The Carolina Hurricanes could be itching to make a deal to help their ailing blue line.
TSN’s Darren Dreger reports the ‘Canes are offering forwards Tuomo Ruutu and Jiri Tlusty around the league and they’re hoping to land a puck-moving defenseman in return.
Ruutu has two more years left on his contract with a $4.75 million cap hit. Tlusty is in the final year of his deal which comes with a $1.6 million hit.
Not surprisingly, the Hurricanes have been in a tough spot since Joni Pitkanen broke his heel last season in a collision with the boards that shattered his heel. He’s been ruled out to play this season and the team hasn’t found someone to pick up his slack. Ron Hainsey was signed during training camp to give them a veteran to replace him, but they’re still struggling on the blue line.
This season, Carolina’s top players on defense have been Andrej Sekera, Justin Faulk, and rookie Ryan Murphy. A solid, veteran presence there would do them a lot of good.