Road Troubles Continue for Carolina: Ducks 3, Canes 2
by Bob Wage on Nov 26, 2009 3:23 AM EST
61 comments
The Carolina Hurricanes are now all alone in the NHL basement with the worst record, (5-14-5), and fewest points, (15), in the league, as they dropped yet another road game on Wednesday night, this time to the Anaheim Ducks by a score of 3-2.
The Canes are doing a great job of tying franchise records this season, but unfortunately, they are records of the wrong type. After previously tying a franchise worst 14 consecutive games without a win, they now have started the season with 12 consecutive road games without a win, (0-9-3), tying a franchise record dating back to the 1981-82 season.
To the team's credit, they jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead, but then watched the Ducks control the puck most of the rest of the game, as Anaheim cycled, cycled, and cycled some more, and put on a clinic in front of their home crowd.
Tom Kostopoulos got Carolina off to a good start as he put a Matt Cullen pass in at just 1:23 into the game. This was TK's 400th career NHL game and second goal of the season.
The Hurricanes had some jump in the first period and continued to control play for a bit after the goal. They drew an interference penalty about five minutes in, but the ensuing powerplay failed to generate anything worthwhile and the momentum shifted Anaheim's way.
Even though Anaheim controlled the puck for long periods of time in the Carolina zone, Manny Legace was once again excellent in goal. For the most part, the Canes were able to keep the Ducks to the outside during their relentless cycling, but when they did get shots, Legace was like a man possessed in net. He made diving saves, post-to-post saves, and glove saves galore.
But late in the second period, Eric Staal was called for high-sticking right off of a faceoff, and the Ducks would take advantage of their powerplay with the help of a nice pass by Teemu Selanne and shot by Scott Niedermayer. The shot by Niedermayer looked like a mis-hit, but he got under the puck just enough to send a floater over Legace's head to tie the score.
The Hurricanes had two more powerplay chances in the second period, but failed to capitalize. As a matter of fact, the second one looked horribly out of sync as they could barely gain possession of the puck in the Ducks' zone and were called for offsides on three occasions while trying to enter the zone. It was not a pretty sight.
The Ducks were out-shooting and controlling play again in the Hurricanes zone when the team finally broke down in the third. Sergei Samsonov was pushed off the puck by Todd Marchant, who flipped a backhanded pass to Kyle Calder, who flipped another backhanded pass to Petteri Nokelainen. The Finn out-hustled Andrew Alberts and chipped the puck over a surprised Legace to make the score 2-1.
That was another fluky goal, but one well deserved because of the hustle involved.
Later in third, both Carolina defensemen pinched, the puck got behind them and Saku Koivu fed a wide open Teemu Selanne who easily made the score 3-1 and put the game out of reach.
The Canes tried to make a game of it though as they finally got some possession time in their own zone. Brandon Sutter would score with less than a minute left as Eric Staal got the puck through the crease to him, but it was too little too late and the Canes would face another long flight home as losers.
Their next game is at the RBC Friday night against the Atlanta Thrashers.
Game Notes:
- The lines were like a "Land of Confusion" as Maurice mixed and matched them all night long. The defensemen were not left out of the quagmire either as different pairings were tried throughout the game as well. The good news is that there were not any "too many men on the ice" calls this game.
- Brandon Sutter, who is tied for most goals scored on the team, (6), had just 12:46 of playing time. He was moved off the first line after the opening period or so and did not get as much powerplay time (52 seconds) as he was getting previously. Usually very good on the penalty kill, he got zero shorthanded time. Maurice complimented him after the game, but apparently forgot about him earlier.
- Eric Staal led the team with six shots on goal but looked rusty and was undisciplined at times. In the third period, he was frustrated as a Duck was hooking him and he grabbed the stick and tossed it, which could have easily resulted in another penalty against him. Somehow, he needs to control that frustration and not lose his temper when things are not going his way.
- Legace was diving and sprawling all night long to make his saves, while Jean-Sebastien Giguere barely broke a sweat. Was that evidence of a difference in goaltending style, or the quality of shots each goalie faced? Giguere hardly moved, blocking shots easily with his chest or blocker most of the night. Great positioning on his part and poor shot selection by the Canes.
- The team had 25 hits led by Tim Gleason's six.
- Staal and Cullen took the majority of faceoffs with 17 each, while Sutter took nine, Yelle took eight, and Brind'Amour took four. None of them won over 50%.
