After the Hurricanes’ second consecutive 0-2 week (though this week was technically 0-1-1), the Monday Coffee Shop will take its chances and open on its normal schedule recognizing that the patrons might be a bit grumpy and needing to vent. Let’s be careful be respectful of the fact that hockey players and management are people, and let’s remember that all of us in here are part of the same hockey community. 🙂
Polls
Remember to click ‘vote’ after each poll vote.
Is the Carolina Hurricanes' 2016-17 season officially over in terms of making the playoffs?
- Yes. 100% over; time to move on. (54%, 36 Votes)
- Not quite, but it is close. Playoffs are maybe a 5% chance. (42%, 28 Votes)
- Not at all. Stop overreacting. A full one-third of the season remains, and the team is a winning streak away from being right back in it. (4%, 3 Votes)
- Other (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 67
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Which of the following unrestricted free agents will be gone by the trade deadline? (Select as many as you wish.)
- Ron Hainsey (39%, 59 Votes)
- Viktor Stalberg (23%, 35 Votes)
- Jay McClement (21%, 31 Votes)
- Matt Tennyson (11%, 16 Votes)
- Derek Ryan (6%, 9 Votes)
Total Voters: 64
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Discussion questions
1) For those who just need to vent, we are here for you. Again, please be respectful of other human beings, but if you a place to spew out what stinks about Carolina Hurricanes hockey right now, here is your chance. (Puckgod, I’m looking at you. :-))
2) Assuming that we need to push into March with little, if any, playoff hope still intact, what do you look forward to seeing in March? What do you see as positives that can be gained from the remainder of the season if playoffs are not part of the equation?
3) For the 2017-18 roster, pairing players off, who is more likely to make the team? Haydn Fleury or Roland McKeown? Ryan Murphy or Klas Dahlbeck? Julien Gauthier or Nicolas Roy?
Go Canes!
1. Somebody fix the Kinetico water filter in the locker room. They lost all urgency last night. 2-0 is not an insurmountable lead to catch up to.
2. Give Eddie a good run, so we know who to protect for the expansion draft. Also give Fleury/McKeown a look, so we know what we have, so we know if we have sufficient D depth to make an even trade.
3. Fleury, based on what I’m reading. Dahlbeck or Tennyson will be around, unless Vegas grabs them.
4. At least it’s starting to be tailgating weather. Good food and some good local brew can help kill the pain.
Nothing wrong with dogbutler’s suggestions. The most important is “give Eddie a good run.” Would add, pair up Hanafin with Faulk, Slavin or Pesce (I would add Hainsey here, but I think he will be goane) and let’s give him a chance to play and develop and gain confidence. Pairing him up with our 6 and 7 defensemen isn’t giving him the best chance for success and to learn. Nothing against Tenneyson or Dahlback, but they are as inexperienced as Hanafin. Look what Liles did for Slavin and Pesce last year.
Start holding the coaches accountable. Smith is a keeper based on how he has handled his penalty kill responsibilities. Brindy, while a great player and as much as it hurts to say this, hasn’t done much with the power play. Peters seems to have run out of gas. His explanations for losses are starting to remind me of Muller. We need to play harder is his stock explanation now. I am not sure he holds players WHO ARE NOT PERFORMING accountable. Why is Rask still in the lineup for example and not only in the lineup, but out there playing three on three in overtimes when the game is on the line. I remember when we had Samsonov. Every time the team stunk (which was often) Samsonov was either demoted down to a lower line or put in the press box. It was like his performance was what was killing the TEAM. Well, I see some of that cropping up now. Sit some 3rd or 4th liner (if we hold anyone accountable) and not the players who are actually not performing AT THE LEVEL THEY ARE EXPECTED TO.
It’s time to give the fans something to hold on to. Let’s see what some of our “depth in the organization” can do here in Raleigh. Even if they are not fully polished players like Fleury, Carrick, etc. can learn just as well on the Canes with Smith’s coaching as they can in Charlotte. The same goes for the forwards in Charlotte. Wallmark, Zykov, etc. can learn just as much here. Who knows, maybe we will find a couple of gems.
The venting part of me says…I completely agree that the coaching staff including Peter shhould shoulder their fair share of the blame if the team misses the playoffs. Sure there were extenuating circumstances with injuries and Lack not playing well out of the gate, but many an NHL team (look at Toronto claiming a cast off from waivers and having the guts to give him regular backup starts with decent results) figures out how to get enough from their backup and also keep the starter fresh in the process. And at a higher level, in a league in which more than half of the teams make the playoffs, it is always possible.
The more patient part of me says…I really think both Francis and Peters are on the clock starting in 2017-18. Peters will have had 3 full years to develop players, implement his system and just generally acclimate/learn in the head coaching job. And his 2017-18 roster will have enough good even if not great young players who are no longer inexperienced. Same goes for Francis. At the most basic level, I like the idea of building from within, but because of injuries and uncertain development paths for players, there is a need to identify gaps (goaltending and scoring) and figure out how to address them instead of waiting 3 more years for the system to deliver these things (and meanwhile a different gap develops).
2017-18 is time to take the next step.
Well Matt, I’ll ride with you. Your thoughts are reasonable as usual. It’s good to have a steady hand and cooler head present things with a little better perspective than I.
Also Matt, on one of the other articles we were asked what was the most outstanding promotions the Canes have done. While I don’t consider your site as a “Canes promotion”, the work you put in on a daily basis sure helps by giving us die-hards a place to feel involved with the team. Your work is outstanding IMO and I personally want you to know how much I appreciate waking up virtually each day and have a place to read good material about the Canes and, of course, vent when necessary. Thanks for all you do!
