Zac Dalpe "Week to Week": Other Notes and Stats
by Bob Wage on Oct 17, 2011 8:01 AM EDT
in Carolina Hurricanes Analysis
Email
Print
Weekend Notes:
The Carolina Hurricanes held practice on Sunday morning and Zac Dalpe was the only player not on the ice. The Canes have listed him as "week to week" because of a lower body injury and will recall another forward from Charlotte to take his place.
Dalpe has seen minimal ice time so far this season and is averaging a team low 6:51 per game. Anthony Stewart is the only other player with less than double digits and is next at 8:12.
Extremes:
It's only five games but:
Tim Gleason is tied for the best plus/minus stat in the NHL and is currently at +7. At the other end of the spectrum, Eric Staal currently has the league's worst plus/minus stat at -8.
Bryan Allen is tied for first in the league with 18 blocked shots. Jay Harrison is next on the Canes with 11 blocks.
Brandon Sutter is eighth in the league with a 61.7 faceoff percentage.
Chad LaRose has 10 hits, tops on the team and Joni Pitkaken is averaging 23:44 of TOI per game, also tops on the team.
Carolina has been called for a total of 27 minors, which is tied for third most in the league. They have killed 81.5% of those penalties, good for 19th in the league. Their two shorthanded goals is tied with Pittsburgh for first.
The powerplay has looked much better this year and the stats are starting to go up. They currently sit at 14th in the league with a 16.7% success rate. They have not allowed any shorthanded goals against.
The team has scored 13 goals, three in the first period and five each in the second and third.
They have allowed 18 goals against, three in the first period, five in the second, nine in the third, and one in OT.
They have taken an average of 31.6 shots per game and have allowed an average of 33.2 shots per game.
Jeff Skinner leads the team with six points, (2G 4A). Jussi Jokinen is next with four, and Eric Staal is tied with Joni Pitkanen and Tim Gleason with three.
We'll take another look at these stats after 10 games.
Trade Rumors:
Late last week, The Hockey News had an article mentioning that Joni Pitkaken might be on the trading block. Lyle Richardson, who provides rumor information for a number of online publications, felt like Luke DeCock's recent article about the defenseman indicated that the Hurricanes might be in the mood for a trade, but DeCock nixed that theory in Twitter and went on to say he thought the Finn was having a great start to the season.
In the meantime, nothing was said about Tomas Kaberle, another defenseman who is making almost as much as Pitkanen, yet is averaging over five minutes less playing time per game. (18:29 to 23:44). He has not necessarily played poorly, but he has yet to stand out either and a couple of his ill-timed pinches have been costly.
With the Canes plethora of young defensemen coming up the pipeline, (Justin Faulk, Ryan Murphy, Brian Dumoulin, etc), Kaberle could very well find himself on the block, or if his play doesn't improve long term, he might even be the second Kaberle to eventually be bought out by the franchise.
NHL Reaches Record Number of Fans in Opening Week:
The NHL published a press release recently announcing that their opening week set records in many categories. That is certainly great news, from the player's standpoint, from the league's, as well as for fans.
Here's what they had to say.
2011-12 NHL OPENING WEEK REACHES MORE FANS
ON MORE PLATFORMS THAN EVER BEFORE
Bruins-Flyers Most-Watched Regular Season Game in Versus History
NHL GameCenter Live No. 1 Sports App in US, Canada & Russia
NEW YORK (October 13, 2011) – The National Hockey League opened its 95th season with record fan engagement across all measureable platforms, continuing the strong momentum the League has built over the past six seasons.
With the 2011 Molson Canadian NHL Face-Off™ fan festival attracting tens of thousands of fans to The Forks in Winnipeg, international stars leading their NHL® clubs across the Atlantic to open the season in front of sold-out crowds at the 2011 Compuware NHL Premiere™ and record-breaking opening-night TV ratings, the 2011-12 NHL season opened on a strong note.
