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2017-18 Miscellaneous Canes News Thread

jeffbear said:
Yeah. I agree. I'd like an old hand who's been there and done that, even if you go into the relationship knowing that the guy is limited. Obviously ... see my comments on Trotz. Tippet would be fine. At this stage I'd have been happy trying to what Dallas did with Hitchcock the last couple of years. Which is to grab a hot mess by the scruff of the neck with a proven coach. It didn't work, but nothing works all the time. Short term solution? Fine. In my opinion one of Carolina's MANY failings over the last decade has been avoiding short term solutions in favor of long term solutions that never seem to pan out.

Is that what I see Dundon doing? No, not really. But again, the guy has done so little that getting a read on him is all but impossible. He seems to be a break the mold guy, but honestly ... breaking Carolina's current mold would entail hiring a veteran, experienced NHL coach. We'll see, but I really don't think that's what's going to happen. I think we're going to get an outside the box "solution" ... aka yet again hoping some unproven guy will pan out big instead of hiring a guy you know will at least be competent.
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Totally agree. I think he's just waiting a bit to see if Peters will jump ship on his own volition. Sure, Dundon's got plenty of money, but I'm sure he'd rather not burn it unnecessarily if he doesn't have to. But I sure hope it doesn't lead to a final year with the same coach.
 
At this point we've been through the unproven with Muller and Peters. It's time to bring in an old style coach who holds guys accountable and will have the backing of management/ownership to do so. Give me a Hitchcock, Trotz, Lindy Ruff, or even a guy like Torts. Dundan's gonna have to pay for that kind of coaching, but that's been a missing ingredient.
 
it's far from certain an experienced guy like Ruff, Trotz, etc. will take the Canes coaching job. And if they do they will want top dollar.

on the other hand it's much more likely a guy like Velucci or a younger guy will take the job if they get an offer.
 
I would pass on Trotz. The is exactly the unoriginal thinking this franchise needs to avoid. If he couldn't do anything in Nashville and especially with tons of talent in Washington, I am not sure what you expect him to do in Carolina. It sounds great to say "make the playoffs" but after 2 years of 1st round exits Carolina will just be looking for a coach again...if they even make the playoffs. Let's skip that step and try to find the coach Carolina would have to hire to replace Trotz in a couple years. Roll the dice on someone else as you know what you are getting with Trotz.
 
Buried near the bottom of the 2nd article is this little tidbit:

Waddell said Monday that the Hurricanes ticket-pass promotion in February generated a lot of sales leads but only one pair of full season tickets. The Hurricanes were able to get more people into the building under Dundon – almost a 10 percent bump after he bought the team – but it'll take hard work (and winning) to get them to commit for the long term.
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So, you piss off the STM by undercutting their prices. Then you sell a grand total of 2 season tickets from the FANuary promotions. That's a great plan. It really worked out well. My rep told me before the season ended that conversions were going well and they had a lot of new STM who came in on the promotions. And how many of the pissed off STM didn't renew, knowing that another round of promotions was around the corner next season?
 
Do other teams with small crowds offer discounts? I would be surprised if they did not have discounts like the Canes. For example Florida has small crowds and their playoff record lately is only slightly better than the Canes. Also the Canes have always had these discounts in recent years. Maybe there are more of them now but they are not new by any means. They did not start with Dundon.

For discounts, not just talking about the NHL , but also NBA, Baseball, etc.
 
Paulie Walnuts said:
it's far from certain an experienced guy like Ruff, Trotz, etc. will take the Canes coaching job. And if they do they will want top dollar.

on the other hand it's much more likely a guy like Velucci or a younger guy will take the job if they get an offer.
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Look ... it's far from certain that anybody is going to ever do anything. You only know if you ask. As a franchise and a fanbase we're just going to assume that we always have to go the second class up and come-er route, then ... man, I don't even know. Not to say experience is the only answer, but it's an answer this franchise seems allergic to.
 
if Trotz is out of a job and the Canes throw a lot of money at him he probably will take the job. Of course Dundon does not seem like a guy who wants to pay top dollar for a coach.
 
Paulie Walnuts said:
Waddell will not be the new GM. And Peters has teams wanting to talk to him. and other items

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/article209027299.html

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article209046404.html
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Couple of thoughts on this ...

