Three theories on why Hurricanes might pull Tuomo Ruutu off trading block

He is a top line line player on the Hurricanes (which says something about why they are fighting Columbus for the basement, but that's another story), a core player, a fan favorite, and a great guy. If no one wants to pay enough to get him, why should JR trade him? Better to keep him and than to lose him for a low draft pick and be even worse off next year. Teams need to keep players like Ruutu, not give them away.

Additional possibilities:

--Having let Cole walk out the door over the summer, Ruutu's the most physical forward left. Certainly among the Top-6. Stewart, Tlusty and Staal can be physical with skill, but not as much as Ruutu. As cute as is it to see Skinner get into it with the opposition at times, Ruutu's more of a known/respected quantity to deal with.

--Also, the chemistry between him. Skinner and Jokinen on the "Skinns & Finns" line is crucial to the 'Canes offense. That line is enough of a threat that Staal (and whoever is on his line that night) can operate. And Ruutu can move up to Staal's line as needed. He's probably the forward on the team most able to consistently create scoring chances regardless of who's on his lines.

--If I'm JR, and I let Cole (who, in addition to having a career year statistically last year, was VERY crucial to Skinner's "care and feeding" as an NHL player) go and follow that up with letting the next closest thing on the roster to Cole (and a regular linemate of Skinner's) walk, what sort of message am I giving the Baby Face Of The Franchise? Rent don't buy?

--Jokinen, Ruutu and Pitkanen all are here because they like the fans, the town, each other, etc. Take one of those three away, and you're needlessly jeopardizing locker room chemistry while alienating a significant portion of the fanbase. Ruutu certainly wouldn't be the first fan-favorite to be sent packing, but for a franchise that sees a LOT of these guys go when maybe they could've stayed (Stillman, Whitney, Cole, etc.), the fanbase wouldn't be exactly thrilled for whatever return you got.

It makes too much sense to keep him, or at least try to.

All Canes fans know it's best not to regard JR's comments around the Trade Deadline and UFA Day with too much weight. He loves to say to the press the exact opposite of what he eventually does a lot of the time.

I like the guy, but Ruutu is probably not worth the reported asking price(s) listed above. But, hey, it's the TRAAAADE DEEEEADLINE and GMs love to get they stupid on.

My favorite part of this article is Rutuu's face in that picture.

The canes need to sign and bring back Petr Prucha....

You need to trade him and get something for him instead of nothing. We need to build for the future and he's already on the roster of a losing team. What's going to be the difference of this year and next if you don't start adding prospects.

I say keep him as he is one of the few grity payers we have. we are not as bad as everyone thinks and i bet if you looked in the last month or so we are a 8 seed quality team. Keep him because we cant get what he is worth. Go Canes, keep skating and playing hard, the points will come!

From what I've been hearing is Ruutu is going to want something in the $5 million/year range, and that won't happen in Raleigh. Plus as someone who lives in this market I have noticed a vast improvement is this teams play of late starting with the goaltending. I don't think the Hurricanes will have a top 2 pick as they will once again foolishly go on a little mediocre run to end the season. Rutherford has a pretty good core going forward, but he has proven that he is not good at finding the right supporting cast to get his team in the playoffs on a yearly basis.

As much as I'd like to see Ruutu stick around, what I'd rather see happen is that he gets a chance to play with a contender, see some playoff action this year, and then come back to Raleigh to resign with the Canes. In the meantime, JR gets a 2nd round pick and a pretty good prospect to go to Charlotte to learn the system, and Boychuk (if he isn't traded) comes up I-85 to show whether he should be resigned. In addition, the Canes will "fail for Nail" and get a pretty good pick.

JR, we can't stand pat. Failing to make the playoffs once with a group of players is bad; failing 3 years in a row with the same lot is insanity.

Puck Daddy has it exactly right. Jim Rutherford will try hard to re-sign Ruutu because the Hurricanes don't need a tear down. If the Hurricanes can keep Ruutu and add Yakupov, Girgorenko, Galchenyuk, or possibly Forsberg, they will be in good shape for years to come. The Hurricanes need one more franchise or near franchise forward. On the other hand, Dalpe, Rask, Bowman, Nash, Boychuk, and Hofmann are young forwards who should be competing for roster spots over the next couple of years.

Hey Canes fans ever hear of a guy named Erik Cole ? JR didn't think much of him traded him got him back after he realized it was a mistake and then offered him a bargain basement contract to stay. How is he doing now and do you think Stall misses him ? JR is a joke

It doesn't matter if they trade him or keep him. They aren't making the playoffs. So they might as well lose him to free agency.

Get used to sucking for a while Canes fans for you will be quite mediocre till you get a gm who makes moves to win.