Canes looking to bring back a familiar face, sign veteran, stay-at-home blueliner to PTO

De Haan is a player that the Canes are familiar with, as he played the 2018-19 season in Carolina. He's a steady, stay-at-home defenseman that is not shy to block shots and play physical in his own end. De Haan will be battling for a bottom pairing role at Canes' camp with Dylan Coghlan and Jalen Chatfield and should he win a spot on the roster, the Canes will have one of the best defense corps in the league. Their blueline will include Jaccob Slavin, Brent Burns, Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce and Ethan Bear along with de Haan, providing the Canes with an exceptional balance of offensive and defensive minded blueliners. Jake Gardiner is expected back this season as well.

The Canes are currently $2.6M over the cap, but will likely be placing Pacioretty and Gardiner on LTIR to start the season. Gardiner was cleared to resume his career after battling back and hip issues the past couple of seasons, but could find himself hard-pressed to even make the Canes' roster. If de Haan were to sign with the Canes, the deal would likely be a league minimum deal anyway, so it won't be hard to find the cap space, even if Gardiner doesn't go back onto LTIR.