Bomani Jones of 850 The Buzz, has cancelled his proposed Canes and Community information segment on his radio show this afternoon. Stay tuned for when it will be rescheduled. It seems that “Bo” has exchanged a ton of emails with some of the imaginary hockey fans, that can’t be found in this area.

Seriously, I have exchanged a couple of emails myself with the walking controversy and he does have a heart, even if it doesn’t seem like it. I have a good feeling that he will reschedule the segment when the timing is a bit better.

Speaking of “troubled water”, Canes Country has had some serious technical difficulties of late. It seems that we are “CPU Hogs”, even though I have no idea how that is happening. People are working on the problem, so please bear with me as we fumble our way through it. It wouldn’t surpise me if some hacker inserted another script somewhere which is messing up the site. We had over 1,000 spam messages alone yesterday, but I’m told that has nothing to do with the problem. We will see. In the meantime, if you get the CPU error message, please try back again in a few minutes.

And you thought running a hockey blog was easy?

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Looking at some brief Hurricanes news, there is a short article in a Thunder Bay publication indicating that Eric Staal is fired up for the upcoming season.

Luke is reporting that the Hurricanes are losing one of their scouts. Anyone need a part-time job? The pay isn’t good, but you get to watch a ton of hockey and travel to your heart’s content.

While we are on that topic, the Hurricanes are advertising on NHL.com for a “Corporate Sales Rep”. They need someone to create relationships to sell suite opportunities and to do a bit of marketing.   Sounds like a healthy challenge.

Speaking of the job market, Mike Sundheim recently posted on his blog that the Canes were also looking for interns.

That’s it for this afternoon. I’ll have information about tomorrow’s “Fun Fest” later tonight.

This is the last of a four part series of interviews taken after a prospects practice on Thursday, July 10th.

Michael Leighton was recently signed by the Hurricanes to a two year deal. He had a tremendous season for the Albany River Rats last year, setting franchise records in many different categories. He was also voted as goaltender of the year for the entire AHL.

Michael volunteered to help out at the prospects conditioning camp and was available to the press after practice, along with the prospects. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really as prepared as I would have liked to have been to interview the goalie, but the opportunity presented itself so I gave it a shot. This is my first ever NHL player interview.

CC- Can you tell me about that wild five over-time game against Philadelphia in the playoffs last season, when you made 98 saves? Were players on oxygen in the dressingroom during the intermissions or what?

ML- It was pretty crazy. Players were exhausted by the third OT and it got to the point that when someone gained possession of the puck, they would just dump it in and make a line change. We had plenty of energy bars and drinks between periods and some fruit. They ordered some pizza for us for after the fifth overtime period, but unfortunately we lost in that period and ended up eating the pizza at the end of the game.

CC- How does it feel to have the stability of a 2 year contract?

ML- I couldn’t be happier. I was really hoping to be able to work something out with the Hurricanes this off-season, and for them to have the confidence in me to offer a two year deal is very satisfying.

CC- Stephanie, from Eyecandyair sent me an email informing me about the new mask they airbrushed for you toward the end of last season. Do you have any plans to get another new one?

ML- Not really, I hadn’t thought much about it. Although, I am kind of waiting to get word back from ITECH so something might be coming up. I’m not really sure.

CC- Who has the toughest shot that you faced in the AHL last season?

ML- The AHL? hmmmm… That’s tough. I really don’t think about recognizing the players too much, I am concentrating primarily on the puck.

CC- What has been the proudest achievement in your career so far?

ML- Well, my very first game in the NHL was with Chicago and we were playing against Phoenix. The game went to the end of regulation in a 0-0 tie. We ended up losing, which was very disappointing, but I was very proud to have a shutout in regulation in my first ever NHL game.

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Michael offered to shake hands after the interview which was pretty classy. Hopefully, I’ll have another opportunity with him sometime down the road when I have some better questions.

Get your tickets for the game on February 17th, 2009 against the Boston Bruins. The evening has been designated as Glen Wesley Night and his “number 2″ will officially be retired and lifted to the rafters preceeding that game.

What an appropriate opponent, since Wesley was originally drafted by the Bruins back in 1987 and was eventually acquired by trade in Jim Rutherford’s first deal as a Hartford Whalers General Manager.

Here is more information from the Hurricanes Press Release….

Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, announced today that the team will honor longtime defenseman Glen Wesley prior to and during its game on Tuesday, Feb. 17 against the Boston Bruins. The team will formally retire Wesley’s No. 2 jersey during a pre-game ceremony, and honor the Hurricanes’ all-time games-played leader throughout the evening.

“Glen played the most games as a Hurricanes player, and did so at a high level,” said Rutherford. “We are honored to have been a part of his distinguished playing career and look forward to paying tribute to his accomplishments.”

The game is part of two mini-game plans for partial season ticketholders. (12 game “white plan” and 26 gamers. ) I’ll have more about this later.

Last week Friday, the North Carolina State Legislature passed a new bill which would allow the legal scalping of tickets in North Carolina, effective August 1st, 2008. The bill is expected to be signed into law by the Governor but will need to be renewed again next year in order to stay on the books.

The current law made it illegal to resell tickets for more than $3.00 over their face value. While that mandate was outdated and almost impossible to enforce online, it did help to keep a lid on the prices of tickets resold locally. That will soon change with the stroke of the Governor’s pen.

The Carolina Hurricanes, Carolina Panthers, and the major colleges in the area supported the bill, claiming that it would somehow help curtail the sale of counterfeit tickets. But it seems to me that counterfeiters will still exist, they will just be more savvy and will be able to sell those fakes for higher prices now.

The way that I see it, if the ticket resellers are legally allowed to sell their tickets for higher prices, they will be wanting to buy even more tickets from the Hurricanes, (or other teams.) This is also a huge victory for Ticketmaster because when compared to most ticket brokers, their absurd handling and shipping fees suddenly don’t seem so unreasonable.

Ticketmaster was probably behind this whole thing. (I love a good conspiracy theory.)

Admittedly, out of state ticket brokers have been selling over-priced tickets online for quite some time now. One benefit of the new law would be to level the playing field for in-state brokers, who now can compete with their rivals. But what many fans fear is that these brokers and scalpers will stand in line or pay others to stand in line, so that they can hoard all the best seats for special events.

After they capture the bulk of the tickets, the brokers can dictate whatever prices they want to. The average fan who can’t stand in line at 10AM because they are working, or who doesn’t have 50 to 100 computers at their disposal to lock in tickets online when they go on sale, ends up getting priced out of the event.

I can see some good and some bad in this bill. Look at it this way, at least the resale value of season tickets just went up, especially for the playoffs.

Damn Yankees

About a week before July 1st, the Montreal Canadiens were given permission to speak to Toronto Captain, Mats Sundin regarding a new contract. Most fans and experts alike felt that this was going to be a done deal, the Swede would soon be wearing a Habs sweater. But nothing happened.

