from Luke DeCock of the News & Observer,

Coming out of the All-Star break, the Hurricanes knew what it would take to compete, and 4-3-2 was never going to cut it. There’s still a chance they could get hot and make the playoffs, but from the perspective of a pragmatic GM, they’re out of time, and for players with no-trade clauses like Ward and Eric Staal, there’s that much less reason to block a deal.

So what does Francis do? The only unacceptable answer is nothing.

At the least, the four marketable impending free agents should depart: Staal, Ward, Kris Versteeg, John-Michael Liles. It’s less a question of Francis’ philosophy than his salesmanship whether he can generate a market for lesser impending free agents like Riley Nash or Chris Terry. Anything players of that ilk might bring would be a bonus, if Francis can find buyers.

The real challenge is whether Francis can get creative and craft a Jeff Skinner or Jordan Staal deal – neither will ever be more marketable, the way they’re playing – that clears their contracts off the books and would really allow Francis to make drastic changes going forward. Or, even better, also bring back impact players who can help the Hurricanes now and in the future.

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