Monday’s end of season press conference with Tom Dundon created a reasonably decent ruckus and a wide range of opinions spanning the full spectrum from declaring it a train wreck to lauding his commitment to change and different way of doing things.
You can find my reaction on a few of the topics he discussed HERE. The article is worth a visit to also see the wide range of thoughtful reader comments that also come at it from all angles.
If pressed to briefly summarize my thoughts on the press conference and Tom Dundon’ tenure as owner this far, I would call both a mixed bag.
Today’s Daily Cup of Joe takes up the case of defending Tom Dundon and his path thus far as the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes. To be clear, I am not making the case that he will be a great owner. Any assessment pro or con at this stage would be premature and mostly a wild guess. And I am also not saying that I agree with everything that he has done thus far. Actually, I think he has missed in a few key regards. Rather, I am at least considering the case that everything is on track with regard to the ownership transition that everyone has been calling for for multiple years.
The Carolina Hurricanes are in a better place under new ownership
That transition is a key starting point for making the case for Tom Dundon. The organization was multiple years deep into Peter Karmanos wishing to sell the team but seemingly minimal progress on that front. As long as the team was for sale, the potential existed for a sale to coincide with the team moving. And as long as the team was for sale, the team seemed to be managed more for budget than for winning. In addition, the organization had stagnated in terms of new initiatives and marketing to help fill the arena admittedly under challenging circumstances. No doubt there is risk in any change, and certainly it is possible that new ownership proves to be worse than the previous regime. But without even a pause, I will gladly take the transition to a new owner whose starting point is to keep the team in Raleigh over riding further with a lame duck owner and/or holding out for something different.
Change is needed
Change is hard. But change is needed. We have learned quickly that everyone with a stake in the team even if just fandom has a different opinion of what the ‘change’ should be/look like. And while I do think there have been some missteps in the early going, the general approach of making changes is a necessary one, even if uncomfortable at times.
Engagement at a general level is good
One of the most consistent criticisms of Peter Karmanos was his lack of involvement locally and visibility in the local community. Despite still living in Texas, Tom Dundon has been the opposite thus far. He immediately rolled up his sleeves to make a few changes on the business side and to at least try a few initiatives. He has been engaged locally. And he is actively involved with trying to improve the team. There are legitimate debates about what the right way to do that is, how much involvement is too much in certain areas, etc., but at the end of the day, Tom Dundon’s high level of engagement is a positive.
Tom Dundon has nothing to do with the 2017-18 struggles
Amidst the various undercurrents and side stories, the overriding issue right now is the the disappointing results for the 2017-18 season. While Tom Dundon will have a significant role in trying to make changes to improve for 2018-19, it is important to note that he had virtually nothing to do with the 2017-18 season’s failure. He did not close on his purchase of the team until January 11, 2018 which was just before the 44th game of the season. He had nothing to do with any of the decisions made during the previous offseason and very few levers that he could pull for the current season after acquiring the team. So in terms of assigning blame for the disappointing 2017-18 results, Tom Dundon had virtually nothing to do with it.
He is only four months into a significant learning curve
Today marks the fourth-month mark since Tom Dundon officially closed on the purchase of the team. It is reasonable think that he is still climbing the learning curve, accumulating information and only just beginning to create a long-term strategy and chart a course. I think one could actually make a pretty good case that Dundon’s strategy at least as presented being hazy at this point is at least partially a good thing. The lack of a clearly articulated plan might actually suggest that perhaps Dundon appreciates the complexity of the business and recognizes the need to accumulate and analyze more information before making concrete long-term decisions.
Building his own team is not out of the norm
One of the things that has rankled feathers with some fans is the demotion of Ron Francis out of the general manager role. The idea of a new owner making an assessment of which members of the existing team fit with how he wants to run the business is not outlandish. Major transitions at executive levels quite regularly come with a subsequent changeover of many of the people who report directly to that executive. Exact details of where the disconnect between Ron Francis and Tom Dundon was is not known, but I think one has to give him the leeway to build his own team.
