After a weekend that demoralizing losses that could not more emphatically have pointed the way to another playoff miss, the Carolina Hurricanes organization will wake up Monday morning and have to ask itself, “What now?”
Perhaps the most bizarre thing of all is that the Hurricanes will wake up Monday morning still very much in a playoff chase.
The Hurricanes are only a single point behind the Philadelphia Flyers who are struggling just as much with an 0-3-1 mark in their last four and two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets who are 0-2-1 in their last three points. But at the same time that the Hurricanes are close to a playoff spot in the standings, the current trajectory suggests that they are miles away from finding the higher gear necessary to actually make it happen.
It is not inevitable, but it sure feels like it right now.
This might sound odd, but the one thing that I do not think I can take is another March surge if it is over at the end of February.
— Canes and Coffee (@CanesandCoffee) January 24, 2018
The pattern for the team continues to be to find a short burst of solid hockey and/or a few wins and then have that build into the bad kind of confidence that breeds complacency and ultimately results in relapses in terms of intensity level and attention to detail. Then the proverbial s___ hits the fan which at some point seems to generate some hunger and intensity which starts the cycle again. Rinse, wash, repeat.
The team that seems to be in a continuous cycle that repeatedly finds its leaders uttering the exact same dejected “we need to be better”, “we didn’t play a full 60 minutes”, “we didn’t play our game”, etc. platitudes every 3-4 weeks for two seasons needs some kind of shock to the system to break the pattern.
In an ideal world, positive reinforcement would get it done, but sometimes it just does not. For as much as I do think Jordan Staal plays the right way and is capable of being a good player on a good hockey team, I increasingly question whether he is the kind of leader who is capable of getting the same out of other players. Justin Faulk is an even trickier situation in that I just continue to hope that he has a higher gear in him defensively that makes him at least be capable of being a key player on a good team like Staal.
The same goes for Bill Peters. We can slice and dice the roster and the talent level of the team 100 ways and no doubt make a case that the roster could be better. But in a league where half of the teams make the playoffs and each and every year a handful of Cinderellas rise up from nowhere with seemingly not enough talent and play postseason hockey, to say that it is in no way possible to win with this roster is simply not true.
When I net it out, something significant must change and with it change the trajectory of this team right now.
Per my comments on Twitter shortly after Sunday’s loss, I do not think some of the usual minor roster maneuvering cuts it.
1/2 I think if Peters really wants to make a statement, it's Hanifin and Skinner. Hanifin was worst D on Sunday & with nothing else working maybe shock paddles from a game out of lineup can help Skinner find next scoring burst BEFORE season is over. https://t.co/79RO1ul2xA
— Canes and Coffee (@CanesandCoffee) February 4, 2018
2/2 Swapping in Di Giuseppe & Jooris for 4th line & Dahlbeck for Fleury and aiming for 5-7% better fails to leverage situation to SIGNIFICANTLY shake the core with aim of jolting intensity to a completely different level.
— Canes and Coffee (@CanesandCoffee) February 4, 2018
At this point, I think the Carolina Hurricane 2017-18 season needs shock paddles.
Would Ron Francis showing up in the locker room before practice and completely out of character hurling a few sticks around the room and breaking a few things dial up the intensity level? And if so, what does it take to then sustain it?
Same for Bill Peters. Would a bag skate followed by a day in the press box for two key players like possibly Jeff Skinner and Noah Hanifin help the team snap out of it? And again, if so, what does it take to sustain it?
With the team mired in more mediocrity with the same leadership, would the unpleasant event of stripping the ‘C’ from Jordan Staal and Justin Faulk and giving it to Justin Williams fire everyone up and at the same time at least try something different than what has not worked in terms of who is first?
Is it time for Ron Francis to make his first real with risk hockey trade that ships out a core player and tries to change the chemistry in the lineup and in the locker room?
As noted above, the 2017-18 is actually not over, but it has never been more clear that the current trajectory very directly leads to a ninth straight playoff miss. There is not obvious answer on what would work and no guarantees that anything will actually. But standing pat and passively and patiently hoping for something better reeks of another year of rebuilding on a slow and increasingly uncertain path back to the playoffs.
If I were some combination of Ron Francis and Bill Peters I would take the unpleasant tact that the time to make changes is now.
As much as it might ruffle feathers, I would reverse course and make Justin Williams the captain.
