Give Jim Rutherford credit, he’s never afraid to make a bold move.

In trading Erik Cole, Rutherford cuts ties with one of the most recognized – and popular – faces of the franchise.

And yet, it makes sense.

You didn’t have to be an NHL GM last season to see that Carolina needed help on defense. A lot of help…

Joni Pitkanen may not be as familiar to Raleigh as Erik Cole, but he’s a quality defenseman who can jump in on the offensive side as well. And those guys don’t come cheap.

Moreover, the Canes had an overflow of forwards and a dearth of defensemen. An offense-for-defense trade was imminent. To get quality, you have to give up quality. And in this case, to get Pitkanen the Canes had to give up Cole.

There’s no guarantee Cole would have stuck around past this season, either. With only one year left on his contract, there is a real possibility Cole could have left via free agency next summer. By moving him now, the Canes protect themselves against that scenario.

Rutherford plans to use Pitkanen on the power play. He’ll share time at the point with Joe Corvo, and if this deal works out nearly as well as the Corvo trade did last season… fans will quickly get over the loss of a popular star.

Remember, it took Cory Stillman AND Mike Commodore to get Corvo, and Pitkanen is a similar player.