Current pause and uncertainty as a sign of more methodical approach beneath the surface
One of the criticisms of the post-season press conference was the lack of crispness and defined plan for much of anything. The process for deciding whether or not to retain Coach Bill Peters was murky with no firm timeline or defined process. The same was true for the search for a new general manager. And when you sort through the entirety of Monday’s press conference, the lack of clarity was an overarching theme. But without a general manager in place, would we really want Tom Dundon to come forward with a detailed plan and/or a number of key decisions that had long-term impacts on the team? Or would we prefer that things move slowly until a new general manager was in place? And on the general manager front, would we prefer that the team hire quickly from whoever is available right now, so we can get on with the upcoming offseason? Or would we prefer that a more thorough search process be undertaken that considers as many options as necessary to make the best possible choice for the long-term? Only time will tell, but the lack of clarity and established direction right now could actually prove to be Dundon drawing a line in terms of his involvement in hockey operations decisions.
Be careful to consider the biases and motivations of outside assessments
Tom Dundon has very quickly and clearly established himself as a maverick of sorts. That could be good, or it could be bad, but one thing it will not be is a persona that fits neatly into the ‘good old boys’ network that is the NHL. The sizable part of the mainstream NHL media that has had a negative bias toward most things Hurricanes hockey from the beginning is not going to change. And if Tom Dundon takes on the role of rogue outsider, that will only intensify the bias and scrutiny that already exists from a contingent of the broader media. Dundon already has a mark on his record with many for demoting Francis, so watch for coverage with a thinly-veiled purpose of tearing Tom Dundon and the Carolina Hurricanes down. Ironically, if Dundon goes outside the box and has success, that will not earn him credit but more likely even more biased scrutiny. Remember that part of this group actually thinks that Marc Bergevin in Montreal has a handle on things.
Netting it out
No doubt, data points of all varieties are pouring in right now with regard to assessing Tom Dundon as an owner. Any final assessment of Dundon’s role and abilities as an NHL owner are premature right now. Going a step further, even trying to understand what exactly Tom Dundon’s role is after the dust settles on a transition period and a team and a plan are in place is also premature. I am on record as not agreeing with some of Dundon’s decisions and actions thus far. While I do think there is value in assessing Dundon’s individual actions is useful in gradually building the puzzle that shows what his role is and how effective he will be as an owner, I think it is also incredibly important at this early juncture to realize that only a few pieces are in place with many more to come.
What say you Canes fans?
1) With another day to process Monday’s press conference and possibly considering some of the points above, is anyone who was negative on Dundon gravitating somewhat back toward neutral/wait and see?
2) What positives do you see from Tom Dundon thus far as an owner and as a leader for the organization?
3) Is there a part of you that hopes Tom Dundon goes completely rogue (in a smart way) and beats the NHL establishment?
4) (Not letting go from yesterday) Who else is joining Cory and I’s brigade that defends the goodness of BBQ pork nachos at PNC Arena? 🙂
Go Canes!
you must have gotten lucky on the BBQ Pork Nachos, as stated mine were a blob of fat and when brought to the attention of the person running that stand I got the “get over it look”.
This area has so much to offer from a food standpoint, how many would love it if Parker’s in Wilson had a stand or even Smithfield’s Chicken and BBQ. I would line up for that because the quality is good. That’s what I like about the Checker’s, they have embraced all things BoJangles.
Using ONE vendor for ALL concessions is a bad idea if you are trying to market the experience.
1. I have been positive on TD since he got here. There has been no reason to be negative. I see validity in all your points above. I will judge him on results, not fan and media chatter. He invested his money and I am willing to let him manage the team as HE sees fit.
2. I like his slow and methodical approach to doing things as far as laying the foundation for success. Only if he makes the RIGHT moves this off season will we have success next season. So let’s take the time to get things set up right to make the right moves and not just make impetuous moves that only serve to placate the clamor from fans and media that in the end are not held accountable for any of their ideas.
3. Why is it considered “rogue” if he does things a little differently than the “standard” way things have been done in the NHL? What’s wrong with being progressive and innovative if that’s what it takes to win and actually produces positive results. TD’s approach, as he as himself expressed it, is to lead the way in every aspect of hockey operations. It is not to wait on 29 other owners to prove something works and then follow the crowd. The latter approach will lead to nothing but always being an also ran.
4. BB-Que Nachos. Haven’t tried them at the arena so can’t evaluate them. I’ll leave that task up to some of the other contributors who are probably experts in the field of barbeque and nacho evaluations. I will look for their conclusions on the topic and then decide whether they are something I should perform my own evaluation on in my visits to the arena.
