Brent Burns Traded To Carolina
Mike Grier has officially made his first big move as the head honcho of the Sharks. Long time former Norris Trophy winning defensemen, Brent Burns has been shipped to Carolina. After losing Tony DeAngelo, the Canes struck fast to found his replacement. The deal includes multiple players and retention of salary.
Pierre LeBrun of TSN was the first to report the news:
Burns, 37, is coming off a solid year for the Sharks. He was certainly not the problem for their demise. Burns may be old but he can still play. 54 points in 82 games leading the Sharks in assists (44). Furthermore, Burns also somehow just recorded a career high 26:09 per game of ice time. Burns is still a workhorse and a damn good player.
The Canes are obviously hoping Burns can replace what Tony DeAngelo gave them (DeAngelo was dealt to the Flyers). While he certainly cannot give the Canes what DeAngelo gave them on the powerplay, he’s certainly an upgrade defensively. However, it’s fair to wonder why Carolina didn’t just bring back DeAngelo? Burns could fall off the cliff at any moment and still will pay Burns $5.36 million over the next three years even after San Jose retained 33% of the remaining money.
The Chinese Farmer always says maybe but you’re going to have a hard time convincing anyone age 38, 39, and 40 of Burns is better and worth paying more than what DeAngelo could have given Carolina in that controlled environment. Keep in mind, Carolina also lost Vincent Trocheck this offseason as well.
