Carolina Hurricanes

As the horn sounded to end the 65 minutes of real hockey at PNC Arena on Saturday night, Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward was likely flooded with dread about the shootout ahead.

Ward, whose sharp 33 saves on 35 shots during the game itself had kept the 'Canes even with the Rangers through the end of overtime, had lost eight of his last nine shootouts.

He sported the 34th-best shootout save percentage out of 42 NHL goaltenders with 50 or more career attempts faced. He was a proven liability in the skills competition.

And sure enough, specialist Mats Zuccarello skated right in and scored on a quick shot over Ward's blocker side. A save on Derek Stepan proved insignificant, as all three Carolina shooters were denied by Henrik Lundqvist (ranked second out of those 42 goalies) and Zuccarello's tally went down as the winner.

The Rangers had won the game, and Ward had now lost nine of his last 10 shootouts.

But Ward—even after 65 minutes of stellar play, even after that end-of-overtime horn sounded—didn't actually defend (or attempt to defend) the net in the shootout after all.

Anton Khudobin could have done it instead.

Indeed, goalie switches are allowed even after every second of actual hockey in a game has been played.

Then-Toronto Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson did it in October 2008, replacing starter Vesa Toskala (who had a woeful 46 percent shootout save percentage) for cold backup Curtis Joseph (boasting a far superior 72 percent rate) in a shootout against the Anaheim Ducks.

Nonetheless, the Leafs still lost that night, and no NHL coach has attempted it since.

In soccer, however, it's a different story.

Twice in the 2013 NCAA women's soccer tournament, Duke coach Robbie Church put in his backup netminder for only the penalty shootout. Duke won the shootout both times.

In the 2014 World Cup, Dutch manager Louis van Gaal famously used his final substitution to bring on backup goaltender Tim Krul for starter Jasper Cillessen in the 121st minute—one minute before the penalty shootout—of the Netherlands' quarterfinal match against Costa Rica.

Krul, who had studied Costa Rica's shootout win in the previous round, dove the right way on all five shots and saved two to help the Netherlands advance to the semifinals.

In similar fashion, 'Canes backup Khudobin had actually faced the Rangers in a shootout already this year.

He conceded one goal on three attempts, and Carolina lost that game, too. But he surely had that experience in mind while sitting idly for three hours on the bench this past Saturday.

In limited action, Khudobin has also appeared simply a better shootout goaltender than Ward, having saved seven of nine career attempts faced and gone 1-2. The contrast between he and No. 30 is stark:

Moving forward, Carolina boss Bill Peters might want to consider taking a page out of the books of Wilson, Church and van Gaal.

Plenty more shootouts lie ahead for the Hurricanes—who are 0-3 in such events this year and an all-time 26-39, the fewest wins of all 30 franchises. Few goalies exist who have proven more shootout ineptitude than Ward, and Khudobin has shown some promise.

The radical, yet possibly brilliant, switch seems at least worth a try.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

Taking advantage of a woeful injury situation in Winnipeg, Carolina Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis made the first in-season trade of his GM career on Thursday.

James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail provided details of the trade:

The 'Canes will also retain about $375,000 of Harrison's $1.5 million salary cap hit, which runs through the end of the 2015-16 season, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet:

The move comes just hours after the Jets announced that Mark Stuart would join fellow defensemen Zach Bogosian, Tobias Enstrom and Jacob Trouba on injured reserve.

While the return is minimal for the 'Canes, it is nonetheless something—a statement which cannot be said for many of the team's recent player dumps. The team now currently holds eight draft selections in next June's NHL draft.

That number is likely to increase soon.

Although it's been the stagnant offense—which has scored just one goal in six straight games—at fault for most of the Hurricanes' ongoing six-game losing streak, the defense holds far more promise in the trade market.

"Hurricanes GM Ron Francis is trying to move a couple of his defencemen. Carolina really has a decision to make on this front because the club just can't get anything going," wrote Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.

As Francis's massive "for sale" sign is hoisted above PNC Arena, juicy target Andrej Sekera and less appealing veterans John-Michael Liles, Ron Hainsey and Tim Gleason could all see their names shopped around far outside of Raleigh.