Then word came out that Mats was waiting until July 1st for a sweet offer from yet another team from Canada, probably the Ottawa Senators. But July 1st came and went, and nothing became of that.

About a week or so later, a confirmed report came out of Vancouver that Sundin was offered a contract worth 20 million for two years. That’s correct, 10 million bucks per year. He couldn’t possibly turn that much money down, could he? Well believe it or not, nothing came from that either.

Since then, there have been rumors almost daily about where Mats might play. This weekend, Vancouver again came into the mix as a report came out that he had actually signed a contract with the Canucks. But this report was quickly squashed by Sundin’s agent, who said that Mats hadn’t signed for anyone yet.

What’s next? A tearful press conference stating that he is retiring? Or better yet, will he accept a contract offer in the newly formed KHL and play in Russia?

Make up your mind, Mats. What is it that you want?

_____

In other news, the Islanders officially reported that they were interviewing Paul Maurice, something that we mentioned here at Canes Country last week. Good luck to Maurice, he’ll be up against some quality competition which includes Bob Hartley and John Tortorella.

______

The Buzz’s own, Bomani Jones has officially entered into the now infamous North Carolina Sports Survey debacle. Just the mention of Bomani’s name invokes the wrath of some Caniacs who will never forget his controversial article about fans of the Hurricanes back during the 2006 playoffs.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I question why Bomani only seems to discuss negative related news concerning the Canes. On Wednesday afternoon’s show, that all might change.

More about that later.

Finally, kudos and a thank you to the Puck Daddy Blog for noting that our take on that silly survey was “rather interesting”.

The talk of the town right now is about a little ole’ survey that an intern for Public Policy Polling recently took concerning sports in North Carolina. The results for a couple of the questions asked should be eye-openers for the Hurricanes organization. That is, if they want to be known outside the friendly confines of the state capital’s area code.

For instance, when residents were asked if they knew that there was a hockey team named the Carolina Hurricanes in the State of North Carolina, 18% of respondents answered no.

Lord Stanley’s Blog called the results “weird”, but are they really?

If we take a closer look at the survey results, they don’t seem weird to me.

The survey results are broken down into sub-categories by area code, gender, political affiliation, and race. Since in my opinion the location of respondents is most important, we will compare the area codes first. The area codes included 252, (Rocky Mount), 336, (Greensboro), 704, (Charlotte), 919, (Raleigh/Durham), and 910, (Wilmington and the coastal area). Obviously, the 919 area code had the most favorable results for the Hurricanes.

Now if we return to the question and compare the results by region, things make perfect sense. Only 6% in the Raleigh area say that they didn’t realize the Hurricanes existed. Let’s face it, 6% of the public wouldn’t be able to tell you the color of the sky if you asked them in a poll, so that number is meaningless.

But the results are alarming when you look at the remainder of the state. In Charlotte, the most populated region of the state, 19% don’t know about the team. In Greensboro, a major city just 45 minutes away, 17% say they didn’t know. But worst of all in the Rocky Mount area, 28% responded that they hadn’t heard of the Hurricanes. Rocky Mount is also about 45 minutes away from downtown Raleigh.

What do these results mean? Is this an indication that hockey can’t survive here because people hate the sport? Of course not. In my opinion, this simply means that the Hurricanes marketing attempts and results have been feeble outside the Raleigh area code.

I believe that the Canes do a pretty good job of marketing in the local area. They take players to schools, they invite various local groups to open practices, and they are heavily involved with youth hockey in the area. But what do they do in Greensboro? How about Charlotte or Rocky Mount?

Perhaps they just don’t care about those areas? Puck Daddy got a hold of this story and called up the Hurricanes Director of Media Relations, Mike Sundheim for his take. Of course, Sundheim downplayed the results, saying that part of the problem is that the state is so big. People in the mountains 5-6 hours away don’t know or care about the Canes.

While I’ll agree with that point, what about the residents in Greensboro, Rocky Mount, and Charlotte? Are the Canes focusing any energy on them at all? Most Caniacs in those areas would tell you that they don’t. I’ve had fans email me to complain that they can’t listen to Hurricanes games on the radio in Greensboro. I don’t believe the Hurricanes “Radio Network” exists in Rocky Mount or Charlotte either.

If fans can’t even listen to their favorite team’s games on the radio in those areas, is it really that shocking when a survey comes back indicating that a large percentage of people didn’t know the team existed? I don’t think that there is any question that the Hurricanes marketing effort in those areas needs improving, if the market is to grow there.

Since the team’s attendance numbers are down last year from the year before, I wouldn’t ignore the immediate surrounding areas if it was my team. Perhaps owner, Peter Karmanos agrees with me. He stated earlier this offseason that the marketing department needed a push, and he vowed to get personally involved.

Sundheim also brought up the point to Puck Daddy that the local paper, the News and Observer dedicated almost the entire front sports page to a story detailing the upcoming schedule. But if the Canes are relying on the News and Observer to do their marketing for them, therein lies the problem, not the solution, in my opinion. Would it be a big surprise that people outside the News and Observer’s typical distribution area know little or nothing about the schedule?

And what about people who don’t read the paper? The News and Observer has been making cutbacks and laying people off because readership is down. The impact of front sports page coverage in the local paper isn’t as meaningful as it once was. What happens if the N&O cuts back their hockey coverage when the college football and basketball seasons start? It could be slim pick’ns for Hurricanes related news, even for fans in the local area.

So what can be done about regional marketing? In the short term, it would be nice to at least have state-wide radio and television coverage. I’m not talking about the mountains, I would concentrate on the immediate surrounding areas first, as well as Charlotte.

Hurricanes games are broadcast on television by Fox Sports South, which has also signed on to broadcast Carolina Bobcats games this season. Since some Bobcats games run simultaneously with Hurricanes games, the network will be forced to show regional coverage which will probably mean that fans outside the triangle will be shutout on hockey coverage again. We will have to see how that works.

In the long term, it would be great if at sometime in the future the Canes minor league affiliate was located in state. The Charlotte Checkers have a huge following and play in Bobcats arena. How nice if fans could track prospects in state and follow their activity as they moved between Raleigh and Charlotte? You would have Hurricanes fans traveling to Charlotte to watch the Checkers, and vice versa. Perhaps that scenario makes too much sense?

If Charlotte isn’t feasible, than how about Greensboro? I think the Canes undervalue and underestimate the potential success that this type of partnership could have on marketing the team throughout other regions in the state.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the other poll results.

Statewide, 10% of residents said that if given free tickets, they would attend a Hurricanes game over a Bobcats game, UNC basketball, Duke basketball, NASCAR race, or Carolina Panthers game. The Canes beat out the Bobcats who only had 5% and came pretty close to Duke which garnered 13%. I don’t think these are bad results at all.

In the local area code, the number jumps to 23%, second only to the Tarheels 27%. The NFL Panthers dropped to 13%. Again in my opinion, these are very respectable numbers for the Hurricanes.