Scoreboard ... the structural engineer that the Authority consulted on this project is a friend and he mentioned to me over the weekend that the Authority engaged him to do a rough schematic after finding out that Dundon's original proposals awhile back relied solely on the scoreboard installer's recommendations on structural modifications. That, based on 30 years in commercial construction, is not how it's done. You need someone who has actual working knowledge of the existing structure to design modifications and will eventually need an NC licensed structural engineer to design any modifications. They were planning to work off of a template and figure it out. Um ... no. That might be how things work in other places, but it's a recipe for delays, cost increases and general trouble. Dundon might be pissed off, but it was a long shot on the timing in the first place. Better to do it right that to risk having no scoreboard in place for the start of the season.

GM ... that's actually encouraging news for a change. Waddell is eventually out of that position, which is good, and we're finally starting to get re-engaged in a search. Thanks.

Coach ... color me a skeptic but I still don't get any of this. I don't get the supposed interest in Peters' services, especially since there are so few open positions in the league. I don't get why Dundon is so cavalier about the situation. I don't get any of it. I don't have to understand, but this is weirdness ... yes? Maybe having a GM in place makes this situation a little more clear, and that's the hitch. But if that's the case then why so slow to move to fill that position? I dunno.

Bottom line ... still waiting and watching. Still not sold that any of this makes any sense, but still waiting and watching.
 
Paulie Walnuts said:
Do other teams with small crowds offer discounts? I would be surprised if they did not have discounts like the Canes. For example Florida has small crowds and their playoff record lately is only slightly better than the Canes. Also the Canes have always had these discounts in recent years. Maybe there are more of them now but they are not new by any means. They did not start with Dundon.

For discounts, not just talking about the NHL , but also NBA, Baseball, etc.
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I looked at the Panthers site and their pricing is pretty much on par with the Hurricanes. I've been told by my Florida friends that they flood the resale market with unsold tickets and that locals generally grab seats via the resale sites like StubHub rather than using the box office. So, basically the same way Carolina was doing things up to last season when Waddell put the breaks on that practice prior to the sale to Dundon. And yes, the deep, deep discounts ... those haven't been seen in Raleigh since the first couple of seasons. The Canes gave away a ton of tickets to corporate partners, ran those gold/silver/whatever package discounts and did the usual flooding of the resale market. The 10-20% off for huge swaths of individual games? That pretty much stopped in 2002 with the run to the Finals.

There's pretty much no such thing as discounted NBA tickets aside from the standard "package" deals. You know ... buy tickets for these specific four games and get a discount on a fifth of your choosing. That kind of stuff. I don't think any Canes STH has any issue with that kind of promotion. I know I don't.

MLB ... I looked at the Atlanta Braves site for a minute or two because I know they've had trouble selling tickets in that new building and the team sort of sucks. Seemed a good parallel. Again, they've got a 4 Game Plan offer that gives you a minor discount (like 5-10%) versus buying individual game seats. They also run individual game promotions for Star Wars Night, Ladies Night, etc ... but those generally involve a perk or a giveaway rather than a discount. There are a LOT of those promotional games in baseball ... both major and minor league. The real discount deals in baseball are in the secondary market.

NFL? Hah. Season tickets or the secondary market are the only way to get discounts.

I couldn't find anything resembling the lower bowl discounts the Canes were offering from February through the end of the season that undercut even their season ticket pricing by between 10-20%. And it looks like that played out pretty much exactly the way I thought it would at the time. They sold individual seats to game and a few packages but nearly none of those sales turned into season ticket packages. I mean ... it didn't take Nostradamus to call that one. You ticked off some season ticket holders chasing short term revenue. Congrats. Own it and move on.
 
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I left out NFL since I know those games pretty much all sell out.

Peters could try to coach in Europe but I don't think they offer NHL level pay for coaches do they? Maurice spent a year in the KHL after being canned the 2nd time by the Canes. He did well but the team may have been very talented before he got there.
 
Maybe Peters is on the short list that Jim Nill has under consideration to replace Hitchcock in Dallas...where Dundon could still remain a fan? There is overlap between the two within the Detroit system.

If Peters opts out, then Dundon is presumably free of salary obligations for next season...for a guy that has at least some likelihood of not surviving a GM hiring, unless totally of the puppet variety.