I watched all the postseason player interviews yesterday and what struck me as it relates to this conversation is the way each player answered the “what was missing in this team” question. There was a clear difference between JW’s and CW’s answer and almost everyone else’s answer: to JW and CW, the difference was about attitude (ie, grit, being more nasty); to almost everyone else, it was about execution (ie, a slow start, losing close games, inconsistency).
Culture is hard to change. It’s painful to change. It requires letting go of deeply held beliefs and venturing into an environment that is uncomfortable and unfamiliar. Few people go on this journey willingly; most have to be dragged along; many do not survive it.
Regardless of what you think about the way TD makes decisions, how involved or uninvolved in hockey decisions he’ll ultimately be, or any of the decisions he’s made so far, what is becoming strikingly clear is that he is going to change the culture of this hockey team because it’s proven to be incompatible with winning (on the ice first, followed by on the income statement). It hurts to say that given how close I actually thought we were to winning before the season started, but it’s hard to see it any other way now.
This has to be the first order of business and TD seems to be willing to do hard things to make it happen even if he gets criticized for it (which he most certainly is). This fan, like many others, has a little trouble watching the sausage getting made, but I recognize that’s where we are in this process – at least I think that’s where we are – and that we will move past this phase soon enough with a new core and new leadership and then more stability.
There is uncertainty around whether we’ll wind up in a better place and how long it will take to get there. Of course there is. I would just remind everyone that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. TD is not going to do things the same way so the results will be different. At this point, that’s enough for me.
Very good commentary and I agree with you. Let’s let the man (TD) do his thing. What we have done in the past has obviously not worked.
It doesn’t take an epidemiologist to analyze the responses to determine cause/effect. The old guys know in large part what’s missing from the equation. They’ve experienced successes and failures on different teams and fundamentally understand what made the better teams successful and the others not so much. The experienced players also have had to adjust their own games over their careers to fit certain situations and fundamentally, advancing age. They’ve had to change. As you said D, change is tough for everyone but much tougher for younger players (people) who lets face it, probably have only experienced success so far and there hasn’t been much motivation to change your game or attitude when it has always been easy. I love that Dundon challenged these guys and said the easy days are over. Step up or step out.
The one year turnaround in Colorado gives me hope that even extreme changes don’t necessarily have to result in delayed gratification in regards to a spot in the playoffs. I can’t wait to see how this situation plays out and I’m already more excited about next year’s team than I was going into this season. With all the hope and expectations heading into the 2017-18 season, there remained – at least for me – an undercurrent of trepidation. The team was a year older with a new, career backup goalie added to the mix, but it was essentially the same team as the under-performing team from the previous season. That won’t be the case come September and I’m prepared to celebrate or suffer with the new regime, who it appears won’t settle for the status quo.
Could not agree more Dmiller
I might be in the minority here, but I got exactly what I wanted out of the presser with TD. Given the circumstances and timing, I wanted unfiltered insights into what the owner was thinking. I’m tired of being able to predict responses because the responses are so vanilla.
It’s clear to me that TD is looking for specific things in a new GM and his players – and there is no need to rush into making decisions that do not fit his vision. I think if people take away their biases of disorder and chaos for a min, and just read a transcript of the entire presser, you will see a vision. He wants the right people/players in the right positions to succeed. Anything less than that is a failure. The example of the GM pay, this is just another tactic out there to further confirmation bias that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Sounds like to me he’s willing to pay people and players the right amount of money if they fit and are right for the job.
The only guarantee is this offseason will be interesting!
Go ‘Canes!
You have pointed out exactly what I also got out of TD’s presser. The media in attendance obviously wanted TD to announce some big decision(s) because that’s what they live off of. When they don’t get this the tend to put everything in a negative context. I have had season tickets for 20 years and this year’s team, as a team, stunk and was the worst I have seen. Now we get a new owner and a chance to infuse new ideas, new investment, a breath of fresh air, and someone who drew the same conclusion (we were lousy) and who won’t standstill until it is fixed. What’s not to like? Do I care how he fixes it? No, I just want it fixed.
Like you, I an glad TD is here and PK is not. Certainly a change agent was needed here. I think where we stray apart is about the expectations that something significant will/needs to happen and happen on a relatively short term basis. Expecting the fan base and specifically the STM base to sit back and live through TD’s learning curve and/or culture change is not going to fly. And you can see that there is a road yet to travel before he gets there. Paraphrasing, ‘BP works hard’. Ya, a lot of ineffective people work hard. BP needs a new job. Enough said. ‘Free Agents are just players that another team did not want’. Huh??? Not possibly considering that a quality player on a bad team might just want out and is exercising his rights to do so as an UFA gives me some concern about his views on things. This is something that is fairly basic but apparently not yet in the realm of consciousness. Maybe someone just needs to tell him this. Maybe someone has and its been dismissed. My point is not necessarily these specifics (although they are concerning) but lets not be too free in giving TD a pass on decisions because he is new or speaking his mind.
