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Hurricanes want to add a big free agent this summer

Montreal Canadiens v New Jersey Devils

NEWARK, NJ - FEBRUARY 02: Zach Parise #9 of the New Jersey Devils skates against the Montreal Canadiens at the Prudential Center on February 2, 2012 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Canadiens 5-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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The Carolina Hurricanes have had their great - if sporadic - runs over the years, but when it comes to star power, they’ve typically leaned heavily on Eric Staal, Cam Ward and now Jeff Skinner.

That’s not a bad nucleus, but GM Jim Rutherford has been hamstrung by a shaky budget and even shakier moves (see: Kaberle, Tomas), leaving the Hurricanes as a pretty thin bunch. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the Hurricanes are tired of settling for the Alexei Ponikarovsky-type marginal free agents; they want to get into the Zach Parise/Ryan Suter sweepstakes this summer, instead.

(If either star player hits the unrestricted market, mind you.)

Both players would obviously give Carolina a huge shot in the arm - and would possibly boost them to “contender” status in the notably weak Southeast Division. The Hurricanes haven’t had a defenseman on Suter’s level since their Hartford Whalers days while Parise would easily outclass Erik Cole as the best winger Staal has ever skated with in Carolina.

Of course, one could also call free agency the dangerous siren call of sports. Those dreams of grandeur seduce teams into spending big amounts of money only to feel the sticker shock later on. (Again, see: Kaberle, Tomas.)

It’s unclear what, exactly, would make the Hurricanes’ management willing to spend big. Perhaps it’s that weak division, possibilities to gain a rare free agent gem or merely the promise of Kirk Muller’s coaching skills. Either way, it would likely answer the prayers of Hurricanes fans who’ve watched Staal and Ward strain to carry the load over the years.

The Tomas Kaberle’s of the world blare an important warning, though: be careful what you wish for.