There’s one thing I want to vent about: the video of how the Canes can beat the opposing team, featuring Mike Maniscalco, shown during 1st period timeouts.
I sat there last night watching the Toronto players looking up at the Jumbotron during this segment. I realize game strategy isn’t a state secret, but why do you want to air it for your opponent during the game? I can’t think of a greater motivator for the opposing player than telling him how you’re going to beat him. Remember “Before the Face-off”? It was the same deal, but was aired before the *&%#! face-off. C’mon, Canesvision, play this thing before the teams come out.
To have any chance at the playoffs (which is a huge long shot) we’d have to at least win 20 of our remaining 27 games. I don’t see 20 wins left. What I do see is a moderate, late season run that gets us more points than last year, but because of the competitiveness of the East and the log jam out West we’ll actually end up with a better draft pick.
I’m almost positive that Ron Hainsey will get moved to a playoff bound team by TDL. If for no other reason than to give him a shot at the playoffs once in his career. The only other guy who I believe has any trade value would be Viktor Stalberg. In both cases we might end up with a 2nd or a 3rd and a 4th round pick. There might be some prospect sprinkled in, but I’d expect 3 assets coming back at the very most. I’d also hope we leave a door open for Stalberg to potentially get resigned next season as he’s been a very good 4th liner/PK’er.
The reality is that with league average goal-tending, we might not be in a playoff spot, but we’d be closer than 9 points out. That has to get fixed in the off season. That move may happen around the TDL, at one of the two drafts, or later in the summer, but addressing that issue has to be a priority.
As far as March is concerned, I’d like to see Rask and Teravainen get some of their mojo back. They are both better players than they are showing (although I thought Teuvo played a solid game yesterday). Peter’s needs to keep Rask and Skinner together and needs to find the right RW to play with them. Teravainen has to have somebody with some size on his line or there’s never going to be enough space for him to operate. While he seems to thrive at center, I’d prefer him at RW with a bigger body in the middle.
I suspect we’ll see Fleury on the roster next season, but we will probably need some experienced blueliner again as well. Maybe Dennis Wideman or a Michael Stone? Both are right side guys. I can’t imagine Ryan Murphy remaining on the team and I think while one of Tennyson or Dahlbeck is retained for expansion draft purposes, I can’t see either in next year’s back end consistently. I think there’s a better chance that one or both of Zykov or Wallmark make next year’s roster over Roy or Gauthier.
The best players aren’t playing their best. Skinner, Rask and especially Staal haven’t led the way and there simply isn’t enough secondary talent to make up for their current lack of productivity. In particular, Staal’s play this season has to be disconcerting. I thought he was going to step into the leadership void created when his brother was sent packing and take his game to the next level. Unfortunately, that level turned out to be lower than was expected – by a long shot. A second line center has generate some offense, no matter how good he plays defensively.
Generally, this season produced more questions than answers. Why did the top players disappear when the pressure was on and a playoff spot was in sight? The Canes lead the league (by a long shot) in taking the fewest penalties. With the league’s best penalty kill, wouldn’t a more aggressive strategy be to their benefit? They generally have good Corsi numbers but somehow their system doesn’t translate to aggressiveness and scoring. Can a taco salesman be a successful goalie? Who knows, but you better find out. Only Aho provide an answer to the most common pre-season questions. Name players who exceeded expectations. Aho, McClement and probably Stahlberg. Everyone else either status quo or under-performed. Slavin & Pesce have been ok, but I wouldn’t say they improved dramatically over their play from last season. If only a handful of players out of the 15 starters either met or exceeded expectations,well, that’s not good.
I’m all for RedRyder’s suggestion of moving Hanafin up and pairing him with Hainsey if he’s here or maybe Pesce. Let him make some mistakes, but let him make aggressive mistakes. He’s looked timid all season, and not totally unexpected given his age and second year in the league. Make plays, don’t worry about not making plays (if that makes any sense). A big body forward would be great to see but it doesn’t appear as if there are any in Charlotte capable of providing a spark. It’s kind of depressing actually. I thought we would know a lot more about the team at this point in the season and instead of considering a move or two to strengthen the club, we’re looking at much more than that to get exponentially better.
Ok, Matt…it’s redundant of me to VENT about the Canes problems…
so I’ll just list a few needs… Goalies, Top3 Forwards(3), and a new GM!
Leaving (probably) – Hainsey, Mcclement, Murphy, Stalberg, PDG Nestrasil, Tennyson, Dahlbeck, Nordstrom, Lack, and Ward- (just hoping), AND FRANCIS- (again just hoping)!!!
I see a few minor trades, for picks and MORE CHEAP PLAYERS, and a waiver acquisition or two..
NOT MUCH, really…
Puckgod…my buddy and I have come up with a cure for you “Canes lament syndrome.” Go to the ABC store, get a fifth of Crown Royale, and take a few belts. Then things will look better. If they don’t, you didn’t drink enough.
Just kidding. I appreciate your input and I sure have shared some of your feelings although you seem to express them with a better economy of words. Nothing like a little “tell it like it is” and “straight to the point” input.
RedRyder, thanks…Crown, or bourbon have been known to FLOW THROUGH lips here, though craft beers are my usual painkillers!
PS My economy of words has much to do with my tablet being a pain to type on…