Strong Demand Drives Increased Ratings For Opening Weekend
VERSUS opened its seventh year of NHL coverage with the most-watched regular season game in the network's history (874,000 viewers) as the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins 2-1 on the night the Bruins raised their first Stanley Cup® banner in 39 years. Viewership was up 20 percent over last year’s opening game (720,000, Flyers-Penguins, Oct. 7, 2010).
CBC's HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA attracted a record audience before the first puck drop of the season, as its opening-night pre-game show on Thursday drew nearly one million viewers (929,000) -- a 66% increase over last season. Then, 1.935 million Canadians watched the classic Game 1 match-up between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs - beating last year's opening-game mark of 1.923 million.
TSN’s Friday afternoon game between the New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings from Stockholm, Sweden delivered 213,00 viewers, up 22% from last year’s comparable telecast.
Saturday night’s game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators was a record-setter for CBC's HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA, with an average audience of 2.359 million viewers tuning in—nine per cent more than the previous record-holder for the first Saturday game of the season, set last year.
On Sunday, the first Winnipeg Jets home opener since 1996 drew an average total audience of 1.825 million viewers on CBC, and 819,000 on RDS.
In all, 16 million Canadians -- representing 47.7% of the total population, according to Nielsen/BBM Canada -- watched all or part of a local or national NHL broadcast during Opening Weekend (Thu-Sun).
NHL Network™ provided fans with complementary coverage of Opening Night pre-and post-game from its set in Boston for the first banner-raising in the city in 39 years; on the scene in Winnipeg for 2011 Molson Canadian NHL Face-Off™, and in Vancouver for the Canucks-Pittsburgh Penguins game at Rogers Arena.
Digital Content Continues to Attract NHL Fans in Record Numbers
The NHL's digital media focus this season emphasizes improved broadband and mobile product experiences; expanded distribution among mobile, tablet and connected devices and greater penetration within key European countries; and a social media approach that prioritizes social-centric experiences and earned media.
Results from opening week validate the strategy across all digital touch points, including:
NHL.com
· NHL.com experienced 9% more visitors during the first week (Thur.-Wed.) compared to last year’s record traffic numbers for same time period, and saw a 57% increase in video starts.
· Buoyed by the excitement surrounding the Winnipeg Jets' season-opener, NHL.com enjoyed its #9 day all-time for video starts on Sunday, Oct. 9 (1.9 million), achieving a top-10 figure despite a light schedule of two games.
· With the launch of six foreign-language sites in key European nations, international visitors from key countries grew at double-and triple-digit rates.
· Strong International UV growth among Finland (+82%), Sweden (+47%), Germany (+40%), Czech Republic (+252%) and Russia (+31%) during opening weekend (Thur. – Sun.)
· Strong International video start growth among Finland (+198%), Sweden (+190%), Germany (+132%), Czech Republic (+448%), Russia (+179%) and Slovakia (+186%) during opening weekend (Thur. – Sun.)
NHL GameCenter LIVE™
NHL GameCenter LIVE was enhanced for 2011-12, emphasizing a refined and more intuitive user interface, more features and functions, and the ability to authenticate multiple devices from a single subscription.In a season that saw outstanding on-ice performances -- a dramatic playoff chase that went down to the last minute of the last game of the season, plus a thrilling playoff capped by a seven-game Stanley Cup Final -- the NHL experienced unprecedented success off the ice. Led by dramatic increases in sponsorship and merchandise sales, landmark corporate investment in its big events and impressive digital growth, the NHL experienced its fifth consecutive year of record revenue and approached nearly $3 billion in total revenue. League-generated revenue has increased by 15 percent for this year and has increased by 150 percent over the past five years. Sponsorship sales set an all-time record with gross sales increasing by 33 percent over last year as the League added to its roster of bluechip corporate partners attracted by the most-coveted fan demographic in all of sports. The NHL received rave reviews for partnering with HBO on 24/7 and recently announced a new 10-year television agreement with the NBC Sports Group. For its business achievements, Sports Business Journal named the NHL as its "League of the Year."
· Subscriptions to NHL GameCenter LIVE increased 105% over the same period last season.
