Stillman Goes Back to Carolina

			2011 Season				2011	Remaining
To Carolina	Position	Age	MIN	W	SO	P	Cap Hit	Years	Cap Hit
Cory Stillman	Forward	37	44	7	16	23	$3.5 million	0	UFA
--------------------------
To Florida	Position	Age	MIN	W	SO	P	Cap Hit	Years	Cap Hit
Ryan Carter	Forward	27	50	1	5	6	$625,000	0	UFA
2011 5th Round Draft Pick

I might as well go to the same start as most places, as the Hurricanes have decided to re-acquire yet another piece of their Stanley Cup winning team of a few years ago, picking up Cory Stillman from the Panthers, as it appears that the Panthers have given up on their playoff dreams, quickly becoming sellers in the NHL trade market.  In the deal, the Hurricanes gave up a middle-round pick and a currently-injured, often-scratched forward in Ryan Carter.

The Hurricanes should get a good rental out of Stillman, especially if they do make that final leap into the playoffs, as he'll be a very good 2nd or 3rd line centre for the Hurricanes going forward, a piece of depth that any team would be very happy to have.  Stillman isn't having the best of seasons, but I think some of that you can likely chalk up to playing for an underwhelming offense in Florida.

The Panthers have acquired a possible rental young player that might be able to play some bottom six minutes on an audition basis, only after he returns from injury, which should be in 2-to-3 weeks.  The draft pick is much lower, because of the player going along in the trade, but it works out fairly well.

In salary cap speak, the Hurricanes were a middle-of-the-road team for annual cap value, so taking on the remaining chunk of Stillman's contract doesn't appear to be a big deal, plus he is a rental player (in theory), because he is an unrestricted free agent come July 1st.

Stillman is only a sheet pool player this season and not a very popular one either.  A move to Carolina may actually improve his fantasy value, especially with better scoring depth, but there is no guarantee that it will make him any more popular.  Go on, trade for him... you have a trade or two left, don't you?