Carolina Hurricanes’ Walt Ruff Joins to Discuss Roster Moves & What to Expect Next

Carolina Hurricanes’ Walt Ruff Joins to Discuss Roster Moves & What to Expect Next

As we are now seven days away from open, that’s right, seven days from when puck drops, games actually matter. And we get a look at the next 82 games of a hurricane season. And the man joining me today is Walt Ruff as we talk about that and so much more on a Thursday edition of Locked on Hurricanes. You’re Locked on Hurricanes, your daily podcast on the Carolina Hurricane, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. Welcome to a Thursday edition of Locked On Hurricanes, your team every day. Part of the Locked On Network. Thank you to the Everydayer for making this your first listen of the day, five days a week, Monday through Friday, talking everything about your Carolina Hurricanes. I’m your host, Zach Martin. from the credential Carolina hurricanes VR over at the hockey also the co-host of the search cast which is you know every weekly podcast documentary hurricanes and also all my dudes here at locked on hurricanes but let’s be honest you’re not here to listen to me talk you listen to me five days a week pratt a lot about the hurricanes all the updates and all that stuff no you’re here for my special guest he’s the editorial content producer and team reporter and host of the storm report I am super excited to have Walt Ruff back on the show once again. Walt, how are you doing and thank you for taking the time to talk to me today. Of course, Zach, thank you very much for the kind intro and uh thank you for having me on. It’s a fun time of year and uh looking forward to discussing everything that we will together here today. Yes, we definitely will. So, we’re going to be talking about, you know, the stuff that Waltz kind of knows throughout the preeason. We’re going to talk about some roster cuts because we’re now down to 26 after a massive exodus of guys going towards Chicago. And then we’re going to be doing some look aheads and rapid fire questions. But before we jump into all of that stuff today on this episode, today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanuel.com and win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. So Walt, we are now officially five preseason games through, one left. We’re so much closer to the start of the regular season. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready I’m ready to stop talking about speculations and who’s making rosters and what lines are going to look like and just talk about actual games. But for you, how has it been, you know, the last, you know, couple weeks going through this whirlwind of like two day practices, five preeason games, backtobacks, and all that stuff over the last few days? Yeah, it’s certainly a busy time. It’s fun. It’s tiring, but it’s uh you know, it’s good that to to do things that you love because it makes it all worth it, right? And I know that a lot of people just like you and I are looking forward to the games really mattering and like you mentioned, we are that much closer. So, uh excited for next Thursday here at Lenovo Center. I know we’ve got a week until then and a lot could happen. A lot is going to happen, but uh we are much closer than we were two weeks ago and I’m very grateful for that. Yes. No, definitely. I it’s crazy the thing that was just that couple weeks ago we’re like all right we got start of first day of all night stuff at camp you know you’re figuring out who’s going to be 2C you know where’s you know who’s going to be on the wing what are defensive pairings looking like and then it’s like you see it that you know some guys have a lot more runway on some positions we still haven’t seen a lot of guys in practices or early preseason games and for you I know the I know it seems like the Rod Bernmore and the staff aren’t really too concerned and for you why do you think it’s It’s not much of a concern in the fact we haven’t seen a Jacob Slavven or a Jaylen Chaffel kind of being part of practices in preseasons games and stuff like that. Yeah, I’m glad you brought that up because that has been a huge part of the team’s training camp, right? No one could have predicted on day one that we weren’t going to see Jacob Slavven. We saw Jaylen Chatfield disappear for a week. Uh we had a couple of guys in no contact jerseys. So, it has been a huge storyline. But why I think the coaching staff isn’t concerned is because thankfully, and knock on wood, these injuries don’t seem very severe. It’s just precautionary that these guys are going to work their way toward October 9th in comparison to playing in a meaningless game on September 28th or 29th or whatever the preseason dates were. They want to make sure they’re good to go for games one through 82 and beyond. Uh, and just not risking anything this time of year. Yeah. And I’ve been saying that, too. It’s like if they feel like that they’re going to be okay for opening night, then you kind of have to be like, “Okay, it is what it is.” That’s what the team is saying. And you said it perfectly too, and I even talked to Mike Manso about it. It’s like why would you want to rush Jacob Slav and Jaylen Chaffel back? You know, they’re going to be good. Like you don’t have to worry about them wanting a system. It’s basically just trying to get them healthy and be ready to go for night one. But someone that I do wonder about that I think we haven’t really heard very much of and I know people are kind of like okay what’s going on with this situation Kandre Miller like have like it’s one of those things where you know you got a new guy coming in has to learn the system you just gave him you know a good decent sized contract but not much has been said about him like for you it is there anything going on that maybe fans should know about or is this just like what’s the situation going on with Miller that we’re just kind of like where are we at at this point coming as we get closer to opening night. Yeah, I think you brought up a great point there, Zach, and that’s really what it boils down to. If Keandre Miller were in his third or fourth year with a team like a guy like Jaylen Chatfield where he didn’t need to be on the ice to learn the systems, we probably wouldn’t be seeing him either, but it’s good that we have seen a lot of Keandre Miller. Uh, yes, most of it was in a yellow non-cont jersey. On Monday and Tuesday of this week, he skated uh in a regular jersey, which is certainly encouraging. the team was just taking a slow ball approach. He had offseason upper body surgery for an injury that he suffered with the Rangers at the end of last year and it was trying to find that happy medium of having him on the ice learning what goes on and still protecting his health at the same time. You’re right, we haven’t seen him in a preseason game yet. I don’t have a ton of concern there. Maybe we’ll see him Saturday afternoon in Nashville. Uh Rod Bindavore has said that he would like for that to be the case, but also if you again elect to play it cautiously and he doesn’t skate until, you know, next Thursday. He’s a multi-season NHL veteran, he’ll be able to adapt on the fly. Um so I I don’t have a ton of concern there. I think they’re just playing the cautious approach because like you said, it’s a very long investment for the organization and uh they want to make sure that they don’t lose a significant chunk of time for again training camp practices or a preseason game. Yeah. No, I completely agree 100%. It’s like if you it’s you know we saw with you know what happened to a bunch of teams last year. Colorado lost. They I think they led a man games lost