Hurricanes free agency: 5 potential signings

NHL free agency begins on Friday but the mostly rounded-out nature of the Carolina Hurricanes roster -- not to mention the amount of payroll they already have committed -- means that the organization will most likely not be big players. After awarding wing Alex Semin a five-year, 35-million contract extension last season, the Hurricanes did most of their big-spending long before free agency neared. Also, they had inked center Jordan Staal to a 10-year, 60-million deal last summer shortly after acquiring him from Pittsburgh via trade. With Semin, Staal, Jordans brother Eric, Jeff Skinner, Jiri Tlusty and Tuomo Ruutu, the Canes top six forwards would be the envy of many teams. According to the website CapGeek.com, which tracks NHL salary information, the Canes have 17 players under contract for a total of 57.9 million, which presently ranks fifth-highest of the leagues 30 teams. Technically speaking, that means the Canes only need to add three more players to their roster. One of ...