Finally, one result in the survey which seemed to surprise a few people was that more woman enjoyed hockey than men. It was by a slim margin, but females held the day.

Judging from the emails, comments, and messages that I receive related to this blog, I have long suspected that the margin was about 50/50 between men and women hockey fans in the area. Yet, several hockey blogs and sports blogs in general seem to focus only on the male demographic. They continually show “girlie” pics as some sort of marketing strategy to enhance site popularity.

While I enjoy looking at scantily clad women as much as the next guy, why take the chance of offending half of your audience on your so-called “hockey” blog? I don’t get it, and don’t partake in that here. Lady hockey fans are just as welcome as the guys at Canes Country, and always will be.

I have probably upset enough people for one article, so it’s time to sign off. Happy Weekend!

The 2008-09 NHL schedules have been released and even though the puck has yet to drop, things are already looking better for the Hurricanes than they did at this time last year. In 2007-08, the Canes were scheduled for 18 back-to-back games. The always grueling second game of those duets was at home six times and was away twelve times.

Carolina fared very well at home during those contests and finished with a 5-1 record, but it was a different story on the road as they finished with just three wins and nine losses for the second game of those back-to-backs.

Even during the year prior to that in 2006-07, they had 17 back-to-back games with 11 of them on the road. The Canes finished with a similar record of 3-8 on the back end of those games away from home.

Now for the good news. This season they only have 14 back-to-backs scheduled, with a much more favorable six home games and eight away for those dreadful second games.

And the good news just keeps on coming.

Last year I ranted a bit over the fact that the Hurricanes only had seven home games on Saturday nights while they played on the road 15 times that same night. We wonder why attendance was down last year? The other weekend times weren’t much better as they played 10 Friday night home games and just one Sunday matinee for a total of 18 home contests played on the weekends.

This season they will have a total 21 weekend home games as they play seven Friday nights, seven Saturdays, (6 nights and one matinee), and an amazing seven Sunday afternoons/evenings. That fact alone will automatically boost the attendance numbers over last year.

Let’s take a look at some home games that you probably don’t want to miss-

• Oct 10 - Florida (opening night, plus the revenge factor, plus Stillman returning, equals a sell out)
• Oct 13 - Detroit (the Stanley Cup Champs are in town, need I say more?)
• Nov 1 - Edmonton (Erik Cole returns)
• Nov 12 - Washington (Ovechkin and the division champs come to town for the first time)
• Nov 16 - Tampa Bay (you’ve got to see Barry Melrose, don’t ya?)
• Dec 4 - Pittsburgh (Crosby, Malkin, and Staal, oh my!)
• Dec 31 - Atlanta (what else are you going to do on New Year’s Eve?)
• Jan 15 - Toronto (come watch the team everyone in the NHL wants to play for)
• Feb 14 - Columbus (take your sweetheart to watch Mike Commodore earn his 3.75 million)
• Feb 22 - Colorado (3PM Sunday start is probably scheduled immediately after a State basketball game. Come join the traffic jam)
• Feb 26 - Buffalo (time for those relocated Yanks to dust off their Sabres jerseys)
• Mar 6 - Calgary (2 words- Dion Phaneuf)
• Mar 9 - NY Rangers (Cullen gets revenge with a hat-trick)
• Mar 21 - Washington (could be a big game)
• Apr 4 - Pittsburgh (brother against brother)
• Apr 9 - Buffalo (last home game of the regular season and Lindy Ruff’s comb-over falls out of place)

This year each team will only play their inter-divisional rivals six times instead of eight. That means the Canes will be playing more teams from the Western Conference than they have in the past couple of years. As a matter of fact, they play each team from the WC at least once, and will play Phoenix, St. Louis, and Anaheim twice as “wild cards”.

There are only two home games the entire month of October, (because of the State Fair conflict), so the Canes will be hard-pressed to start off with a winning record that first month. On the other hand, the team closes out playing four out of their last five games at home.

It’s not going to be easy, but this schedule seems much more favorable than the one last year or the year before.

A link to the Hurricanes schedule is here and a link to the entire NHL schedule is here.

Tom Petty

Those of you who have followed the Canes Country blog for awhile, know that I have been somewhat infatuated with the concept behind the New York Islanders Blog Box since it’s inception. I still keep tabs on it from time to time.

After the season ending resignation of it’s creator, ex-Director of Media Relations, Chris Botta, there was a question in my mind whether or not the “Box” would be open again next season.

My question has been answered.

Apparently, the Blog Box was such a rousing success that not only will it be continued next season, it will be expanding. The Islanders recently put out a notification with the good news, which also requested that more folk apply for additional blogging opportunities.

It’s kind of funny, some of the current blogger’s have not updated their blogs in months, while others like B.D. Gallof and the 7th Woman, are very active and are usually a very good read. Good luck to the New Yorkers and keep up the good work!

While the team bloggers have been renewed for another season, Head Coach Ted Nolan was not so lucky. Apparently, he and Garth Snow had “philosophical differences” and Nolan was sent packing with a year still left on his contract.

So what’s going on in New York? Was Nolan quoting Plato while Snow preferred Socrates?

The word on the street seems to be that the GM wanted to stock the team with youth, while the coach preferred some more veteran presence. How about a mixture of both, boys?

Now the search is on for a new coach, with ex-Leafs and Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice in the mix. Perhaps Snow can find a coach who sees everything the exact same way that he does? Heaven forbid a coach and GM disagree about anything.

Canes Country has always liked Ted Nolan and we respect him as a coach. He seems to have a bit of an attitude, so it might be tough for him to land another gig right away. But we wish him the best.

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In other brief news around the league, the NHL officially announced that the Winter Classic, Part Two will be held at Wrigley Field on January 1st. The game between the Red Wings and Blackhawks will be televised by NBC, just like the contest in Buffalo was last year.

If this was Bettman’s idea, it’s the best one that he’s come up with since he’s been commissioner. Now if the bigwigs can just keep it at one outdoor game per year, everyone should be happy.

But how long before they start calling it, the Gary Bettman Winter Classic?

Now there is a happy thought to end the article with.

Mark your calendars Caniacs. Remember the team that knocked the Hurricanes out of the playoffs in the last game of the season back in April? They will be returning to the RBC on October 10th, for Carolina’s season opener.

Revenge should be on more than a few player’s minds.

The Florida Panthers will be sans ex-captain Olli Jokinen, but will be filled with hope for a successful new season. They also will be touting a new coach. But more analysis about them later.

The Canes are also scheduled to play a home and home series against three wildcard teams in the West, Anaheim, St. Louis, and Phoenix.

The remaining schedule is supposed to be released tomorrow afternoon.

You have to give Luke DeCock some credit over at Lord Stanley’s Blog. During the past two days, he has stirred the Caniac Nation up into a frenzy, and it’s not even hockey season.

Monday, he brought up the subject of parking at the RBC, which nearly everyone has a complaint about. Tuesday evening he made a posting about the possible return of Jeff O’Neill, a player who brings strong emotions out of many in the Hurricanes faithful.