I would bench Jeff Skinner and Noah Hanifin who in my opinion rated lowest among core players at their respective position in Sunday’s loss, and I would leave each out of the lineup at least until the team loses again.
And I would give one or two Charlotte Checkers a tryout. With a fourth line that has contributed almost nothing offensively and has not been great in penalty kill roles either, the risk that Warren Foegele and his high energy game and his 21 goals in 44 games in the AHL this season could be significantly worse seems incredibly low right now. I would then also look to insert one of Aleksi Saarela or Valentin Zykov into the lineup.
Finally, without making a bad deal out of desperation, I would be working the phone lines trying to make a trade deadline deal early before it is too late. Preference would be another player who adds leadership and is not necessarily a short-term rental.
I fear that the alternative to rocking the boat right now is to ride it to another playoff miss and then trying again in the offseason.
What say you Canes fans?
The Monday Coffee Shop will probably have a similar theme, but since this article is going up first, what are your thoughts on the following questions?
1) Is it possible that it is just time to mostly blow up the top of the lineup?
2) Is there any chance at all that thoughts like this will prove to be an overreaction when the team bounces back into the win column with a big win on Tuesday that could push the Hurricanes back into playoff position?
3) If you were the Hurricanes general manager and/or coach, what would you do right now with the aim getting the 2017-18 season on the right track?
Go Canes!
1. Start at the TOP, AND FIRE GM/ COACH!!
2. No
3. Quit…
When your house is on fire, you dump as much water on it as you can… you don’t just move the furniture around and hope!!
Is it time to blow up the lineup? Absolutely. I thought it was time 4 or 5 weeks ago. As you point out, let’s give some of the Charlotte guys a chance and sit some of the “star” players.
I would love it if the “C” was removed from both Staal and Faulk, but doubt that will happen.
What does it take for the team to sustain a winning energy and passion. Frankly, this is something that has been missing for years. The team is built around a lot of youngsters with potential, but I don’t believe we have enough leaders to herd the group along. We need new blood, but not sure where those players are. But it is time to shake things up.
So many of the teams have lacked passion for years. You may see sparks of it for two or three games and then it disappears for three or four games. This ebb and flow has been frustrating and believe that is reflective of a leadership problem and inexperience.
Make a trade or two. Yeah, this might be difficult to say farewell to a fan favorite, but the team needs to be shaken up and we need more talent. We need guys who will play at a high-level for 60 minutes and not talk about, “we have to start on time”…”we have to play all 3 periods”…yada, yada. Hopefully Dundon is giving RF some funds so he can make some moves before the trade deadline. In addition, I hope there will be funds in the checking account to do the same this summer.
This has been a budget team for years. RF has, I think, done the best he can with limited resources. Now, I would like Dundon to give us the ability to play in the sandbox with the big boys so that we can make some noise this summer and moving forward.
As a fan, I am tired of going to games and wondering which team will a see — the one with energy, or the one who looks like they are skating in mud. Again, all of this up and down for years is tiring. And like you, I cannot stomach another fast and fierce run in March when essentially the season is done. That said, this is not brain surgery…let’s shake things up.
Blow it up? Well, I’m not sure that’s the right word, but there needs to be changes. Minimum is sending PDG down and bring up Foegele to do something with the 4th line. Sit Skinner and Hanifin for a game.
Francis has a lot to do. He’s worried about burning ELC contracts, but that should be secondary to getting the right players in now. He should know that players mature at different rates and some are ready before others. Having Charlotte be winners is a good goal, but not to the effect it sacrifices winning with the big club.
Lindholm was is supposed to be a center. Let’s find out. Now. His bridge deal is up and I’d want to know if I have a center I can say is a 2C or do I have a middle 6 winger? Just look at the Sharks as a example of taking a center prospect, Hertl, play him in the wing, then move him to center. He did a good job against us.
Frankly I’m so disappointed in many things with the team it’s hard to pick a place to start in how I’d change it.