Sekera, who has been arguably Carolina's best blueliner since his arrival from Buffalo in June 2013, sports an extremely affordable $2.75 million cap hit and could emerge as one of the trade market's biggest names in the coming months.

When speaking with The Fan 590, Francis has expressed interest in re-signing the 28-year-old, but with Sekera as a pending unrestricted free agent next summer and expected to be at the top of the free-agent defenseman list, Francis will also likely seek to avoid Jim Rutherford-esque death by hesitancy and deal Sekera before that time comes.

Philadelphia, Minnesota and Calgary could all be interested.

The 'Canes would almost certainly need to retain some of Liles' $3.875 million cap hit if dealt, but he's been perhaps underutilized on the power play in Raleigh and could provide a spark elsewhere.

Nashville, Minnesota and Florida are all playoff contenders with struggling power plays and ample cap space.

Hainsey would be a quality third-pairing option in most places and isn't too overpriced at $2.83 million. He, too, could draw some moderate interest.

Gleason was back in elephant form in Carolina's most recent loss to Montreal and would be a body dump at best, with retained salary and a conditional seventh-rounder—and some sort of impossible condition—coming back.

All of this expected activity would open up the Hurricanes defense for a new generation—2014 first-round pick Haydn Fleury, 2011 first-round pick Ryan Murphy (who needs to establish himself at the NHL level soon), late-blooming AHL stalwart Michal Jordan (10 NHL appearances this year, still zero points) and others.

Fleury's scoring pace with the Red Deer Rebels (WHL) is down slightly from last season, yet he'll still be projected to take over an NHL roster spot next autumn.

Murphy can't seem to stay up at the NHL level but has proven himself as a prolific playmaker in the AHL. His time to make the leap full-time will surely come soon enough.

Jordan has been serviceable, if not outstanding, with the 'Canes over the past month. He's earned some patience from the coaching staff and front office.

Outside of those three, 2012 fourth-rounder Trevor Carrick could also be a dark horse to watch in the development of the Hurricanes' defensive youth. 

Unless the 'Canes launch themselves on a torrid and miraculous winning streak before the New Year arrives, Thursday's Harrison deal could foreshadow many more headlines of the same type coming out of Francis' office as the 2014-15 season progresses.

Contract and salary-cap information courtesy of CapGeek.com.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more or follow him on Twitter.

The Carolina Hurricanes' ongoing five-game streak of incapable offense, unfathomably bad luck and, ultimately, losing has sparked an onslaught of apocalyptic forecasts for the remainder of the 2014-15 season ahead.

But this apocalypse, unlike most, could lead to a pot of gold: Connor McDavid, the projected No. 1 pick in next June's 2015 NHL draft who, according to Sam Riches of SB Nation, appears to be one of the best draft-eligible prospects in decades.

At this new low point in the season and perhaps the franchise's history, what are the Hurricanes' odds at landing McDavid six months from now? Actually, pretty slim.

The team's odds of making the playoffs now stand at a somewhat less-than-likely 0.24 percent, according to Sports Club Stats. Its odds at finishing 16th and last in the Eastern Conference, meanwhile, have climbed to a juicy 39.2 percent.

If the remaining 53 games of this season go as planned, it would be the club's sixth straight spring without a playoff appearance. The 'Canes have never drafted higher than fifth in that entire time span, either, but this autumn's especially terrible record seemingly foreshadows that 2015 could be the year that pattern is broken.

Math, however, suggests a different story. All optimistic pessimism aside, Carolina's chances in the McDavid derby aren't really too promising.

Based off of Sports Club Stats' data—including over 6 million simulations of the Hurricanes' season from today on—the most likely final point total for this season is 72 points, or a 23-23-7 record from here out.

By comparison, Buffalo finished last in the NHL last season with a mere 52 points. The worst record in every season of the league's modern era has been below 72 points, in fact; Tampa Bay's 30th-place finish with 71 points in 2007-08 was the closest any team has ever come to surpassing that threshold.

Continuing along that theme, there's an 83.48 percent chance that Edmonton will finish with 72 or fewer points (and thus a worse record than Carolina). Six other teams also sport odds greater than 10 percent of doing so.