Some of the emotions are positive, some not so much.

O’Neill will always be special to some fans for his heroics during the 2002 playoffs. I mean, the guy took a puck to the face in one particular game, only to come back in that game to eventually score the game winner.

But other fans will remember the public intoxication, public urination arrest, and the DUI’s, as well as the moodiness and inconsistent effort on the ice.

People can change though, just look at Josh Hamilton. If everyone would have given up on him a couple of years ago, where would he be now?

Perhaps O’Neill has turned a new leaf? (no pun intended)

Jim Rutherford was quoted as saying that he might take a look at Jeff if the forward agreed to a 2-way contract and he would “probably” start in Albany.

The “probably” scares some folk.

If he didn’t start in Albany, then where would he start?

Even some fans who leave emotion out of the equation are going to question Rutherford’s motive if this possible signing comes to fruition. It’s well known that Rutherford’s family and O’Neill’s family are close friends in the suburbs of Toronto.

Could he be thinking of signing the forward, a player who was playing in the beer leagues last year, just as a personal favor?

This move might be deemed reasonable if the Canes were desperate for help at the forward position and no one else was available. But if it truly is an organizational depth type of signing, it seems more likely that a younger player would have more potential.

This is one reason why the franchise is listed as having the worst system of prospects in the entire NHL. They seem more content to trade away draft picks and then sign older, re-tread players, than to build from within using youth.

Rutherford is also quoted as saying that they may experiment with O’Neill at center ice, where he played in juniors. Since the forward has been out of junior hockey for about 13 years, that might be easier said than done.

Just one more question that leaves me scratching my head. If the Canes were needing depth at center, why did they allow Keith Aucoin to walk away two weeks ago?

Led Zeppelin

This is part three of a four part series of interviews taken with Hurricanes prospects after practice on Thursday, July 10th.

Mike Murphy was selected by the Hurricanes in the 6th round of this year’s draft with the 165th overall pick. He played as goalie for the Belleville Bulls of the OHL and had a career year, accumulating an outstanding record of 36-7-4.

Scouts say that he is a bit smallish for the position and he has an unorthodox style, but no one will compete harder than the Kingston, Ontario native.

Murphy seemed to have the time of his life while in Raleigh and drew his share of “ohs” and “ahh’s” from the crowd, especially when he made one particular save against Hall of Famer and Hurricanes Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Development, Ron Francis.

As you can see from the photo, he also absorbed every tidbit of information that Goalie Coach, Tom Barrasso tossed his way.

Murphy seemed very easy going and was extremely cooperative and approachable for this interview.

CC- What do you attribute to your huge success last year at Belleville?

MM- It was a combination of things, but most importantly I would have to say that it was because I had a general manager and a coach who believed in me. I never had much of an opportunity to play before last year. Also, we had a championship caliber team at Belleville. There was a lot of talent all up and down the roster.

CC- Who would you say had the toughest shot that you faced last year in the OHL?

MM- I think that it would probably be Johnny Tavares. When he is coming at you with the puck, you have no idea what he will do with it. I should point out though that I never had to face Stamkos. I’m sure that he would be tough as well.

CC- What’s been your proudest moment so far in your career, on and off the ice?

MM- Off the ice, no doubt it is being drafted, especially by a class organization like the Carolina Hurricanes. It was a dream come true for me and I can’t say enough good things about the Hurricanes. They are first class in everything they do. I have learned so much at this camp I can’t even begin to tell you, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to come here and learn.

On the ice, I am most proud of setting the record for most wins ever for a goalie in a single regular season at Belleville.

CC- On the other end of the spectrum, what would be your most embarrassing or humorous moment on the ice?

MM- Well, we were playing a game in Saginaw, Michigan and it was pretty early in the season and I hadn’t played very many games yet. I was pretty nervous and I wasn’t used to the American Anthem being played. So when they started playing the Anthem after warm-ups, I forgot to take my mask off. I was just standing in front of my net, trying to focus on the game which was about to begin, and it hadn’t occurred to me to take off the mask.

About half way through the Anthem, the crowd really started giving it to me, they were heckling me big time, and I was thinking to myself what is their problem? Then I realized, oh my gosh, I forgot to take off my mask. So I quickly took it off and kind of flicked it off to the side. Then after the Anthem was finished, the crowd got even louder and they heckled me more than ever. I admit that I got even more nervous at that point.

But then the worse thing that happened was that Saginaw scored against us just about a minute into the game. Thank goodness we ended up winning in overtime.

CC- That’s a good story Mike, thanks for sharing and best of luck to you.

MM- Thank you, and thanks for your time.

_______

I wouldn’t ask just anybody about their “embarrassing moments”, but he was so down to earth and easy going that I didn’t think that he would mind, and I was right. He was actually amused while sharing the story with me.

One couldn’t help but walk away from the interview liking that young man. Hopefully, he will have another outstanding year for Belleville again this coming season.

I very rarely stray from hockey talk on this blog, but I’m making an exception for this article. There is a local hero doing the right thing tonight and it deserves recognition.

Several years ago Josh Hamilton made a promise to his American Legion batting practice coach back while he was still in high school. Most of us would have forgotten about it or deemed it unnecessary to keep at this point, but Hamilton didn’t forget.

About three weeks ago he contacted his old coach, Clay Council, to see if the old friend who used to toss batting practice had anything left in that rubber arm of his. The 71 year-old accepted Hamilton’s invitation and is expected to throw for him in tonight’s All-Star home run derby.

You see, the promise was that if Hamilton ever made it to the home run derby, he would take Council along to pitch to him.

That moment probably seemed like a lifetime ago to the current American League’s leading candidate for MVP honors, but the slugger wasn’t able to turn his life around by taking promises lightly.

After being the first selection of the 1999 MLB draft, Hamilton suffered one horrible injury after another, only to sink into the deep, dark abyss of drug abuse. But thanks to faith and hard work, he has risen above all of his old demons and is now on top of the baseball world.

Tonight he will step back in time to when Council used to throw to him on the well-used turf in Cary, North Carolina. They both have evolved since then, from a typical volunteer coach tossing batting practice to a promising youngster, to one hero pitching to another hero on a world stage.

I wouldn’t bet against Hamilton winning it tonight.

David Bowie

I spent some time over the weekend updating a few things on the site and testing some new templates. I have not found the perfect one yet, but I will keep trying. The only thing that really bothers me about this one is that if you are using internet explorer, the right sidebar looks like a mess. Sorry about that!

The Canes Country Salary Chart has been updated and the total payroll that the Hurricanes have committed to so far this season is over $48 million. This does not include Hamilton, (buyout) and Tanabe, (wannabe buyout), but it does include Brandon Sutter, who most likely will be on the team.

A permanent link to the chart can be found on the left sidebar. If anyone sees a mistake on it, please let me know.

Jim Rutherford has alluded more than once to the fact that he is trying to trade a defenseman and we still think Frank Kaberle is the bait. Many teams are all set on their blueline, but there are a few teams still looking.