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Sutter, one of the few I love to watch play.Cullen was great, Legace was a bright spot as well. Mo on the other hand…must GO! This whole no road victories and these losing streaks are wearing me thin! I don’t know what JR is gonna do to fix the problem, but something needs to happen very soon! I would rather see them lose with the young guns than win with this uninspired team. They seemed to jump on the Ducks early(who were lost in the 1st) but fell apart as the game wore on. Finally, after the defense gave up 3 straight( and I don’t pin’em on Manny), Sutter cashes in on a late rally goal to make it 3-2 ducks, but the rally was too late. Now here we are, no road wins, and dead last in every category in the league. at what point do you finally hold the coaching staff reponsible? Geez, I guess us fans don’t account for anything.. given the fact that, we pay good money to watch this mockery of a team! OK. I’m done ranting, but I’ve been pretty quiet about this and patient for quite some time. Anyway, hope everyone here has a great Thanksgiving.. and here’s to hoping JR gets rid of the turkey, coaching this team!
Oh yeah.. almost forgot… FIRST!!!
by 3yrsnoplayoffs? on Nov 26, 2009 7:18 AM EST reply actions
I went to bed after the first period praying we would win. What a horrible way to wake up this morning. At least Legace got the Third Star again. He is becoming a consistent goalie, and I like him for it.
Just wish the rest of the team could wake up. How long before we trade Staal?
I think Manny’s problem the first couple of games was just him trying to re-adjust to the speed of the game.
Also I think dedicating some toasts to him while out and about my drinking excursions helped some.
"It’s a brand new day
And the sun is high
All the birds are singing
That you’re gonna die" ~ Dr. Horrible
Who ended up as the first line centre then?
Just wondering due to the debates as to where Staal should be slotted back in… Where did Sutter end up in the end? Or was there too much of line juggling to be able to say?
Hmmm- too much line-juggling, but I saw Staal out with Cole and Whitney quite a bit in the 3rd period, and Sutter with LaRose and Sammy.
Hurricanes Hockey: Never for the faint of heart.
by hockeymomof2 on Nov 26, 2009 8:47 AM EST up reply actions
Sutter on first, but as the game wore on.. Staal moved back to his old line and Sutters mins. dropped.
by 3yrsnoplayoffs? on Nov 26, 2009 8:47 AM EST up reply actions
•The lines were like a “Land of Confusion” as Maurice mixed and matched them all night long. The defensemen were not left out of the quagmire either as different pairings were tried throughout the game as well. The good news is that there were not any “too many men on the ice” calls this game.
signs of a coach, who doesn’t have clue.
by 3yrsnoplayoffs? on Nov 26, 2009 8:52 AM EST reply actions
Or...
A coach who has not had the same top 9 players healthy at virtually any point this season?
I’ll admit that the constant shuffling of lines can be insanely frustrating.
I’ve always been a believer that guys on a line need to be given time to gel as a unit.
But the rotating door due to injuries this year has at least been a factor in the shuffle.
Sometimes I think Mo (and a lot of coaches for that matter – don’t get my Flyer’s fan friends started on John Stevens and his line shuffling shenanigans) tend to work under the assumption that a veteran team can handling the rotating lines and work together on the fly.
I’m not convinced this is the case with the players on this team.
-m
This one really bugged me
1 Staal was not a force. As well as trying to get the hooking call, I also saw him take a dive when he was hardly bumped in the 2nd; it was ridiculous. He is not the solution.
2 Mo was apparently either asleep or in a panic; and the players know it.
3 Sutter getting his TOI reduced so drastically (thinking maybe because Getzlaf was too much/too big for him?) – please Mo show some confidence. What have you got to lose (more than you already have)?
I also thought this was an accurate comment from 3rd star Legace:
“Every loss stinks,” Legace said. “It seems like we played that third period not to lose. You’ve got to go out and play hard.”Telling it like it is. Not bad, for the new guy.
And now we have 3 games in the next 4 days. We need Ruu; and on my wishlist, maybe Timmy gets the A until Staal decides to show up. (I know I know – will never happen – and that’s the problem).
If the Staal lovers amongst us would please try to convince me that #12 is the solution, (and not one item on the long list of problems), I would be oh so grateful. As hard as I tried, I just didn’t see it that way.
