Gale Force ... You're On the Clock ... Post Season Changes Thread
- Thread starter jeffbear
- Start date
Yea, I get that, but I'm thinking of the ones who say "I'm gonna be sore tomorrow".....like playing against most the Blue Jackets, Ducks, Blues, and some of Blackhawks and others....
For one game, I think most players probably just deal with the "I'm gonna be sore". A long playoff series, totally different story. The physical stuff completely saps the less physical or less conditioned player, maybe even more so mentally.
CanadaCanes
Well-known member
The more I watch some of these playoff teams, the more I realize how paper thin and dysfunctional the Canes really are. Some of these teams like St Louis, Chicago, etc are just built to win, everything they have...depth, size, home grown talent built through the draft, it really shows how bad the Canes are in so many facets of the organization from top to bottom.
It could be years before the Canes return to the big dance with Detroit now in the East and Columbus getting better every year! Perhaps the Canes are the new Florida Panthers...a perennial door mat/pushover for the rest of the league.
It could be years before the Canes return to the big dance with Detroit now in the East and Columbus getting better every year! Perhaps the Canes are the new Florida Panthers...a perennial door mat/pushover for the rest of the league.
brassbonanza
Canes Moderator
Paper thin is the operative phrase for me, at least. Pair that with the inability or unwillingness to spend the money to address it. Roster spots are treated like budget problems for this team. Are we really going to see Riley Nash at third line center next year, really? He's going to get stronger in the off season and emerge? Please just stop it and find me a guy who commands the other team's attention, match up wise. I'm not blaming Nash either, but bottom line, the consistency is not there from him. You have to get support scoring from that position to win, you just do.
TheBigKahuna
Well-known member
I know it's the playoffs, and you expect these teams to really be "bringing it". But after primarily watching the Canes all season, and then watching THESE games, the talent, determination, and sacrifice levels are so drastically different. I don't see Canes players laying it on the line like this. I don't see the drive and desire to win for 60, heck 80 or 100 minutes a night! Blocked shots? By a Cane? Honestly, the more playoff hockey I watch, the less and less I respect the Canes.
Elsker
Well-known member
Read a Carolina Railhawks (soccer for those that are not local) article today that noted their most recent home victory was their 17th in a row, dating back to last season.
Imagine how easy it must be to sell a walk-up ticket with a home record like that. Chances are good that the last time you were there you left with a good taste in your mouth and there are good odds that taste will be there again that night.
Contrast that with the Carolina Hurricanes (hockey for those that are not local :sarcasm) home record of 18-17-6. That's actually 18-23 on the good-taste scale, with all those OT losses maybe helping in the standings, but a loss nonetheless. In fact, they're sudden, disappointing, parking-lots-a-mess, concourse-full-of-opposing-fans, special kinds of losses.
So, on any given home game night during '13-'14, it was likely 4 times out of 7 that you were going to witness a loss. And 1 out of 7 of them were OT losses...of the sudden, disappointing, etc. variety.
That's gotta change.
Imagine how easy it must be to sell a walk-up ticket with a home record like that. Chances are good that the last time you were there you left with a good taste in your mouth and there are good odds that taste will be there again that night.
Contrast that with the Carolina Hurricanes (hockey for those that are not local :sarcasm) home record of 18-17-6. That's actually 18-23 on the good-taste scale, with all those OT losses maybe helping in the standings, but a loss nonetheless. In fact, they're sudden, disappointing, parking-lots-a-mess, concourse-full-of-opposing-fans, special kinds of losses.
So, on any given home game night during '13-'14, it was likely 4 times out of 7 that you were going to witness a loss. And 1 out of 7 of them were OT losses...of the sudden, disappointing, etc. variety.
That's gotta change.
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HeyKurtz
Well-known member
It doesn't diminish your point, but just for clarification, I'll point out that the RailHawk's home streak is an unbeaten streak, not a winning streak.
Elsker
Well-known member
Ah, thanks for the clarification. I remember the days of ties in hockey...which actually let you leave the arena in a better mood than an OT loss.
Not that I'm advocating bringing back ties. Although it was something the Canes were seemingly adept in securing.