· Subscriptions recorded on the first day of the regular season were the highest daily total in NHL GameCenter LIVE history, while the following Friday and Saturday were the second-and third-highest ever. The weekly total is more than double the previous high for a single week.
NHL Mobile and Tablet Apps
· The League's new carrier-agnostic distribution strategy enables the NHL to develop and deliver the experience to more carriers and smartphones, which resulted in a 250-percent increase in app downloads so far this season
· For both iPad and iPhone, NHL GameCenter™ was the top grossing sports app in the US, Canada and Russia.
NHL Mobile Web
· NHL Mobile page views saw 63% growth over the start of last season, led by a 179% increase in mobile page views outside North America.
NHL Social
· The NHL has an extended reach on Twitter and Facebook of more than 2.5mm, an increase of 105% over the start of last season.
· NHL launched a new Facebook application at start of season -- NHL Fan Banner™ – which through the first several days of the season, fans were downloading more than 1,000 per hour for use.
· Social networks continue to be a source of referred traffic to NHL.com with Facebook referrals up 50% over last year's season opening and Twitter up 450%.
· Visitors to NHL.com that are referred by Facebook or Twitter continue to consume content at a higher rate than the average visitor, including visits (+27%), video starts (+68%) and articles read (+51%).
NHL Merchandise Hotter Than Ever
· Sales of NHL licensed merchandise were up 12% to date, driven by the introduction of new jerseys in Nashville, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, Florida, Edmonton and Winnipeg; retro-inspired snap back headwear; EA Sports' NHL 12 video game; Boston Bruins Stanley Cup commemorative items, and women's and kids apparel
· Through the opening week of the season, in-arena per-capita sales for home openers was up 31 percent compared to last season
· Overall in-arena merchandise sales for the 2011 NHL Premiere™ games in Europe were up 7%, despite there being two fewer regular-season games played this year (6 games LY vs. 4 games TY)
· Sales at Shop.NHL.com up 32% for the first week of the season compared to last year, led by sales of Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins championship and Hockey Fights Cancer merchandise.
· Sales at the NHL Store Powered by Reebok in midtown New York City are up 10% against comparable season opening week
· The NHL has seen record-setting new team sales for the Winnipeg Jets in the first 90 days
2010-11 NHL Business: Best Year on Record
23 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
That Kaberle contract really does put the Canes in a difficult situation. No one could have foresaw how quickly Faulk, Murphy, and maybe Dumoulin would/will be ready; but JR should have had a better idea what was in his own system. Signing Kaberle for 1 year, I could see that; signing him for 3 years (on the downside of his career) was the questionable thing.
Some managers manage using the carrot, Mo manages by using "The Stick."
The buzz last spring was that Faulk had a pretty good chance to crack the lineup this fall. His play should not have caught JR by surprise. Last season ended with Pitkinen, Gleason, Corvo, McBain, Joslin, and Allen as the top 6 with Harrison the healthy extra. Corvo pouted because his friend was not signed to a stupid contract and asked off the team. With the belief that JR has had in Harrison, and the projections that Faulk could make the NHL club, there really was no need to sign Kaberle. JR did not know in July that Joslin would come down with Mono, but no matter because Faulk is there. Even had Faulk been less ready Saugenitti was/is very close and could have been used. He did come back nicely after his injury last spring and played well for the Checkers. Regarding the defensemen, JR didn’t seem to have a really well thought out plan this year.
The buzz last spring was that Faulk had a pretty good chance to crack the lineup this fall. His play should not have caught JR by surprise.
Really. Hmmm. I never heard he had pretty good chance to crack the NHL line up except for one USAHockey writer who knew his as a junior in Ann Arbor. I’d love to see where someone within the Canes organization felt that way. I thought them not re-signing Casey Borer was indicative they figured Faulk would be a solid 2-way Dman in Charlotte.
That just caught me by surprise, that’s all. I wrote a bit about what I think the Canes should expect from Kaberle and why I believe he was signed – its linked it in today’s C&C.
