TheBigKahuna
Well-known member
So Lack must have played today.
GDT: Canes @ Stars 2/11 2:00
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TheBigKahuna
Well-known member
I was ON Falls Lake while this shot show was being played.
TheBigKahuna
Well-known member
So let me get this straight: Ward gives up 5 goals on 27 shots and not one comment on that?
We need to be sellers at the trade deadline this year for sure. Ward was thrown under the bus but did now stand on his head either. It looks like a couple of our defense men are human and show signs of a sophomore slump. Slavin and Hanifin blew it inside the offensive blue line which lead to breakaways and two on ones which Ward could not stop.
SlapShots
Well-known member
Well, I made multiple comments on that while I was watching the game-- until I said "enough" and went about the business of my day.
What's left to say???
We all agree that while Ward is having a year better than last year, but he was a mistake to re-sign.
We all agree that there was a rush to extend Eddie Lack thinking he'd challenge Ward.
We all agree that Ward is being ridden like a wet horse.
We all agree that we have an owner who needs to sell and get cash into this organization.
We all agree that this organization is sucking the life out a market that has such potential and upside.
We all agree that we like hockey and want to support a team in our backyard, but not blindly.
We all agree that this team will not be in the playoffs...tenth year straight.
Have I missed anything??
dwind
Well-known member
Golf does not have a prerequisite of stopping a hockey puck.
SlapShots
Well-known member
Yes, you're correct...it just seems like a decade!
cmaleski2
Well-known member
I know the Canes will put on a brave face when they come out of this break, but their reality in terms of the playoffs is pretty darn bleak now. Its not a stretch to say that they need to win 6 of 7 before the trade deadline and then get 75% of the points available after that to have any chance. Even that spectacular an effort would only leave us at 93 points which is probably going to be a couple of points short. Florida, NYI, Philly and Toronto are fully clear of the Canes now even when considering games in hand. Unless the Canes go on an epic run there is little chance the Canes could pass all of those teams. Yes the schedule is in our favor, but this team still cannot win on the road, and there are still 12 games left to be played there. Considering the circumstances, playing like crap coming out of this rest period to give Ronnie no reason to think at all about playoff pipe dreams might not be the worst thing that could happen.
Of course this team again isn't bad enough to secure a top 5 draft pick. We sit 6th worst in the league, just 1 point away from 3rd worst, but with a ton of games in hand on teams who sit 1 point below us (Detroit, Dallas, and Winnipeg). We have no shot at 1st or 2nd worse, which in this draft really probably doesn't matter. If we go, say, 13-13-3 over the final 29, www.sportsclubstats.com has us finishing somewhere around 8th, 9th, or 10 worst in the League.
Of course this team again isn't bad enough to secure a top 5 draft pick. We sit 6th worst in the league, just 1 point away from 3rd worst, but with a ton of games in hand on teams who sit 1 point below us (Detroit, Dallas, and Winnipeg). We have no shot at 1st or 2nd worse, which in this draft really probably doesn't matter. If we go, say, 13-13-3 over the final 29, www.sportsclubstats.com has us finishing somewhere around 8th, 9th, or 10 worst in the League.
SlapShots
Well-known member
I think Ward's numbers at the start of the year were much better. In the past two months, his numbers have really declined, but the issue remains he's playing a huge percentage of games. I will also say from attending games for multiple season, Cam's play this season was stronger than in seasons past, however, his numbers have started creeping back up.
TheBigKahuna
Well-known member
Did anyone really expect his run of great games to last? Show of hands please. We've seen this song and dance forcyears. Ward is consistently inconsistent.
SlapShots
Well-known member
Again, I think that is why so many of us threw up in our mouths when he was re-signed...I would expect everyone on this board would have wanted to see him cut adrift and some other solution found.
What's left to say?
Seriously. He's been the same exact player for more than a decade now. Good when he's good, bad when he's not ... swing wildly between the two. About the only part of Ward's game that has actually improved over his career is his health. He's much less injury prone now. That and five bucks will get you a Cheerwine at the arena.
CanadaCanes
Well-known member
I think you did a really nice job of capturing almost everything!!! The only thing I would add is the somewhat puzzling silence from our GM regarding no real desire or urgency to address the goaltending issues long term. Ned does not seem anywhere close to being the answer...and the best of the rest of the young kids in the system is a crap shoot at best. I think at some point this summer this team needs to find a guy long term...I'm not sure if that's in free agency or via trade, but the Canes need someone other than Cam Ward to hold the crease for the next 2 to 3 years.
There are a lot of things that one would hope a GM would address, but almost all of them require some cash - and a long term G solution is either a development project, which requires time, a draft and develop project, which requires more time, a free agent signing, which requires cash, or a trade, which requires a trading partner with the piece you want, and perhaps money, depending on how far along they are.
I think most all of us (not Tripp) were disappointed that Ward and Lack were the plan for this season - some of us more hopeful than others. Without $$$, I'm not sure there was a long term solution available.
I think the playoffs were likely a reach once we dug our hole through October. We saw some light in December and part early January, which put us on the bubble. It's nice to have that as a goal - something to be able to reach for. But in my mind, this season with what we came into it with was about continued development.
So, we've pretty much worked our way out of playoff position - meh - it was a stretch, and we would be crushed by the top seeds. I am much more concerned that we've started to regress across the board. Minor injuries? Frustration? Fatigue? Lack of leadership?
I'm concerned that we are not only slowing the development of the younger players, but we may be damaging them. Our chance to win on a given evening seem to come down to Slavin and Pesce needing to be the top defensive pairing, and Aho needing to score multiple goals and all that with zero room for error because our G doesn't bail them out, and nobody else is scoring and our half all-star D pairing doesn't stop the other team from scoring. What is Hanifin learning out there? His partner has been a carousel of borderline NHL talent with very little experience, and generally without any experienced forwards out there to help if there is a breakdown.
We need to make moves for the future, and that may entail bringing on some vets at the deadline to be able to take on a leadership role, which would be a good plan since teams going for the playoffs will need to shed salary to pick up anybody we have they might want to trade for.
Look. It's not like we're getting the services of Ward and Lack for free. Between them, they soak up $6 million and change. My disappointment in the summer was the defeatist falling back to Ward like he was the only possible option at his price point. That was BS then and it's BS now. Of course, once you make that call, you're stuck with it because it's not like he's going to play his way back into a trade-able asset anytime in the rest of his career ... should this stupid front office even feel the need to have a decent goaltender at some point. To me, re-signing Ward (along with failing to bring in any REAL veteran offense up front) was tantamount to waiving the white flag on the season before it even got started. This has proven to be well and truly the case.
Add "failing to bring in a serviceable d-man to play with Hanifan" and we got the trifecta of fail