Blowing up the roster when you’re in a realistic battle for a playoff spot is not the prudent move. Making some drastic but necessary changes by sitting non-performing “veterans” and bringing up some new blood from Charlotte is something that needs to be done. I’ve posted before that the Canes roster as currently configured, contains too many of the same type of player. Sort of fast but not super fast or quick, certainly not physical and for the most part young and too complacent and accepting of losing. There is not enough veteran leadership, not enough of a physical presence and definitely not enough passion. I’m for adding someone at the trade deadline but it has to be a long term, roster building move. No short term additions. A move like that is probably not likely and as others have pointed out, moving guys like Skinner and Faulk given their current production and status, won’t get you the kind of players in return that the Canes need to become a serious contender. And the sorry truth is no matter how good some of these young guys playing in Charlotte are, or as good as Necas is playing in Europe, all will require a couple of years – or more – of experience to be steady players. This off season is the time to make the so called player for player trade and/or free agent acquisition to get this roster more playoff ready and upgrade the overall talent. The Canes can make a statement tomorrow. The Flyers are in the exact same predicament and it is likely to be a physical affair. Time to show up.
1. Yes, I think it’s time for some sort of shakeup. Now the million dollar question is, just what should that be? The obvious choice is to fire Bill Peters. And I’d be okay with that. Whenever this is done, it always sends a shockwave through the team, that tells them the status quo is simply not good enough. So you get not only a new coach, but a lot of times a new energy flowing within the current players. Now for this to occur, RF will certainly need to consult with Dundon, and that’s where things could get interesting. Because Dundon is first and foremost, a business man, and a highly successful one at that. And to get to that level, there has to be more inside the business man, than just business smarts. There has to be an insatiable passion and drive to achieve greatness. And within thirty seconds of seeing Dundon speak, you could see that quality simmering behind his eyes. So when RF and Dundon hypothetically meet to discuss Peters, Dundon might have a lot more to say to RF than just giving him an okay on firing Peters. It might be more of a discussion of RF’s job itself. And that’s where it could get interesting. When a business is not performing to expectations, what does the owner of the company do? Sit back and hope for the best? No, they get the company leaders in a room and figure things out – and a lot of times that means letting go the driftwood that’s causing the problems. That could very well mean RF might discover he’s also on a hotseat that’s burning hotter than BP’s. So we’ll see – the bottom line is that things just cannot continue as is… something big has to happen, and Dundon seems to be the personality type to make that happen. He’s probably had enough time to get a read on this team, and now it’s time to act.
2. A win on Tuesday, although it would be a huge four point swing against the Flyers, shouldn’t alter the fact that this team’s makeup has proven over and over that it’s broken. We’ve all seen enough of the bipolar nature of the current roster, and if this past weekend’s anemic efforts wasn’t the final straw on the camel’s back, then nothing is.
3. Assuming I still have my job… The easy low-hanging fruit decision would be to bench the underperformers immediately. Skinner, Faulk, Hanifin, Rask (again), Ryan (it’s just embarrassing that he’s even out there at his size), and… well, maybe that’s it – we do have to be able to put a team on the ice. I would call up at least 3-4 of the top Checkers performers and just give them a shot and see what happens. And the next step is to be working the phones for a hockey ‘shake-up’ trade involving Faulk and Skinner. Get a strong scoring threat (Hoffman?), and possibly a solid veteran D-man. And if we lose tomorrow night? I think we stick a fork in it for this season… and we can all look forward to a very interesting off season…
I’ve been quiet for a while because, like most of you, I’m frustrated, discouraged, dejected, surprised – basically, at my wit’s end – and didn’t want to say anything crazy/stupid without thinking about it. I’ve thought about it.
1/ The team has underperformed, but more importantly, some of our key players, players who we expected to rely on heavily have had disappointing seasons: Faulk, Skinner, Rask, and Darling are the first that come to mind, but there are others. (Many would want to lump Hanifin in there but I’d say his offense has greatly outperformed and his defense just hasn’t progressed.) It really hurts when some of your best players aren’t playing up to their own personal standard let alone to what the team needs from them.
2/ The identity that we thought this team would have around defense – a strong blue line, improved goaltending, a strong PK – hasn’t materialized. Our blue line has players with higher ceilings than ever, but this year we’ve gone sideways, backwards even; maybe a Hainsey/JM Liles is always required. We are a team that still lacks a formula for how to play consistently winning hockey. That lack of consistency starts at the back end.
3/ We have more “talent” than even, but we still struggle to score goals. It’s not enough to shoot a lot or to dominate possession, eventually the puck has to go in the net or none of that matters, and it hasn’t gone in enough this season. We scored 6 goals in 4 games last week and were lucky to come out of it with 2 wins. The simple truth is we need more offense. Puckgod, I am finally in your corner on this one.