Twitter @HMof2
by Carolyn Christians on Oct 17, 2011 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions
They had definitely talked about him being given a solid shot TO make the team...
But I, too, have a hard time remembering anybody saying with any kind of definitive tone that they thought he’d be good enough this soon to make the team. And, as we (and the coaches) have seen, hasn’t he proven he’s probably not ready to be a regular defenseman?
Personal attacks are the weapon of the ignorant.
Panthers '011: This is what we've been waiting for...we get to overpay the core of a 2-14 team!
by MichaelProcton on Oct 17, 2011 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions
I figured he was a late year call up this season, depending on the Canes playoff potential…
Twitter @HMof2
by Carolyn Christians on Oct 17, 2011 3:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I was pretty much in the same boat.
Personal attacks are the weapon of the ignorant.
Panthers '011: This is what we've been waiting for...we get to overpay the core of a 2-14 team!
by MichaelProcton on Oct 17, 2011 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Sorry...
But the idea of replacing one of our best two defensemen from last year (Corvo) with nothing better than a 19-year-old rookie with about a month of pro hockey experience (even one who had played well) would have been asinine. Rutherford would have been (rightfully) lambasted if we just dumped Corvo, didn’t replace him, and then saw Faulk play poorly in camp. And your opinion of Sanguinetti’s play last spring does not match the organizations. Branecky, for one, tweeted to me that it was felt he had quite a tough time coming off his injury in the playoffs.
Personal attacks are the weapon of the ignorant.
Panthers '011: This is what we've been waiting for...we get to overpay the core of a 2-14 team!
by MichaelProcton on Oct 17, 2011 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Dalpe
I thought his stride looked off in the 3rd period of the Jersey game. A few others here speculated Dalpe might have been nursing something which may have lead to his reduced ice time in the final pre-season game. Whether he injured himself Friday or before it’s a tough break for a young player that
was ready to play at the NHL level in a top 9 role – or at least deserving of a good look in that capacity.
Now curious to see if they’ll bring up Nash and use him in the top 9 or Samson/Bowman and let them grind on the 4th line. I know what I’d like to see, and I know what is most likely to happen.
I’m in agreement that Dalpe may well have been playing at less than 100%. The play where he got injured sure looked like he strained his medial collateral ligament. Given that the play wasn’t remarkably violent it suggests there may have been a pre-existing weakness. That would also explain his low minutes up until then. We will never know but when there is an obvious coaching misjudgement as was Dalpe’s lack of playing time there is usually an underlying issue only known in the locker room or front office.
I’m in disagreement with the views on Kaberle. He is on a new team, playing a new system, with new linemates. He deserves more time to mesh with this team. Boston fans jumped him ugly during their Stanley cup run and some of that feeling came here with him. Boston fans always, absolutely always, find a player to hate and drive out of town. Kaberle became that player late last season. Rudtherford didn’t suddenly get stupid and overpay for a player we don’t need. Our young developing dmen will be better for playing alongside Kaberle. That alone makes his aquisition worthwhile.
by surgalt on Oct 17, 2011 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Please allow me be the first to hit the “recommend” button here. Well said on both counts.
Blind optimist and Kool-Aid drinker
by Jamie Kellner on Oct 17, 2011 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh and let me also say this really really sucks for Zac Dalpe. What crappy and unfortunate timing. Hope his recovery is speedy.
Blind optimist and Kool-Aid drinker
by Jamie Kellner on Oct 17, 2011 11:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I see that the Rangers are having some defensemen troubles. Staal is out until God knows when, they have a lot of youth along their blueline, and their PP is 0 for 12 so far. Maybe they would be interested in Kaberle? I know I’m wishing here. But maybe we could trade Kaberle for Wolski (who is injured right now)? Wolski is expensive; but he is cheaper than Kaberle, has offensive abilities, and is in the final year of his contract. That sounds like a win, win, win to me!
Some managers manage using the carrot, Mo manages by using "The Stick."
can you imagine ranger fan outcry if team that put staal on sidelines then got players/picks back in trade for kaberlame?