All things added up, the 'Canes would have just a 2.13 percent chance of finishing last in the NHL with 72 points. Factor in the draft lottery—which gives the last-place team just a 20 percent chance of actually drawing the top selection—and those chances fall to a paltry 0.43 percent.

Even a steady tanking effort down the stretch wouldn't make the situation too rosy. A 19-27-7 record in their remaining 53 games (for 64 total points on the year) would still make their chances at the worst record only 45.37 percent and their odds at picking first overall only 9.07 percent.

The NHL's increased balancing of draft lottery odds last summer—a change that likely angered Buffalo general manager Tim Murray, at the time assuming his team would be a sure bet for last place—is certainly succeeding at its goal of discouraging tanking.

Not the Oilers, not the 'Canes, not any team, no matter how bad, can be confident whatsoever of their individual McDavid odds.

So no matter how long the Hurricanes' losing streak continues, and no matter how brutally empty PNC Arena gets by mid-February, Carolina will always be fighting an unpromising, uphill battle against a plethora of other train-wrecking teams, as well as the NHL front offices, to pull the "McDavid" ball out of the shiny gumball machine.

Enjoy that solace, 'Canes fans.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

Carolina Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters was asked, after his team's 2-1 loss to New Jersey on Monday night, what the cure is for the Hurricanes' offensive woes.

"That's the million dollar question," he responded.

A witty fan replied to the tweet with "Correction: $7M question"—a reference to Alexander Semin, who has scored just once this season and watched Russian music videos in the press box while sitting out Monday's game with an injury—and indeed, the question should have been corrected.

But not in that way.

The 'Canes don't have an offensive problem. They have a scoring problem.

The hometown team's offense pummeled the visiting Devils in essentially every category, including a downright ridiculous 41-16 margin in shots on goal and 94-42 differential in shots attempted (also known as Corsi), yet lost.

The L dropped Carolina's final record on a now-concluded homestand to 1-4, including three consecutive losses with just one goal scored to end the five-game streak.

The 'Canes outshot their opponents in all four losses—34-33 vs. Pittsburgh, 30-28 vs. Washington, 35-22 vs. Detroit and 41-16 vs. New Jersey—and were outshot 33-25 by Nashville in their one win.

Essentially, the Hurricanes have broken the game of hockey.

The trend has been going on all season long and has made for some particularly frustrating games over the course of the past two months: a 2-0 home loss to San Jose with a 45-19 shot-on-goal differential, a 4-3 home loss to Buffalo with a 70-41 shots-attempted differential, the aforementioned 3-1 home loss to Detroit with a 65-38 shots-attempted differential.

At five-on-five play this year, the dichotomy between Carolina's shots-to-goals conversion rate and its opponents' is stark.

The 'Canes have been outscored 53-39 but have taken more shots (1176-1084) and gotten more shots on goal (600-565), per HockeyAnalysis.com. 

A little math reveals the already-evident disparity: The 'Canes are currently scoring on 6.50 percent of their shots on goal and 3.32 percent of their attempted shots, while their opponents are scoring at rates of 9.38 and 4.89 percent, respectively.

Just in the past seven games, Carolina has lost five times and been outscored (excluding an empty-net goal) 14-10, yet it holds a decisive 221-168 advantage in shots on goal. The non sequitur is visualized below:

What's perhaps most perplexing about the pattern is that it has plagued the franchise for years—ever since Corsi statistics were first tracked in 2007-08. It has survived through parts of four different head coaching tenures, an almost complete roster turnover and the ups and downs of nearly a full decade of 'Canes hockey.

In the eight seasons since, the 'Canes have scored on a lower percentage of both their shots attempted and shots on goal than their opponents in every season but one: 2010-11, when the Hurricanes' 4.04 percent rate in the former category topped their opponents' by a mere 0.02 percent.

Again, the year-by-year difference is visualized below, with the red line representing shots attempted and the blue line representing shots on goal:

Normal hockey teams translate possession into shots into scoring chances into goals.

Carolina, meanwhile, succeeds in generating the first three things, but not so much the fourth.

Why? Even a peewee-level coach could list a variety of reasons: inadequate screening of the goaltender, poor positioning for rebounds, low-percentage shots from long distance or "safe" shot placement toward the netminder's chest area rather than at the corners of the net.