4/ Having said all that, at some level, given how young this team really is – and it’s the 3rd/4th youngest in the league – none of this should be all that surprising. Inconsistency is well within the range of expected outcomes. Still, I’m a fan, and I was hoping for more.
5/ What to do about it? I’m not a fan of firing BP. Trades are always hard to pull off, and everything I read now talks about how high the prices are for players available – and I’m still not interested in overspending. What makes the most sense to me over the next several games is to recall some players from CLT and see what happens.
6/ It takes anyone, even Dundon, time to sort things out and develop a reasonable plan of action, usually 90-days or so. We about halfway there. I think it’s more realistic to think more happens this offseason. However, it’s possible that he wants to throw deep at least once this season, so the next week or two leading up to the trade deadline may be just the time. I would explore all options for all but our “untouchable” players, and I’m not even sure anymore I know who they are.
7/ All that said, we’re still quite alive and a just a short stretch of decent hockey away from the playoffs. And other than WAS, no other team seems to be playing much better than we are. When I add it up, and call me crazy, but I wouldn’t trade places with NYI, NYR, PHI, or even PIT. Lots of hockey left to play this season. There’s still reason for hope.
You hit the nail on the head – A Ron Hainsey/JM Liles is actually ALWAYS needed. The Toronto Maple Leafs have gotten the stability they need thanks to Hainsey. There is always a fine line between having a group with ‘potential and skill’ and having guys who know how to get it done no matter how it looks.
If you look at the best d-corps in the league they have a few difference makers and then solid low-risk guys. Nashville consistently makes the case for best d-corps – you have dynamic guys like Josi, Subban and Ellis, you have your #1 shutdown guy in Ekholm and then the third pair of Irwin, Weber and Bitetto are just a rotation of guys who are physical, solid but not spectacular. The Canes have too much risk in their blueline still but I think the problem is due to lack of experience not necessarily it being the wrong cast of guys.
Sometimes it is needed to take a big deep breathe and relax. Consider this, many people coming into this season both as fans of the organization and hockey writers/fans outside the organization (for maybe the first time in a long time) pegged the Carolina Hurricanes as a team on the verge of something special. With that said, nobody thought they were destined for the playoffs and many things happen during a season that can alter projections. Many people (myself included) didn’t really believe the Canes were a playoff quality team coming into the season. With that said, currently they are playing right around to just below their projected abilities this season so I would not say it is time to panic.
The Canes have two really really key factors playing in their favor moving forward – they have core players (or at least key support players) that are young and on the upward swing of their development and the teams salary cap situation moving forward is among the leagues best. Another factor is the team has good prospects even some that project as serious difference makers (Bean and Necas) on the way. With all those factors in mind it is absolutely NOT the time to ‘blow it up’. Furthermore, Bill Peters is the best coach this franchise has had since Laviolette and to see the Hurricanes even have something resembling a good system and identity is something I cannot remember them having since Laviolette’s high octane offense in 05-06. So it is not time to fire him. IT is time to get this team the key needs that they’ve had for a couple years now – a first line scoring center, and more scoring wingers.
Aho, Terevainen, Staal, Lindholm, Skinner, Slavin, Pesce, Hanifin, and Faulk make the cut as roster players that I wouldn’t be panicking to move anytime soon. The defense still needs some more consistent sandpaper (Which could come from internal development from PEsce, Hanifin, Fleury, Slavin etc.). The offense needs both internal development but also external help.
A great team to look at as a sign not to panic and blow everything up is the Vegas Golden Knights. A team of supposed scrap heaps put together has taken the league by storm. I think it should show that the Canes as a bubble team are David Perron, James Neal, Reilly Smith calibre support players away from having enough offense, and/or they are a pleasant surprise William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault type breakout away from having enough offense. Getting both those things could vault the Canes to the top tier of the league.
So looking one even two years away – imagine the Canes retain most of their existing talent and add in a Necas, Foegele, James Van Riemsdyk (or any other 45+ pt free agent) and 1 roster altering trade (getting a top 6 talent/#1 center)… I would prefer that group than panicking and changing too much right now.
This group just needs to be supplemented, and I hate to say it but in my opinion those who thought the current roster was actually good enough to take a playoff spot in the Eastern conference this year either had rose coloured glasses on (Many of my friends who are Leafs fans and Sens fans never believed the Canes added enough offense in the offseason even with Justin Williams) or didn’t do enough homework scouting the competition in the conference.