Of Maurice, Karmanos said: "I’m happy Paul is back but he’s going to be judged the same way as any other coach. We need to win more consistently."
by Sergeant Stinky on Oct 17, 2011 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions
I know, I know. I’m just throwing pennies down a well at this point. I just am not a fan of Kaberle and think this signing was a mistake.
Some managers manage using the carrot, Mo manages by using "The Stick."
by PackPride17 on Oct 17, 2011 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Kaberle certainly seems to be the type of player the Rangers fancy.
Big name, big cost, questionable return.
Personal attacks are the weapon of the ignorant.
Panthers '011: This is what we've been waiting for...we get to overpay the core of a 2-14 team!
by MichaelProcton on Oct 17, 2011 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Have you been watching the Hurricanes?
Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting"..........holy cow.......what a ride!"
Kaberle... +/-
I am no Kaberle homer (I do believe we overpaid for him), and I have seen times when he has been a liability on ‘D’, but I do believe has has a skillset somewhat overlooked… IMO he handles, settles, and passes the puck better than anyone else on defense and during our PP I like him much better than Joni on the point… allowing Joni a little more freedom on the wing (Joni scored from the wing recently and it was his pass from the wing that went to Jussi and then Skinner for the game winner vs. Buffalo).
Kaberle
Kaberle’s performance vs. cost ratio is pretty high at the moment. I think in the near term the essential defensemen are and not in a particular order:
1. Pitkanen;
2. Faulk;
3. Gleason;
4. Allen;
5. McBain; and
6. Ryan Murphy (in the future, but not long off).
As others have stated, Allen has been fantastic for the Hurricanes. Gleason seems to be healthy again. Harrison is continuing to improve at a fast rate. Joslin was great last season and has been hindered by illness this season. Given the various skill sets and expenses, Kaberle seems to me to be a player who could be on the trade list. He is still adjusting to the Hurricanes approach and teammates. He probably does not get the credit he deserves for the subtle things he does well, perhaps because the miscues or miscommunications unfortunately have tended to be ones that stood out. Brian Dumoulin is going to be a player whose presence is felt as well. It’s a wonderful problem to have.
When it comes to Kaberle...
I’m sure that the Hurricanes value Pitkanen more and would be far more reluctant to trade him. Given the choice between signing one of the two this summer, I’m sure they’d still have gone with Joni, even at the higher cost. But in trade (if Rutherford decides that is the route we need to go to make the playoffs), Pitkanen will deliver an exponentially higher return. The rest of the league isn’t blind. They know the kind of salary Kaberle’s set to get over the next few years. They see how he’s struggled in his last two stops over the last six months or so. So while there is real potential we could really get back a young, not-insanely-expensive top-six forward for Pitkanen, what we’d be looking at for Kaberle would be a salary dump kind of move for a low-ceiling prospect or a swap for a player with a similarly unattractive contract and similar age/upside issues. It’s all about the return, because on the trade market, you have to accept that to get quality, you have to give quality.
Personal attacks are the weapon of the ignorant.
Panthers '011: This is what we've been waiting for...we get to overpay the core of a 2-14 team!
I am way late into the fray but
I too am not all that impressed with Kabs thus far..but it is still early in the season anmd regardless of his contract..IF JR can find a way to move him in a package deal…we all know JR will…but in the mean time..I’m gonna sit back and watch & wait…Thanks Bob
9/11/01 - Never Forget !!
Long Live #63 The Condor
Go Canes & Checkers !!!
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Canes Country
Related FanShots on Canes Country
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recent FanShots
In Association With
Latest Puck Daddy - NHL from Yahoo! Sports
- Why the Devils and the Kings are evidence the Capitals shouldn’t trade Alex Ovechkin
- Eulogy: Remembering the 2011-12 New York Rangers
- Stanley Cup Final: 5 keys for New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings
- Friday’s Three Stars: Devils head to Final; Brodeur, Kovalchuk the difference in Game 6
- Devils eliminate Rangers in Game 6, ending fear of the past, setting course for the future