Hurricanes Hockey: Never for the faint of heart.
I’m a Staal liker. I admit he’s not Ovechkin class although he’s paid like it.
I guess my point would be it’s wrong to bash him for this Team’s problems. I’m not going to get in a running battle trying to defend him. I would point out though, that no Big salary-type, except maybe I.Kovalchuk, plays with less talent as linemates. Read the previous posts as to who Staal played with last night. No one’s even sure, mostly Cole and Whitney they guess.
Trying to say Staal or any single person (or Coach) is going to fix this Team’s plethora (cornucopia ?) of problems is wishful thinking.
by drifterscape on Nov 26, 2009 9:29 AM EST up reply actions
Okay – Thank you. I’ll give it some time. I was looking more for stronger body language; more conspicuous.
Maybe I should focus on Staal getting the primary assist on Sutter’s goal. Maybe that will be out Backstrom/Ovie equivalent….sooner than later I hope.
Anything good to say about Mo last night? With that game, and the incomprehensible management of the lines and TOI, I think he may have arrived at his nadir.
Hurricanes Hockey: Never for the faint of heart.
by hockeymomof2 on Nov 26, 2009 9:38 AM EST up reply actions
I have nothing but mean words for Mo today despite the cheeriness of the holiday season. He once again goes back to the same guys getting all the minutes regardless of how they are using them. To have Sutter at less than 13 minutes is ridiculous, to have him with no PK is insane and to have him benched after scoring the goal to bring it to within one is poor coaching on Mo’s part. Same thing goes for Cullen who for some reason I remember seeing less and less of as the game went on (could have been exhaustion on my part). I think despite all of Mo’s talk about keeping the top two lines the same and what a wonderful job Sutter has done, we will see him revert back to his old ways-ride your main guys until they drop no matter what.
ESPN.com had some great photos of the game
Here is where to see all 48. I liked this one in particular (Isn’t that Cullen crashing the net – Staal was behind and fed it to Sutter – yes a good combination – let’s see LOTS of it)
Showing how the Anaheim hard hitting was causing turnovers (Corvo was not alone).
Hurricanes Hockey: Never for the faint of heart.
by hockeymomof2 on Nov 26, 2009 10:55 AM EST up reply actions
I wonder if despite our new bigger and tougher mentality, we just aren’t prepared to play against a team that has that level of physicality as their identity. IMO the Western Conference is more grinding and physical and I don’t think we’ve been ready for it. Some of that comes from the coaches and some from the players themselves. We really missed Ruutu last night.
Physical Game -- Not in the Cards yet for the Hurricanes
Brind-Amour (6’ 205 lbs but non-physical to the core even in his prime)
Samsonov (5’8" 170 lbs - not the 188 listed)
Whitney (5’ 9" 175 lbs)
LaRose (5’ 8" 170)
All of these players are miscast on a truly physical, body-checking team. Whitney has such will and determination that he does a remarkable job even where the system demands hard forechecking; but Whitney does not strike fear into his opponents with the physical specimen he is.
Samsonov, LaRose, and Brind’Amour are ineffective in the Maurice/Franicis system. They get owned when other teams bring out their big lines. It’s not that Samsonov and LaRose choose to be small in stature; and they lack the strength to make thundering hits. Brind’Amour is also one of the least physical forwards on the team.
I agree that the team as constituted does not match the system well; and that has hurt the ability of the present team to compete. On the other hand, Maurice/Francis probably have decided they intend to institute the system for years to come; and they are throwing down the challenge to the team — either play this way or be prepared to be off the team next year.
Brind-Amour (6’ 205 lbs but non-physical to the core even in his prime)
You know, sometimes elskling and I wonder aloud just what DID he develop that fabulous body for, anyway? He certainly doesn’t use it to deliver hits, or even take one, if he can help it.
Methinks the legendary workouts are more linked to his inner gym rat, as per the Michigan stories, than honing himself for his role on the ice.
Still, he certainly has a hard body, with the necessary throw weight behind it, that could help us in a valuable role for the team, if he cared to use it in that manner.
He used his body pretty forcefully in the 06 playoffs. Maybe not Alberts-like, but still really battling along the boards and forcing turnovers. That was over 3 yrs ago of course.
Hurricanes Hockey:
Never for the faint of heart.
Nor for the weak of stomach.
by hockeymomof2 on Nov 27, 2009 9:16 AM EST up reply actions
Well, he was hooked.