We surely seemed to see a lot of 'em.
Not that I'm advocating bringing back ties. Although it was something the Canes were seemingly adept in securing.
We surely seemed to see a lot of 'em.
Elsker
Well-known member
Whatever the details, point is, go to a Railhawks home game, very likely to see a home team win. Good times.
On the other hand here's a list of NHL teams whose fans saw less home wins than the Canes this season:
Sabres
Islanders
Panthers
Oilers
That's it. And that's got to change.
Got to defend the home pond better than that, guys. For the fans and your own sense of pride, if nothing else...losers.
On the other hand here's a list of NHL teams whose fans saw less home wins than the Canes this season:
Sabres
Islanders
Panthers
Oilers
That's it. And that's got to change.
Got to defend the home pond better than that, guys. For the fans and your own sense of pride, if nothing else...losers.
I think you have them reversed. The inexplicable part was beating Galaxy. ANY lower tier team should count on losing against ANY MLS side that really gives a crap. Chivas had nothing else on offer other than a Cup showing so they showed up bigtime. And the Hawks still made 'em work for it.
If you enjoy pro soccer even a little ... come out to Cary for a game one night. The team is really solid, the facility is quite nice, parking isn't a problem ... it's a fun night out.
No, I had it right. They lost to Chivas after beating the Galaxy. It was mostly a B side, Donovan and Keane were both missing as was Bruce Arena. But it was the 2nd straight year they'd knocked the Galaxy out.
Even if you don't like pro soccer, it's a cheap night out. The cheap seats are $12 for adults, $7 for kids, they have good concessions, including a Goose Island stand behind the pressbox.
Sorry man. My logic flew right by you, probably because I'm expressing myself about as well as a blind whale today. I meant that the shocker was beating any MLS side, even a B team, and that we should have expected them to lose to Chivas, even though they were horrible last year.
Ah, got it now.
I coached the Railhawks backup keeper at the Finley Y when he was 5 and 6. So I'm claiming credit for his development, even though we didn't use a keeper in those games.
SlapShots
Well-known member
I've heard rumbles to the same effect-- not soon enough, but will be glad (I hope) when the change is finally made.
JamesNorthern
Active member
James' offseason plan for the Hurricanes:
Staying put: Forwards - Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Jeff Skinner, Elias Lindholm, Jiri Tlusty, Manny Malholtra, Zach Boychuk, Nathan Gerbe
Defensemen - Justin Faulk, Andres Sekera, Ryan Murphy, Jay Harrison
Bubble, depends on the offering: Alexandre Semin
Out: Forwards - Drayson Bowman, Patrick Dwyer, Radek Dvorak, Andrei Loktionov, Riley Nash
Defensemen - Brett Bellemore, John-Michel Liles, Mike Komisarek, Ron Hainsey,
Goaltenders: In: Anton Khudobin (he will), Justin Peters
Out: Cam Ward
Thoughts/comments: Up front I put Semin on the bubble because I am pretty sure he played all year injured, also had that concussion etc. Sort of a reprieve but at his price, if the deal's right, I'd trade him.
Otherwise, I wanted to part from status quo and came very close to moving Jay Harrison. However, I think if we go out and fill the other two openings made by the departure of Bellemore and Liles with two solid 2nd pairing defenseman, we could get by with just that. Otherwise, for the right deal we could trade him too.
That's a lot of movement, I think it's not that impossible to get there. I didn't make any suggestions as to WHO would replace all those players and how we could get it done, that would be too 'easy' (kidding). Generally though, size, snarl and moderate to good skill for all replacements PLEASE.
Staying put: Forwards - Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Jeff Skinner, Elias Lindholm, Jiri Tlusty, Manny Malholtra, Zach Boychuk, Nathan Gerbe
Defensemen - Justin Faulk, Andres Sekera, Ryan Murphy, Jay Harrison
Bubble, depends on the offering: Alexandre Semin
Out: Forwards - Drayson Bowman, Patrick Dwyer, Radek Dvorak, Andrei Loktionov, Riley Nash
Defensemen - Brett Bellemore, John-Michel Liles, Mike Komisarek, Ron Hainsey,
Goaltenders: In: Anton Khudobin (he will), Justin Peters
Out: Cam Ward
Thoughts/comments: Up front I put Semin on the bubble because I am pretty sure he played all year injured, also had that concussion etc. Sort of a reprieve but at his price, if the deal's right, I'd trade him.
