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2019 Carolina Hurricanes Off Season Thread

With Jesse's story as it has unfolded since draft being as it has... imho I am not so sure that in the long term "going back" to Finland for a whole year is a solution either. I think this kid's biggest flaw right now, immaturity whatever, is that his will to "be that player" has outweighed his perspective on following a good path to NHL lineup insertion. Forget about who's to blame though. But going back to Finland would certainly help him get back some if not a lot of mojo relatively soon I would suspect.. but then what?
I think the trade would help alleviate alot of psych issues he has had from the path he was given with the Oilers, right off the bat.
Then, develop him as a Hurricane with our other prospects, close to the NHL club where he can keep his eye closely on the prize as well as rekindle his friendship with Aho et all off ice much easier. This would be a path much quicker to his turn around as well as more importantly, it working out in the long haul.

Ps. First post new board. Cheers to that.
 
I could see Puljujarvi playing the full season in Finland and only scoring 15 goals in the 60 something games there. He needs a big season somewhere this coming season.
 
OK ... with Williams officially out, I think the Canes are set for camp barring something coming up out of the blue.

Centers ... Aho, Staal, Huala and Wallmark are pencilled in, with Turbo, Martinook, Dzingle (and probably Necas) capable of filling in. Bishop will slug it out with Wallmark for the 4th line job, but unless he really blows up in camp he's more likely to be Charlotte's new Captain. Others to watch in camp are Geekie and Kuokkanen.

Wingers (ignoring right and left mostly just to annoy you guys but also because Brind'Amour loudly doesn't give a crap) ... top 6 spots come down to Turbo, Niederreiter, Svechnikov, Necas and Dzingle, depending on camp. There's a chance they start Necas out down in Charlotte, but he's generally a good camp player so my money is on him starting the year with the big club again. And I think he'll stick this time, if for not other reason that the power play units badly need him. Matchup and parse the groups all you want, but I think this bunch is fairly versatile and Brindy might go with matchup-based lines like he did for most of the playoffs. McGinn and Foegele are both capable of sliding up if the need arrises or one of the two demands the ice time with their play. Somebody needs to emerge as a utility extra, so don't entirely count out the possibility of Maenalanen re-signing eventually.

Defense ... Slavin, Hamilton, Pesce, Faulk, TVR, Fleury and Forsling is the most likely 7, with Bean, Wood and McKeown slugging it out for the other slot if TVR can't go by opening night. At this point I'm assuming they'll over-pay McKeown a bit on a one year deal as insurance for Sellgren and Priskie and to provide some stability in Charlotte. That group is fairly well set and VERY deep. The only issue is likely to be penalty killing, as deHaan was a big part of that group.

Goal ... we've talked this to death, but until something sifts out in camp let's go with Mrazek backed up by whoever wins a 3 way camp battle between Reimer, Ned and Forsberg. Given the numbers, either Greenville will have the best goalie tandem in the ECHL with both Booth and Helvig or one of them will be loaned out.

My take ... they'll miss Williams the most in the locker room, but he also was a tone setter on the ice. He showed up early in big games and made big plays late in tight games. This is now Aho's team up front and he's got the fire you want from a key man, but the rest of the bunch need to take care of their own business game to game and new leaders need to continue to emerge. The materials are there ... it's a matter of playing together and finding their game MUCH earlier in the season. The lessons learned in the playoffs should help a lot with that, I'd think. Find the chemistry and I think this team is very, very good. Struggle to find it and this team is very, very middle of the pack. Goaltending needs to be about the same as well ... slightly above league average will be fine so long as there aren't too many stinkers thrown in.
 
The only problem I see, and it’s a good problem to have, is that we have 7 top 6 forwards. So probably one of Turbo or Svechnikov will end up on Staal’s line. I think the line of Necas/Haula/Dzingel is almost a certainty. I think McGinn and Foegele are pretty interchangeable betwen the 3rd and 4th lines, even if it means we have $4 million worth of 4th line wingers.
 
I honestly feel like it's going to come down to chemistry as displayed in camp and pre season. Roddy was VERY willing to mix things up in the post season after being very stubborn to keep the lines relatively stable during the regular season. So I don't think it will matter as much as it did last season because I feel like the one thing Brind'Amour learned in the playoffs is that it's OK to mix things up once the team chemistry is good.

And again ... I feel like that's the biggest key to camp. Getting everybody pulling in the same direction.
 
Time to update the prognosis for the defense, I think.

Adding Gardiner and Priskie to the mix changes the outlook significantly. I'm going to go ahead and assume for now that Faulk is still going to be here, because ... the past 2 years indicates that this is wise. No matter how likely that he will get traded, until that actually happens Faulk is in the top 6. For now, I think it sets up like this:

Slavin and Hamilton
Gardiner and Pesce
TVR(or Fleury or Bean or Forsling) and Faulk

That setup allows Slavin and Hamilton to pair up with the two more offensive forward lines, and balances out the three pairings pretty nicely. Of course, Faulk remains a paring problem, which is why it's natural to keep wanting to see him moved. He's not easy to partner up, and Fleury already lost a year of development trying to do the job. I doubt that Bean and Forsling are any better suited to the job and playing TVR on his off side robs him of much of his passing ability as he tends to just kind of survive over there on the "wrong" side. But that top 4 is pretty sweet. Two nicely balanced pairings that both have plenty of experience and that both offer a suplimental offensive component without sacrificing too much on their own end.

