​There has been a surge of news in recent days across both the Hurricanes and the NHL, so let’s bundle it all together for the Morning Rumble. With so many stories to cover, I’ll keep the intro a bit shorter today. Enjoy, everyone.
Wednesday brought the first official reveal of the Stanley Cup’s newest engravings, and the reactions have been mixed. The very first name listed on the cup is owner Tom Dundon, followed by six family members before any staff or players are acknowledged. This isn’t an unprecedented move, however. Over the past two seasons, the Florida Panthers did something similar, listing owner Vincent Viola first and including four family members ahead of others. Given the Cup’s 52-name limit, those six non-traditional engravings push out room for other contributors to the Hurricanes’ season. Notable omissions include Joel Nystrom, who was three regular-season games short of meeting the engraving threshold; Jesper Fast, who now serves as a development coach after a career-ending injury; and perhaps most significantly, Bob Gorman, the longtime Head Equipment Manager who has been with the franchise since its Hartford Whalers days. Also left out were the minority owners who joined this past season—Brett Jefferson, Marc Grandisson, and Bobby Farnham. Regardless of one’s stance on engravings, the new photo of the Cup proves one thing: it looks stunning when filled with Nerds Gummy Clusters.
On Thursday morning, the Hurricanes announced the re-signing of 23-year-old Finnish defenseman Aleksi Heimosalmi to a one-year, two-way contract worth $850,000 ($85,000 at the AHL level). Heimosalmi has spent the last two seasons in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves, and his numbers improved noticeably last year compared with the prior season.
In other news, the IIHF Male Player of the Year Award results are in, and the winner was not Sebastian Aho—he finished third in voting. The honor went to Macklin Celebrini, who earned the accolade in recognition of his stellar performance. Celebrini led Team Canada in goals (5) during the Olympics, ranked second on the roster in assists (5), and captained Canada in the IIHF World Championship, tallying 14 points in 10 games. Connor Hellebuyck finished second in voting, with Conor McDavid placing fourth.
From Flyers coverage to Ducks headlines: Philly Hockey Now reports that the Leo Carlsson saga is officially over, with the Anaheim Ducks matching the record price to retain their top centerman. William James has the full details. Chicago Hockey Now highlights a tougher reality for Windy City hockey: their top player—still unsigned for next season—will miss time as the season starts, casting a shadow over the club’s early prospects.