Speaking of defensemen, Bret Hedican is still looking for work. I received an email from a CC reader, Julia, at the end of last week asking me about Bret.

As most everyone knows by now, he and Kristi moved to the West Coast where the defenseman was going to try to find a team who needed him. The bad news for Hedican is that there are not as many franchises to choose from out there, and it looks like most of them are all set. San Jose, Vancouver, and Anaheim have their respective bluelines pretty much ready to go.

Los Angeles is the one place where I think he has his best shot to play because they are short a couple of bodies and they also have plenty of room with their cap to work with. Will they get together? Your guess is as good as mine, but at this point it doesn’t look like he will be getting top dollar, so it also wouldn’t surprise me to see him retire.

With the pre-season schedule announced last week, I also thought it was time to update the Canes Country Calendar. You can check it to see Hurricanes current events as well as see the schedule in a more reader friendly format than just the listing like you see on most sites. The permanent link to the calendar is also listed on the left sidebar.

I will be updating the calendar again when the full schedule is released later this week. If anyone has other Hurricanes related events that you think should be on the calendar, please let me know.

There are two interviews from last week that still need to be put together and I will gather my notes and type them up soon. I also have a couple of other articles that I am working on.

Finally, the Hurricanes opened a new section at the Marbles Kids Museum and over 1,000 Caniacs attended on Saturday morning for the opening ceremony. Many of the fans hoped to get an autograph or photo of team Captain Rod Brind’Amour, who made an appearance. See photos here.

So much for no one being interested in hockey during the dog days of summer! It will be interesting to see how many fans show up for the Fun Fest next week Thursday.

For now, Happy Monday!

This is part two of a four part series of interviews taken with Hurricanes prospects after a practice on Thursday, July 10th.

Zac Dalpe was selected by the Hurricanes in the 2nd round of this year’s draft with the 45th overall pick. The Canes were very fortunate to get him at that point because he was rated as being one of the top 30 North American skaters by several scouts and draft services.

I was able to attend two skating sessions this week and Zac certainly looked sharp. He could very well end up being the hidden gem of the draft.

While waiting for another reporter to finish questioning Dalpe, I overheard the interviewer asking him about Ohio State. Knowing that Luke DeCock had just asked him about that same subject the previous day, I thought that I would start out my questioning with an attempt at some humor.

CC- Hi Zac, do you have a moment for a couple of questions?

ZD- Sure thing, go right ahead.

CC- I promise not to ask about Ohio State.

ZD- (laughter)

CC- Okay, I lied, who are you playing for next year?

ZD- (more laughter)

CC- No, seriously. What do you think of camp so far? What have you learned?

ZD- Well, I never realized before how long a day could be and how much could be done in one day! We have been busy from early in the morning until night and you get a feeling of what hard work really is and what it takes to get to the next level. We have learned a lot about conditioning and nutrition and things like that. The Hurricanes organization has been great. I have really enjoyed my time here and have learned a lot. It’s also been great meeting the other guys.

CC- What do you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?

ZD- I’m a hard-working, 2-way player who works hard on both sides of the ice. I want to continue to improve my strength and conditioning.

CC- What’s been the highlight of your career so far?

ZD- Last year I played for a team in Penticton, British Columbia and we won the league championship. It was the first time that Penticton had won it in 24 years! It was really a huge deal there, it was just tremendous.

CC- Thanks very much Zac, and good luck to you.

ZD- Thank you.

_____

I came away from that interview with the feeling that Zac was one cool, confident customer. It didn’t seem like he felt any pressure what-so-ever with the Ohio State versus Plymouth decision looming over his head. I have the feeling that he will definitely make the decision that is best for him, regardless of any pressure from either side.

He also seems to have a great sense of humor which will always serve him well.

The Carolina Hurricanes released their exhibition schedule for the 2008-09 season today. In essence, the team will play home and home contests against the Flyers, Capitals, and Predators.

The schedule is as follows-

• Wednesday, 9/24 - Washington, 7:00
• Thursday, 9/25 - at Washington, 7:00
• Saturday, 9/27 - at Philadelphia, 7:00
• Sunday, 9/28 - Philadelphia, 5:00
• Thursday, 10/2 - at Nashville, 8:00
• Sunday, 10/5 - Nashville, 3:00

The team also announced that they will hold the traditional “Red/White Scrimmage” on Sunday, September 21st in conjunction with the annual Caniac Carnival.

More details to follow.

I was able to attend the prospects practice session at the Rec Zone on Thursday night. They spent about an hour doing various drills under the guidance of Ron Francis, Tom Barrasso, Jeff Daniels, and Kevin McCarthy. With the best of intentions I brought a new video camera with me, but was unable to get any decent footage. Perhaps with more practice, next time I’ll have better luck. (Photographer, I am not)

After the practice was over and the worn out skaters left the ice, the Hurricanes opened up the dressingroom to the media and there was a brief time allowed for some questions. Many thanks to the Hurricanes media relations staff for allowing Canes Country access to this session. Also, a big thank you to the players for taking the time to answer all of the questions thrown at them.

I had an opportunity for four quick interviews. First, we will start out with Brandon Sutter-

CC-Do you feel any extra pressure having to live up to the family name?

BS- No, not at all. I just think that I am another player, like everyone else. My family has helped me with a lot of things growing up, and I try to use that to my advantage, but like I said I’m just another player out there.

CC- There has been a bit of a debate among some Hurricanes fans about your development. Some say that you would be better off going back to Red Deer for another year, but others say that playing in the NHL would be better, even if it is playing fewer minutes on the 4rth line. What do you think would be best for your development?

BS- Well, I want to make the team, that’s my goal. I can’t see a better way to develop than playing in the NHL. I think that I have done all that I can to get here, but it’s kind of a tough situation. This is not an easy team to make, by any means. I’m going to come to camp and try my best to make it and leave it up to them to decide. If something happens that I don’t, then I’m willing to do whatever is best for my development and the team.

CC- Do you have any superstitions, or specific things that you do before every game?

BS- I’m not very superstitious, no. Everyone has a routine in terms of what you eat and when you sleep, and what you do when you get to the rink. But, I try to leave myself open to about anything. I just try to stay loose and get myself ready.

CC- What has been the highlight of your career so far?

BS- Well, obviously being drafted, that was very special. That was a dream come true. In terms of on-ice, coming to camp last year was a lot of fun and I got to play in the World Junior Championships last year and that was amazing.

The Carolina Hurricanes announced yesterday that they will host a “Summer Fun Fest” at the RBC Center on Thursday, July 24th. There will be live music, street hockey, reduced food prices, and a showing of the “Miracle at Molson” on the front lawn.

The event will also be used as a marketing tool to drum up some season ticket sales, so bring your checkbook and credit card just in case you happen to see a seat that you just can’t say no to. Apparently, anyone who wants to will be allowed in the RBC to check out available seats during the festivities.