and then you know with the Hurricanes you know unfortunately lose Jper Fost on the last game of the regular season in a meaningless whatever two seasons ago and now he’s an adviser for the Hurricane. It was just so great to see that he’s with the new organization still. But yeah, it’s you know injuries happen like we see a lot of guys recently like Barov’s out for the whole season now in a he got hurt in a practice like that’s Yeah. You hate that. You don’t want to be that. Yeah. No. Oh, and I think that’s understandable where you’re coming from the Hurricanes or it’s like, hey, we got to make sure all of our guys are ready to go because at this point, you know, you made the playoffs seven times that you you kind of feel like, okay, that’s just another part of the set for the Hurricanes. Next is going, you know, winning conference final games, you know, and then go make the Stanley Cup and win the whole thing. So, I see where the Hurricanes are kind of like, we don’t want to kind of rush guys that we don’t need to. But another thing that’s been very noticeable and I think it’s been a live discourse. I know you’ve probably heard about it so much is the what’s going to happen with the second line center position and I know you know coming into it you kind of felt like maybe just bear cooking is getting another run at it. You know there was questions that were brought up well it will be Seth Jarvis or Logan Stinkovven. Stinkovven has played a good majority of the 2C spot within the main group of camp and through a lot of the preseason games. How have you felt watching him play the center role where he’s done it before but maybe he’s just not as much as you would think for someone who’s gonna be maybe taking on a different role than what he has been early on in his career as a winger. Yeah, I think Logan’s done a great job. Rod Brendammore has sang his praises thus far and you’re absolutely right. It was a huge question mark, probably the biggest question mark entering training camp. Uh we’ve seen Logan in two games I believe in the preseason here and we’ve seen him obviously in every single practice working between Andre Fetchnikov and Jackson Blake and Rod Brenmore remains non-committal on how long that’s going to last which isn’t all that surprising but to me it feels like it’s his job to lose. Um you know we haven’t really seen the line shuffle all that much. It’s not as if we’re seeing Yes. Coke and yummy between Jackson Blake and Andre Fetchnikov one day and then they’re going back the next day. They’ve clearly given Logan this runway. Um and again maybe we’ll see another crack on Saturday in Nashville with what should be a more NHL heavy lineup. Um but I think if the game started for real tomorrow, I think Logan would be in that spot and I think he’s earned the right to be. Yeah, I completely agree. I mean the thing the question mark that we’ve always been talking about is you know the Hurricanes have said it that they’re looking for a right shot center. Well, there’s possible right shot center. I just didn’t, you know, I don’t think a lot of people thought, oh, it could have been Logan Stinkov and maybe it could have been someone else. But hey, it’s never a bad thing to go internal when you have a bunch of wingers that maybe you have a chance to go play center. And and speaking of that, now if you know you move Stinkovven over, you kind of move Jackson Blake, you got Hall, you’ve got, you know, all these guys, there’s the question mark of, you know, with your extras, you know, William Kerier, you know, Mark Jenowski, you know, like I guess, you know, when you look at possible 13th, 14th forwards because we’re down to 26 guys. I know we’ll talk more about that in segment two, but like what does it kind of give the Hurricanes in terms of, I guess, flexibility to have so many guys that you could potentially throw in there if you need to for maybe strategies at some point during the season? Well, I think what it says to me, Zach, is that they should feel good about their depth. Um, if we are going off of what we’ve seen at training camp practices thus far, and yes, I know that a bulk of them for him were in a yellow non-cont jersey. If you have a guy, and I’m not saying that this is how it’s going to work out again, we’ve got a week to go. But if your healthy extra upfront winds up being Mark Janowski, you probably feel pretty good about that because that’s a guy who co-led the team in scoring in the final 19 games of the regular season last year. He came aboard in a trade for a fifth round pick. You kind of thought you were just getting a guy who would play a little bit further down in your lineup and it turns out he can score goals. So if that’s the guy who’s, you know, knocking on the door, you know, not waiting for someone to get hurt, but if he’s waiting in the wings for an injury to arise, you got to feel pretty good about that, especially given the fact that, yes, his natural position is center, so that gives you five options down the middle. He can also play the wing, too, if needed. So I think the fact that the Canes are going into this season with that depth and then you still have your call up guys of you know Jo and Yua Yasa and I know situationally Bradley Nadau like there’s more coming. You should feel good about the roster that you do have going into the season. No 100%. Like you think about the times during the Hurricanes when they weren’t making the playoffs and they were just throwing everyone and anyone they were getting into the main lineup. Now you can have this log jam of depth where it’s like you know hey guys have to fight a little bit harder for spots and you know maybe sometimes it just doesn’t work out like for a guy like Brley Dau who did great like I said we’ll talk about in a little bit you know you can feel good about just letting him kind of just do his thing in the AHL at 20 years old and it’s crazy to think that he was pushing that hard but still has that opportunity as well of course and you got you know Ryan Suzuki that’s down there you got Dominic Fensor all these defenseman too so it’s good this is probably the deepest team the Hurricane Kings have had and to where it’s like there’s maybe one spot possibly too on the roster and that’s depth. We’re not even talking about starting. It’s just can you make the roster? I think that’s where we’re at right now with the Hurricanes, which is not a bad thing to have. No, it’s certainly not you have to have a deep team in order to win games in April, May, and June. We’ve already brought up the Sasha Barov injury, but look at how many injuries come up. We’ve seen it firsthand the last couple years during the postseason. You have to have these guys who are ready to step in at a moment’s notice. And I think coming into this year, if you asked Eric Tolki and Rod Brenmore, do you feel you have a guy who could step up into an important role? I think they would tell you yes. Yep. No, 100%. And speaking of which, we’ve kind of alluded to a little bit, so we’re going to dive into it more with all these new recent roster cuts because there’s been a lot over the last couple days. So, stick around and we’ll talk about that here in a second on a Thursday edition of Lockdown Hurricanes. The NFL season is here and FDA has an offer you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get 300 in bonus bets if your team wins. That’s right. Just pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. It makes watching football even more exciting when you’re going a little something riding on the action. Maybe you’re watching the Panthers, maybe you’re watching Mayfield and the Buccaneers, maybe you’re watching the Chargers, whoever. It adds a little bit more excitement to games you’re already watching and maybe a little bit more excitement for your fantasy team. So whether if you’re a casual fan or love diving into the stats, FanDuel makes the game day experience so much better. So what are you really waiting for? Visitfanol.