Former Carolina Hurricanes prospect rips team, claims nobody knows who's leading there

BarDown Staff

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Now that he’s no longer a Carolina Hurricane, forward Aleksi Saarela is letting it all out.

The 22-year-old, who was drafted by the New York Rangers 89^th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, spent the last three seasons with the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers and went off on the organization for a number of reasons. Saarela was sent packing with defenceman Calvin de Haan in exchange for Gustav Forsling and Anton Forsberg and took time afterward explaining to the Finnish newspaper that the organization is a “mess” and lacks leadership.

Thank you Sami for giving us an English translation: Aleksi Saarela basically said the Hurricanes arent an example of a leading NHL organization & it's a mess. According to him nobody really knows who's leading there, and people who should make decisions, are afraid to make them. https://t.co/wZBF4FEBc4
— Sara Civ (@SaraCivian) August 14, 2019

Whoa…

Owner Tom Dundon ultimately makes the calls and it’s tough criticizing him for his decision making (or apparently lack of?). The Hurricanes have made some big ones over the past three seasons, signing or trading for Justin Williams, Teuvo Teravainen, Dougie Hamilton and Nino Niederreiter. All four played a key role in helping the Canes reach the Eastern Conference Finals last season.

I've heard a lot of criticisms of Tom Dundon. Even made some myself. But "afraid to make decisions" is not one of them.
— John D. Burns (@johnburnsnc) August 14, 2019

Saarela’s comments come at a particularly odd time considering Dundon just signed general manager Don Waddell to a multi-year decision. Waddell managed to lock franchise star Sebastian Aho with a five year contract after the Finn was offer sheeted by the Montreal Canadiens.

Last season, the #Hurricanes made the playoffs for the first time since the 2008/09 season.

A post shared by TSN (@tsn_official) on Aug 12, 2019 at 10:52am PDT

Saarela scored 30 goals and 24 assists with the Checkers last season but is yet to make an NHL appearance. Perhaps he’ll get his first crack in the coming months and prove his former team they made a mistake when they visit Raleigh on October 26^th.

(H/T Sara Civ)