CANES NEW FRONT MAN CENTER OF ATTENTION

The Hurricanes pulled off another deal, this time solidifying their center position by acquiring smallish playmaker Daniel Briere. Briere, 28, comes to the Canes with much notoriety and has often been considered one of the better set up men in the game.


The Canes sent young center Tim Brent and defenseman Derek Meech, along with a Phoenix Coyotes first rounder to Montreal in exchange for Daniel Briere and a Montreal third rounder.

"We wanted to acquire a player we felt could be the front and center man for next season," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "Daniel is fast and he reads the play extremely well. I think the idea of adding a guy with as much upside as him was hard to pass on. We suggested the deal and Montreal wanted two of our premier young players. It was a difficult thing, to move these two, but in the end, we needed to be prepared for next year."

Adding Briere opens several options for the Canes at forward.

"There is a lot of expectation coming from a kid named Brian Gionta on our farm team. He is a small forward, like Briere, but the idea is that these two should form a very skilled tandem for next season."

The Canes now have a skilled nucleus at center, although it has gotten noticeably smaller the past couple of season. Briere joins Kyle Wellwood, another smallish playmaking forward and Kris Draper, a speedster with a defensive flair for the game.

"With guys like Jeff Carter, Ryan Getzlaf, Anthony Stewart and Junior Lessard on the way, I doubt size will be much of an issue."

The Canes have been reportedly talking with several teams. Look for the Hurricanes to make some moves over the next few days.