He has not played game speed for ten games. Nearly a month. This is coaching or lack of. That idiotic collapse defense sucks. When you voluntarily give the puck for 2-3 minute stretches, it wears on your team confidence. Last year when the defense was quicker, they could make that defense work. Now, our defense is slower and tougher. They need to be banging. This is coaching. You need to match your style to the team you have. Here we have a coach that wants his team to play a style that does not match their talent. The team is lost under this guy. I will say it again….what was the coaching staff doing in the off season? Obviously not their jobs or planning. Pathetic really. It is a disgrace. This team can win if they have the right coaching strategy. Power hockey on offense. Shoot the puck more(not enough talent to play with the puck. Crash the net. Get the defense involved. Defense needs to be bruising. I mean bruising. The forwards need to be hounding the puck handler. In your face defense. Nothing passive. Like the blitz in football. It is not pretty but it will work. That is the identity of the team.
As for Eric Staal. I have noticed something small but interesting. I think he is awesome as a player but I have heard him say several times now…."I should be better in the next period…or I was lucky or I this or that……. Last time “I” checked, this is a team sport. Eric, if you want to lead, speak in terms of “We” and they will follow. He didn’t click last night but he was a force out there. He had a couple of grade A chances. The team only had about 4….he had 2…..It just goes to show how important Ruutu is. For this team to dominate, they need all hands on deck, all rowing in the same direction…..again, where is the plan?
Bruising D
Alberts had the lowest TOI (11:34) among the D; even Wallin had 16 minutes, and AWard over 17 minutes
Alberts and Wallin: 3 hits each; Ward: 2.
Alberts has been featured at least 3 times in NHL’s Top 10 hits of the week.
Gleason had 6 hits in 22:33
Alberts was also -2 though Corvo’s name gets mentioned in the re-cap for the turnover → ANA goal. Corvo was +1.
Hurricanes Hockey: Never for the faint of heart.
by hockeymomof2 on Nov 26, 2009 9:47 AM EST up reply actions
Hits is not the only story here.
Point well taken………Aaron Ward is part of the problem…no doubt. Wallin is slow and was consistently beaten to the puck. You cannot fix age….you can fix coaching.
Gleason turned the puck over at least twice. The team is playing on their heals. The other side senses that and they press. That causes turnovers. The hits need to have impact. Not just a “hit” for the sake of hitting. One can argue that the only reason to hit is to send a message. Hits happened but no message was sent because as soon as the Ducks hit back, they shifted gears and switched to offense. We stopped hitting, then fell into the idiot collapse defense. They were absolutely dominating our team. Why allow them to hold the puck as a strategy…..that is our strategy. It is like paper, sissors, rock….their decisions and strategies covered all of ours…we were their dogs. They probably were laughing in their locker room. Big joke of the league. We are old, we are disorganized, we have no plan, we are slow. All this means they will end near the bottom of the league. What team can this team beat on the road?
I am going to say this now. Joe Corvo is in no way the problem out there. If Canes fans want to see how bad it can get, lose that guy and we will be losing 5-1 and 7-2. He holds the offensive zone consistently better than any other Cane. He backs the other team up in the offensive zone.
The good news….we likely are in line for a very high pick. Woooo Hooo….
Not sure I have a point on this. Just putting out stats. I guess I’m confused (as is everyone) about the team identity. Hitting, speed, skill, grit. All of the above, but none very well or consistently.
We need the coach (or somebody, anybody – please step forward!) to simplify, simplify, simplify. Stick with the plan so the players have time to learn and adjust/improve, before you change it again and they have to go back to square one. Quit second-guessing and over-thinking from one shift to another.
We are old, we are disorganized, we have no plan, we are slow. – exactly.
It was 1-1 after 2, so even with all that cycling in front of Legace, I can’t see them “laughing at us in the locker room”. Doesn’t matter if they were.
Hurricanes Hockey: Never for the faint of heart.
by hockeymomof2 on Nov 26, 2009 11:01 AM EST up reply actions
You’re onto something, particularly in the second paragraph.
Need a more focused forum than this post-game thread, but this season needs to be about developing, installing, and fine-tuning a team identity, so that the summer can be spent augmenting and adding missing parts.
