Carolina Hurricanes Re-Sign Cam Ward and Derek Ryan

[CanesChatter]

Hurricanes Re-Sign Derek Ryan & Cam Ward

The Carolina Hurricanes announced Thursday that they have re-signed forward, Derek Allen, and goaltender, Cam Ward. This comes a day after they make a major trade to acquire Teuvo Teravainen and Bryan Bickell from the Chicago Blackhawks.

First we start with the Derek Ryan contract.

Details:
1 year, two –way contract
$600,000 at the NHL Level, $300,000 at the AHL, with $350,000 guaranteed.

I like the signing. It adds organizational depth to the Hurricanes. Ryan probably won’t start the season in the NHL. He was named captain of the Charlotte Checkers before last season’s opener. Scoring 55 points in the AHL, he was the Checkers leading scorer. Ryan is not a bad option to have, if the Hurricanes need to call someone up. He scored his first career goal in his first NHL game. It’s a safe bet that we will see Derek appear in some Hurricanes games this season.

Now, we move to Cam Ward.

Details:
2 years, 3.3$ AAV
3.5$ in 2016-2017, 3.1$ in 2017-2018

The immediate reaction from the Hurricanes faithful was not a good one. There’s no question Cam Ward hasn’t been the best goaltender in previous seasons, but given the current situation, I believe this was the best move they could make.  
Here are some reasons why I think this was a good signing:

Hurricanes still need to reach the cap floor. After this signing, Carolina still needs to spend close to 5$ million just to reach the minimum payroll.
The expansion draft for the Las Vegas team is scheduled after this upcoming season. Currently, there are no protected players on the Hurricanes. So re-signing Ward allows the Hurricanes to make him eligible for expansion. Whereas, if Francis made a trade for a big-time goalie, there’s no guarantee that he would be protected. Francis would have to choose whether to give up Eddie Lack or the newly acquired netminder. The Hurricanes also don't even have to keep Ward after next season, given his lower salary; Francis has the option of moving him at the draft/deadline. Despite having a NTC, it's a modified one. Cam Ward would have to give GM, Ron Francis, a 15 team list.

Despite, Ward’s sluggish start to the 2015-2016 season, when he returned from injury in December he was the 7th best goalie in the NHL. So he was able to finish strong with the improved defense. A fresh start next season may help Ward with this confidence.  

This move also gives the Hurricanes time to develop their young goalie prospects, Nedeljkovic and Altshuller.

Please let me know what you think of both signings. Thanks for reading. Let’s go Hurricanes.