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. Welcome back to a segment two of Lockdown Hurricanes, your team every day. So, Walt, I know you’ve probably been busy having to keep up with all the stuff that’s going on. I know just trying to make sure we’re like, “All right, who’s going where? What’s going on with this with waivers and non-wavers?” The Hurricanes have been very busy this week with going from 40 players down to 26, especially on Tuesday, 13 guys in some capacity, Oregon to the Chicago Wolves. for you. What was kind of like maybe the biggest surprise out of the guys that were probably getting sent down to the Wolves at this point? Yeah, I don’t know that there were any crazy surprises to me. Rod Brenmore had a great sound bite during I think it was either Saturday or Sunday uh his media availability. He said, you know, you could kind of predict our roster coming into the year. So, it’s not as if there were a ton of spots up for grabs, right? I know we’ve still got some great storylines left in camp like Javanni Smith is ruffling some feathers which is great to see I think uh and hopefully I’m not stepping on a future question of yours here but the big one that a lot of people wanted to talk about was Bradley Dau right how was he going to make an impact in camp and I think he did and Rod Brenmore really liked what he saw and he sung his praises in a major way on Tuesday when he talked about him he just said listen he alludes to the fact that it’s better to have him playing 20 minutes a night and playing in important situations in Chicago then have him on the third or fourth line here potentially playing 6 8 10 minutes a night. Uh we all know Bradley Nidok can score goals right now. He scored 32 as a 19year-old in the American League. Yeah, some of that is maybe catching some teams by surprise. Yeah, I know he was a first round pick a couple years ago, but we’re going to have to see a different Bradley Nadau in the American League this year. What I mean by that is nobody’s going to let him out against their third or fourth line anymore. If you’re on home ice, you’re getting the tough assignments. You know how we always talk about like Jordan Stall getting the tough assignments of, you know, Yeah. Alexander Barkov and Conor McDavid coming in. I think what opposing coaches in the American Hockey League now know that Bradley Nadau is going to be on the ice, they’re going to get their defensive guys out there against them. And if we don’t see 32 goals from Bradley Dau this year, that’s okay. We know we can score at the AHL level. Yes, in a bit of a modified roster setting, we know he can score at the NHL level. He’s never going to lose that ability. Now, it’s just about rounding out the defensive part of his game and potentially putting him in some other areas. I know we had talked about uh at prospect showcase, he was killing penalties. Like, you’re trying to continuously grow this young man. He’s only 20 years old. You don’t need him to be in your NHL lineup on an every basis right now. you need to keep him developing into being the best player that he can be. So that way whether it be midway through this year, opening night next year, two years from now when you need him to be in your lineup, he’s the best version of Bradley Nadau. Uh so I think it’s totally fine that he’s probably going to start the year in the American Hockey League. Do I think we’re going to see him again this year? Probably at some point. um you know whether that’s at the end of the year or a necessitated call up, I think we’re going to see him and I think he’s going to be just fine. Yeah. No, I completely agree. And and that’s the thing that’s crazy too. We talked about in segment one is like you don’t have to rush these guys. We don’t have to have the dark days of all right every prospect we draft automatically throw them in and then it’s like hopefully your development doesn’t turn sideways and you don’t really need to do that right now. I think and you said it perfectly and what and Rod Bernmore said and I even mentioned on the Wednesday show it’s like why play him eight nine 10 minutes a night go let him you know go to Chicago play 17 18 you know see what he can do down there and I think you know it’s what can you do off you know you can score but what’s your off ice tendencies can you get into the spot where you need to be do you know how to read the play is your IQ on the next level how’s your offensive and defensive awareness you know are you paying attention to where certain guys are at stuff like that backing like you penalty kill. There’s a lot to still go on. He’s 20. We don’t have not every we don’t have to have a Seth Jarvis or a Jackson Blake every season just breaking the roster. Hey, it’s just one of those things where we have enough guys. Go develop. We don’t go do your thing. We’ll need you when we need you. And that’s not a bad thing to have. And you know, you we’ve to you talked about Gavanni Smith and I kind of want to bring him up and also Charles Alex goat because the fact that you know with the PTO guys I didn’t think usually PTO guys for the Hurricanes you don’t really see them make a lot of you know moving and shaking very much but Gavanni Smith has definitely done that for the Carolina Hurricanes. couple fights, scored a goal, and you know, he’s like you said, ruffled some feathers. You know, what have you seen from him that’s maybe been like, I don’t know, maybe this could be him playing into a contract possibly with the Hurricanes at some point. Well, what I’ll draw back to is after his second preseason game, I asked Rod Binmore postgame because you never really know like, you know, we see obviously we’re drawn to like you referenced the fight, the goal, but much like you were just talking about with Bradley and Dau, how’s the rest of this game? You know, what is the coaching staff seeing? And I asked Rod Brenmore, I said, “Do you like what you’ve seen from him so far?” And he he said something along the lines of, “There’s not a whole lot not to like.” So, I think he’s become a big fan of Javanni Smith. He’s clearly gotten a lot of opportunity. Uh, we know that this is a team that doesn’t have a lot of bite, a lot of snarl to it. And if you go out there and drop the gloves in back-to-back preseason games, you’ve got some bite, you’ve got some snarl. So, these situations are always so fascinating to me because we know that Javanni Smith is trying to earn a job, but we also don’t know what other opportunities he has, right? Like, yeah. Is he going to consider a two-way contract or does he have something in his back pocket to go overseas for a healthy amount of money? Yeah, money talks at the end of the day, right? So, nobody could blame him if he’d rather go overseas and get his money in comparison to starting the year in the American Hockey League again. We just don’t know. But, uh, what I do know is that for the here and now, it’s been really fun watching Javanni Smith part of this team. Yeah, it’s been very exciting. Like you said, it very draws it out too cuz you know, you see him go play with Colorado, San Jose, all these different teams playing in the American League as well. And like I said, there’s not a lot of bite and snarl. We’re not talking about Brendle Lemieux bite and snarl, but this is a completely different