The official schedule is as follows-

• 6 - Lawn opens with street hockey, discounted food and beverages, inflatables for kids, and live music.
• 6:30 - Select-a-seat for general public begins
• 8-9 - Guest speakers from the Hurricanes will address audience.
• 9-11 - Replay of the memorable 2002 playoff game against Montreal which was dubbed the “Miracle at Molson”

Hurricanes players and coaches are scheduled to appear.

The “Miracle at Molson” will bring back some fond memories.

• Montreal Coach Michel Therrien screaming at referee Kerry Fraser and drawing a bench minor.
• Hab-killer Erik Cole scoring the tying goal with just seconds left, then chest bumping the glass much to the dismay of the Montreal faithful.
• Secret weapon Nic Wallin scoring the game winner in OT.
• Hab goalie Jose Theodore’s meltdown, which in my opinion adversely affected his confidence for a good part of his career after that game.

Some people will probably attempt to use this “Fun Fest” as a cheap excuse to do some tailgating. Why not?

In somewhat related news, apparently Anaheim’s AHL affiliate in Iowa has changed their team name and logo. In recognition of the regional pork industry, the team is calling themselves the Iowa Chops.

Of course, Puck Daddy and James Mirtle are all over this one.

Caniacs should hope and pray that their lovable ice hog and team mascot, “Stormy” stays out of Iowa!

_

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-

J Geils Band

The Carolina Hurricanes just announced the signing of forward Chad LaRose to a one year contract for $875,000. The agreement will keep the two parties from entering into a salary arbitration hearing, which LaRose signed up for a couple of weeks ago.

Hurricanes General Manager Jim Rutherford said that the signing should be the final one for the team, heading into the next season. LaRose had a career year last year and will be hoping to have a repeat performance in 2008-09.

More from the Hurricanes presser-

LaRose, 26, completed his third NHL season with the Hurricanes in 2007-08, earning career highs in goals (11) and points (23) and matching his career high in assists (12), despite playing in only 58 of Carolina’s 82 games. LaRose (5’10’’, 181 lbs.) was tied for the team lead in shorthanded points (2) and led all Hurricanes forwards in plus/minus (+6). The Fraser, MI, native returned to action for the Hurricanes’ final five games of the season after missing 21 games with a broken leg suffered against the Nashville Predators on Feb. 5. He had points in four of Carolina’s final five games of the season, including his first career hat trick on April 2 against Tampa Bay.

LaRose, who originally signed with Carolina as an undrafted free agent on Aug. 6, 2003, has totaled 18 goals and 36 assists (54 points) in 187 career NHL games with the Hurricanes. He had one assist while playing in 21 of Carolina’s 25 playoff games in 2006 en route to the Stanley Cup championship.

The “Young Guns” of the Carolina Hurricanes organization are in town this week to take part in the annual conditioning camp for prospects. During the camp, which is officially running from July 9th to the 12th, the players will learn new physical training techniques, have media training, learn proper eating habits, and will be taken to a grocery store by a nutritionist.

Carolina’s Strength and Conditioning Coach, Pete Friesen will be running the camp. The boys will also be given an on-ice session each day, beginning at 4:45 and lasting until 5:45. The ice sessions are open to the public and will be held at the Rec Zone.

Here is a complete listing of players along with the number they will be wearing.

• 70 Mike Murphy-goaltender
• 29 Bryan Rodney-defense
• 62 Jamie McBain-defense
• 73 Brett Bellemore-defense
• 16 Brandon Sutter-forward
• 23 Zach Boychuk-forward
• 37 Zac Dalpe-forward
• 54 Stefan Chaput-forward
• 58 Chris Terry-forward
• 61 Samuel Morneau-forward

Jamie McBain and Zac Dalpe are paying their own way to the camp because they will be playing college hockey this fall. The NCAA won’t permit them to get a free ride like the other prospects.

As was the case last year, the Hurricanes website isn’t very up-to-date with recent information for these guys, so I will post a mini-biography for each of them here.

Brandon Sutter

Sutter was the Hurricanes number one draft pick in the first round of the 2007 draft. The center had 23 goals and 26 assists in 56 games for Red Deer last year before being sent to Albany after his juniors campaign was completed. He scored one goal and had one assist in 7 games for the River Rats.

Brandon is currently penciled in as the Canes 4rth line center for the coming year. It looks like the position is his for the taking, if he wants it badly enough.

Mike Murphy

Murphy literally came out of nowhere this past season to win Goaltender of the Year honors in the OHL. He posted a tremendous 36-7-4 record with the Bellevile Bulls and had a .929 save percentage and 2.21 GAA. The Canes selected him in the 6th round of the 2008 draft with the 165th overall pick.

I would expect the goalie to return to Belleville next season.

Jamie McBain

McBain is one of the top defensive prospects in the Hurricanes system. He had 5 goals and 19 assists in 35 games for the University of Wisconsin last season. He has also been a mainstay on the blueline for the US Juniors team for the past couple of years. The Canes selected him in the 2nd round of the 2006 draft.

Jamie will return to Wisconsin to play for them again this fall.

Zach Boychuk

Boychuk was the 1st round draft pick in this year’s draft for the Hurricanes. Last year he scored 33 goals and had 39 assists in 61 games for the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He also has played for Team Canada in Juniors competition.

It is expected that Zach will return to Lethbridge for next season, but crazier things have happened. If the Canes can’t re-sign Chad LaRose, here is a player who might be able to take his place. He needs to impress the right people in training camp first though.

Brett Bellemore

Bellemore is a defenseman who scored 6 goals and had 18 assists in 56 games with the Plymouth Whalers this past season. He was selected in the 6th round of the 2007 draft.

Brett should be able to make the River Rats squad and develop more in Albany this coming year.

Zac Dalpe

Dalpe is another late bloomer and was selected in the 2nd round of this most recent draft. He scored 27 goals and had 36 assists in 46 games for Penticton last year.

The forward made a commitment to play for Ohio State next season, but was drafted anyway by the Plymouth Whalers. There was a little bit of a ruckus in Ohio when the Canes reportedly tried to convince Dalpe to play for the Whalers instead of going to college this fall, but the latest seems to be that he will indeed honor his commitment to the Buckeyes.

Chris Terry

Terry had a breakout year last season for Plymouth as he scored 44 goals and had 57 assists for a total of 101 points in 68 games. He’s also a bit of a tough customer in that he racks up a few penalty minutes along the way. (check him out on Hockeyfights.com) The forward was drafted by the Canes last year in the 5th round of the 2007 draft.

Terry is 19 and has one more year of eligibility with Plymouth, where he will probably be returning next year. By the way, this is his 2nd conditioning camp in a row. It’s a bit unusual for players to attend twice, but he and Brett Bellemore are doing exactly that.

Stefan Chaput

Chaput was selected in the 5th round of the 2006 draft. He had a very good season last year scoring 33 goals and 36 assists in 62 games for Lewiston in the QMJHL.

