Great News...Wesley Wants to Stay!!!

[aftermath]

"That's just fine with Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford, who said he doesn't need to wait for the team's summer meetings in two weeks to make a decision on Wesley..."

Link to the full article here...

http://www.newsobserver.com/796/story/578175.html

:D

[Fghtr4jc]

This is great news. Of course, I never really had the impression that he wanted to leave. Anyone who blocks shots is ok with me.

[nccanes]

There may be some naysayers on this, but I'm happy about it.

[Scottie2hottie]

Good to see him comming back. The youngin's need some guidance out there :)

[atlflames]

He still plays a solid defensive game, especially using his smarts and shot blocking skills on the penalty kill. It would be nice to see him on the third pairing getting around 12-15 minutes per game.

[livinthedream]

Wes certainly doesn't have the speed he once had, but he still has the smarts, and plays so positionally sound, he always seems to be where he needs to be out on the ice. And he's a great inspirational leader. Glad to hear this.

Actually, nothing in the article was too surprising, including this:

One player who almost certainly won't be back is defenseman Anton Babchuk, a restricted free agent. Rutherford said he is offering the 23-year-old around the league for a second-round pick in June's draft.

[caneshockeychick]

^ yeah, I read somewhere though that Babchuk has signed a 1 yr deal w/ a Russian team.

[KaniacFever]

I am perfectly fine with this. He will be a great leader to have on the blueline and a great leader to help guide the young guys (Commodore, Gleason, Hutch, Seidenberg).

He might have slowed down, but he is one of the smartest guys and he will be a great asset to have on this team.

Plus I like the attitude he has:

"I'm really looking forward to coming back and getting a fresh start and wanting to win again. That should be everybody's objective in the locker room. We have a team in there that can certainly compete for it."

[andyt]

He still plays a solid defensive game, especially using his smarts and shot blocking skills on the penalty kill. It would be nice to see him on the third pairing getting around 12-15 minutes per game.

When he's 50, Wesley's going to be playing in the Raleigh Adult Hockey League, killing penalties, blocking shots and showing all the 20-somethings how to play the game.

[Captain Slack]

Wes had a great year last season and I see no reason for him to retire now. Glad to hear he wants to play again.

As for Babs, I hope JR can unload him for a decent return. I doubt he'll get a 2nd rounder for him, but maybe a third.

Imbecile. He had a great future here until he pulled that stunt. :mad:

[alison]

I heard the news this morning regarding Wesley and was more than happy - there were plenty of times last season where he was simply amazing, and it proved to me that he still had some "oomph" in him yet.

[Guyute]

I thought he looked quite tired a lot of last year, and at points had wished he retired. He redeemed himself a bit (imho) towards the end though.

I think a long offseason will go a long way to help him rejuvenate though, so I'm ok with it.

[SoCalcaniac]

Guy- I totally agree (surprise;) ) that there were moments of ooooh- he should retire, and then at the end of the season it was Glen Wesley, what would we do without him.

I just heard Forslund (again) on 850 with Chris Clark. Forslund said in talking with Wes at the end of the season, he really felt that he had some 'unfinished business, along with his team mates' after our season. That to me, says alot about Wesley, which isn't surprising given his character, but it makes me smile a little because I think, in all these bits and blurbs after the season has ended for our guys, from EC and Chad during the World Championships and JWill and #12 and their comments during the WC's; I think we have a bunch of dudes who are gonna come out blazing in camp. There is alot of unfinished business, and I think guys will have something to prove.

Btw, this is sort of off/on topic but did any of you XMers hear Jim Cummins on with Tatti & Espo yesterday? (Cummins was invited to try out with us in 05-06 as a favor to our Captain as they are really good friends, didn't make it, and now is doing broadcast work for FSN Southwest in PHX) He could not stop crowing about how great the Canes org is, the people and players, and how he 'knew' that our team was going all the way, even in Camp and 'even though they stumbled a little this year, they're contenders all the way- too many leaders on the team like Brind 'Amour and Wesley and the other guys'. For someone who got cut by this team to be so objective , was pretty classy.

and on the other end of the spectrum; and the object of my utter disappointment:


One player who almost certainly won't be back is defenseman Anton Babchuk, a restricted free agent. Rutherford said he is offering the 23-year-old around the league for a second-round pick in June's draft.