one. But yeah, it’s been very interesting to see what he does. And you know, I even said, you know, when they were first making the announcements, I’m like maybe who really knows because you kind of feel like the roster was somewhat seykit, you know, reassigned to Chicago. Of course, him and a bunch of other guys have to go through waiverss. will know when this comes out. Everyone will know if they cleared or not because we are kind of recording this before the two 2 pm deadline for all the waiver stuff has to go through and stuff like that. But we don’t know that Skyler Brennamore made it through. Ron Cely made it through. Thank goodness because I like both those guys. They do an amazing job in their own rights. But mentioned Ronin Cely and talking about the defense. Charles Alexis Lat. I’ve been liking his game since the prospect showcase preseason. I know Matt S and Nick from Kane’s prospects have been all over this dude. this last year and this off season and he’s still here as the possible eighth defenseman and maybe could be making some noise as well. What is about Charles Alex goat that he has kind of stepped his game up to the next level compared to what he did last year which was a pretty good season but like what about him has been like maybe there is something here coming into this season or maybe into the last preseason game. Yeah, that’s a great point there because you’re right. It’s his development. It’s his year-over-year growth that has him in the position that he’s in now. When he was drafted by the Canes a couple years ago in the fifth round, he was a little bit of a raw talent. Uh played in the BCHL. I know Rod got a great look at him when he was at Quinnipic with Skyler, but he was always just kind of this big defenseman and then his skating gets better and then you find out he’s a stud defensively. So, he is undoubtedly this year’s hype train of the training camp and that’s okay. I am fully endorsing it. Uh, I love the way that he moves. I think his gap control defensively is spectacular. Last preseason, we saw him fight here at Lenovo Center against a very tough customer in McCarron from the Nashville Predators. So, he just kind of has a lot going for him. Now, the area that he might not have a ton of flexibility is the offensive side of his game, but that’s okay. We still got room for Jacob Slavven and we don’t ask him to put up 20 goals a year, right? So, uh, a little bit similar skill setwise there. Obviously, still a lot of growing for Charles left to do, but we were speaking earlier about call-ups. When you look at a defensive core that has four left-handed shots and two right-handed shots when everybody’s healthy, and then if Mike Riley is going to be your number seven, he’s another lefty, you’re saying, who’s our next right-handed option? It’s Charles Alexis Lgo. It’s pretty clear Dominic Badinka needs time in Chicago. Joel Nestrom needs time in Chicago. Lexi Salami needs more time in Chicago. Charles Alexis LGO is the closest to being NHL ready and I’m so happy for him. He’s a tremendous young man. I can’t wait to watch his game grow even more than it already has over the last 365 days. No, I’m I’m totally on board with you on Yeah, it’s just being in locker room, you can kind of see, you know, how he interacts with everyone, the way he does on the ice. And he is a big boy, too. 6’4 215. It’s like, yeah, 250 doesn’t sound big, but when you are that tall and you got some heft on you and you can throw hits really well, yeah, 215 can look like a number, but if you know how to use it correctly, it could feel more like 225, 235 than anything else. Yeah, and you said it perfectly and I had said it on to on Wednesday’s show and all this, you know, the last couple, you know, last few days. He will fit perfectly well into this team if they need a right shot defenseman onto this roster because the Hurricanes love to have that nice balance of three left, three right. If Miller isn’t ready to go or if something happens and you need to have that balance, Charles Lgo would be the perfect guy to bring up to be your balance guy. Like you said, it’s it’s never a bad thing to have a Jacob Slaveen 1.0 0 and a possible Jacob Slavven 2.0 down the future. And I’m talking more of like, you know, the defensive side of the game. I don’t know if we’re like he’s like, it’s hard to be Jacob Slavven in terms of what he can do, but that defensive mindset of what he can do. I think LGO could be that Slavven 2.0 guy of like you’re we’re not going to know we’re not going to need you for the offense, but we’re going to need you for your defense. I think that’s what he could potentially bring to the Hurricanes. One last guy I do want to bring up before we go into segment three and start looking ahead and the rapid fire. Kane Primo has been absolutely electric for the Hurricanes in that like the Hurricanes go and trade a 2027 six round. Yeah, it’s a 26 seventh rounder which is it’s like okay we’ll give you the last round next year. Go get this guy. Wins 20 games last year in the AHO with Laval Rocket. has some experience with the Canadians. Of course, that’s, you know, depends on what kind of Canadians team you got in front of him, but he’s had some huge saves in the in the preseason so far. I mean, we’re talking grand lararseny highway robbery saves like, “Hello, 911. I want to report a stolen shot on this guy.” Like, for you, what has like what is so like made you be like, “Okay, the Hurricanes made the right move of getting this guy into the organization as a goalie?” Yeah, I’m really glad you brought him up, too, because it’s a great point. and he’s got two preseason starts so far. Obviously, we don’t know what’s going to happen Saturday in Nashville. But you’re absolutely right, Rod Burn Morris called him solid. He was 18 to 20 in both games. And to me, one of the other questions coming into training camp was who’s really going to be your number three in net. We know in a perfect world, it would be 41 em for Freddy Anderson, 41 EMS for Peter Cochov. It’s probably not going to happen. We see both of those guys battle with injuries in their own right. Okay. Who’s your first callup option? Now, they brought in Kane Primo, like you said, got him for not a whole lot if we’re being honest. And then they signed Amir Mystikov coming over from the KHL, and you didn’t really know what you were going to have there. He was tremendous in the KHL last year. He was in North America a couple seasons ago. He’s gotten older. He’s gotten wiser. What was his game going to look like? It wasn’t a very good training camp preseason for Amir Mythkov. It became very clear very early that Kaden Primo has locked himself into this number three role. Now, obviously, we all hope that it’s Frederick Anderson and Peter Kirk Jetov come next Thursday. But if it’s not, I think that Kaden Primo’s earned himself a higher standing in some fans mind than he had two, three weeks ago. Like you said, he’s proven to be one of the best goalies in the AHL level. Yes, he’s played in front of some not so great NHL teams in the past, but then I also start to think about some of the other goalenders that have played for the Hurricanes in the last couple years that didn’t really have success elsewhere, didn’t have a ton of success after they left. Like, you know, I’m not trying to throw these guys under the bus by any means, but like this team’s made it work with Auntie Ra and Alex Lion, and I know he was, you know, earning rookie of the year votes at one time, but Alex Njokovic hasn’t played to the level that he was with the Hurricanes. So, If you can get this guy, I don’t want to demean him in any way by calling