This helter-skelter pattern of throwing bodies over the wall with seemingly no logic or purpose behind some of the combos other than “we haven’t tried this yet” is maddening. Also contra-productive to stated goal of developing a plan.
Is an intervention needed with Mo? Or has the entire brain trust group-thought themselves into this approach?
Agreed
I’m not sure exaclty what people were expecting, but considering that he had not been on the ice (for a game) in over two weeks, I thought Staal played pretty well overall. There were flashes of brilliance and evidence of rust. One thing to consider is that if he is indeed finally healthy, it’s probably the first time he has been so all year. I think it will take a few games for him to get back up to full speed. That said, there were moments last night where he looked like his old self – the good/great version – which can only bode well for the future. I’ve come to accept that Staal bashing will probably always be en vogue in some quarters, and I can even understand why to some degree. But I just want the guy to get back to playing the type of dominant two-way hockey that we have seen in the past and have therefore come to expect. If it gets to the point where we can have both Staal and Sutter playing excellent two-way hockey the future looks bright for this franchise. Perhaps not the immediate future, but still.
And I also have to agree that even as a “defender/apologist” for Staal I’ve also noticed his recent tendancy to reflect (publicly) about the shortcomings in his own game as opposed to focusing on the team game. Focusing on the negative instead of the positive. I’m not sure if it’s sinister. At least he’s not saying “I think I played great, can’t really do much more. At some point your teammates have to carry their share of the load”. I think it’s frustration more than anything else. It could be viewed as selfishness, or one could flip it around and say that he is trying to accept repsonsibility (however awkward it might seem) rather than throwing his teammates under the bus. I’ve also noticed a marked increase in his petulance on the ice, his bad body language after a call doesn’t go his way, pouting, slow to get back into the play at times, etc. Losing sucks. Especially for someone as driven and ego-centric as a professional athlete – ANY professional athlete. And while I’m sure it’s a tired excuse, Staal is still a relatively young guy who is growing up from a talented kid into a man right before our eyes. Growing pains happen, especially when you are living a large chunk of your life in the public eye. I can only imagine how ugly it might have looked if someone put a camera and microphone in my face virtually everyday and followed my every move at work for 6-8 months when I was 25. Yikes! Hell, it would be pretty ugly (not to mention boring) even now.
Bottom line, Eric Staal is the best player on this team. And he needs to play like it on a consistent basis on order for this team to thrive. As has been mentioned by many others, he doesn’t really have a wing-man to help carry the “superstar” load so the scrutiny on his game is intensified. Until that complimentary player is found or developed from within (perhaps it’s Sutter?) the pressure will continue to be on Staal to produce in a less that ideal situation. Such situations are those that build character. While it sucks right now, for both Eric and the fans, and think it COULD be an important part of building a stronger team in the long run.
-m
Here is a positive for Staal
If Staal wouldn’t have charged the net with the puck at the end of the game, Sutter wouldn’t of got a goal on the rebound.
A TRUE CANIAC......YES I AM........
Staal
Realistically, being out ten games and having been hurt essentially the entire season, it was unlikely that Staal would come out on fire. I had hoped that Whitney/Sutter/Staal would gel and would be high minutes.
As far I am concerned until Jim Rutherford finds a fast, big, scoring first line winger, Staal is not going to reach his full potential. Cole is not the answer, although I waver on whether Cole has a body-banging power forward on a second or third line makes sense. Cole does not finish and has an extremely limited vocabulary of moves.
In the meantime, Sutter ought to be getting maximum minutes. Giving Sutter only 12:46 toi is nonsense. So, going back to the question of Staal’s ability, in my view, we won’t know whether Staal can be the impact player we need him to be until he has a line mate who can take scoring pressure off of him.
If I were Rutherford, Maurice, and Francis, I would view this year as a rebuiding year. I would find out which of the present players can play the type of physical, forechecking game required by the Maurice/Francis approach; and I’d trade or not re-sign players who can’t thrive in that system.
Sutter's Minutes
I too was shocked by Sutter’s decrease in ice time. It definitely struck me as I watching the game and the point was driven home when I checked the box score.
