Lining up with the report card articles for the bottom half of the blue line that started last Thursday and carried through the weekend, the topic of the day in the Monday Coffee Shop is figuring out the 5, 6 and 7 slots for the Carolina Hurricanes’ 2017-18 blue line.
If you missed them over the weekend, here are the links for the report card articles — Matt Tennyson, Klas Dahlbeck, Ryan Murphy, Noah Hanifin and Ron Hainsey.
I was pretty harsh (fairly in my opinion) in awarding the groups a bunch of Cs (which is the bottom of the barrel for my sympathetic grading that has not given a D yet). Only Noah Hanifin escaped with a B- after a strong surge when challenged with a top 4 role after the trade deadline. In total, the fourth line was a weak link all season and represents an area for significant improvement in 2017-18.
With that, the Thursday Coffee Shop offers a set of polls and questions themed around building a better third pairing for the start of the 2017-18 season.
Carolina Hurricanes polls
Please remember to click ‘vote’ after each individual poll response.
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Carolina Hurricanes discussion
With so many players, variables and combinations, let’s make the discussion open-ended but on the topic of filling the 5-7 slots on the blue line for the 2017-18 Carolina Hurricanes roster. Which prospects (if any) win slots? Would you consider adding help from outside? Are you considering Hanifin a top 4, third pairing or maybe a mix? GO!
Other than where Hanifin fits, let’s leave the top 4 out of it. That might be the follow up Coffee Shop for Thursday in which case we will have built the entirety of the 2017-18 blue line in a week’s work. 🙂
Go Canes!
I am ok with the current group, which would mean Fleury and Dahlbeck. The dilemma becomes who is 7. It doesn’t make sense to have McKeown or Carrick in Raleigh but not playing. So they need to stay in Charlotte. I have stated a few times that I expect GMRF to attempt to sign a veteran D for less than $2M from among the UFAs. Since it would ideally be someone who can play the right side, the top three options seem to be Hunwick, Quincey, and Y Weber.
Without getting into the names of the other D, I would like to say that I think Charlotte might be the laboratory for what we eventually see in Raleigh. I believe Puckgod made a comment about Fleury during the season that he didn’t seem likely to be ready for the NHL as he was part of the “3rd” pairing for the Checkers. Then coach Samuelson made the comment in the playoffs that Charlotte didn’t have a first through third system, rather they had three pairings he considered equal.
I have stated before that this seems to be the future for forward lines. I think the same could be true for the blueline. Basically each pairing would get 17 minutes of ice-time with the remainder divvied up based on situations (PP v. PK).
If Fleury develops into a “top 4” type, then when Bean comes up the Canes will have six D all above the “5/6” mold. I consider this a very good problem to have and hope that the analytics that Carolina has invested in indicate that there are competitive advantages to having three co-equal pairings.
I talked to Jordan Futrell (He watches/tracks the Checkers on a game by game basis) regularly on Fleury’s 2016-17 season. The D pairs were balanced/built based on chemistry. Fleury’s role, ice time and level of play were not 3rd pairing. He basically did all one could ask jumping to the AHL level. He had a solid season overall. He grew in terms of level of play and assertiveness as the season wore on. There is another fairly big jump in level of play from the AHL to the NHL, so there is no guarantee, but he will definitely have a chance in training camp, and there is reason to think he is ready.
Matt. I see what you did. I said laboratory in Charlotte and you said their D pairings were based on chemistry.
In any event, I think the idea that the 21st century way to build a blueline might be more about match-ups and combinations than about 1st, 2nd, 3rd pairings is going to take hold for both teams in NC.
Yeah, my bad on the Fleury comments before, I made a bad assumption on the 3rd pairing thing…
About the Canes 3rd pairing right side…Am I correct in thinking McKeown is a right shot? I remember being impressed with him last year (pre-season) and thought he had a chance to make the team!
Anyone else think he’s ready to compete for a slot?
I could see Dahlbeck as the 7th D.
McKeown is a right shot. He was less than impressive this past season with the Checkers although he was out with injuries for a while. I don’t think he is NHL ready, and actually think he might have been kept on the opening day roster last season simply because he is a right shot, and until we could pick up another one (that being Naklabad).
With Fleury and Dahlbeck both being left-shots (Klas showed he can’t play on the right, and I don’t think you bring a left shot rookie up and put him on the right). So I don’t see them pairing together. I do think Fleury makes the roster as the 3P-L – but I would love to see the fight in Dahlbeck to hold onto the spot he largely held in the last third of the season. Klas isn’t just going to roll over to be the 7th D.
We have a critical need to 3P-R – Murphy is not the answer and I see us pursuing someone more than comfortable but extremely competent on the right side.
That would make Klas the #7 but if Fleury can’t hold up on the 3P we will likely need a 3P-L better than Dahlbeck.
So I consider the 3P very dynamic.
I expect we will add a couple of D-men – again I think a 3P-R is critical, but if we get a left-shot who can challenge Hanifin for 2P than everything I wrote above gets thrown out the window, except for the need for a qualified 3P-R.
Worse case is starting the season with Dahlbeck-Murphy as the 3P.
In summary I am comfortable with Dahlbeck as #7 who can/may occasionally play on the right on a spot basis as needed. I think Fleury moves up. We need a 3P-R. And an added bonus of adding a quality left-shot is nothing to back away from.
Re: Bean, IIRC Cory mentioned a real possibility that he could go back to Juniors because of a glut of AHL Dmen. I don’t remember what he said, exactly, but gathered there are several guys ahead of him right now.
It would be quite unusual to jump from Juniors to NHL…
Because of age/rules, Bean is not eligible to play in AHL in 2017-18. He either stays at NHL level or must be returned to juniors, and once returned to juniors, he could only be recalled as an emergency (basically a bunch of injuries). So odds are strong that he plays in juniors.
The one wild card is the ability to keep a player at the NHL level for up to 9 games without burning the first year on his entry-level contract. So if he had a good training camp, he could be rewarded with a short couple-week stint at the NHL level before returning to juniors for the rest of the season.
Shorter version: Bean is >90% chance of returning to juniors and would need to completely blow the doors off in training camp/preseason to stay at NHL level (other than short trial stint).
Thanks Matt, I’d forgotten about that age/ AHL thing.
IF Hainsey were brought back (not a bad idea, assuming Murphy was already moved) he could fill a 3rd pairing pretty well, if the price is right! However, the right side still has to be addressed… can Ron play on that side?
I believe the team want’s Fleury to take the #3LHD role for next season. I also think they see the veteran defenseman signing as an RHD. There are some interesting names out there: Cody Franson, Kevin Klein, Kyle Quincey (although he’s a left shot, RHD), or Paul Potsma. I’d love to see us make a play for Franson or trade for Klein (NYR need to “fix” their defense and he’d be a candidate to be moved). If there was any way to get more of a puck mover, I’d be all over that, but I’m not sure who would be available.