Hurricanes GM Ron Francis said he reached out to Rask's agent recently and is waiting on a response, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

EDGE Analysis

Without Rask, who becomes a restricted free agent July 1, the Canes are quite thin down the middle following the departure of Eric Staal last season, so the team would love nothing more than to lock him up long-term. Tellingly, Francis sounded quite confident that a deal will get done, saying Rask "will be ready for training camp" following the shoulder surgery he underwent recently. Bottom line, we believe you will see a healthy Rask back in a Hurricanes uniform this fall, and given his career-high 48-point campaign last season, this is a guy you should be targeting in the middle to later rounds of your fantasy drafts come October.

Rask (shoulder) had 21 goals in 2015-16, good for second on the Hurricanes. His 48 points was also good for second on the team (tied with Jordan Staal) and a career-high.

EDGE Analysis

With the decline and eventual departure of Eric Staal this season, Rask emerged as one of the Canes' top two centers along with the younger Jordan. At just 23 years old, the fact that Rask is coming close to the 50-point mark on a mediocre Hurricanes team is impressive -- on just about any other team, Rask would likely have 60-70 point potential. Rask is expected to have minor shoulder surgery this offseason, but is fully expected to be ready to go once training camps open in the fall. Don't overlook him at your fantasy drafts next season.

Rask could be facing offseason shoulder surgery, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

EDGE Analysis

Rask, who finished tied for second in team scoring with 48 points, played in 80 of 82 games this season, so it seems likely that the injury is minor in nature, especially since he's waited until the offseason to have it taken care of. We expect he will be fully healthy and ready to go by the tim training camps open in September.

Rask registered an assist and two PIM in Saturday's 5-1 loss to Columbus.

EDGE Analysis

Rask is having a fine ending to the year, notching five goals -- two on the power play -- and one helper in the last six games. The 23-year-old has made strides in his second campaign, and he's been especially productive on the man advantage with 18 total points. The 2011 second-round pick has made a name for himself in Carolina, sitting just three shy of a 50-point season.

Rask potted a pair of goals in Sunday's win over the Devils.

EDGE Analysis

Rask also fired off a game-high seven shots on net in the contest en route to extending his goal streak to four straight games. The 23-year-old has been a true bright spot for a Carolina team currently on the outside looking into the playoff picture, as he has 20 goals in his sophomore campaign.

Rask put home his 17th goal of the season in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets.

EDGE Analysis

The goal helped Rask end his streak of four games with no points. The second-year center is having a great sophomore year, picking up 42 points in 72 games this season. He's been one of the few players that Carolina fans can brag about this season. Rask should continue to see plenty of ice time and will have a lot of opportunities to add to his point totals this season.

Rask recorded an even-strength goal and a power-play assist in Saturday's OT loss to the Lightning.

EDGE Analysis

That's three points in the last three games for Rask, which puts him just one point shy of the 40-point plateau for the first time in his young career. He has been one of the few bright lights on an otherwise mediocre Canes squad this season. He's worth rolling in medium to deeper formats.

Rask notched an assist, two shots on goal and two hits in 19:01 of ice time during Sunday's loss to the Blues.

EDGE Analysis

It was the third consecutive game Rask has seen his ice time near the 20-minute mark, well above his season average of roughly 16 minutes per game. Going forward, Rask should continue to see plenty of minutes as he has been bumped up to center the Canes' second line in the wake of the Eric Staal trade.

Rask scored twice in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Islanders. He potted both of those goals 1:21 apart.

EDGE Analysis

He has now equaled his career mark in points (33) in just 54 games. Rask is already a strong two-way performer and he's just 22. He's going to be a fantastic second-line player very, very soon.

In his last game just before the All-Star break (Jan. 26 versus the Blackhawks), Rask saw a season-low 11:59 of ice time, with zero minutes on the power play.

EDGE Analysis

Rask is still averaging over 16 minutes per game on the season, but he's only seen that much ice time once since the end of December. Previously, Rask was skating in a top-six role for the Canes, but he's currently centering the team's third line between Jeff Skinner and Riley Nash. With 29 points in 49 games, he still has a good chance to surpass his 33-point rookie campaign from last season, but it will be a grind if he continues to see bottom-six minutes. Go with a more viable fantasy alternative if you have one.