I believe that he will also be trying out for Albany next season.

Samuel Morneau

Morneau was just drafted recently in the 7th round of this year’s draft. The forward scored 23 goals and had 19 assists for Baie-Comeau in the QMJHL.

He will be returning there again for next season.

Bryan Rodney

Rodney is a free agent pickup and will be considered the old man of this group. He played for Albany for a stretch last year and registered 4 goals and 11 assists in 42 games for the River Rats.

It is expected that the defenseman will return to Albany again next season.

Some of you might be asking, where is Drayson Bowman, the scoring sensation who lit up the Memorial Cup Tournament while helping his team, the Spokane Chiefs win it all this past season? Bowman was invited to a Team USA session in Lake Placid, NY and will be attending that soon.

Also, the youngster attended the camp last year.

For those of you who may have missed it, I posted similar mini-biographies for each attendee last summer. Although for some reason, I posted the information in a three part series. Here are links to each part.

Conditioning Camp 2007, Part 1

Conditioning Camp 2007, Part 2

Conditioning Camp 2007, Part 3

For those of you thirsting for any type of hockey, you can at least watch these guys skate through drills at the Rec Zone for the next 4 evenings. Michael Leighton will be joining them on the ice. Usually, a Hurricanes coach and a player or two will be there as well. Last year, Ron Francis was helping out.

A good General Manager always has a plan B if the best laid plans don’t work out. If Chad LaRose gets a huge payout in arbitration that the Canes refuse to match and he moves on down the road, who else might be on Jim Rutherford’s radar screen that probably would meet the GM’s salary criteria and who has had similar stats and skills?

Here are a couple of players still available who might fit in the 4rth line and would probably sign for 4rth line money.

• Kevyn Adams
• Randy Robitaille

Each of these players brings something unique and would be a nice addition if Rosie isn’t available.

Jim Rutherford has admitted that LaRose is asking for 3rd line money, and might just deserve it. Regardless, the Canes don’t have it in their budget and already have their top three lines intact. It’s been reported that the Canes budget for 2008-09 is about where it started out like last year, 45-46 million.

Some fans might be asking themselves where the 10% increase charged for season tickets during the coming season will be going. It would seem to make sense that the budget would be increased by a similar percentage, which would put salary totals closer to 50 million.

Instead, the Canes seem satisfied with keeping the budget closer to the league minimum of 40.6 million.

Chad LaRose is an extremely popular player and losing him as well as Erik Cole in the same season probably won’t help to sell more of those higher priced tickets.

But winning will cure all ills.

_________

Quick look around the NHL-

The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to make moves and signed Mark Recchi to a contract last night. Those new guys continue to shake and bake and are anything but boring and predictable.

While the Dan Boyle trade was something of a fiasco because of the way they finagled their way out of the defenseman’s no trade clause, I think the trade was a benefit to the Lightning and the team will be tougher next season because of it.

After signing Gary Roberts, Ryan Malone, Radim Vrbata, and Vaclav Prospal to contracts previously, Recchi will fit in as another question mark who is just as likely to have a great year as lay an egg. Whether good or bad, one can only wonder what the Tampa owners will do next.

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After the first Winter Classic on January 1st, I posted an article discussing the dream of holding a classic in Raleigh, (although apparently it would be a nightmare for some). I also hypothesized about future Winter Classics in other venues.

It seems like at least one of my crazy suggested locations will come to fruition. It’s been reported that the next classic will be played between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field.

No doubt it will be a sell-out and it should be a highly rated affair on television as well. Let’s just hope the NHL bigwigs don’t figure out a way to mess this “Winter Classic” thing up.

_________

The war of words between feuding GM’s Kevin Lowe and Brian Burke has certainly been highly amusing and entertaining. Burke blames Lowe for escalating salaries, especially related to RFA’s, while Lowe has called Burke a media whore as well as a moron.

Is it possible for both of them to be right?

Gary Bettman recently stepped in to put an end to the nonsense.

_________

Skating shadow Todd Bertuzzi just found a new home. After being bought out and kicked to the curb by best buddy Brian Burke, Calgary GM Darryl Sutter is taking a chance on the unpopular forward.

How unpopular is he? Puck Daddy has a nicely researched article with at least one Calgary site denouncing the addition.

Will Bertuzzi be booed by the home team ?

_________

Next up is the Hurricanes prospect camp preview.

Bad Company

The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that the team has agreed to terms with restricted free-agent defenseman Dennis Seidenberg on a one-year contract worth $1.2 million. More info from the Hurricanes presser-

Seidenberg, 26, played in 47 of the Hurricanes’ 82 regular-season games in 2007-08, earning a career-high 15 assists and tying for third-best on the team with a plus-6 plus/minus rating. The Schwenningen, Germany, native has scored nine goals, earned 45 assists (54 points) and accumulated 76 penalty minutes in 225 NHL regular-season games with Philadelphia, Phoenix and Carolina over five seasons. The Flyers drafted Seidenberg (6’1”, 210 lbs.) in the sixth round, 172^nd overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He has represented his native Germany in international competitions, including the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships, and the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

The blueliner previously earned 850K, so that’s not a bad raise for a player who only played in 47 games last year. But NHL defensemen are a commodity right now and Seidenberg has played pretty well when he has had the chance.

In an interesting twist, the signing reunites a pair of defensemen from the Philadelphia Phantoms AHL championship team of 2004-05. Joni Pitkanen also played on that squad.

Believe it or not, Seidenberg had better stats at the time.

• Seidenberg GP 79 G 13 A 28 TP 41 +18
• Pitkanen GP 76 G 6 A 35 TP 41 +9

Hopefully, the former team-mates can re-kindle the same mojo which helped the Phantoms to win the Calder Cup back during the lockout.

The signing gives the Canes eight defensemen currently under contract.

1. Pitkanen
2. Corvo
3. Gleason
4. Kaberle
5. Wallin
6. Babchuk
7. Seidenberg
8. Melichar

Tim Conboy and Casey Borer both have 2-way deals which means that they would start out in Albany if the team makes no other changes. But assumptions remain that either Frank Kaberle or Nic Wallin will be traded to the highest bidder and several teams seem interested.

Chad LaRose filed for salary arbitration on Saturday with 14 other players in the NHL. Apparently, LaRose is unhappy with the qualifying offer that the Canes submitted to him.

The pesky forward earned 500K last season, so the qualifying offer would put him at 550K for this year. (The qualifying offer includes a mandatory 10% raise.) Carolina General Manager, Jim Rutherford has stated several times that the budget is tight and the team does not have much more to give LaRose.

If the arbitration award ends up being significantly higher than 550K, then the Canes could walk away from the award and the player, leaving Chad as an unrestricted free agent. The big question at that time will be, is LaRose worth any more than 550K to any other team in the NHL?

It wouldn’t be the first time that a player priced themselves out of the market. A couple of years ago, David Tanabe took the Boston Bruins to arbitration and won a nice contract award. But the Bruins walked away from it, and Tanabe was unemployed for a bit before the Canes signed him to a much lower deal than the arbitration amount, and probably lower than what the Bruins had offered originally.

