Black Friday

I just quickly searched around for any updated news related to the Hurricanes, and there isn't much. Did you ever wish the Canes had a special lunch show, like "Leaf's Lunch", or something like that? I wish that I had the time to do produce it. For now, we'll just have to settle for 2nd hand news from bloggers.

I listened to 99.9 The Fan this morning for the "Fanatics" interview with John Forslund. JF said that they suspect Justin Williams has ligament damage in the same injured knee that he had major surgery on in 2002-03. Obviously, they won't know how extensive the damage is until it is examined after the swelling goes down, but it's not good. He could be out for a month or he could be out for the rest of the season.

Who do the Canes call up to replace him? Ryan Bayda is suffering from a concussion, so he is out. The River Rats leading scorer is Keith Aucoin, so he would be the typical choice, but he has been in Raleigh a few times and it might be time to try someone new. Brandon Nolan is their 2nd leading scorer, but I admit that I don't know much about him. He was signed by the Hurricanes in 2007 as a free agent, but was originally drafted by New Jersey and by Vancouver and has bounced around the AHL and ECHL a few years.

I wouldn't mind seeing one of our recent draft choices brought in for another look-see. Junior hockey sensation, Bobby Hughes is an interesting player, but really hasn't shown too much at a higher level until just recently. He seems hot right now, so he could be an option. Jerome Samson might be another interesting choice. Carolina's best prospects, Brandon Sutter and Drayson Bowman are both in juniors and are unavailable for now. I believe that when the juniors season ends, they can be brought up at that time.

If I had to make a guess, I would say that they will bring up Aucoin again.

Some more dark news on this Friday, Chad LaRose is not ready to play yet and will most likely miss the next game against Tampa Bay. David Tanabe is closer along, and might rejoin the team soon.

I'm about ready to do my own personal version of Black Friday and hit the stores this afternoon. Ciao!

Steely Dan