I didn’t think there was anything wrong with his presser. I was surprised (not really) to find out so many people had been freaking out about it. Am I surprised the GM search doesn’t have a lot to report? No, most of the original candidates won’t be available to interview until their teams are knocked out of the playoffs. Do I care if we know yet whether or not Peters will be back next year? No, Dundon’s probably waiting to hear from Peters first (why pay him for next year if you don’t have to?). I don’t expect any specifics on which players will or won’t be back next year. It’s too early for him to reveal that. There is more evaluating to do and plenty of time to make those moves. Now is the time to work through all the information, players, positions and gear up for the draft/free agency which we will have to be ready for before the new GM is in place.
Actually if TD is moderately sane, then the organization will succeed.
I say this because the organization is flourishing with the exception of Raleigh. The Checkers are on a 10 game roll and looking like they could go deep in the AHL playoffs. With Zykov up and Wallmark sidelined, the team didn’t miss a beat as first Roy and Poturalski then Kuokkanen stepped up.
Necas is leading a professional team toward a championship and has been arguably the league’s best player in postseason.
In the CHL Morgan Geekie is literally on a record-setting pace. Not to be outdone Jake Bean had 5 assists last night. Stelio Mattheos is continuing to look like a first-rounder who Carolina got in the third. Jeremy Helvig is solid even in his current matchup against the most dangerous scorer available for the 2018 draft.
And just to prove this is throughout the organization the Florida Everblades have the league’s best record.
Not all of these players will make the NHL much less star. But the Canes organization has never had close to this much successful talent.
Great summary of the good things happening below the NHL level with this franchise. I’m with you that there is reason to be optimistic about the organization’s direction.
Exactly, there’s a lot of players on the rise in the org. So much so that we will have a hard time fitting all of our forward prospects on the Checkers roster next year depending on how many AHL vets we keep around. I mean guys like Lorentz and Smallman already had to stay in the ECHL this year and we have many more players on the way. Necas, Elynuik (if signed), Mattheos, Geekie, Bean, possibly some of the NCAA players and Luostarinen (I don’t expect them too yet) could all move up next year. Of course some of the Checkers will move up to the Canes roster too so that could free up roster slots.
I am also very excited about the talent in the organization… which Dundon had nothing to do with. So I agree, if he can just behave in a moderately sane way, while changing the culture, then we are on a good trajectory.
I think Dundon is taking the right approach, gathering data and making decisions based on such. To RedRyder’s point, slow and methodical (not showing all the cards) is better than appeasing the masses who are not accountable in the end. Dundon is smart, we need to give him time.
I manage people for a living and the one thing I remind folks all the time is that ‘different is not wrong’. For far too long fans have been sold the line we are building our team like the Wings, Hawks, etc. Dundon must cringe when he hears this, as we should not be following how other teams succeed. This is exactly WHY we’ve been out of the playoffs for so long.
Instead, how about we build the Carolina Hurricanes? Instead of poking and digging at the new guy, fans should be asking why shouldn’t we create our own path and prototype towards greatness and be the envy of the league? This is why I don’t get caught up in the early media/fan drama about Dundon. Dundon is not a follower. That’s enough for me to know he will do whatever it takes.
I think you stated it very well yesterday live free. I just did not comment.