him a project goalie, but there might be something there. And I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens with Kaden Primo because if you don’t need him, you got a feeling he’s going to do pretty well in the American League. He’s got a proven track record there. And if he does have to come up, let’s see what he’s got. It’s exciting to me. Yeah. No, I completely agree. It’s exciting. Hey, if you wanted the third goalie, he can do it. That’s not a bad thing to have. And you know, Cam Abbott and those guys in Chicago are like foaming at the mouth to get this guy in there in the pipes if he’s there. And I know one last guy we have to talk about him a whole lot, but someone who really has shown out, Rouslen Casay, he has surprised a lot of people. I I’m like, okay, he didn’t really have the greatest numbers in the American last year. Played only one game for Bloomington in the ECHL. Wasn’t the greatest game for him either. And you’re kind of like, okay, what’s he going to do? And he kind of showed out a little bit as well. I was really surprised by him. like, oh, oh, we we might have found our fourth goalie, too, potentially because I know with air it’s kind of we’ll see where he’s at. But I thought Rouslon kind of was like, don’t sleep on this kid. He he might have he might have hit that development that we’ve been kind of waiting for since last year, too. I totally agree and that’s a great point. I have no idea in terms of, you know, your four, five, six between Myikov, Hayv, and Quap. Uh I think Quap will probably find himself in Greensboro, but you never know how quickly he may need to get ready. But you’re absolutely right. Rousan Hijv was one of the stars of the prospect showcase for me. He is looking like he’s taken that next step. Last year he came over. It was his first year in North America. He’s 19 years old. He’s super quiet. He’s trying to learn the language and his year overyear growth was so impressive. So you’re absolutely right. Yes, there’s, you know, the first pick from last year’s draft and Semion Frolov. You’ve also got Jagor Mackin who the organization’s very high on. But I think you’re right. I think Rouslon Hayv is uh rising stock if you ask me. Yes, 100%. Also, Jacob Vondress too over there with I think he’s Oh, I forget what I know he’s in the OHL with some I think it’s Sudbury. I think the last time I heard about him being over there somewhere too, but there’s a lot of guys. He’s in the he’s in the second tier check league now. Uh if anything’s still there, I think the organization would still have to sign him, but I think uh I think he might be on the outside end of that picture right now. But hey, when you’ve got six formidable options, it’s kind of understandable why. Yeah, just a little bit. All right, so we’ve talked about a lot of the, you know, guys have been kind of sent down to Chicago. A lot of guys who really impressed throughout camp. Now, we’re going to kind of start looking ahead a little bit. Preseason on Saturday, regular season Thursday. We got a lot of so we have a few rapid fire questions for Mr. Walt here to see if he can handle the heat and start getting through these questions. So stick around. We’ll go through all that here in a second on a Thursday edition of Locked on Hurricanes. [Music] Welcome back to a segment three of Locked on Hurricanes, your team every day. All right. Well, so we kind of talked about the five preseason games. We talked about the more recent roster cuts. There’s still three guys that the Hurricanes have to, you know, kind of have to figure out what they’re going to do with because we’re right now at 15 forwards, 18 defenseman, and three goalies. We kind of talked about the three guys who are potentially on the outside looking in in Smith and Loat and also Primo, but for you, I know that the open night rosters have to be submitted by Monday because the regular season starts on Tuesday. Hurricanes don’t play until Thursday. For you, like I guess maybe if fans don’t know, like what’s the kind of like what’s the next few days looking like for the Hurricanes and trying to figure out, you know, we have one preseason game left, we got to get the roster down to 23. What’s kind of like the next steps? What are they kind of looking for over the next few days to finalize this roster? Yeah. Well, the big thing, Zach, is health. Uh it’s finding out who can really go next Thursday night. Uh because we’ve seen Jacob Slavven in a very limited role in a no contact jersey. Uh like we had talked about earlier, Jaden Chatfield was gone for a week. Deandre Miller just graduated from the no contact. So, it’s really deciphering, are you 100% good to go for next Thursday night at Lenovo Center? And I think that’s what Rod, Brenda Moore, and staff are really looking at right now because you do have to make a couple final decisions. So, in that leadup to Saturday’s preseason game in Nashville and then Monday’s opening roster, you need some honest answers from these guys and you need to make an honest evaluation of are we going to be comfortable playing these guys on Thursday night or are we better off taking the cautious approach and maybe letting some of these other guys take that role. So, uh Peter Cochov is another name too because like you had mentioned with Kaden Primo, if Coachov’s good to go, you obviously don’t need a third goalie on the roster. So, uh, the health is the big thing for me leading up to Monday. Yeah. No, and that’s and that’s the thing that’s kind of like what it puts everything in kind of like a limbo situation because like you said, if if Jaylen Chaff’s not ready to go, does that mean you need that extra righth hand shot of LGO possibly up there? If maybe, you know, if Janowski still isn’t really 100% ready to go, does that open up a spot for maybe Javanni Smith or someone else to come up? You know, if Coach, like you said, if Coch is not ready, is that Primo? So yeah, I think even through Saturday, it’s going to be very interesting because yeah, you have to submit your roster, but you can still do stuff in between Monday and Thursday. It’s just what are we looking at come a week from now, which is still crazy to think that we’re now finally a week away from the home opener and season opener. I mean, you know, you got struting Stormy hats coming out soon. You got Margaritavville coming out on the against the Flyers, which I mean there’s a lot of cool stuff that are coming out, you know, with terms of just all the giveaways and all the special nights are going to happen. Of course, you know, we’re talking 20th anniversary nights to commemorate the 2005 16, which is I can’t believe it’s been 20 years already. That’s the kind of the biggest surprise for me. I’m like, oh my gosh, I was there when they won it and now we’re 20 years in the future and we’re now celebrating it, which is crazy. But so we’ve talked a lot of odd eye stuff. We’ll kind of get back to that a little bit, but for you like kind what are you kind of looking forward to for the season? I know like we always ask the players and you know and we’ve asked other people as well for like I guess for a team report I guess I want to kind of pick your brain out a little bit. What are you kind of looking forward to when it comes to jumping into another season covering this team? Yeah, like Rod Brymore always puts it, you have to run the first race before you get to the second race. I think as we sit here on, you know, the first couple of days of October, you and I would both agree, and I think Vegas in terms of the odds agrees as well, this is a team probably destined for an eighth consecutive playoff birth. That’s awesome. That’s