Guilty as charged for being overly optimistic entering the season. Still, other than NJD and WAS, no one in the division is playing better than anyone expected. Five teams from the Metro are going to the playoffs; we can still be one of them.
I count myself as another who thought we’d be good enough to get into the playoffs. I felt NJ, NY, NYI, and Philly were missing too many pieces and with our improving young and effective defense, new goaltender and 40+ points added to the mix, I still think it should be/should have been enough.
Reality creeps in and says the defense is still a work in progress. The goaltending situation is same as it ever was. And the 40+ (now looking like 50+) points that Williams was bringing to the table was more than offset by the loss of Stempniak’s production, Skinner’s erratic performance, and Rask’s offensive disappearing act. The most confusing thing of all might be the year to date performance by Scott Darling. Add to that some head-scratchers by our head coach and we are where we are today.
Still I think the roster has the makings of one that still can creep into the playoffs….with a few guarded qualifications. We simply need more scoring. To even be able to bring up guys from the Checkers we’ll need to clear roster spots. I’d be much more in favor of thinking about moving some of the significant under-performers to do just that. Or, of course, making an impactful hockey trade…one that would indeed sell some of our vaunted new found depth.
In the short term you probably could find a taker for Derek Ryan. Lee Stempniak also has historically been a reliable secondary scorer, so he likely has some value (although it might take a few more games for that to surface). You can always push Fleury down to Charlotte for a few games if needed. The point being, making room for a Foegele and/or a Wallmark wouldn’t be too costly and almost certainly would add offense to our anemic 4th line…something that could go a long way.
However the move I’d like to see us pursue is one for Ryan O’Reilly (who has been rumored to have been dangled by Buffalo). I’d try to put a package together around our 2019 1st round pick (unprotected), Jake Bean, Victor Rask, and one of Kuokkanen/Gauthier….maybe getting a mid-round pick back with ROR. This would immediately beef us up down the middle and make us an even more difficult team to play against. It also sends a message to the team and to the league.
So it’s sounding like it’s status quo after practice today… no call-ups from Charlotte… just have to play the right way, work harder, ya-da, ya-da… and hey, maybe we’ll get the ‘Good Cam’ outing, and actually take this one against Philly. And maybe the next one, who knows? And all will start looking good again, but then you know what’ll happen. We ALL know what will happen. Another two or three games like the one’s we just experienced, and it’s back to below the cut line. This team is what it is – it won’t magically change… without change. How much longer will it take for this reality to sink in on the people that actually make decisions? Please, RF, do something to shake things up – you can’t keep your head in the sand any longer. A bag skate might’ve worked in your day, but in today’s NHL, that’s not gonna cut it.
Sounds like we still have the dreamers (w/ rose-colored glasses), and realists who watch THIS UNDER-Performing gaggle of mediocre skaters, and see two different things…
SNAFU
THE REALITY…IS- It don’t mean a thing when you ain’t got the swing! Doobopdabopdabopdabop…..
ie. we’ve been last in the division…for EVER, NOTHING HAS CHANGED!
The coach, and GM Have done nothing to improve this group!
There is no NASTY, GRIT, REAL DESIRE, PASSION…
hope for change in the near future…
OH YEAH, …WE FANS ARE TOAST!! …face it…
1. Give JW the C.
2. Sit two under performers, bring up kids from clt and give them a shot.
3. Let darling play in net rest of the season, hopefully the team can go on a sufficient losing run to get a top 5 pick in next year’s draft (the 2019 draft is supposed to be legendary, so maybe not trade a way a first round pick that easily).
4. Hoe we can get some return for LS.
Off-season:
Buy out Darling if he can’t figure it out, bring in yet another goalie.
Bring in an offensive player (wheeling and dealing at the deadline).
Try to get rid of Rask, Kruger and Nordstrom. I think JJ has been the one 4th line guy who has played more or less as advertised, only 3 goals but he has the least ice time of the 4th liners.
Bring in a d man with grit and experience, we could have one a couple for nothing of the waiver wire this year.
Change the coach, sorry BP, but when fans start associating you more with water commercials than coaching it’s time to consider alternatives.
I actually find it a bit distasteful to have coaches do advertisements, I don’t know why, it just feels wrong to me, speaking of which, I miss Lacco Taco.
Sure, the team has more of he’s only 21, but Faulk is a non performer.
I officially gave up on the season after the Pit game, but I also wanted to be wrong about that, and I still do.