I sense a lot of the commentators here have some life experience under their belt, which probably means you’ve spent quite a few years in the business world in one way or another. I’ve been an architect for a long time and have seen a lot of business issues in my career (yeah, recessions tend to create those). So let’s think of the Canes as a company (which it really is…). In my eyes, it’s a company with a LOT of young employees (the players). Now, in most successful businesses, you have to have a good mix of experience and youth, with the older employees training and mentoring the young employees. Canes Inc. does not have that. Not even close. Now, throw into the mix, a new employee, whose put into a very critical position (goalie) in the company. The business success relies heavily on the ability of this employee… and, he way underperforms. In a company (and I’ve seen this), this situation causes moral issues, gossip, and a lot of times, anger. That is, until this employee is replaced. As a result of these issues, Canes Inc. has not been profitable (winning) for a long time, and the past year has been one of the worst. So, in comes a new young owner, whose not experienced in this particular business. Hmmm… okay, this is a new one. But this guy seems smart, enthusiastic, and has had tremendous success in another business. And one of the first things he does, is move out one of the older executives, who was responsible for a lot of the bad hires in the past. Okay, fair enough. It’s the new owner’s business now. Then he conducts one on one interviews with all the employees, telling them their work has not been good enough, and that they need to improve. Again, it’s his business now, so that’s not something new. So where does this new owner go from here? From what I’ve seen with business owners, once they’ve achieved that highest level of ownership, the most important thing they can do for the business, is surround themselves with the right people. And that’s where I think Dundon is at. Especially considering he’s not experienced in this business. He has to now rely on his business instinct, and trust it, to make the right hires – and in this case, his first focus simply needs to be on finding a General Manager. Once he has this ‘second in command’ employee in place, who’s experienced and knowledgeable in the business, he can lean on him to help put the other pieces in place – the Head Coach, next, then the right replacement players (employees). And when the new executives snowball starts rolling, the owner can then step back and just oversee the process, to hopefully observe the business coming back to success/profitability. So as a fan of this ‘business’, all we can do is enjoy watching this process unfold – and trust me, it can work… as long as the owner finds the right people, and lets them do their jobs.
Good comments. I have over thirty years in a related field and can appreciate living through what are likely many of the same business “issues”! I couldn’t agree more (and commented more than a few times during the season along with a host of others in here) with the need for the Canes to field a squad comprised of a more even distribution between younger and veteran players. In hockey it’s weird because everyone considers at 23 yrs. old you’re now a veteran because you may have 4-5 years under your belt. Unfortunately, a player’s emotional maturity cannot always be reconciled with the number of years played in the League.
Misery loves company. A cliche? Of course. But cliches only exist because they are almost always true.
This is why I so much enjoy watching movies like Draft Day. While it is about the NFL, it could easily translate to hockey. It is about a day (draft day) in the life of a GM of a losing team (the Browns) who is threatened with firing by the owner if he doesn’t “make a splash” at the draft.
Throughout our league (NHL) teams are readying for the off-season. Some are going into the playoffs, while others are reacting to the agony of defeat.
As a Canes fan, I am trying to deal with losing, yet again. So I have enjoyed reading about other teams and their players and fans who are in the same boat.
During the season, I read a quote from Georges Laroque after he visited his old team’s (Oilers) locker room between periods of a game. He said that the Oilers players were in need of “heart transplants”.
A veteran Buffalo Sabre player said that he was losing his love for the game. Too many players on his team are so accustomed to losing, they are okay with it.
Now, I realize that there are those among us who will not understand what I am saying here. They believe that players are nothing but robots who play for money. But those of us who understand that players are humans subject to emotional issues see the danger.
Recently, GM Dorian held a “town meeting” among some 300 STHs in Ottawa. This is a town where the owner has so alienated his fan base that they are investing their money in billboards in downtown Ottawa to conduct their war of words against him. Hey! Isn’t Ottawa the team that gave away both their present and their future to obtain the services of the highly sought-after magic scoring catalyst, Matt Duchene? I thought he was supposed to heal everything. What happened? Hmmm!
A recent article by a Chicago writer describes what he calls a rebellion between the young guys and the veterans.
I am really grateful that my team is the Canes.
1. I was mixed to mildly negative on the press conference and remain such, but have never left the wait-and-see mode. It was made very clear that he intends to be very hands-on with the hockey side as well so that question is answered.
2. Best things – he has deep pockets. He also seems to be intent on building a personal/business relationship with the individual players – he took them to Top Golf in Nashville the day after the Toronto fiasco; and did the exit interviews by himself. I think that is outside the norm of most owners and I think it is a healthy thing to do.
3. I would love to see him go “rogue” in the sense of shaking up things in the NHL the same way Cuban did in the NBA. To a certain degree I think that is what he is trying to do. Cuban was gifted with the arrival of Nowitski (is Aho our Dirk?) and in his second year made a massive trade that resulted in a 30% turnover of the roster and took the Mavs from a long-time .500 team to a perennial contender.
But they have very different personalities and styles. Plus Cuban was a long-time season ticket holder before he bought the team (he knew basketball and he knew the team). And he had (and retained) the legendary Don Nelson as coach/GM.
