CANES BOLSTER BLUELINE, FINNISH STYLE
Carolina
The Hurricanes unveiled a warpath of trades, the latest in a deal adding heralded defenseman Janne Niinimaa. Niinimaa, the Raahe Finland native, was acquired in a gigantic deal sending several of the young Canes, including defensive stalwart Steve Eminger.
"We were concerned with our lack of big time, veteran impact players on the blueline," stated head coach Joel Quenneville, who was noticeably excited about the Canes latest acquisition. "We have a pile of skill, but where we lack was in the top line, veteran presence department. Janne takes care of that in a big way."
Niinimaa, 33, has spent the last few seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, where he made a name for himself as one of the most exciting players in CLUTCH. The slick passing defenseman will no doubt be the go to guy offensively on the back end.
"I am really looking forward to putting on the Hurricanes jersey and I hope I can make an immediate impact," said Niinimaa. "They had shown concerns that they lacked a special teams, quarterback type of player. I fully believe I can be that guy immediately. They have so much talent up front, I think my role will be to simply dish off the puck to the open man. It should be quite easy with this group of guys."
The Canes have made several deals throughout the summer and the new look squad appears to be poised to make some serious noise this upcoming season.
"We have the complete package this year," said veteran forward Kris Draper. "We have all been watching closely as they put this team together. I think we are there now to make a run."
The Hurricanes unveiled a warpath of trades, the latest in a deal adding heralded defenseman Janne Niinimaa. Niinimaa, the Raahe Finland native, was acquired in a gigantic deal sending several of the young Canes, including defensive stalwart Steve Eminger.
"We were concerned with our lack of big time, veteran impact players on the blueline," stated head coach Joel Quenneville, who was noticeably excited about the Canes latest acquisition. "We have a pile of skill, but where we lack was in the top line, veteran presence department. Janne takes care of that in a big way."
Niinimaa, 33, has spent the last few seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, where he made a name for himself as one of the most exciting players in CLUTCH. The slick passing defenseman will no doubt be the go to guy offensively on the back end.
"I am really looking forward to putting on the Hurricanes jersey and I hope I can make an immediate impact," said Niinimaa. "They had shown concerns that they lacked a special teams, quarterback type of player. I fully believe I can be that guy immediately. They have so much talent up front, I think my role will be to simply dish off the puck to the open man. It should be quite easy with this group of guys."
The Canes have made several deals throughout the summer and the new look squad appears to be poised to make some serious noise this upcoming season.
"We have the complete package this year," said veteran forward Kris Draper. "We have all been watching closely as they put this team together. I think we are there now to make a run."
posted by Lohaus at 4:19 PM
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