fantastic. Unfortunately, well, maybe fortunately, we don’t have the fast forward button on life. We got to run the first race to get to April, right? And for me, especially after a year like last year, it’s trying to find out the story lines or, you know, maybe riding the wave of the story lines that come up during the season. I can’t believe that it’s been not even a year since Martinez was a Carolina Hurricane and was leading the league in scoring. Like, there’s a part of me that feels like that was 10 years ago already. So, it’s when you get going into the season, you you start to find out these things, right? like Frederick Anderson’s injuries the last couple of years and the holes that that’s created and the opportunities that that’s created and my goodness the mean he’s in trade of acquiring Miko Ranton in last year and then moving him out six weeks later. So I think that’s one of the best parts about this job for me. You really wake up every single day not knowing exactly what you’re getting into and that’s a pretty cool thing. I love being on the edge of my seat and I try to in my role keep everybody as informed and as educated as best that I can uh over the course of this ride and uh it’s really fun getting to do it all together. Yeah. No, and I can definitely agree. I think a lot of people agree that you do a very good job of doing that wall cuz it’s just it’s good to be like you know it’s hard for a lot of people to kind of you know be there and do it every day and you know you’re someone who’s kind of in the thick of things like I said being the editorial content producer Ian Toro there’s multiple hats it’s not just okay go right no it’s like no there’s a lot of stuff on top of that plus you also got Peter there too with that nice little Portland winter hawk to Carolina hurricane bridge that we got going on with Seth Jarvis and all those guys too. So somehow Portland and Raleigh have a nice little highway that no one really knows about. I think Raleigh’s a little bit better though, but I’m biased. Hey, hey, I’m not I’m a guy from Ohio and I love the area. So you I completely agree with you there. Biased or unbiased aside, you know, Raleigh’s the best for sure. But it’s interesting too when you look at this season where it’s a it’s condensed in the first half and it’s really condensed in the second half because you’re looking at the Winter Olympics and now we’re going to see some guys from the Hurricanes go to, you know, Italy and do that for you. What does it kind of look like for you when it’s like, okay, I have, you know, all these games leading up until February. You’re talking about a huge break in between and then it’s a massive, all right, here’s a sprint going to like the through March and April. What for you? What is like kind of like your mindset knowing, okay, there’s going to be this really wide open space of days and then it’s just bam, everything all at once. Well, maybe it’s a blessing, maybe it’s a curse, but I’ll be honest, I haven’t thought too too much about that in terms of my schedule yet. Uh there’s so much fun stuff going on in, you know, the next week, let alone the next month that uh when we get to February, I’m sure I’ll be super grateful for maybe a couple days off the gas. But yeah, right. I’m looking forward to everything in between. Like you had mentioned a little bit earlier, opening night’s always special. I mean, I can’t wait till next Thursday, I’m just going to try and uh after I eat my pregame meal, I’m going to take a lap around the building. That’s kind of been my new tradition because, you know, when you come to the rink and then all of a sudden you’re leaving and it’s midnight, you realize you don’t see the sun a whole heck of a lot. So, I’m trying to see the sun a little bit more on game days. Um, but no, it’s it’s always like a, you know, a party atmosphere on opening night. So that’s really cool getting to see some people that I haven’t gotten to see all summer. Obviously I’m, you know, pretty grateful for the ones who I do get to see at practices at Invisalign and stuff, but you know, some of the fans getting to reconnect with them and hear about their summers. That’s always pretty cool to me. And like you said, some of the theme nights are really cool, too. Like I’ll be honest, I don’t know a whole heck of a lot about Jimmy Chibi Buffett and Margaritavville, but I love that Stormy that we have going with that group the Stormy t-shirt that we have with the group ticket package. So, um, you know, I’m I’m entrenched in the day-to-day of some of those things right now. And I think those are really cool. Uh, when we get to February in the Olympics, I’m sure I’ll be super pumped to watch because obviously that’s probably the greatest stage in all of hockey. And after how cool the Four Nations was last year, how could you not be amped up about it? So, I’m really looking forward to that as well. Yeah. No, 100%. So, you like So, you mentioned some of these themes like what are what theme are you kind of like, hm, I’m very curious to see how this one’s because then we got Star Wars night. We got a whole, you know, in the in the event I’m always, you know, in, you know, excited about course mental health night. Big thank you for that a few years back. Um, but like what’s kind of like for you? Like what are you kind of circling? It’s like I’m curious about how this night’s going to go. Well, I’ll be honest. I’m cheating a little bit right now and I’m pulling up hurricanes.com to look up all the options because I know we have so many. Yeah. I don’t blame you one. Even I forget half of them like, “Wait, we have this like going on?” I’m like, “I don’t remember even this being on the schedule.” Exactly. They all uh they all blend together. It’s a grind to get through during the summer and then once you finally put them out, you’re like, “What day is that again?” Uh but no, yeah, the two that I do have circled. I mean, every year I’m a sucker for Whalers Night. Uh Oh, yeah. family is a huge fan of it. They think it’s so cool how we wear the different jerseys and stuff. And I think our game entertainment team does a really good job of going all in, right? Like when you come to that game, you feel like you’re going to a Harvard Hartford Whalers game. you don’t feel like you’re coming to a Carolina Hurricanes game. Like everything is green and blue. They go the whole nine yards. So, uh I’m a sucker for that, like I said. And then, as you touched on a little bit earlier, the Stanley Cup team celebration night. I think that’s going to be really cool. Uh I know that a lot of guys who were on that team are going to be here that weekend. That is obviously taking place of the Hurricanes Hall of Fame night and weekend that we’ve done the last couple years. So, and I think the organization’s done a really good job of promoting and celebrating that. So, uh definitely looking forward to the Stanley Cup celebration night as well. I know the Stanley Cup’s going to be here. That’s always cool. I remember when I got to see the Stanley Cup for the first time, two of us in Portland and uh you know, you become like a kid again. You you remember why you love this game and this sport as much as you do. You’re like, “That’s the Stanley Cup.” uh you know, you take your picture with it and it’s something that a lot of people are going to be able to remember for a very long time and I love that sort of stuff. Yeah. No, totally. I think the first time I ever saw it in person. Oh, because I mean you kind of see it on the ice when you’re there when the team, you know, when Rod lifts does the stomp and all that stuff. I think the first time I got to see it