All Things Hockey In The Carolinas

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Frankie's gotta go to make room for O'Neill.. or K. Adams?


It's apparent that the NHL trade front has gone silent while the hockey world patiently awaits the staggering Swede's decision. The sooner that Mats Sundin can make his up his mind where or if to play next season, the sooner that Frantisek Kaberle can be shipped out of Carolina.

Obviously, it would seem logical for LA or Atlanta to take a risk on the aging Czech who is a former Thrasher and King. Both of those squads are still under the minimum salary cap for the league. They both have huge holes to fill on defense. While Frank may not be the offensive-minded stud defenseman that teams seek, folks still remember his 05-06 season which saw him score a career-high 44 points with a +8 rating. Methinks that other teams are asking for a forward or draft picks to be thrown in with a possible Kaberle trade. Otherwise he would have probably been moved around the beginning of July.

With the Hurricanes already at $4.6mil above their budget of $45,000,000, Frankie's $2.2 million dollar contract has to be shed from the team if they end up offering a contract to Jeff O'Neill. As #92 is coming to training camp on a tryout basis, the team obviously can't afford him even if Kaberle is shipped out. Hence the reason that Jimmy Boy has been hinting at the 2-way contract for Jeff.

Kevyn Adams was interviewed by a Buffalo newspaper (he's a Buffalo native) recently, he remains unsigned this offseason after an injury-shortened year in Chicago. Since being traded to Phoenix in 2006, his scoring numbers haven't been present among the Coyote and Blackhawk squads but his leadership abilities were never in question. If the team is willing to take a shot at Jeff O. who hasn't played professionally in over a year, why not bring in K-Ads for a tryout as well? What have they got to lose?