Clicks and Clippings: Watching and waiting

So do you think we're all anxious, as we wait for that big tweet confirming the deal has been made? Which one of our favorite players will be gone in exchange for a big pick in the 2010 Entry draft? This Hockeymom is reminded of being 40+ weeks pregnant and wondering if every twinge from my abdomen is the signal my life is about to change forever. Perhaps you all have had the same exact thought? Can't we just get it over with?! 

Yesterday around 2pm, the official radio partner of your Carolina Hurricanes triggered a rampant series of tweets, fanposts, and phonecalls with this seemingly potent, though intentionally vague teaser: 

99.9FM ESPN Radio Big announcement at 4:05pm today on

the Insiders live from the RBC Center. Tune in!

Of course, it was only big if you work for the radio station, but for the rest of us, not so much. (Someone needs to remind them about what happened to the little boy who cried wolf.) That said, the name on everyone's keyboard seems to be Ray Whitney. Here's the most recent round of discussions, singing the Wizard's praise and speculating on which city will be charmed by his magic touch for the remainder of the season.

NHL on TSN Panel: Senators, Penguins could make use of Whitney  Our NHL on TSN panel points out that Carolina Hurricanes' veteran forward Ray Whitney could draw plenty of interest from a number of teams, including the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins. More on Whitney (and Matt Cullen) going to the Sens (from the Ottawa Sun.)

Forslund talks 3-game win streak, looming trades on 620 The Buzz Friday morning (he suggests Pittsburgh, Vancouver Canucks, or the Boston Bruins) are lining up for Whitney.

Breaking down the 10 players expected to be traded - Puck Daddy Wyshynski's take on Dreger's top 10. (Guess which player wearing #13 is the featured photo? )

THIS JUST IN: Video of "Trade Bait" from Pierre LeBrun and Scott Burnside at ESPN.com just came out. To hear LeBrun wax poetic regarding Whitney, go to the 5:15 mark, where he describes our #13 as "the Best pick up out there" or "This year's Bill Guerin" and suggests Ray is being eyed by Pittsburgh, Calgary or (horrors!) the Rangers. Can you imagine Whitney accepting a deal to play for Tortorella?

How could any of us seen this coming in September? Or even October? 

While we wait like all the others in the phone queue for Mr Rutherford, (your wait time is approximately ......) and knowing no news is no news, let's turn our attention to the potential partners in this complex tango and see if that helps fill the time, after the jump.

Branecky and Hanlin talk about how often the GM's phone is ringing and other important changes on Edwards Mill Road with this week's The Hurricanes Report Podcast. (see if you can listen while you're scanning these other links) 

Bruins likely to keep No. 1 pick  - FanNation Of the calls Peter Chiarelli has been taking lately from rival general managers, few have centered on the availability of Toronto's first-round pick.

Why stall? Pushing the reset button can lead to a quicker turnaround - USATODAY.com In the salary cap era, sharp general managers know when to push the reset button.

The Hockey News: Ken Campbell's blog: Pens, Caps serve as lesson for draft dodgers The fact of the matter is no team has conducted a successful rebuild by trading away draft choices. Quite to the contrary. They accumulate them.

Speaking of draft picks: The haves and have-nots in scouting - The Globe and Mail Rich teams bulk up their staff while frugal clubs cut back.

Noteworthy achievements

The Canes have a been on a bit of a run the last week (or month even). Let's note some kudos our boys have received of late:

NHL Hockey Daily Stats Leaders -  ESPN (from the Boston Game) Jussi Jokinen at #2, Cam Ward tied at 3rd ; From the Rangers game: Ward #3, Sergei Samsonov at #8; From the Islanders game: Ward at #4

Eric Staal getting love from

• his hometown Staal’s early season slip doesn’t stain record - Thunder BayNewsWatch.com. 
• from NHL.com's Mike Morreale: 'Canes already know Staal can lead the way
• and then most succinctly from NHL's newest media boss this morning : Twitter / Greg Wyshynski:

Jeepers: Eric Staal now has eight goals in five games. 