So, might be giving Lady Luck some room in which to operate behind Dundon's casual "give the man some time, it is what it is" attitude.
 
I wonder why some people here are so ticked off about the ticket deals and then turn around give the team more money for next year? It reminds me of the Animal house scene with guys getting paddled 'thank you sir , may I have another?"

When I am treated badly by a business I stop giving them money. For example I canned cable last year .
 
Paulie Walnuts said:
I wonder why some people here are so ticked off about the ticket deals and then turn around give the team more money for next year? It reminds me of the Animal house scene with guys getting paddled 'thank you sir , may I have another?"

When I am treated badly by a business I stop giving them money. For example I canned cable last year .
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Have you not been paying any attention to the threads on just that topic over the last two months? That's been covered in nauseating detail.

You can go somewhere else for your TV needs when you bail on cable. Can you go somewhere else for your live NHL hockey? Not without moving house.
 
I would love to see the team that actually hires Peters and thinks his record/resume the last 4 years is an upgrade over whatever coach he would be replacing. I think Peters agent is working over the press in an attempt to generate demand and give him a graceful way out of Carolina. As Trump would say, this reeks of "fake neeewws"!

The whole ticket price thing, regardless of sport, or method (indirect secondary market or direct from team discounts) is all about basic supply and demand and/or convenience. People either continue purchasing season tickets or they don't. It is a personal decision and there is no right/wrong answer based on your situation. Most of the people I talk to, that continue to purchase season tickets, seem to fall into this camp:

Convenience/Team Support - You either think it is a pain in the a$$ (which it is) to buy individual game tickets via secondary markets even though you would be saving a ton of money or you just like the fact you are supporting the local team and have no hassle same seats for each game.

Unless you live in an area with crazy corporate support (Toronto for example in NHL) that buys tickets regardless you have to put a good or compelling team on the field/ice/court/whatever. Winning cures most season ticket and ticket sale issues. The Canes haven't won in a long time and the ticket sales reflect that. There has also been no compelling story to buy tickets for many years. The responsibility is currently with ownership to hire good people (GM, Coach) and spend some money on a roster that doesn't have glaring holes.

Nothing is going to improve or change regarding tickets sales until the on ice product improves.
 
Elsker said:
Maybe Peters is on the short list that Jim Nill has under consideration to replace Hitchcock in Dallas...where Dundon could still remain a fan? There is overlap between the two within the Detroit system.

If Peters opts out, then Dundon is presumably free of salary obligations for next season...for a guy that has at least some likelihood of not surviving a GM hiring, unless totally of the puppet variety.

So, might be giving Lady Luck some room in which to operate behind Dundon's casual "give the man some time, it is what it is" attitude.
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I mean, I guess so. The Stars job and the job with the Rangers are the only two current openings. If we're supposed to believe that statement that the Canes have been asked for permission to talk to Peters by "multiple" clubs that would almost certainly indicate that he's at least on the depth chart for both openings. Two is after all a multiple. I know there's been some speculation that Boucher's job in Ottawa is still not safe, but pretty much everyone else with a presumed opening have openly backed their existing coach. That would leave the playoff teams that might get frustrated and fire their coach if they get dumped early ... so, Washington, maybe Anaheim, maybe LA. The rest are coming off of really good regular seasons and aren't really likely to have reached the breaking point with their coach. Call me a skeptic again, but other than maybe Dallas (and Ottawa if that ends up being an opening) I just flat out can't see a fit in any of those organizations. Can you see the Rangers hiring Peters? Because I can't. Ditto Washington. LA just made a change relatively recently, but I could see Carlyle getting the past his sell-by date notice in Anaheim. But Peters? Ummm.
 
CarolinaPen said:
or you just like the fact you are supporting the local team and have no hassle same seats for each game.
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This is me. I support the team financially because I am a fan. Short for Fanatic (a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal). Funny thing, In general I feel extremist ruin everything. But I will never forget June 19, 2006. Plus I always feel like we are just a few players away from turning this thing around. I'm a big fan of Wait until next season...

So think how thrilled I am with
Wait until next season...
Wait until next season...
Wait until next season...
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Wait until next season...
Wait until next season...
Wait until next season...
Wait until next season...
Wait until next season...
Wait until next season...
 
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