in person was the All-Star game when it was in Raleigh in 2011 and got to take a picture with you next to my dad and stuff like that. It was just like, do I touch it? Do I not touch it? Because there’s that, you know, the whole thing. I’m like, it’s the probably the only times I’m like, yes, because you have to. It’s like, when are you going to get a chance to touch a Stanley Cup again? See, I totally get it. It’s kind of like you’re kind of like because it’s the greatest trophy in sports, let’s be honest. Like, I think it’s also the hardest one to get. Like, what you look at the AHL playoffs, like I don’t think anything really touches it in terms of just intensity and all that stuff. But, it’s going to be fun for sure. I know we got Star Wars night. We got all these other nights coming on down the pipe, too. So, it’s going to be a lot of fun. And I know a lot of people have been really enjoying the new like interactive games they’ve been seeing on the screen. Of course, the guys playing cornhole and all that stuff. Like that is just it’s fun just to see those guys kind of, you know, trash talk each other while trying to play cornhole. Yeah, it’s great. Uh it’s uh again, I’ll give a large credit to our video team and our game entertainment team. Uh you know, they I can tell you firsthand that uh that QR code that you see up on the big board every single game asking for fan feedback. They read every single one of those. They take it to heart and they try and make the product better every single time you come to Lenovo Center. Yep. No, they definitely do for sure. So, all right. Well, we’re kind of getting towards the end of this. I want to get some quickfire questions with you real quick. Kind of, you know, see, you know, how fast are you on your feet with some of these questions, but they’re not too hard. Nothing too crazy. But when you’re looking at this team, who is your who is your breakout player for the season for the Carolina Hurricanes? gonna say Logan Stanovven because of the opportunity he’s been given in training camp. I can’t wait to see what his season looks like. No, I mean it’s definitely exciting for J. It’s I think it’s his first year without having to be either called up or traded. So, it’s like, all right, just go play go be yourself for a whole season. We’ll see what you can do from there. Y surprise uh under the radar player that people need to keep an eye on. Great question. Um he’s not under the radar, but he’s still underappreciated and in terms of his on ice capabilities in Jordan Stall. He’s the captain. He’s the guy who drives this team in the locker room. When Conor McDavid comes to town, he has that defensive assignment. When Alexander Barkov comes down, he’s that defensive assignment. Um there’s a lot of guys you could go with. I still think Jacob Slavven’s massively underappreciated, but um I know our fans are very knowledgeable and they love this team inside and out, so it would be hard to underestimate anybody, but uh I just hope Jordo gets the credit he deserves. No, 100%. And when it when it come when you hear people talk about Jackson Blake, what is something that you want people to know or like something that is like don’t sleep on this kid for his sophomore season? He’s incredibly creative. I think we saw flashes of that last year. Uh it was obviously his first year in the NHL. I think he was a little, you know, he didn’t he still had some training wheels on. I think he’s going to be more comfortable this time around and I think we are going to see some incredibly creative moments with him with the puck this season. No, I 100% I I’m predicting for 50 points because I think he can take that next step because we’ve seen in the preseason and you know just talking to him fantastic guy to talk to. Really down to earth, really chill about it. So I’m I think he has what I think he has what it takes to do that because you’re talking only 13 points to take that next step. You know, give him some constant line mates. I think it’s a good possibility to see it happen. Now the tough question for you all and I’m curious to see where you’re going to go with this one. If you had to pick one food in the building to have for the season, what would it be? That’s a good question, and I I’ll preface this by saying that I obviously don’t get to have the arena concessions a whole lot. Um I I’ll slip in a teaser. I’m going to try and attend a game as a fan. Uh maybe as like a undercover assignment type thing this season. We’ll see if it happens or not. Okay. But um I man I know we’ve got a lot of good concession options here like uh if it’s still here I think Happy and Hale I mean I’m big on their salads. I know that’s probably not a popular answer for a hockey game but uh we have Shake Shack too, right? I love Shake Shack. I think so. Yeah, you can’t go wrong there. Uh I’m probably answering this question terribly, so don’t take my food advice. Hey, you know what? It’s all good. I know there’s a lot more different options that are coming in this year. Of course, with renovations and stuff like that, it’s going to be crazy. But oh, but I would I would love to see read your if you had if you ever did an article on a perspective like what’s it like to be a fan, but no one knows that you’re a fan. So, that would be some undercover stuff. That’d be a lot of fun. But this kind of relates to this. If there was one place you could pick from your journey, Arizona, Portland, back home maybe, what’s one food option that you would love to bring to Raleigh and open up a restaurant right now in in the triangle? That’s a really great question. Um, I loved TMEX when I was in Texas. I think that’s fantastic. And along similar lines, uh, Southern Arizona Mexican food, man, that uh, that’s some good stuff. And obviously, you know, very regional for both areas, right? So, um, I love both of those things and, uh, I wish that we could have that quality Mexican. Mexican I’ve had here is good, but I mean, you can’t beat those two places. Yeah. Yeah. It’s kind of tough. Yeah. because I used to I used to be over the road and stuff like that. And yeah, when you go to in southern Arizona, you got to find the the really good Mexican places for sure. Now, talking about going on the road, an underappreciated road city that maybe people don’t consider because everyone wants to talk about the New Yorks, the LA’s. What’s the underappreciated road city that people don’t think of? Man, I’m probably going to botch this because this is such a good question. And you know what’s actually funny? I just asked Nikolai Eers this on the storeboard this past week and I asked him and I’m glad I didn’t ask myself because man I’m answering this brutally as well. Um you can give a top three if you want. I’ll give I’ll give you a slight out. I’ll give you three if you had to. I mean anytime you get to go to Florida any time of year that’s that’s pretty great, right? Like you know you’re getting sunshine even if it’s in December. Um, I enjoy Nashville. That’s a cool place, too. Um, and if I had to give you one, I mean, kind of doesn’t count because I lived there, but Dallas is always cool to me, too. So, um, nothing wrong with that. Yeah, good question. I I I botched that one, too. I kind of I kind of thought about it. I’m like like I know you askers, should I ask Walts because you I love to get from a writer’s perspective. You asked the guys and you know that’s different for them but like what’s the rider aspect of it too because you know you’re on the road too you know maybe your schedule’s a little bit different compared to those guys but you know what are some underappreciated road cities or road