Chad should be very careful because he could be playing with fire by pushing for his maximum value. He certainly doesn’t want to burn any bridges with the Canes during this cumbersome process.

If the price gets too high for LaRose, there are plenty of other “pesky forwards” out there who are still looking for a home from which the Canes could choose. We will take a look at some of those later this week.

I’m on the last day of my vacation, (still out of town), but I will be returning in the evening and it will be back to normal again around here soon. The prospects are in town for the prospect camp this week, so we will be reviewing that next.

The defense is starting to take shape for the Carolina Hurricanes. Not only does it look much bigger and different than before, but it is also a great deal younger than it has been for the past several years.

Gone is the veteran experience of Glen Wesley and Bret Hedican. They have been replaced by a couple of 24 year olds, Joni Pitkanen and Anton Babchuk.

The old men of the current corps, Frank Kaberle (34) and Nic Wallin (33) are both reportedly on the trading block, in that one or the other will be traded. Since Wallin has exercised the “no trade clause” in his contract during a previous trade attempt, the logical target to be moved is Kaberle.

Before Joe Corvo came to town, the Carolina defense was the lowest scoring group in the league. That is sure to change in the coming season, but will the Canes be able to improve upon their woeful “goals against average”, which has been among the worst in the league?

Time will tell if the youth movement will help in that matter.

_________

Keith Aucoin just signed a 2 year contract with the Washington Capitals. Aucoin is a former AHL points leader and was a huge asset for the Canes last year when the injury bug hit. The forward is a hard-skating, hustler who always gives 100%. Congratulations to Keith.

________

LSB ran a story yesterday about Darcy Hordichuk’s recent acquisition by Vancouver. Hordichuk was quoted as saying the following….

“I want to play in the west because there are a lot more tough guys and that’s my job every night,” he said. “I’m so excited. I look back at my career and some of my best games have come in front of Canadian fans because that’s my style. I like to run around and hit guys and anybody who’s willing to drop the gloves. I’m the kind of guy who won’t back down. I know my role and any chance I get to fight Georges Laraque and some of the bigger guys out there, I like to test myself against those guys.”

Is this one of the dumbest quotes in history, or what? First of all, Laraque isn’t even in the West and hasn’t been for a couple of years. Secondly, in essence he is saying that there are no tough guys in the East that fight.

Lastly, he implies that he can only play his best hockey in front of Canadian fans, this after having played his whole career in places like Nashville, Atlanta, and Florida. So much for those fans, eh?

Strong words from someone whose career stat sheet reads like a who’s who of forgotten 4rth liners. He also won’t win any awards for being the smartest of players out there.

Karma is a funny thing, Darcy. It will be a pleasure for Southern hockey fans to watch Wade Brookbank kick your tail at some point next season.

Speaking of 4rth liners, Jarko Ruutu signed a 3 year deal with Ottawa. He and Chris Neal will be a nasty tandem. (I wonder if Chris Neal agrees that there no tough guys in the East?)

Van Halen

The Carolina Hurricanes just announced the signing of recently acquired defenseman Joni Pitkanen to a three year deal worth 12 million. The 24 year old will receive 3.5M in year one, 4M in year two, and 4.5M in year three.

This looks like a reasonable signing. More later….

The Carolina Hurricanes blueline continued to get bigger as they signed defenseman Josef Melichar to a one year deal worth 1 million USD. The 29 year-old is known as a “defense first” defenseman and is listed at 6′2, 220.

Josef is a big, strong, and experienced defensive defenseman who will be a shut-down player for us,” said Carolina GM, Jim Rutherford.

The bruiser has played 310 NHL games so far in his career, all with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Last year he played in the Swedish Elite League.

It would seem that this might mark the end of Dennis Seidenberg’s Hurricanes career. Rutherford also alluded to trading another defenseman, to make room in the Hurricanes budget for Pitkanen.

The blueliners currently under contract are-

1. Joe Corvo
2. Frank Kaberle
3. Nic Wallin
4. Anton Babchuk
5. Josef Melichar
6. Tim Gleason
7. Casey Borer (2 way deal)
8. Tim Conboy (2 way deal)

Joni Pitkanen and Dennis Seidenberg are restricted free agents who are still unsigned.

Some NHL players must have felt like they just won the lottery yesterday. Let’s take a quick look around and review some of the deals finalized on day one. Agents are still partying as we speak.

• Green signs in Washington for 21M over 4 years. (good deal for both sides)
• Stuart signs in Detroit for 15M over 4 years. (again, good deal for both sides)
• Dupuis signs in Pittsburgh for 4.2M over 3 years. (I thought the Pens didn’t care for Pascal?)
• Perry signs in Anaheim for 26.6M over 5 years. (I wonder how much Eric Staal is worth?)
• Vrbata signs in Tampa for 9M over 3 years. (Is Radim that much improved? I doubt it.)
• Theodore signs in Washington for 9M over 2 years. (I don’t know, Jose can be a real “head” case…*L*)
• Finger signs in Toronto for 14M over 4 years. (HUH? At least Fletcher won’t be around for this kid’s buyout)
• Stillman signs in Florida for 10.6M over 3 years. (Cory deserved more than his 1.75 in Carolina, but this is an overpay I think)
• Huet signs in Chicago for 16.875M for 4 years. (this deal is slightly cheaper per year than Theodore’s, so Washington must not have wanted to tie Huet up that long. Fine, I’d rather see Theodore in Washington than Huet.
• Tucker signs in Colorado for 4.5M over 2 years. (nice to see the Devil in the West now)
• Kolzig signs in Tampa for 1.5M over 1 year. (this might be trouble, for Washington)
• Lalime signs in Buffalo for 2M over 2 years. (This is it for the Sabres big day? LOL)
• Campbell signs in Chicago for 56.8M over 8 years. (no words for this one. We will see)
• Commodore signs in Columbus for 18.75M over 5 years. (God Bless you Mike, you just won the Lotto)
• Rolston signs in New Jersey for 20.25M over 4 years. (Better in NJ than Tampa)
• Hordichuk signs in Vancouver for ? over 2 years. (whatever)
• Rozsival signs in NYR for 20M over 4 years. (price of defensemen is going up)
• Holik signs in NJ for 2.5M over 1 year. (nostalgia counts for something I guess)
• Redden signs in NYR for 39M over 6 years. (overpaying is typical for NY)
• Streit signs in NYI for 20.5M over 5 years. (doesn’t seem like a bad deal)
• Ryder signs in Boston for 12M over 3 years. (Hab floater now floats in Beantown for more money)

The Hurricanes re-signed Ryan Bayda, Wade Brookbank, and Tim Conboy, rewarding the players for their hard work last year. (Conboy got 2 years). Dennis Seidenberg and Chad LaRose are still on the outside looking in.

Jim Rutherford said that th