically as his path. Nadeau will likely need more time and the righty is most needed at center anyways - we could really use someone that can win draws consistently on the right side. Tro was a welcome replacement for the loss of Lindy that way - but obviously we haven't found it since.

Having a righty who can hit that seam pass to Rants from the left to right circle on the pp a la Necas would be very helpful.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

One thing to muse about when watching UrinatingTree's latest video about Trotz and Nashville: the Canes are currently the 3rd oldest team in hockey after Nashville and Edmonton, with an average age of 29.7. Now, a lot of it is because the Canes like to swing at performance-relative-to-age outliers to find role player value (particularly when it comes to term), but the general point that should be made is that age alone doesn't collapse rosters, but rather the combination of aging players AND overpaying in years and dollars to guys who don't move the needle enough, which is what Nashville did this offseason.

 

[AD Skinner]

I mean if we think we f***ed up letting Necas go, Zegras is an obvious target for us

It’s uncanny

Isn’t there like a vocal subset of fans that hate zegras for being too skilled or something? What better place for him to feed off their hate

 

[chaz4hockey]

One thing to muse about when watching UrinatingTree's latest video about Trotz and Nashville: the Canes are currently the 3rd oldest team in hockey after Nashville and Edmonton, with an average age of 29.7. Now, a lot of it is because the Canes like to swing at performance-relative-to-age outliers to find role player value (particularly when it comes to term), but the general point that should be made is that age alone doesn't collapse rosters, but rather the combination of aging players AND overpaying in years and dollars to guys who don't move the needle enough, which is what Nashville did this offseason.

Thanks for the info.

Ran a projection for next year with Orlov, Burns, Freddie and Roslovic off the rosters substituting Nikishin, Morrow, Vejmelka and Nadeau.

On the exact date next year our average age drops to 28.66 versus the current 29.61 which would put us around 12th oldest in the League or so right now (it would be 28.35 at the start of the season).

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

One thing to muse about when watching UrinatingTree's latest video about Trotz and Nashville: the Canes are currently the 3rd oldest team in hockey after Nashville and Edmonton, with an average age of 29.7. Now, a lot of it is because the Canes like to swing at performance-relative-to-age outliers to find role player value (particularly when it comes to term), but the general point that should be made is that age alone doesn't collapse rosters, but rather the combination of aging players AND overpaying in years and dollars to guys who don't move the needle enough, which is what Nashville did this offseason.

That’s heavily skewed by a handful of non-core players

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Thanks for the info.

Ran a projection for next year with Orlov, Burns, Freddie and Roslovic off the rosters substituting Nikishin, Morrow, Vejmelka and Nadeau.

On the exact date next year our average age drops to 28.66 versus the current 29.61 which would put us around 12th oldest in the League or so right now (it would be 28.35 at the start of the season).

But let's say that Freddie comes back for another year (rather than overpaying someone like Vejmelka during a shallow goalie market) and someone like, say, Marchand comes in short-term. All of a sudden we're back to being one of the oldest teams again. I'm just pointing out that worrying about average team age is a less important metric when it comes to roster management than making sure that you're not handing out ridiculous anchor contracts like the one that Nashville handed to Skjei. That's all that I was saying.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

That’s heavily skewed by a handful of non-core players

That is true, but my general point is that having some older guys on your team is not a terrible thing if your contractual foundation is as rock-solid as Carolina's is.

 

[Francis10]

Thanks for the info.

Ran a projection for next year with Orlov, Burns, Freddie and Roslovic off the rosters substituting Nikishin, Morrow, Vejmelka and Nadeau.

On the exact date next year our average age drops to 28.66 versus the current 29.61 which would put us around 12th oldest in the League or so right now (it would be 28.35 at the start of the season).

But the bigger question is, will KK give up number 82 to Nadeau?

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

I’m excited to see this forward group in crunchtime. If you think about it, the perimeter players are gone. I don’t mean that as a shot against Necas and Teravainen. They brought different elements that were valuable; the team does miss Necas’ game breaking speed/zone entry ability and Teravainen’s defensive play. It just felt excessive at times with mighty mice like Aho and Jarvis at the top of the lineup.

It’s now a collection of big bodies that can get to the interior and a few smaller players that will pay the price to try to get there. Once it clicks, it’s going to be a PITA for opponents, in a different way.