Forslund talked about this with Chris Clark as well, and said he didn't think we'd get a 2nd rounder for him either; he "tainted" and the whole idea that he couldn't wrap his brain around the numbers game we had here really did him in.

I'm totally looking forward to being in Columbus for the draft. Let the wheeling and dealing begin!

[nccanes]

Btw, this is sort of off/on topic but did any of you XMers hear Jim Cummins on with Tatti & Espo yesterday? (Cummins was invited to try out with us in 05-06 as a favor to our Captain as they are really good friends, didn't make it, and now is doing broadcast work for FSN Southwest in PHX) He could not stop crowing about how great the Canes org is, the people and players, and how he 'knew' that our team was going all the way, even in Camp and 'even though they stumbled a little this year, they're contenders all the way- too many leaders on the team like Brind 'Amour and Wesley and the other guys'. For someone who got cut by this team to be so objective , was pretty classy.



I heard the very end of it and missed anything Canes related. I did recall that he was here (with that odd helmet, lol) during camp.

And to tie the two subject togethers, I think JRs attitude towards Wesley is pretty damn classy too. Sure he could just sign him for another year and say that he still has more to offer, but he went one step further and said

"As long as there's no friction between him and the coach -- which there's not -- he's really kind of a special case. He's probably going to play as long as he wants to play."


Just a nice display of mutual respect that should continue to create goodwill between players and this org.

[corylav]

Good for Wes ... good news.

SoCal ... I heard the interview. Don't think Cummins said he "knew they'd go all the way," but definitely said they *would* make the playoffs and surprise everyone.

[KaniacFever]

I'm totally looking forward to being in Columbus for the draft. Let the wheeling and dealing begin!

When is the draft? And is it televised, if so what channel?

I only watched the beginning last year to see if we would trade up to get Jordan Staal then turned it off. But for some reason I'm really interested in watching it this year.

[puck_it]

1st round or two should be on versus

[corylav]

Round 1 is Friday night at 7 p.m. and will be on Vesus. Rounds 2-7 are Saturday ... don't think they're televised in the U.S.

[Canesluver]

It'll be nice to have Wesley around. I just wanted him to get a nice even 20 years. I like round numbers! :beatup:

[Pirate Caniac]

There may be some naysayers on this, but I'm happy about it.
Not really a naysayer, but more just asking "What now?"

Everyone wants us to bring in a good D-man from free agency, yet we currently have 8 D active on the roster. None of which can be sent down to Albany.

So do we keep the roster as is, or try to bring in a FA and do some trading? Who do we trade, and what for?

Personally, I'm fine with the lineup we currently have. It's not the best in the league, but will get the job done. If we can just make sure our 3rd line can do something (get a good 3rd line center), we should be able to compete for the Cup again.

The only thing that worries me is the possibility for problems with injuries again, as we still don't have any depth at D that we can call up from the minors. That will even be the case if we pull in a FA. So whatever we do, I'm hoping that's a top priority.

[KaniacFever]

Thanks for the draft info.

Since were stacked on D, here's some scenerios that my crazy brain thought of, of course, all depending on what Hedican's doctor says:

Hedican sees the specialist on June 6 and doc says career is over, Hedican retires:
1) We can go after that d-man that we wanted via free agency. Eklund has us possibly dipping into the Timonen battle.
2) Trade Hutch and/or Seidenberg for picks or prospects to add to Albany.
3) Sign Tanabe

Hedican sees the specialist and doc says he can still play:
1) Trade Hutch and/or Seidenberg for picks or prospects to add to Albany.
2) Ouch - Trade Wallin for a 3rd line center or winger (if Scottie bails) (b4 u drop down my throat, I have heard that Wallin could be trade bait)

In away I wish for July 1st to hurry up and come. I don't like sitting around and waiting. I want this stuff to start.

