2010 Winter Olympics Hockey Preview: Carolina Hurricanes
by Bob Wage on Nov 24, 2009 11:42 AM EST
23 comments
SB Nation is promoting a network wide Olympic Preview this week, and today the Carolina Hurricanes are featured. Let's take a look at the roster and see who will be traveling to Vancouver, and who will be watching on television with the rest of us.
Pack Your Bags:
The defenseman has been injured a lot this season for the Canes, but if he is healthy he should be a no-brainer addition for Team Finland.
Ruutu put up career best numbers last season, has started out this season with a bang, and is another easy selection for Team Finland.
The skilled winger was supposedly a borderline case during the summer, but his solid start to this season should push him over the bubble and into the lineup for Team Finland.
I could be wrong, but I think if Staal is healthy, he is a lock and will be in the mix and skating for Team Canada.
Nearly a Lock:
The defenseman was invited to summer orientation camp and is certainly on Team USA's radar. He has had a very good start to the season and has already scored a career best four goals this year. In my opinion, he should be selected.
In a Battle:
The goalie was already in a situation where he needed to play very well at the start of the season, to even be considered. Now after a slow start and his injury to boot, his chances of making Team Canada are probably slim.
The rest of the Hurricanes roster is most likely not even being considered for selection.
There is a rumor that there will be a lot of locals here cheering for Team Finland? When we get closer to the event, we will take a closer look at each of the primary teams of interest, and see what their chances are of bringing home the gold.
_____
Last week we ran an article on Canes Country questioning whether or not previously injured players should be allowed to participate in the Olympics. Keep in mind, if the players get injured while representing their countries, they still get paid their guaranteed NHL contracts.
Players are currently under no obligation, under the current CBA, to be approved by anyone from their team if they are selected to represent their country. They can simply be gone at anytime within the timeframe stipulated in the agreement.
Gary Bettman has brought up the question and this might be a sticking point in negotiations for the next CBA. Should NHL players participate in the Olympics in 2014? In the meantime, you have some star players like Alex Ovechkin claiming that they will play for their country in 2014, whether they are authorized to do so or not.
My question to Ovechkin. What happens if you get injured and the franchise is no longer on the hook for your guaranteed earnings? What if you assume all the risk and could lose part or all of your $8 million plus annual salary for the next umpteen years?
If the players assumed all the financial risk instead of the owners, they might be singing a different tune. Why not write that in the next CBA?
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LOL, it’s not a rumor, Bob. I’m a HUGE fan of the Olympics, and I’ll be supporting Team USA, but I will without a doubt be ruuting for Team Finland.
SISU
And I think Jussi’s sewn it up as well, in fact there’s a lot of blogging about how he may even be slotted on a top line with Mikko and Tuomo. Do they have shootouts in the Olympics? If so he’s a lock.
SISU
a Guy like Jussi becomes an absolutely killer offensive weapon when you increase the ice surface to international size.
the Olympics are going to be played on N.A.-sized ice.
by Cory Lavalette on Nov 24, 2009 2:42 PM EST up reply actions
They do have shootouts.
Go back and check out the 94 ( maybe it was 98 ) Winter Olympics. The Dominator was involved in an excellent shootout win against Canada for the Gold Medal I believe. Anyway, it was an amazing game.
Satan is just a coping mechanism for monotheists.
I think it’s going to be hard for all Caniacs to pick just one country to root for. I know I plan on cheering for the US, Finland and Canada.
by caniacgirl on Nov 24, 2009 12:53 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Olympic hockey is great
I have always loved watching Olympic hockey. The teams are all star caliber and they play like they care unlike our all star game. Imagine Team Canada’s roster, they will move Staal to left wing, IF he makes the team, and thats no guarantee with his injury and lackluster play thus far. I cannot wait to see Canada vs. Russia when they lace them up. I will cheer louder than most for the USA, but I will also cheer for Team Canada en route to their gold medal. My son thinks we’re Canadian anyway because we watch so much hockey and know both national anthems. Surprised Cullen isn’t getting a look though.
This season would be really tough if I didn't drink the misery away.
Injuries
I do not see injuries as a big deal. What happens during World Hockey Championship, which is held annually during NHL play-offs, is that national hockey federations buy insurance for their NHL players, so I would expect they could do the same for Olympics.