food that maybe you would never think about trying but one for me it’s the press box that’s what it is that who’s got a good press box like who’s got all right who’s got a good press box give me give me the good press box Vegas has a good press box they got comfy chairs they got a good level a height for your computer. Uh you can put your backpack in like a cubby hole behind you. Whereas you go to Seattle and you’re sitting in like a folding chair and your knees ringing into the counter in front of you. Uh Vegas has got a good one. You would think you would think for Seattle with the newer team, maybe they’ve done something a little bit different, but I mean I know there are some arenas where you like you’re having to walk across the o you have to walk over the ice just to get to like the broadcast booth. And I’m like, “Yeah, no, that that you rig it up. Just kind of walk over with the tether. I’m good with that.” But yeah, that’s Yeah, that’s wild, though. You think for Seattle with the newer arena, maybe it’d be a little bit better. But it is everybody’s got to cut corners somewhere, I guess. So, but last question for you, Walt. What is one thing you want to say to the fans before the start of the season? because everyone’s really excited for it. But for you, what would you say to the Caniacs going into this season? That’s a good one. I got a two-part answer for you. Uh, first, enjoy the ride. As we talked about earlier, we never know what’s going to happen on a day-to-day basis. We didn’t know we were trading Martin Nes last year. We didn’t know we were acquiring Miko Ranton last year. We didn’t know we were trading Miko Ranton last year. We didn’t know we were getting Logan Stanovven. Uh, we weren’t sure Alexander Nikeshan was coming over. So, just enjoy the ride. Uh this is the best reality television in the world because you really know it’s never going to happen. Um and secondly, I would say thank you. I’m very grateful to be able to do this job on an everyday basis. I appreciate everyone who makes it as enjoyable as it is. Uh in my heart of hearts, all I want to do is make sure everybody is as informed and as educated on the team as possible. I know that when I was a fan growing up, I looked up to a lot of these people to get my information and I’m so blessed to be here now and I thank every single one who follows whether it’s on social or goes to hurricanes.com. Uh it means the world to me, means the world to Peter, means the world to the organization. So uh thank you to everybody and uh hopefully I can continue to do a good job of that this year. Yeah. No. And always do, Walton. We appreciate you for what you do and even for Peter, what he does. And of course, the video and the photography team and just everyone else behind the scenes, too. It’s a it’s it’s a it’s a full it’s a big operation to have. It’s not just, you know, 20 something guys on a roster. It’s everyone that’s around it, too. But we do appreciate what you guys do. And as we get out of here, well, where I know you kind of mentioned the website, but where can people find you and of course your work and peers work and just everything going on with the Carolina Hurricanes? I’ll always send everyone to hurricanes.com or nhl.comhurricanes. That’s the way to go. Uh I know that some people like to use social, some people don’t, but at the end of the day, hurricanes.com’s always going to be there for you. Yep. No, 100%. Well, like I said, Walt, thank you for taking so much time for me to talk to me today. I know we ran a lot longer than we thought, but you know what? A lot of great stuff. I think a lot of people will love this because it’s always a good time having you on talking about the Carolina Hurricane. So, I just want to say thank you so much for being able to do this on a, you know, it’s a busy week for you and all that stuff on a Wednesday to do this, but thank you so much. This has been a lot of fun. Of course. Thank you very much, Zach, for having me. I’m so grateful that the schedule worked out. Uh, that we got to record this at a time where practice wasn’t going on. Yeah, certainly no shortage of things to talk about and I hope everybody’s just as excited as uh I am for next Thursday at Lenovo Center. Yeah. No, I know. I know I’m excited. I know a lot of people are excited. We’re done with the speculations actually talking about real games that matter. But until then, guys, this will be the Thursday edition of Locked on Hurricanes. Thank you for making your first lesson. Second lesson, go check out the 2025 AHL preseason previews over at Lockown AHL. It’s a six episode series bringing you the best local insight to make you the most informed NHL fan heading into the season. Find Locked on NHL on YouTube where listen to your podcast. If you want to keep up with me, one true Zack Onx podcast is l_hures. Also on blue sky at the zachary morning where you click on the link trees in my bios. You can find all of my rent content at the hockeyers.com. Have been doing a lot of stuff recently all the roster movements and you know kind of doing some previews and stuff like that. Make sure to go check it out. If you want to check out my other podcasts, it’s the search cast on all podcast platforms and on YouTube for Locked on Hurricanes. We’re on Spotify, Google, Apple, iHeart Radio, wherever you listen. Leave a fivestar rating review. If you do, might just read on the show for YouTube Locked on Hurricane. Subscribe, hit the bell notification, don’t miss the show. Hit the thumbs up so we know the show as well. Share with other Kenax to become a dares just like you. But I hope everyone enjoyed the Thursday edition of Lockdown Hurricanes with special guest Walt Ruff. Enjoy your Thursday. We are now a week away from the start of the regular season where games are going to matter and get ready for that long marathon run to the playoffs. Until then, as always, let’s go Kings.

Carolina Hurricanes reporter Walt Ruff joins the show to discuss the preseason, roster cuts, and what to look forward to for the upcoming 2025-26 season. What did the guys cover throughout the episode? On the Thursday Edition of Locked On Hurricanes, host Zach Martin and Walt begin the show by going over the preseason and what has stood out so far. Between defensive pairings, position battles, and so much more, there’s a ton to dive into for the Hurricanes. Which players stood out within the first five preseason games? Secondly, Zach and Walt dived into the recent roster cuts, going from 40 players to the current 26. Were there any surprises among the assigned players to Chicago? Who has made a case to be an early call-up? Also, the guys discuss Givani Smith, Charles Alexis Legault, and Cayden Primeau. Finally, the guys wrap up the show with what to look forward to over the next seven days until opening night on October 9. Are there any theme nights that are going to be fun? What are the coaches looking for to determine how to cut the roster from 26 to 23 players? Also, Walt answered rapid-fire questions. How did he do? All of that, and more, on the latest episode of Locked On Hurricanes.

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms:

🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOCarolinaHurricanes?sid=YouTube

Locked On NHL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Prospects & More:

🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNHL

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnhl for 50% off your first year.

FanDuel
Download the FanDuel app now by visiting FanDuel.com and win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#carolinahurricanes #raiseup #nhl #nationalhockeyleague