Hurricanes Roundtable: Best and Worst Offseason Moves
By Tyler Young
What was the worst move for the hurricanes this offseason?
Tyler Young: The worst move from a great offseason can be harder to pick than the best move. The move that feels the worst for me was trading Calvin de Haan and Aleksi Saarela for Anton Forsberg and Gustav Forsling.
The move was a salary dump, plain and simple. The Canes opened $4.5 million in space. They moved a player that likely won’t be ready for opening night and filled a goalie slot before a buyout.
What makes this feel worse is de Haan’s reaction to the trade. The disappointment was palpable in his press conference. This was a man that was exactly where he wanted to be now being told to leave. It makes sense business wise but it doesn’t feel good from a fan perspective.
Christian Candeloro: I had no problem with the de Haan move. It was a pure salary dump and opened the door for the team to make higher impact acquisitions. The de Haan press conference was sad but at the same time, I’ll trade the negative sentiment for Erik Haula, Dzingel or even the Maple Leafs first-round pick.
For me, the worst move this offseason is re-signing goaltender Petr Mrazek and going with James Reimer as his back-up. This could pay off and Mrazek could play up to his elite potential. But this team will go only as far as Mrazek takes them and I have very little confidence that he can be as consistent as they need him to be.
I know Sergei Bobrovsky was never happening, but sticking with Mrazek and Reimer just doesn’t get me excited.