For the problem to have remained elusively present in Raleigh for so long, however, is truly remarkable.

Only two skaters (Eric Staal and Tim Gleason) and zero coaches remain from a 2008-09 squad that, at even strength, took 8.9 percent more shots than its opponents but scored 2.2 percent fewer goals. Yet unbelievably, today's 2014-15 Hurricanes are encountering almost the exact same conundrum.

The 'Canes have now lost 10 of 13 games since their long-forgotten early November hot streak and are tied with Edmonton for the worst record in the NHL.

Every successive defeat may ever-so-slightly improve their odds at the No. 1 draft pick next June—and the resurrected deity known as Connor McDavid who would come with it—but it also degrades the club's current state even further.

On the bright side, though, the 'Canes are now ninth in the league in shot-attempt differential.

If only that mattered.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

Eric Staal left the dressing room on crutches Sunday night after being struck by a errant slap shot against the Red Wings. He returned to the lineup a day later against the Devils. 

Continue For Updates

Monday, Dec. 8

Staal in Lineup 

Eric Staal's foot injury must not be too serious, as the center was back in the lineup against the New Jersey Devils according to Tom Gulitti of The Record:

Sunday, Dec. 7

Staal Injures Foot

An errant slap shot from Justin Faulk struck Eric Staal right in the foot.

The Carolina Hurricanes center was hit in the foot by a shot from his teammate Sunday evening and skated off the ice, per Michael Smith of CarolinaHurricanes.com:

Initially, the injury didn't look too serious, but Chip Alexander of The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina, reported that Staal was on crutches after the game:

Staal entered the day tied for the team lead in points (15) and was third in goals (6).

Seventeen games. Three goals: two on the power play, the other short-handed. Ten assists. Fifty-four shots on goal. Plus-five rating. Over 25 minutes of ice time per game.

Such is the November stat line for Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk, who currently ranks first on the team in points, second in shots on goal and near the top of the early-season team MVP leaderboard.

The 22-year-old rearguard's stellar, consistent play has helped Carolina to an 8-8-1 record so far since a 0-6-2 October.

How has he done it?

Faulk's dominant November began, of course, in the defensive zone, where his active stick, top-class vision and smooth puck-moving ability have proven a major asset to the 'Canes defense. Now in his fourth NHL season, Faulk seems more poised and unflappable than ever before.

The chemistry he and pairing mate Andrej Sekera have developed since last autumn continues to be a major asset for the team's otherwise shaky defense.

Faulk and Sekera rank second and third, respectively, among team defensemen in Corsi (shot-attempt) ratio (per Hockey Analysis)—and they trail only John-Michael Liles, who benefits greatly from a 61.4 offensive zone start percentage.

Meanwhile, the duo occupies the top two spots among such company in points, average ice time and shots on goal.

Outside of its considerable productivity, though, the sheer volume that the Faulk-Sekera pairing plays alone creates stability in the Hurricanes' defensive ranks.

The pairing has played more than twice as much as any other single pairing in the last 10 games, according to Left Wing Lock, and Faulk has played almost 70 percent of his ice time this season with Sekera also on the ice alongside him.

And frankly, 'Canes defensive coach Steve Smith doesn't have much to work with outside of his two stars.

Ron Hainsey, Jay Harrison, Tim Gleason and John-Michael Liles have all been scratched at least once in 25 games, and none has conclusively emerged as reliable second-pairing options.

Youngsters Ryan Murphy and Haydn Fleury await promisingly in the wings, but neither is even close to prepared for 20-minute-a-night workloads in the NHL.

Advanced stats don't quite reflect the dominance Faulk displays on the ice (at least in comparison to most of his teammates on an 8-17 team), but they don't paint a bad picture, either.

Opposing players have recorded a 47.1 percent Corsi ratio against Faulk this season but a 49.7 percent ratio when not facing Faulk, also per Hockey Analysis data.

But most of that difference is happening in the opponent's defensive zone, meaning that Faulk has been a more significant difference-maker in terms of producing shots than limiting opponent shots.

That seems odd for No. 27, who's not historically been considered an "offensive" defenseman, but it may well be true in 2014-15.