Otherwise, I wanted to part from status quo and came very close to moving Jay Harrison. However, I think if we go out and fill the other two openings made by the departure of Bellemore and Liles with two solid 2nd pairing defenseman, we could get by with just that. Otherwise, for the right deal we could trade him too.
That's a lot of movement, I think it's not that impossible to get there. I didn't make any suggestions as to WHO would replace all those players and how we could get it done, that would be too 'easy' (kidding). Generally though, size, snarl and moderate to good skill for all replacements PLEASE.
Forwards: Tlusty, Gerbe and Boychuk are RFAs. Malhotra is a UFA. They'll have to be re-signed. How much are you willing to pay for Tlusty especially? On your out list, Dwyer and Nash are signed for next season. How are you moving them? Trade? What do you expect in return? You're giving Boychuk a spot on the NHL roster based on his 36 goals in the AHL? Dwyer can be an effective player but he was overslotted. Nash centered arguably our best line the last 3 weeks of the season but you're moving him too.
Defensemen: You're willing to go into the season with 4 signed dmen? How are you moving Liles? He has a $3.875 million cap hit for 2 more years and a NTC. Yes, he waived it to come here, but he was buried in the AHL. We're going to have to take back an equally bad contract to get rid of him...just like we did with Gleason. Bellemore and Hainsey provide some snarl, something we're missing but you don't want to re-sign them? Bellemore can probably be had for a modest increase over the $600K he made this year.
Goalies: Peters is a UFA. After being jerked around for the better part of 4 seasons, after playing 15:04 in 2014, after not dressing for the last 3 months of the seson, after being blamed by the owner and GM for the Canes missing the playoffs this year, do you think he's going to want to come back? How are you going to move Ward and his $6.3 million cap hit and NTC? As with Liles, you'd have to take that much back in salary to move him.
But let's say your plan is workable. Here is the money:
Forwards: Staal, Staal, Skinner, Lindholm, Tlusty, Malhotra, Boychuck, Gerbe. I figured Tlusty at $3 million, the others at $750K and that's probably light for Gerbe. That's $26.15 millon for 8 forwards. You need 5 more.
Dmen: Sekera, Harrison, Faulk, Murphy. That's $9.946 for 4 dmen. You need 4 more.
Goalies: Khdobin, Peters. I figured Peters at $800K. If Peters doesn't sign, you can probably find another backup for that money. It's what Khudobin made last season. That's $3.05 million for goalies.
Other: Ruutu is still on the books for $950K
You're at $40.096 million against a $71.1 million cap. Not bad, but you need 9 more players. If you don't move Semin, you're at $47.096 million and you need 8 more players. You're also assuming that you're moving Dwyer, Nash, Liles and Ward for nothing. For Ward and Liles especially, you have to assume that you'll be taking that much back in salary, either in players or absorbing a portion...IF they waive their NTC. That's $10.175 million in salary that has to be added in, so now you're at $57.271 million. When trading a bad contract, you have to expect a bad contract in return. JR hit the jackpot when he traded Tomas Kaberle. We also got far more out of Liles than the Leafs got out of Gleason. But you're not getting a top 6 forward or a top pair dman back. So you really haven't added anyone that will fulfill your needs of size, snarl and at least moderate skill. The only way out is if they exercize their get out of jail free card...the compliance buyout. While they won't count against the cap, you can be sure that the actual cash will be a factor in every decision they make over the next 4 years. Buying out Liles will cost $1.667 million cash for the next 4 years. Buying out Ward will cost $2.25 million cash for the next 4 years. For a budget team like the Canes, actual cash is at least as important as the cap hit and that ties up $3.9 million in cash for 4 years. We're going to be paying the price for JRs bad contracts to Ward and Gleason for a few more years and it's going to inhibit the team from turning over 40% of the roster, as you propose, this summer.
TheBigKahuna
Well-known member
Go Jackets!!!!!