One thing I considered was whether or not it might have been a conscious effort on the coaching staff’s part to not over-play him? I know that probably sounds crazy, but taking the long view (which believe me, I know how hard it is to do as a fan), I was able to rationalize the low ice-time last night this way:
Sutter is still a young, developing player (granted probably the best player we have had on the ice over the last 2-3 weeks) who has been logging serious first line and special teams minutes of late. I have not crunched the number but I would guess that he has been averaging 20+ minutes a game over the last few games. He is still not a big kid. Anaheim plays a brusing style of hockey. I noticed Sutter taking a few BIG hits last night. Maybe the staff was trying to not push him too hard. It’s only one game.
I don’t know. I might just be trying to rationalize the irrational. But I honestly feel that Sutter is not ready PHYSICALLY for 20 minutes a night in the NHL. Especially not during a stretch where we have 4 games in 6 days. Maybe the coaching staff was thinking the same thing. Trying to get as much out of him as they could while not comepletely burning him out? The longview? Trying to win games instead of just one game?
But honestly, and obviously, I have no idea.
-m
You may be on to something here. I am as big of a Sutter fan as you’ll find, but it’s clear even to me that he still has a lot of growing to do before he can handle the wear and tear of an 82 game NHL season with top line minutes. It would be much more encouraging to fans (myself included) if Mo et al. were trying to ease him into that, especially against the more physical teams.
I’m just not entirely sure that’s the case given Mo’s track record.
I will refrain from player/coach/organization bashing this wonderful turkey-day. I am thankful we have a team we can go and cheer for and… oh, wait, I wasn’t going to bash…
Tomorrow the gloves come off…
Happy Turkey Day everyone!!!
by Andrea's evil twin on Nov 26, 2009 9:30 AM EST reply actions
My Dad used to say that. Made me smile.
Hurricanes Hockey: Never for the faint of heart.
by hockeymomof2 on Nov 26, 2009 9:47 AM EST up reply actions
Thank you – I always thought it was from an old Depression-era movie of his childhood (he was born in 1918 and died in 05). That’s great. Happy Thanksgiving.
Hurricanes Hockey: Never for the faint of heart.
by hockeymomof2 on Nov 26, 2009 11:07 AM EST up reply actions
MO HAS TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are pass the breakin point, JR do something even if its a wrong decision. Show us you still care and want to win.
A TRUE CANIAC......YES I AM........
I was not really down on MO until I saw the last 2 games.
Consistently out coached. Clueless……………frustration…….can you sense it?
He has trouble making decisions and sticking with it. He keeps talking about the lack of confidence and he doesn’t have any himself. The line changes are the classic example of this.
A TRUE CANIAC......YES I AM........
+100000000000000000000
Hurricanes Hockey: Never for the faint of heart.
by hockeymomof2 on Nov 26, 2009 11:02 AM EST up reply actions
Hate to say it folks, but saturday we play the Slugs in Buffalo.. we haven’t won in their building in forever! It doesn’t look good for us. It could get ugly, given the fact that they actually know how to score!
by 3yrsnoplayoffs? on Nov 26, 2009 10:49 AM EST reply actions
And their goalie is hot. Plus we have Atlanta Friday and Caps Monday.
Then 4 days off to wallow in self-pity, self-doubt, and maybe self-loathing.
Or maybe we’ll win all 3. =D
Hurricanes Hockey: Never for the faint of heart.
by hockeymomof2 on Nov 26, 2009 11:09 AM EST up reply actions
When in doubt, repeat the mantra, Taylor Hall will be a great Hurricane
When in doubt, repeat the mantra, Taylor Hall will be a great Hurricane.
Ugly as this season is, and it is really incredibly ugly, a great draft position is worh the agony. The Hurricanes have conclusively demonstrated new talent is needed on the team. Sutter’s play shows what talented youth can do for a team. Wallin, Aaron Ward, and Brind’Amour show what happens to a team when players at the very end of their career go through the motions; and play as if showing up in their gear is all that is needed to win.
so there is a light at the end of this tunnel.
by 3yrsnoplayoffs? on Nov 26, 2009 11:53 AM EST up reply actions
Light at the end of the tunnel
Yes, this year is awful; but next year will be far better. Aaron Ward and Wallin have contracts that expire. Yelle’s contract expires. Scott Walker’s contract expires. Leighton’s contract expires. Whitney’s and Cullen’s contract expires and whether they will be traded or re-signed seems hard to predict. Brind’Amour will be in the last year of his contract and can be bought on — hopefully as part of Brind’Amour’s retirement.
Boychuk, Dawson, Rodney, McBain, and Carson appear ready to have a very positive impact. It is quite likely we will see some trades and possibly will load up on draft choices for the entry draft.