[Pirate Caniac]

Yeah, a lot of it hinges on what happens with Hedican. If he ends up retiring, that frees us up a lot that we can easily go after a FA.

If not, then it brings up all those questions. And I honestly see Hedican doing everything he can to return to the roster, so I don't think it's going to be the easy route unless the doc tells him flat out he can't ever play again.

Of the D currently on the roster, Hutch is the only one I'd be more willing to deal. Not because I don't like him or don't think he's any good, but because he's just never seemed to have a place on this team. But would we be able to trade him?

(And yeah, Wallin is one of my favorite Canes, but at this point it's almost anyone could go - so won't jump down your throat for mentioning it. ;) This is what had me kind of worried with the "Will Wesley be back?" question was that it puts a lot more players on the trade table out of necessity.)

[svandijk1]

For some reason I was thinking Wallin has a no-trade clause. Anyone remember?
Considering all the talk there was of him going back to Sweden, I would have thought he'd want the security of a no-trade clause added in.

[StormChaserBH]

For some reason I was thinking Wallin has a no-trade clause. Anyone remember?
Considering all the talk there was of him going back to Sweden, I would have thought he'd want the security of a no-trade clause added in.

I had the same thought, but I've been searching and can't find it if it exists.

[Guyute]

I'd Not be happy at seeing Seidenberg or Wallin go.
I'd rather Hutch not go... but if something has to happen, I guess he's my only choice...

[KaniacFever]

Of the D currently on the roster, Hutch is the only one I'd be more willing to deal. Not because I don't like him or don't think he's any good, but because he's just never seemed to have a place on this team. But would we be able to trade him?


Around the trade deadline, it was rumored that Edmonton was interested in Hutch. Not sure if they still are. Also, at that time Edmonton was rumored to have Torres and Lupul on the block, not sure if that's still the case. Lupul has 2 more years at $2.5 and $2.9 then will be a RFA in 2009. Torres is an RFA come July 1st. He currently made $925,000. To be honest I wouldn't mind having either one, not even sure we could use them as their wingers, but if Scottie leaves, maybe its an idea.

[ssangste]

I'll be a naysayer... wesley had moments of being the wesley of old... but he has clearly lost a step... or two.... or three...

He still is the most positionally sound guy we have on the team by a good margin and definitely used that to his advantage to get beat less than a comparably speedy player would. But he got bullied around and pushed around more this year than in years past and the biggest thing about Wesley is that I noticed him a LOT more last year than ever before. The key to Wesley is that you just never noticed the guy out there and at the end of the game you'd look and he'd be a +3....

He came on there in the second half. But given how much he's been hurt in the past couple years, do we honestly expect to get a full season out of him? Having 8 guys on the roster is going to be necessary given Wallin's penchance for injury, the bad luck that hit Gleason, and Hedi's issues even if he does return.

It would be great if we could find a couple bargains ala Ottawa with Preissing... the cap drain is pretty substantial... but do you think Anaheim is happy to pay what they're paying for Pronger and Neids right now? Even hurt, S Neids is better than 90% of the league and his ability to move the puck and make the right outlet or hit the man was sorely missed on this team this past year....

I like Wesley. I really do. Hopefully the long offseason will help him. As long as his position on the team doesn't preclude us from doing something to build our depth or bring in a top pairing guy that can move the puck, then I'm fully on board. We did play incredibly well on the PK at the end of last season. But we did less to protect our d-zone than in years past and we didn't move the puck out of the d-zone near as well as the post lockout year. We need to fix that. I don't think Wesley is part of that solution....

[caniac369]

Injured early in a 6-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 27 that marked the beginning of a 2-5-0 slide over the Canes' final seven games to miss a playoff spot, that wasn't how the veteran defenseman wanted to end his career.

Obviously his absence had some negative affect. :huh:

[Zamboni]

I agree that it is great news.

He led the team in +/- last season. I can't count high enough to tell you how many shots I've seen him stop over the years.