Yesterday was a busy day for the Hurricanes as Ron Francis re-signed Chris Terry, Ron Hainsey, and Nathan Gerbe to new contracts. I like the terms of all three deals, but I especially like that these contracts were signed after hiring a new coach. How much, if at all, Francis consulted with Bill Peters, I have no idea, but I would imagine there was some discussion, and Peters was in favor of these signings. Also important in the timing of these deals is that as of 12:01 this morning, teams are allowed to contact UFAs and RFAs.
The first signing announcement was the one-year, two-way deal for Chris Terry. Per the team, the contract will pay Terry $600,000 at the NHL level and half of that ($300,00 for all the mathmagicians out there) in the AHL. I would imagine he’ll remain about where he was on the depth chart last year: top AHL guy who can chip in on offense and the powerplay when he’s called up. Here’s what I wrote about bringing Terry back:
He’s shown some potential in the AHL, but like many Canes prospects hasn’t seen that translate to the NHL. At under 6 feet tall, he’s one of many players of a similar build and skillset floating between the 3rd line of the big club and the top 6 of the Checkers. He’s still only 24 and could certainly improve. I’m fine with him staying or going.
Once the appetizer was finished, the entree signing of Ron Hainsey to a three-year deal was announced. At a cap hit of under $3 million per year, I’m in favor of this contract. Here’s what I had to say about Hainsey heading into the offseason:
Like the guy. He’s been a solid 2nd pairing defenseman and has shown a willingness to stand up for a teammate. Sounds like he would like to stick around, and I’m good with that, provided it’s not at more than $3M per.
After seeing Andrei Markov (at 35 years old) is getting a 3 year deal with an average cap hit of $5.75 million, Marek Zidlicky signing a 1 year, $4 million deal, and the less than stellar crop of UFA defensemen, I’m even happier with Hainsey’s contract. It’s safe to say he took a little bit of a discount to stay with the Canes.
Keeping Hainsey on board leaves the team with 6 defensemen under contract, and decisions on Pitkanen (sadly I doubt he’ll play again), Komisarek (LOL), and Bellemore (that’s the one to watch) still to come. Considering Peters mentioned Ryan Murphy by name, he’ll likely be a part of the top 6, and if Bellemore is going to be re-signed and/or a new defenseman will be brought in, look for Jay Harrison to be on the trading block thanks largely to a friendly contract.
The third and final contract announcement of the day was Nathan Gerbe’s shiny new 2-year deal for a total of $3.5 million. While it’s a little on the high side for my taste, I like his game. Here’s what I wrote back in April about re-signing the wee fella:
He skates so hard (like most small guys do, ya know… shorter legs can move more than longer ones), shoots in bunches, and plays like he doesn’t realize his height. He’s also an underrated defender and scored 2 SHGs this year. On the downside, his shot percentage of 7.2% placed him 11th among forwards on the team and if the goal is to make the bottom 6 tougher to play against, Gerbe doesn’t necessarily accomplish that. If the 3rd line is still going to be a “scoring” line, then keeping him around sounds fine by me. Since he’s an RFA, I’m guessing he’ll get a one or two year deal for $950k.
In his first season with the Canes, Gerbe put up 16 goals and 31 points in 81 games. Seeing him play a full, healthy season after back surgery and being bought out was certainly encouraging.
None of these deals are crippling by any stretch of the imagination, and in the cases of Gerbe and Hainsey (moreso than Terry), they had pretty good years last season. While I’m still hoping to bring in some fresh players through trades and/or free agency, there’s plenty of time (see: NHL Draft) to make those moves. For now, this is a solid start.
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