I do not understand why people make such a big deal of injuries. Yes, they could happen the same way as they happen in NHL play. Let’s say Stall’s current injury would happen during Olympics, I can see that many people here would be saying he should not have gone. But since his injury happened in NHL we accept is a part of hockey. The point I am trying to make is that the risk of injuries in Olympics is way overblown, yes, they happen, but if we accept them as a part of NHL play, we should accept that some happen during Olympics.
My issue is that an injury sustained at the Olympic can affect their NHL club who is still on the hook for their salary. If the same player gets hurt during a league game it’s not such an issue because they at least got hurt for their pro team. Sounds kind of nitpicky but I can see people having an issue with that part.
by caniacgirl on Nov 24, 2009 2:00 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Sadly, I really don’t think Staal will make the Canadian team. His tepid start makes it difficult to justify his inclusion over the likes of someone like Patrick Marleau who has been red hot with Heatley and big Joe.
And Team Canada is extremely deep down the middle. So much so that they are looking for Cs that can move to wing. I know you guys had your discussion about Staal moving to the wing a few days ago but it’s hard to refute the facts that Marleau has had a better season and has more proven success at wing.
If consequences dictate the course of action, then it doesn't matter what's right, it's only wrong if you get caught. If consequences dictate the course of action, then I should play God...
by Fehr and Balanced on Nov 24, 2009 6:36 PM EST up reply actions
Insurance
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that most teams (pro-sports in general, not just NHL) insure their contracts, especially the big ones like Ovechkin. So the team might be “on the hook”, but not in the sort of direct way that has been suggested here. So it is not the salary that is a loss, or even the potential down-turn in attendance. The only big deal might be if a team loses a key player and then misses the playoffs, which would translate into a loss of (presumably uninsurable) revenue.
I have a hard time considering Staal a lock, or near lock, for Team Canada. Considering he hasn’t played much hockey this year, and wasn’t producing when he was playing, I think he’ll not only have to get healthy but get hot to make the team. Staal has been a streaky player and if he’s hot during February Canada would be crazy to overlook him, but if he’s not hot then they have plenty other guys that can produce there. Then consider the depth Team Canada has at C and it’s hard to write him in write now.
Ward is interesting. Lots of people were ready to hand the 3rd spot to MAF earlier this year but his play has seriously dropped off. I think that 3G spot is up for grabs right now and if Ward comes back healthy and plays well for 4-6 weeks before the Olympics I think he’s got a real good shot (better than Staal, IMO).
Tim Gleason definitely has a good shot. In a related note, it’s nice to see how competitive Team USA’s blueline has become. It’s absolutely criminal that Keith Ballard hasn’t been able to get a look yet. He must have really pissed off Burke and Wilson when they were all in the Pacific Division.
As far as the Ovechkin stuff, it’s definitely a legitimate question but I don’t think it will get that far. I think AO and the other Russians are making noise now just so their position is clear. I have a hard time seeing the NHL going against that kind of star power and refusing to allow them to play in the Olympics. After Sochi it’s a whole new issue though. I think the Olympics are going to be one of the fiercest bargaining issues in the next CBA. I could see the owners pushing to force the players to accept the risk of Olympic injury, but you have to wonder what the players are going to want back. (Then again, I wonder if the NHLPA is going to be in any kind of shape to fiercely negotiate the issue.) Ultimately I have a hard time seeing the Union accepting a clause that puts the exclusive risk of injury on the players. At the very least I think there will be some insurance provision. I could see the owners, players, and respective countries (via the IIHF) agreeing to split the insurance cost for international competition going forward.
If consequences dictate the course of action, then it doesn't matter what's right, it's only wrong if you get caught. If consequences dictate the course of action, then I should play God...
by Fehr and Balanced on Nov 24, 2009 6:44 PM EST reply actions
2014
I think it’s rather economic issue, that can be resolved easily through some agreement between the teams and NHl and the respective federations. The players must be insured by international rules to participate anyway. It is possible that a loss of a Ovechkin-caliber player to injury can be costly to a team, but if I had a choice between having Ovechkin on my team and risking his injury at he Olympics(a very vague risk in my opinion) or having Ovechkin wanting to leave, because the league won’t let him play at the Olympics, I’d just let him go to the Olympics, having all insurance issues resolved before of course.
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