It sounds like Ruutu brings more than just points to the team. He’s a well rounded player that helps in every aspect of the game and from what I understand he’s a really good locker room guy. The latter shouldn’t be under appreciated. With so many players in the NHL from a mixture of nationalities, its difficult to get good team chemistry. Case in point, the Washington Capitals. The Caps are more talented than Carolina, but their team chemistry is a disaster and I would argue the Canes future is a lot brighter than the Caps, even with the Caps still being in the playoff race.

I really can’t disagree with anything you said at all… but I will still say the smarter move long term would have been to move him.

I think Ruutu is a very good player, but can be replaced easier “point wise” than it may seem… and seeing as he is now a $5 mill per season kinda guy, I would have done something different. Looking at what Brodziak just signed for in Minnesota, I wouldn’t have put Ruutu THAT much $$$ worth over Brodz… I think Ruutu has peaked and Brodziak will climb in the points as his career goes forward. That said, Ruutu is a guy I would rather have over Brodz but not at that price. Different players / positions / situations, just going off the most recent deals…. Not sure if that all makes sense….

It’s hard to replace a player in his prime with little to no downside. They have a good core nucleus to work with going forward, even though it didn’t work out well this year. Their team is young and they play hard, and they have a solid captain (Eric Staal), they have a solid goal-tender (Cam Ward), they have a dynamic superstar in the making (Jeff Skinner), they have some solid supporting players in Ruutu, Brenden Sutter, Tim Gleason and Jossi Jokinen. Add in a mix of young talent that includes Jiri Tlusty and Justin Faulk, and the future is bright. Every one of those players mentioned is under 30-years-old, and most are under 25-years-old.

Is it the Detroit Redwings? No. But its a roadmap for the next 2-3 years and it shows there is a plan. Even though the Canes are at the bottom of the standings, they are much improved from earlier in the year and their road map is much better than say a Columbus Blue Jacket organization.

I say that because I believe there is no chance that Selanne or especially Nash go anywhere. Nash will get moved by the draft