My guess if that Priskie and Bean should be a fairly killer pairing in Charlotte, and McKeown will hold down serious responsibility down there as well. Fleury will probably start the year in Raleigh if TVR is slow to get back, but if TVR is ready to go in early October then you can look for the top two pairings in the AHL to be ridiculously strong. Fleury/McKeown and Bean/Priskie? In the A? Good heavens. For my purposes I figure Forsling will play the same role here that he did in Chicago ... 7th D. The depth grooming should prioritize getting Fleury ready to take on a full time NHL role and getting that Bean/Priskie pairing ready to rock hard in about two seasons.
 
Not only is the Gardiner signing another asset-for-nothing addition, but continues the analytic value approach. Don't sign your pending UFA for a raise. Bring in an equivalent talent with a slightly different skill set for far less than what that asset costs you now. Then collect what you can for the expiring asset, even if that means treating it as your own rental instead of spending assets to acquire one the traditional way.

Plus, this has to also be a strategic acquisition with the PP in mind. While not elite, Gardiner is a more than serviceable PP quarterback that can play that top position in a 1-3-1 setup. Faulk was always a force-fit in that position and never played it well. He's a shooter, not a playmaker. And, in his defense, there weren't always talented shooters in the two wall positions for him to set-up.

But with the addition of a couple of shooters in Dzingle and Necas, the personnel available for those wall positions on the PP is improving. PP should be much more effective this season and it really needs to be so. Point of emphasis, for sure.

Yes, you want the point man to be able to take a shot if it is there. But far more important for them to be the bumper to those two wall shots, including setting them up for one-timers.

I was stunned by the news of this acquisition. And practically giggling with the giddiness of what it all means.

Mind-bending to see us being referred to as legitimate contenders by national press. And not just a contender, but a model franchise as to how to get there, with a deep farm system AND six picks in the top 100 of next season's draft.

This seems sustainable.
 
I worry a bit about what the Canes defense looks like if Faulk is traded only because Gardiner is not the type of player that is going to give you a lot defensively from a shutdown standpoint nor is he a good penalty killer. I'd like to see either a bit of an improvement from Fleury in an expanded role or the continued upswing of TVR before trading away Faulk this season. As much as I think the Gardiner signing has everything to do with the eventual too high of a price to pay for Faulk with a new contract narrative, the Canes are still going to need to feel confident that someone like Fleury or TVR can backfill somewhat for the minutes lost once Faulk is moved. So as much Elsker talked above about how Gardiner makes the Canes PP better, an eventual trade of Faulk does not make the Canes defense stronger from a defensive standpoint. Forsling to me is nothing more than a Dahlbeck type of warm body as a seventh defenseman, so the Canes need to give Fleury some expanded minutes early in the season if TVR is on LTIR to let him really get his feet wet in a regular role.
 
Count me as impressed, and I really like the way some here have framed it. Elsker seems to have put it in perspective on how it helps the power play and the strategy emerging as a model for other teams for trades and how to manage payroll, and noted the farm is stacked! Faulk is now a rental, wow! For me, I think this Hayden Flury is the underdog who will have a chance to emerge as a legit NHL defenseman. He started to relax a little at the end last year , and if he can continue that, move the puck and attack more in the offensive zone, he may take off enough to be a legit NHLer and become marketable. I think trade deadline will bring in more assets, or at least a good time to make swaps for a top six, if not top three forward at least.

This is going to be another fun year the way things are lining up!

Go Canes!
 
Pesce and Slavin were tops in SH TOI among dmen. deHaan was 3rd and Faulk was 4th. TVR was almost 40 seconds less than Faulk. Hamilton averaged even less than Fleury at 15 seconds per game. Gardiner played a total of 7:50 short handed for the Leafs last year. Someone has to step up and take those short handed minutes, and it’s gonna have to be TVR and Fleury, unless Hamilton and Gardiner start killing penalties.
 
cmaleski2 said:
Zero chance Fleury plays for Charlotte. He is not waiver exempt, he would be claimed for sure.
Click to expand...
True. Forgot that.

Amend my expectations for Fleury to include filling that 3rd pair gap if TVR can't start the year as more or less an audition to be traded. Bottom line ... either Faulk or Fleury need to go once the Top 6/7 get healthy and settled. And since they have proven to absolutely suck as a partnership in the past ... that should be interesting. I'm beaten down by past expectations that the club will trade Faulk to the point where I now believe that they're just never going to quit the guy. He'll end up walking for nothing next summer, but since they've basically replaced him with Gardiner ... meh. That's fine.

And also ... my only real issue with Faulk at this point is that he's such a specific flavor that it's REALLY had to find an even strength role for the guy. He can't play D worth a dang, isn't really a good passer, and needs a very specific kind of partner. If he's not banging them in on the PP, the guy is just more trouble than he's worth most of the time.
 
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