 

[jfc64]

A quick look at Carolina Hurricanes gives that the core next season will consist of:

Seth Jarvis - Sebastian Aho - Andrei Svechnikov
Jordan Staal - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Felix Unger Sörum
William Carrier - - Jackson Blake
Jordan Martinook - -

Jaccob Slavin - Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere - Jalen Chatfield
- Scott Morrow
Riley Stillman

"Rentals":

5. Mikko Rantanen (W/C) Carolina Hurricanes 9 2 3 5 0.56 6 -1
7. Jack Roslovic (C/RW) Carolina Hurricanes 58 19 10 29 0.50 4 -9
10. Eric Robinson (LW) Carolina Hurricanes 59 12 13 25 0.42 8 11
15. Taylor Hall (LW/C) Carolina Hurricanes 9 1 1 2 0.22 4 3
16. Tyson Jost (C) Carolina Hurricanes 18 2 0 2 0.11 14 2

2. Dmitri Orlov (D) Carolina Hurricanes 59 4 20 24 0.41 16 16
4. Brent Burns (D) Carolina Hurricanes 59 4 17 21 0.36 22 4

1. Frederik Andersen Carolina Hurricanes 10 2.31 .903 6 4 0 1 597 215 23


With injuries to Carrier and Fast and with assets to be had from trading Burns, Orlov, Roslovic, Hall, Yost, Robinson and Andersen Hurricanes MIGHT be sellers at the TDL. Plus, it’s more attractive to teams to trade for Rantanen now when his cap hit is lower. Genius move!

I suggest Mikko Rantanen plus Sean Walker for Nabokov, Mittelstadt, Colton, Ritchie, Kylington, Malinski and Hurricanes earlier picks (a 2025:2 and a 2026:4th rounder). Probably takes Logan O’Connor as well or a 2027 firstrounder.

Gives you this team next season (from the Rantanen trade above alone):

Seth Jarvis - Sebastian Aho - Andrei Svechnikov
Jordan Staal - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Jackson Blake
William Carrier - Casey Mittelstadt - Felix Unger Sörum
Jordan Martinook - Calum Ritchie -

Jacob Slavin -
Shayne Gostisbehere - Jalen Chatfield
Alexander Nikishin - Scott Morrow
Riley Stillman - Sam Malinski

Kochetkov
Nabokov

PLUS what you might get from Orlov, Burns, Roslovic. Robinson, Andersen, Hall and Jost!

 

[the halleJOKEL]

i agree

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

The above post is really really smart, but unfortunately, the Avs can’t reacquire Rantanen - they’d have to wait one year after salary retention due to the salary retention rules.

Besides just that one tricky little rule, brilliant post no notes.

 

[UNCCHcane]

A quick look at Carolina Hurricanes gives that the core next season will consist of:

Seth Jarvis - Sebastian Aho - Andrei Svechnikov
Jordan Staal - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Felix Unger Sörum
William Carrier - - Jackson Blake
Jordan Martinook - -

Jaccob Slavin - Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere - Jalen Chatfield
- Scott Morrow
Riley Stillman

"Rentals":

5. Mikko Rantanen (W/C) Carolina Hurricanes 9 2 3 5 0.56 6 -1
7. Jack Roslovic (C/RW) Carolina Hurricanes 58 19 10 29 0.50 4 -9
10. Eric Robinson (LW) Carolina Hurricanes 59 12 13 25 0.42 8 11
15. Taylor Hall (LW/C) Carolina Hurricanes 9 1 1 2 0.22 4 3
16. Tyson Jost (C) Carolina Hurricanes 18 2 0 2 0.11 14 2

2. Dmitri Orlov (D) Carolina Hurricanes 59 4 20 24 0.41 16 16
4. Brent Burns (D) Carolina Hurricanes 59 4 17 21 0.36 22 4

1. Frederik Andersen Carolina Hurricanes 10 2.31 .903 6 4 0 1 597 215 23


With injuries to Carrier and Fast and with assets to be had from trading Burns, Orlov, Roslovic, Hall, Yost, Robinson and Andersen Hurricanes MIGHT be sellers at the TDL. Plus, it’s more attractive to teams to trade for Rantanen now when his cap hit is lower. Genius move!

I suggest Mikko Rantanen plus Sean Walker for Nabokov, Mittelstadt, Colton, Ritchie, Kylington, Malinski and Hurricanes earlier picks (a 2025:2 and a 2026:4th rounder). Probably takes Logan O’Connor as well or a 2027 firstrounder.

Gives you this team next season (from the Rantanen trade above alone):

Seth Jarvis - Sebastian Aho - Andrei Svechnikov
Jordan Staal - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Jackson Blake
William Carrier - Casey Mittelstadt - Felix Unger Sörum
Jordan Martinook - Calum Ritchie -

Jacob Slavin -
Shayne Gostisbehere - Jalen Chatfield
Alexander Nikishin - Scott Morrow
Riley Stillman - Sam Malinski

Kochetkov
Nabokov

PLUS what you might get from Orlov, Burns, Roslovic. Robinson, Andersen, Hall and Jost!

jfc indeed