Faulk is one of only four defensemen (along with Calgary's Mark Giordano, Colorado's Tyson Barrie and Arizona's Keith Yandle) to currently lead his team in scoring points, and his 68 shots on goal this year ranks ninth among all league blueliners. His shots-on-goal per-game rate is up 36 percent from last season.

The 22-year-old rearguard, who signed a six-year contract extension last spring, has emerged as one of the most shot-happy players on the 'Canes roster and also one of the best at getting his attempts on goal.

Only 25.3 percent of Faulk's shot attempts in 2014-15 have missed or been blocked, by far the lowest percentage among 'Canes defensemen.

Yet Faulk's importance to this depth-lacking Carolina defense is most evident through the "eye test," not numbers.

The poise and stability that No. 27 displays on a nightly basis and his ability to quickly regain such characteristics after a rare mistake offer a much-needed lifeline for the rest of the Hurricanes' inconsistent back end.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

Jordan Staal has missed the entire season as he recovers from a fractured fibula sustained in the preseason, but is set to make his return in the team's next game, the team confirmed.

Continue for updates.

Staal Activated by Hurricanes

Monday, Dec. 29

The Carolina Hurricanes confirmed that Jordan Staal has been activated from injured reserve.

Staal To Return vs. Montreal

Sunday, Dec. 28

The Carolina Hurricanes confirmed that Jordan Staal will make his season debut vs. Montreal after recovering from a fractured fibula.

Staal Recovering from Leg Injury

Sunday, Nov. 30

Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal is recovering from a fractured fibula in his right leg he suffered in the second game of the preseason. The team reported Sunday he has been making progress during the recovery process.     

Carolina head coach Bill Peters spoke to Michael Smith of Hurricanes.com about Staal’s injury and timetable for a return:

He was looking good today. He’s out of the boot. He’s going to start training with our people off the ice. From there, if everything goes well—it depends on the amount of swelling and the recovery from workout to workout day-to-day—he’ll progress to skating on his own with Pete Friesen, and then he’ll join us from that point.

There are a couple of different timelines, but we’ll just wait and see. It’s going good, and I think he’s slightly ahead of schedule, whatever schedule that would be. I just know we have to be patient with it.

Staal has missed all regular-season games for the Hurricanes this season. He played in all 82 games during the 2013-14 campaign and managed to add 15 goal and 25 assists.  

*Stats via NHL.com.

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Nathan MacKinnon cut toward the net, Jarome Iginla sent a drop pass flying across the goal crease, and Zach Redmond buried a one-time wrist shot past Cam Ward.

One minute and 35 seconds later, the Colorado Avalanche held off the Carolina Hurricanes to secure the 4-3 comeback win, having outshot their visitors 16-8 in the third period to finish with a 35-27 advantage for the game.

For the 'Canes, Saturday night's heartbreaking loss in yet another tight game was a feeling all too well known early in this 2014-15 season.

Carolina has been the worst team in the NHL in games decided by one goal (excluding empty-netters), winning just three of 13 matches and earning just nine of 26 possible points in such situations.

They've also been the worst team in the league at winning games which, based on the statistics, they didn't deserve to win. The Hurricanes' 1-10 record when being outshot (a .091 winning percentage) is the NHL's worst by a mile; Colorado is second to last with a .231 winning percentage in such games. Montreal, by comparison, is 9-5 when outshot.

And the 'Canes inability to win these types of contests—contests in which they would need to fight down to the wire or overcome adversity to pull out the "W"—is nothing new, either.

Throughout recent seasons, regardless of coaching changes, personnel turnover and other variations, Carolina has perennially struggled and finished near the bottom of the league in these two categories:

New head coach Bill Peters has stressed the importance of shorter shifts this season, hoping to keep players fresher in the later stages of the game. Shifts might be getting shorter, but the 'Canes performance in each period is roughly equal; they've been out-scored 21-15 in the first, 19-17 in the second and 19-15 in the third.

So why such struggles in close games? Perhaps it's not that Carolina is blowing games late—as they did in Colorado—but rather finding it difficult to overcome early deficits, such as in the two prior losses against San Jose and Los Angeles. Their 1-9 record when trailing after the first is better than only four other teams, and their 1-11 record when trailing after the second tops just 10 teams.

