Analysis: Devils acquire Hurricanes F Tuomo Ruutu

The Carolina Hurricanes traded Tuomo Ruutu on Wednesday to the New Jersey Devils. While the return was meagre (a third-round pick, and Andrei Loktionov), the Hurricanes managed to get out from under Ruutu's outsized contract without retaining any salary. That's a feat in this market.

Ruutu is a useful possession player, and a hard-nosed winger. He's excellent at the net front, wins battles and drives play. However he's two seasons into a 4-year $19 million contract extension and has managed 25 total points in those two years. Meanwhile the Hurricanes have been outscored by 17 goals with Ruutu on the ice...

A lot of Ruutu's lack of production has been poor luck and bad bounces, but that's still woeful production. For a team like Carolina - a club that isn't making the postseason this year anyway - freeing up that cap-space and getting pieces in return is a tidy bit of business.

As for the Devils, they're gambling a fourth-liner, a mid-round pick and $4.75 million over two years on Ruutu finding his form. His grinding style makes a lot of sense in New Jersey's low-event system. This is a buy low opportunity for the Devils, and it's an opportunity that makes sense for a team that could still sneak into the postseason and make some noise if they do.