The talent in Albany will dramatically improve the Hurricanes next year. Adding the needed players via trade will help as well.
It is also possible that there will be something of a firesale and the talent in Albany will be brought up this year.
A Key to the Hurricanes' Collapse: No scoring by Big Salaried Players
Hurricanes Scoring Chart
Name Goals Assists Points Salary
Brind’Amour 2 5 7 $3,000,000
Cole 2 1 3 $2,800,000
Samsonov 2 6 8 $2,500,000
LaRose 1 5 6 $1,500,000
$9,800,000 of salary yielding 7 goals, 17 assists, and 24 points is a fiasco.
cole was an absolute waste of money. he is lazy, and his “power move” is garbage. he doesn’t score, but doesn’t take many penalties. He doesn’t for ANYTHING!!! That was probably JR’s worst decision of the offseason. That 2.8 mil could have easily been either saved, or used on a better quality player. He is not a top six guy by any stretch of the imagination.
Thing is, we can’t trade him because he sucks, and we are on the hook for him for 2 damned years. And don’t get me started on samsonov….
Member of Canes Country and the Cat Scratch Reader
AND WE HAVE
Guys like Boychuk in Albany who would put up more numbers but that would make the GM look bad and the coach doesn’t have the balls to play the younger guys over the vets.
by THE_NEW_CANES on Nov 26, 2009 3:28 PM EST up reply actions
Post game comments (audio links)
Hurricanes Hockey:
Never for the faint of heart.
Nor for the weak of stomach.
Mo must go?
I’d like to ask those who want Mo gone, how do you expect the team to do this? A lot of people wanted Lavi gone, he was fired, and the team is still paying his contract. Mo just signed a three year contract, if he was to get fired, that would be another another coach the team would be dishing money out to, but isn’t coaching.
Fire JR others say, but the vast majority thought he made excellent moves during the off season. People also complained about how the team wasn’t spending any money on players, now they are just below the cap level and really can’t do much now as far as moving players.
Staal was pretty much invisible all game, but, as mentioned before, it was his 1st game after missing 10, he’s going to need a couple of games to get his game legs back.
I would love to see folks not producing just sit on the bench, because that’s about all the team can afford to do. But at least that sends a message to them that no effort equals no ice time. And if benching them doesn’t piss them off, then they need to be traded.
The path forward from here
Dead last in the league. Second or third to last in team stats like GA, points, wins, etc. Nearly 30 percent of the season burned and there’s no real hope in sight that they will snap themselves out of this funk and start acting like they read on paper.
I am hoping for a return to .500 hockey at some point this season, at a minimum, but clearly this team is not what we want to see on the ice next year. So, changes must be made.
I believe that any realistic path forward will involve management intact as it is now. Nobody’s going anywhere out of this bunch. After all, it’s a family business, so adjust expectations accordingly.
Having said this, we do happen to have the brain trust in house that could make something out of this mess, if they apply their collective hockey minds to it. In fact, if they haven’t figured out something by the Olympic break, they all need to be locked into a facility somewhere for the duration of that break until they DO figure out something.
This season now exists for the sole purpose of re-tooling the Carolina Hurricanes. Systems conceived, adopted, implemented, practiced, played. Talent to carry out that system augmented and added as the year goes on and continued over the summer. Training camp reinforcing what was learned this year.
The Old Canes are dead. Long live the New Canes.
Sutter’s struggled the past two games, and since he was the only one scoring consistently, they’re at where they are at. Wouldve been nice to see Rodney back on the point the last two games.
by Cory Lavalette on Nov 26, 2009 10:51 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Maybe if/when Staal, Walker, and Ruu are healthy, Dwyer goes back to Albany. Is there then room for Rodney to be our 7th D? and let Yelle or Brind’Amour sit and watch from above. They could sit with Kevin McCarthy in the skybox and have a non-official coaching role.
Hurricanes Hockey:
Never for the faint of heart.
Nor for the weak of stomach.
by hockeymomof2 on Nov 27, 2009 9:21 AM EST up reply actions
Or AWard seems hobbled lately – maybe he could be given a few games off for maintenance.
Hurricanes Hockey:
Never for the faint of heart.
Nor for the weak of stomach.
by hockeymomof2 on Nov 27, 2009 9:21 AM EST up reply actions
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