Did Erik Cole really even want to come back?

They missed the offer he got by a whopping year. And that after he and his agent refused to give Rutherford and the ’Canes any sort of offer to aim for.

I agree with you fully. We’ve had success, but we still do not sellout on a regular basis. I will say that during the last two months of last season it seemed as though attendance picked up substantially. We have had a shot at the playoffs virtually every year the Canes have been here. When we miss it’s by a game or so. We’ve won a Cup, we’ve been to the conference finals two or three times. There’s not a lot of teams that have done this. PK has shown that if we are in contention he will spend what is necessary to win (Weight, Recchi, Stillman, etc.).

Last year our payroll was down. That was primarily due to our going with younger players who were making near the league minimum. You need to leave room in your budget in case these players develop if building through the draft is your option. What I mean by this is, for example take Skinner. He was and is a “cheap” player as far as cap considerations go right now. Suppose we go out and sign Richards for 7 million a year on a long term deal and otherwise spend to the cap limit. What do we do when Skinner comes up for a renewal? Dump him? Dump Richards? We are committed to building through the draft and supplementing these players with the necessary experienced role players. That’s my take on what JR and PK are doing and I support them.

Last word, it’s hard to build the fan base if we keep on espousing the myth that our team won’t do what is necessary to win to our associates who do not attend the games. We should (as many do) use our space on this forum to state what we think the team needs, who we should keep, who we should get, etc., and spend less time attributing all our ills to “we’re too cheap”.
For example, what free agent was out there this year should we have gotten that we did not? Did we not get this player because of money (management decision not necessarily meaning we couldn’t afford, but did not want to afford)? Wouldn’t come here even though we offered as much or more (totally up to the player)? We didn’t even make an offer (a management decision not necessarily dealing with money or only money)?

Cole has always known the situation with this team anbd it’s limited budget. He’s the one who wanted to stay in his words. He says he likes the area. Other players like Jokinen, Pitkanen, Corvo (and apparently LaRose according to the press) have taken lower salaries then they could get on the market. Cole chose to go….OK

But to turn around and blame the team, say they are not trying for the playoffs now, that we limit our budget (like that hasn’t always been the case since he’s been here) is spiteful and frankly insulting to me. This org treated him better than that. Most people here lamented his previous contract saying he didn’t deserve it then based on his performance with us and Edmonton that year and especially in the playoffs. He only lived up to his contract last season overall. Yet Erik still got a pretty good deal from JR last time—guess he doesn’t remember that either. That ’s what makes his comments stick in my craw.

if cole was the bees knees, top player in the league, and irreplaceable, we’d have been in the playoffs the past two seasons.

The Hurricanes have won a Cup more recently than the Habs; and have been almost as effective in getting to the playoffs. Without question, the Hurricanes need to find a bigger source of funding for salaries. On the other hand, to say the Habs are more likely to win a Stanley Cup before the Hurricanes is basically nonsense. Both teams can compete, but both teams are not yet dynasty teams. I thought Cole had a fantastic year last season. I agree with the decision not to re-sign him where the asking price was $18 million over four years. I’d rather have Jokinen, Ponikarovsky, and Stewart than Cole if the decision where those three or Cole. I wish Cole well; but I wish he had not tried to justify his decision by belittling an organization that supported him when he went years trying to regain his form after a series of injuries. I personally doubt he will find the Montreal experience to be as supportive as his experience with the Hurricanes and its fans. I have no problem with his going to the highest bidder; but I do dislike the fact he tried to rationalize the decision as he did. It’s a financial decision, purely and simply. There is nothing dishonorable in making that decision. Criticizing your friends in the process, however, is a very poor judgment.