by

Another post dedicated to Hurricanes forward Tuomo Ruutu; looking at some of recent rumors and some numbers that have been thrown around on message boards. So lets get this started with the most recent rumor out there. Ansar Khan of Mlive.com has serious doubts that the Detroit Red Wings will continue to persue Ruutu. Ansar believes that the price is too high (a draft pick and top prospect) and as Mr. Khan puts it “the Red Wings aren’t going to get into any bidding war.” I agree with the points that Mr. Khan makes but I think we differ on the reason we think Detroit won’t acquire Ruutu. He believes that the price is too high, but I believe that Detroit just have the luxuary to pass. The Red Wings have been playing just about as well as you can play (with 20 straight wins at home) so the saying “why fix what’s not broken” comes into play. If the Wings management feels like this team is good enough as is to win the cup then it just doesn’t make sense to give away draft picks and prospects; even though Detroit could without suffering. On the flip side if the Red Wings fail to reach the finals (especially if an issue of depth arises in the playoffs) then will they be looking back and kicking themself on not doing everything possible. How valuable will that high 20’s draft pick be on a team that will surely have major changes made (due to a lot of their players age) by the time it takes to develop said player – in short was this player worth not winning the cup when their were high odds on your favor. *Speculation on my part – because what if the Wings don’t win the Cup with Ruutu on their team or what if they win the Cup without him on the team, the point I’m trying to get across is the amount of chances you get to win the Stanley Cup.

Michael Russo of the StarTribune spoke with Carolina Hurricanes President and General Manager Jim Rutherford last week about the price of Ruutu. According to Russo, Rutherford said the price for Tuomo Ruutu was very high because their were so many clubs interested in obtaining him. Being a Hurricane fan my opinion is a bit skewed, but I can understand where Rutherford is coming from. The few trading chips he has (Allen, Spacek, Gleason) have realitivly low trade value and sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference you’re going to want to get the most out of the one good chip that you have. Contariry to what ESPN reported earlier in the month Mr. Russo believes that the Minnesota Wild do have some interest in Ruutu, but highly doubts the Wild are willing to give up a top prospect. In my opinion the Wild do not have the same luxuary as the Detroit Red Wings when if comes to passing on players who could improve their team. The Wild are sitting five points out of a playoff spot and have lost their last three games. If the Wild don’t do something to shake things up then they’ll be sitting in the same boat as the Carolina Hurricanes (well actually they’d be drafting later so they’d be in a worse position.) I believe the Wild have one of the best fan bases in the American market and if those fans want something to cheer about as summer rolls along (which they haven’t had the chance to do since 2007 – 2008) then what Rutherford is asking is the price they’ll need to pay. *Again speculating, but I’ve long believed that Ruutu would be a good fit in Minnesota – if Koviu is sent to the second line I think that with Ruutu on a wing that would be a very dangerous line. Heck put him with Cal Clutterbuck and you’ve got yourself a line that will make up a very high portion of the entire teams hits.

Obviously because the trade deadline is quickly approaching (a little over a week away) the talk on pending free agent Tuomo Ruutu has heated up. Last week Jim Rutherford talked about maybe not trading Ruutu but resigning him (like they had done with Gleason) and I gave my opinion on going down that route and shortly after a rumor came out on the numbers that Ruutu was looking for. Now I don’t want to spend to much time speculating on these numbers because I’ve yet to read anything from Ruutu or his agent or even an “insider” but this is the big talk on many sports forums. Assuming that there is a nugget of truth then Ruutu is looking to get a 5 year deal worth anywhere from $22 to $25 million dollars. I can’t say one way or the other if these numbers are set in stone, but I’d have to imagine that Rutherford wants to lower that (because this team is still a buget team) and they have some key contracts coming up (Jamie McBain and Jiri Tlusty this year, Jeff Skinner and Brandon Sutter next year.)

*All of the trade talk could be a moot point though. In last nights game against the Montreal Canadiens Tuomo Ruutu suffered an “upper-body injury” and today Chip Alexander who covers the Hurricanes for the Raleigh News and Observer is reporting that Ruutu will get an MRI.

Be sure to sign up for our email subscription…

Check out our Blog Roll (some good ORIGINAL hockey content) + I’d like to shout our our new affiliate The Hockey Nation! If your looking for an up and coming forum that focuses on the greatest game then The Hockey Nation is the place for you.

If you would like to join our ever growing Blog Roll send an email to eastcoastcane@gmail.com …