The resiliency to overcome such roadbumps will likely come in time, as the 'Canes young and inexperienced squad gains more chemistry and stability.

Nonetheless, this autumn, the continuance of such a pattern has left them with a dismal and unfortunate reality in the most important ranking of all: the standings.

Despite a positive team Corsi percentage that ranks 13th in the league, per War-On-Ice.com, the 'Canes have recorded a mere six wins and 15 points in 20 games—only one point above the lowest total in the NHL and seven points out of the eighth Eastern Conference playoff spot.

The points the 'Canes have not earned in competitive games have cursed them, a month and a half into the 2014-15 campaign, to the cellar of the hockey world's hierarchy.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

Andrej Nestrasil, 23, is riding the most productive and successful eight-month stretch of his hockey career.

Thursday, he was claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes off of waivers from the Detroit Red Wings.

Saturday, he'll make his 'Canes debut in Colorado.

A third-round draft pick in 2009, Nestrasil spent several years in the depths of the Red Wings organization before exploding onto the NHL radar last spring in Grand Rapids. The Czech Republic native scored 15 points (nine goals and six assists) in his final 15 regular-season appearances for the AHL Griffins then added six points in 10 playoff appearances.

Nonetheless, Nestrasil entered September's NHL training camp with low expectations. Following a five-point performance in six preseason games (the second most on the team), however, Nestrasil made Detroit's roster as a complete dark horse.

He said to team reporter Bill Roose at the time:

I’ve done the most I could during camp. If I stay here and play with the Red Wings or if I’m going to go down and play 20 minutes a game in Grand Rapids I’m still at the age where I’ve got to get my game better. I still have to get better every year. Either way is going to fine with me.

Nestrasil then played in 10 consecutive contests to begin the 2014-15 campaign and had, by this week, appeared in 13 total games to date.

He had tallied just two points (both assists), though, and the Red Wings were stuck in a roster squeeze with Stephen Weiss returning from injury. They made the (according to many accounts) very difficult decision to waive Nestrasil. Detroit head coach Mike Babcock told Ansar Khan of MLive.com that he wasn't "quite ready for this level."

Twenty-four hours later and Nestrasil is on the verge of joining a new red-and-white hockey team.

The Hurricanes have long struggled with production from their lower forward lines.

Bottom-six stragglers Manny Malhotra, Drayson Bowman, Radek Dvorak and Brett Sutter were let go during the offseason and replaced with a variety of new players: veterans Brad Malone and Jay McClement, both of whom are still goalless but the latter of which has excelled in faceoffs, and AHL products Chris Terry, Victor Rask and Zach Boychuk, all whom have played relatively well.

Oddly, it's actually been Alexander Semin who has received the most empty-scratch treatment so far this season; new boss Bill Peters has been reportedly "sending a message" to the non-producing star for weeks now.

Nestrasil, conversely, has an existing relationship with Peters, who coached him in 50 games over the course of two seasons with Grand Rapids. That familiarity likely played a significant role in general manager Ron Francis' decision to submit the claim.

Nestrasil will add another piece of youthful depth to the lineup—he's actually two years younger than both Terry and Boychuk—and likely put Malone's job in serious jeopardy. At 6'3", he instantly becomes the second-tallest forward in Carolina's current depth chart.

Moreover, the 200-pound winger has also performed fantastically in the advanced stats category. Prior to the waiver claim, Nestrasil ranked second on the Red Wings with an absurdly good 62.0 Corsi (shot attempt) percentage, according to Hockey Analysis.

Although undoubtedly helped by his 63.8 offensive zone start percentage, he has proven himself a dominant factor in puck possession this autumn.

On waivers, Nestrasil was reportedly sought after by multiple NHL teams according to TSN's Bob McKenzie, and his departure prompted a strong reaction of support from many Red Wings teammates.

Even though the 'Canes still have a game to play in Los Angeles on Thursday night, Peters promised that Nestrasil would play Saturday against the Avalanche:

Nestrasil must be kept on the NHL roster for at least the next 30 days, per league rules. That should give the potential-laden winger plenty of time to earn a regular job, if he is indeed ready.

If he's not, the 'Canes risked nothing on the venture.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.