BTW, readers: Have you noticed the nifty new gadget, courtesy of the growing relationship between SBNation and NHL.com? Look to your right and you'll see we now have instant access to the NHL.com video vault, customized for those of us here in Canes Country. This week: don't miss seeing Chad LaRose announce his return to form with the #4 Top Goal of the Week, as he puts the Pitkanenesque feed from Tim Gleason past Lightning goalie Antero Niittymaki thrilling the crowd. This, fittingly on Chad LaRose bobblehead night "I'm ba-ack!"

Some news about these Western Conference opponents coming up the next week:

The Hockey News: Ryan Kennedy Is Brent Sutter the problem in Calgary? Coach Brent Sutter, after all, is Alberta royalty thanks to his family’s success in developing NHL talent based often on grit and hard work.

Oilers nearing Dirty Dozen in losses | Toronto Sun The winless streak of 12 sets up the Oilers to go for the team winless streak record of 14 should they fall to the Flames in Monday's much awaited battle for the basement against the Carolina Hurricanes. 

Just making sure you'd seen this ditty about a couple kids known as the Blackhawks. Chicago's hottest sports team arrives in Raleigh today after their huge OT win late last night vs the Sharks in San Jose. Puck Daddy: Kane believes one limo photo was faked. 

Enough about the NHL'ers - let's talk about the future:

Albany River Rats: Albany Beats Bridgeport 2-1 Drayson Bowman and Bryan Rodney scored shootout goals to lift the Albany River Rats to a 2-1 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Tuesday night at the Arena at Harbor Yard.

While it's easy to keep track of goings on in Albany and even Major Juniors, the Hurricanes have 4 players active in NCAA this year. Here's an update from CC's Prospects Czar Cory Lavalette: Hurricanes 2009-10 NCAA prospects update - Hockey's Future Further, check out this little gem regarding "the other Zac" in the system: 2009-2010 CCHA Conference Stats  Zac Dalpe at #3 as scoring leader, with the highest PPG on the list at 1.17

Lamoriello addresses Cormier suspension - NHL.com - News Devils' draft pick Patrice Cormier was suspended by the QMJHL on Monday; Lou Lamoriello gave his thoughts. (This story is about those murky edges of the game that seem to help us distinguish between what we love and hate about hockey)

Former Hurricanes

Seidenberg ready for third trip to the Olympics:  Florida Panthers defenseman Dennis Seidenberg will be competing in his third Winter Olympics when he plays for Germany. Add to it this, from an inset story last week: NHL.com - Ice Age Speaking of the Olympics, I know if I had been an NHL general manager last summer, one of my first calls would have been to defenseman Dennis Seidenberg. (Really?!)

The Hockey News: Ken Campbell: Jack Johnson happy to play the bad-guy role The last time he was there for an international tournament, Johnson became a major cause celebre after viciously elbowing Steve Downie of Canada in the final minutes of a 3-2 loss to Canada at the 2006 World Junior Championship.

The heavyweight in waiting: Wade Brookbank - PensBurgh If the Penguins want to find a fill-in for their injured enforcer Eric Godard, tough guy Wade Brookbank is waiting in the wings in the minor leagues.

Patrick Eaves is Finding his niche - The Macomb Daily Sports He came to Detroit with the reputation of a scorer, but Eaves is playing on a checking third line and is one of the team's top penalty killers. 

Finally, some broader and less serious views of hockey across the NHL

Going inside the "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" - NHL.com Gordie Howe led many statistical categories but one he surely didn't lead is the unofficial one that came to bear his name.

The Pensblog Guide To Hockey Fans A critical comical look at some hockey fan stereotypes that you may find near and dear (or at least all too familiar).

Last, for those who have been joining us on the live game threads and bantered about the more awkward mental images provided to listeners by the Canes color analyst Tripp Tracy, here's an especially vivid (mis-)call you will enjoy courtesy of via PuckDaddy. 

Like the man says: These two studs have to be better :