Guentzel expected to test free agency — The Fourth Period
Confirmed by separate sources over the weekend, the Hurricanes have had discussions with Guentzel and his camp, led by agent Ben Hankinson, and the initial word is he “probably goes to July 1,” according to one well-placed source with knowledge of negotiations.
Sigh…I hope we still sign him.
Edit: I get that this was most likely going to happen, but I wouldn't say I like our chances when big free agents hit the market. Especially in a cap-strapped offseason
by AndyBoBandy_
11 Comments
Not surprising. It’s fair for him to see what the open market is like. He knows that staying in CAR means less money but more stability. I don’t expect any UFA signings before the deadline this year. They all know there isn’t much cap space to go around and they need to see what’s available elsewhere. They know they have to take a discount to stay, question is how much.
Any agent that doesn’t say they’ll probably go to free agency is a bad agent. The agent’s job is to maximize the contract and you do that by creating a sense of urgency to get things done. It’s entirely possible he goes to free agency but it’s also possible the agent is using the press for negotiating.
Why would he not test the open market? This is his time to get *the* deal as a proven 29 year old.
Doesn’t mean the Canes are out, just that he’s wanting to find his true value and negotiate on that.
Usually hesitant to dish out long-term contracts to guys about to be in their 30s. After watching him with Aho, I’m not worried about it with him if he decides to sign with Canes.
I mean he’d be a fool not to even listen to offers
I don’t really want him all that much. I know he can score but I don’t really see the creativity. I’d rather take that 8 million and retain the core, even if we have to bite the bullet and just be an average playoff team for a couple years and wait for a new window to open in say 2026-2027.
TL;DR, don’t rip up the core going after UFAs even if they’re your own UFA’s. Y’know?
Expected but was still kinda hoping we’d pull off a miracle and get it done before hand. Hopefully we can make some quick signings and sure up the GM role so he knows exactly what he’s getting into as it seems like that will play a big part in this decision.
Not a surprise at all I’m just expecting the worst this offseason to save my mental 😂
https://i.redd.it/1gi3giw0ud4d1.gif
It would be stupid not to. Even if he’s 100% certain he wants to stay in Raleigh, it’s still worth it to see what other options are available to him. It’s like going to a restaurant to order a specific dish and still glancing over the menu just in case you see something that changes your mind.
For some reason that old sports reporting chestnut “<the player> and his camp” always cracks me up. Are they in the woods? Do they live in tents? Are they sitting around a fire drinking beer and gnoshing on turkey legs while sending out occasional tweets? Maybe I listened to “The Second Week of Deer Camp” by Da Yoopers one too many times. Go ahead, it’s on Spotify. I dare you… Seriously though, I do think Dundon would expect him to get a market number before negotiating. We might well get a discount over other teams but his agent needs a starting point.