Tonight it's time for the Canes to fly against the Flyers, the last place team in the entire league. Of course Philadelphia might be the worst team in the league, but that didn't stop the Canes from losing to them at home on New Year's Eve. This time, the Flyers don't have the services of Peter Forsberg, (lost to trade), Mike Knuble, (lost to injury), and Ben Eager, (lost to injury). On paper this should be an easy game for Carolina, but nothing has been easy for them this year and in the NHL of course, any team can beat another on any given night.
Yesterday, the Hurricanes got bad news about Erik Cole. It seems he tore a muscle and will miss an additional 2-4 weeks. With Ryan Bayda being re-assigned to Albany earlier this week, this leaves the Canes with just 10 healthy forwards unless someone get's flown here to take his place soon. So far this morning, there has been no announcment of anyone coming from Albany. Tuesday night Dennis Seidenberg filled in because Cole was a last minute scratch. I can't believe the Canes will want to repeat that experiment having the time to recall help from their minor league affiliate this time around. Maybe it's a secret who they are calling up?
In the News and Observer this morning it was reported that Jim Rutherford was disappointed that the prices were so high on the much sought after rentals available throughout the league. The latest rumors have the Hurricanes interested in either, Bill Guerin, Anson Carter, Kyle Calder, or Geoff Sanderson. Obviously, the need is there for Carolina and any of those players would be a help, especially with Cole and Stillman out for an extended time. Will the prices come down before the deadline on Tuesday? There certainly will be some movement and one would think that it would be sooner rather than later. I have to run for now, but I'll leave an update if I hear anything new. Go Canes!
REO Speedwagon
UPDATE>>>> Ryan Bayda recalled from Albany. (I guess they didn't like the Dennis Seidenberg option either)