3. Now for the most important question – when I am not ordering a hot dog for a game snack/meal (the only time I eat those nitrite vessels) the nachos are one of my two go-to foods (now that they don’t do specialty paninis any more), the other being Makus empanadas. I don’t get them with the cheese-like substance, which makes them borderline healthy. I have never experienced them as a “blob of fat”. And, if you do have an issue with a concession (or concessionaire) get a manager involved.
Great conversation. Boils down to what I said yesterday.
By now any change feels like a good change, but we have to hope it really turns out to be a good change, but not just change for the sake of change. Just my “two cents”, that’s a chunk of change.
Now for the important topic, I like the bbq nachos all right, I on’t love them but they sure fill you up, but I don’t understand why all the concessions at the arena are provided by a single vendor.
Open up arena spots to some local businesses, (I will keep my secret list of recommendations for a dedicated topic).
1) Yes, I was negative on the “presser” and have drifted more neutral after reading the excellent posts. Not sure if it is because of the reasons described in the posts though.
Dundon may just have no experience at press conferences, and need a bit of practice and training. It may be new to him. After making a decision in his previous roles, e.g. deciding to repossess a soldiers car, he didn’t have to go out and explain it to the press.
The second reason is confirmation bias. We all see what we look for. My bias was to not like the man because of his previous business (which I tried to give an example in the previous paragraph), and others pointed out that it isn’t relevant in this business. I agree and need to let the bias go. I want nothing more than for him to be outrageously successful in this role.
2) The greatest positive is that he sees there is a problem with this organization and he is going to do something about it.
3) Sort of. “Going Rogue” in the Moneyball sense has logic and reasoning behind it. I loved the story in real life and the movie, using statistics and analysis for decision making instead of whatever everyone else was doing. If he takes a logical and reasoned approach to outwit an establishment that is in a rut, that will be fun. If he goes rogue by instinctively doing whatever pops into his head, that has a much lower probability of working out well.
4) The pork nachos are a delicious diversion, particularly when paired with a local brew.
I have no problem with what TD has done to date. Culture in any organization starts at the top. TD has said the Canes organization is broken and needs to be fixed. You don’t do that by keeping the same people or processes in place. The presser was as much symbolic as anything else. It is TD saying the old culture is over and I am the new culture. Everyone needs to lift up to my culture or leave. That is an important message to send to the whole organization. It’s exactly what needs to happen to right the ship. It’s also why RF is no longer here and why BP won’t be either in my opinion. Whether this new culture will be successful remains to be seen, but I support the effort 100%.
I was fine with the TD interview. Having exit interviews with the players, with the coach not there, gives much better insight. Would you blast your boss if he was in the meeting. Telling everyone there will now be accountability is a good thing. The bar has changed. BP has an out clause. TD is waiting for his decision before saying if he stays or not. Why would you pay for a season if you did not have to. TD is leaving the door open plus the new GM may make that decision. Many potential GM candidates may now be in the playoffs. What is wrong with waiting until you have a full talent pool to select from. He will be very selective. He is calculating and knows how to pull talent together. He is gathering the data before making a decision. Gosh, this is so much better then PK, at least there is hope. To me I felt it was really good. I was very positive on the media event. He does not have to expose his plan 2 days after the season ends. We do not have to have next years team in place this early. The news media wanted flashy headlines and he gave them nothing. I think his comments were fine. If he has shady dealings in the past, if that is real, I make no judgment on that, I do not see how that affects the Canes. He wants to make the team a winner, he does not win if the team does not win, and if the fans do not win. I see nobody loosing with this. If he were to do something to hurt the fan base he will not have the seats filled.
I agree with an earlier comment that everybody has a right to express an opinion and they all have good reason for their position. I very much appreciate that everybody here respects each others thoughts. We might even change our minds at times when we listen (I know I have). Matt created this and it is up to the contributors to keep it the way it is. And we do, kudos to everyone involved.
Hi everyone. Not going to give my whole speech on everything Canes right now, but did want to say I am a Tom Dundon fan. I like his confidence & determination to make this team better. I will let you know how big of a fan after this off season. 😉
Also wanted to say I enjoy reading all of your (my fellow intelligent Caniacs) opinions on this site. It is by far the best one for the most thorough & hockey passionate comments of all the boards I check out for the Canes.
Great job Matt & all my fellow posters.
Thanks