Tentative plan is to keep up with daily posts during the All-Star break and bye week, but I might end up skipping a day or two. We’ll see.
In no particular order, today’s Daily Cup of Joe offers player by player quick hitters.
Brett Pesce — His play so far in 2019-20 is underrated. While Slavin/Hamilton deservedly garnered headlines, Pesce was tasked with making the second defense pairing work, and he has done exactly that with two different partners and a couple rough patches for each.
James Reimer — If the Hurricanes do make the 2019-20 playoffs, his 2-0-1 mark in three weak games by the team in front of him could be the difference.
Haydn Fleury — I like his play in three games since Hamilton’s injury. What caught my eye most on Tuesday was his ability to look past layer one for passing options on the Necas goal. Per my more detailed thoughts in yesterday’s daily post, more regularly being able to make plays offensively is one are of significant upside for Fleury.
Petr Mrazek — His start and win keeps both goalies engaged and sends both off into the break feeling good. In today’s NHL, having two capable goalies is critical, so that is a big win for Brind’Amour and the team.
Teuvo Teravainen — In what was arguably the best playmaking season from a win in Canes history, Cory Stillman collected 55 assists in 72 games in 2005-06. That makes for a 63-point pace over 82 games which is nearly identical to Teravainen’s current 62-point pace.
Martin Necas — He continues to show the ability to make dynamic plays. His ceiling offensively is incredibly high.
Jaccob Slavin — His conditioning is off the charts. What impresses me most is watching him when he gets stuck on the ice for an extra long shift and seems completely unfazed at the end of it. I am starting to think he rivals Joni Pitkanen in his ability to play seemingly unlimited amounts.
What say you Canes fans?
Who has additional quick hitters for a Canes player or two?
Go Canes!
The team seems to be a step faster and playing with more energy in the last two games after Justin Williams’s return – the spark everyone was hoping for.
The PK has been incredibly good lately.
Take a break, Matt. You’ve earned it, too.
1) Call ups: Gauthier still has the most upside, but I think Luostarinen looked the most NHL-ready. The Canes should only need to trade for high-scoring wingers. The organization is full of prospects who can fill-out those 10-minutes a game spots: Luostarinen, Lorentz, Bishop, maybe even Smallman next year. I read an interview with Gauthier (his attitude seems good) where he praised Kuokkanen’s playmaking. I think Kuokkanen is sometime the forgotten man. I still can see him as a solid middle-6 winger in the NHL
2) Necas is really finding that he can produce in the NHL. In the next season or two the Canes are going to have 4 point-producers to rival all but a few teams. As much as folks tend to focus on this season, the truth is that the Cup window opens more next year then extends for the next 4 seasons (Aho, TT, Pesce’s contracts all expire the same year). With Svech and Necas likely to both take another step, the Canes are most likely to make the Cup finals in 22, 23, and/or 24.
See also the latest Shaya’s 10 thoughts
http://gocheckers.com/articles/features/shaya-s-10-thoughts-jan-21-2020
much praise for Kuok + Lawrence (calling them and David Gust the best line in the AHL right now).
No mention of Gauthier.
The Checkers have had a remarkable turnaround since the low point in early December, winning 14 of the last 17 games.
I’m honestly not that sure that a trade is going to do that much for this team, rather take this roster as far as it can go.
If they do, a good player with a year left on his contract would be ideal.
Someone like Max Domi for instance.
Here’s a quick look at attendance figures since the 2016-17 season.
2016-17 Worst attendance in the 30 team league. 63% of capacity, 11,776/gam
2017-18 2 teams w/ less attendance. 71.3%, 13,040/game
2018-19 3 teams w/ less attendance. 76.7% 14,322/game
2019-29(YTD) 9 teams w/ less attendance. 88.7% 16,566/game
The teams below the Canes, in order of 31-23: Ottawa, Islanders, Florida, Arizona, Devils, Anaheim, Winnipeg, Colorado, San Jose. (Note: Winnipeg attendance is misleading due to their small arena.)
From the ESPN website on NHL attendance.
Cool, attendance is picking up, goes with the success of the team.
On a related note, the Devil’s blogger on HB suggests the Canes should consider picking up rental d-man Vatenen:
https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Todd-Cordell/Three-potential-landing-spots-for-Sami-Vatanen/159/103857
He’s got a point.