With a little less than two months until the start of the 2015-2016 NHL Regular Season, the Carolina Hurricanes’ lineup has a couple forward spots up for grabs.

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Players like Chris Terry, Derek Ryan, Brock McGinn, Sergey Tolchinksy, and Justin Shugg are in the conversation to fill those gaps. However, one man many Caniacs would love to see come back into the picture is Erik Cole.

Cole was drafted 71st overall in 1998 by the ‘Canes and soon became the posterchild for Hurricanes hockey. Gritty, fast, intense, and always buzzing around the ice, Cole was a hugely important piece in the playoffs of 2002 and 2009. He also came back from injury in 2006 to hoist Carolina’s only Stanley Cup.

Now in 2015, Cole is an unrestricted free agent after ending the season with the Detroit Red Wings. He is coming off a season ending spine injury related to his broken neck in 2006.

Despite this, Ron Francis would be foolish not to look at signing the winger before training camp begins.

Francis has been in favor of having internal competition for those remaining forward slots. While that is important for the growth of the team in the long haul, bringing in a veteran like Cole in a Top 9 or even Bottom 6 role might be more helpful in the short term and even beyond that.

After finishing 27th in goals per game in 2014-2015, it is important for Carolina to improve that area. Cole has a career 12.9% shooting percentage over 892 NHL games. He was fairly reliable as a Top 9 scorer last season too, managing 21 goals in 68 contests for the Stars and Red Wings. Even at 36, he could still help the Carolina Hurricanes put the biscuit in the basket.

Perhaps another benefit to signing Cole would be to help Jeff Skinner. Skinner lost his touch last season, but if someone could help bring it back for 2015-2016, it would be Cole. As a rookie in 2010-2011, Skinner skated with Cole and Tuomo Ruutu. The three were formidable linemates. Cole even had an assist on Skinner’s first career goal.

As ‘Canes color analyst Tripp Tracy explains in the video, Cole can free up Skinner who then attacks the net and scores. Cole’s ability to be active on the fore-check allowed Skinner to create his rookie season magic. Maybe some renewed chemistry will help the former Calder trophy winner get back to 30+ goals in 2015-2016.

At age 36, it is clear Cole’s best days are behind him. However, his experience would pay dividends for the Canes’ forward prospects. As I mentioned, Cole embodied what it was to be a Hurricane. In many ways, the culture has left the clubhouse. Giving Cole a one year deal would help to reinvigorate that philosophy into the younger Carolina forwards. It might even spread to a fan base craving to see success, or at least something resembling the glory days. Players would look up to him and fans would love to see him retire a Hurricane.

Cole is returning from a serious injury, but if he wants to continue playing in the NHL, Francis should seriously consider giving the veteran a 1-yr deal for around 1-2 million dollars. It could very well be the GM’s best move of the offseason.