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Inside the Front Office Q&A with Ron Francis

ThinIce

ThinIce

Well-known member
STHs will have the opportunity to have an virtual, informal "chat" with GM Ron Francis today. According to the email:

"Ron will be answering questions that have come straight from you, our Full Season Ticket Members. This will be live streamed for you to watch and listen to exclusively at www.CarolinaHurricanes.com/CanesSTH beginning at 2:00 PM today. If you forgot to submit your question for Ron, you can live tweet them to @NHLCanes (please use #CanesSTH or #CanesSTM) during the event!"
 
You got my interest...what was asked and what were the answers? Did anyone ask how quickly the Canes will issue a statement after the season ends that Cam Ward is not going to be retained?
 
cmaleski2 said:
You got my interest...what was asked and what were the answers? Did anyone ask how quickly the Canes will issue a statement after the season ends that Cam Ward is not going to be retained?
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They don't call him "Ft. Knox" Francis for nothing! Not a whole lot of new details provided, except to say he would sit down after the season to see what's best for the Canes. he did mention that since December, both Ward and Lack have a save percentage of around .920.
 
Is there any reason to rush out a statement on Ward? Other than to make a few fans feel better?

Of course they could act like a current presidential candidate and say "Cam Ward is low energy, weak and one of the worst goalies of all time. I'm not sure he could play in a local beer league He bleeds from his wherever"
 
Paulie Walnuts said:
Is there any reason to rush out a statement on Ward? Other than to make a few fans feel better?
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Nah. Nobody should care until summer. And FWIW, quoting numbers and leaving out the first couple of months of the season serves to clearly illustrate the problem. By then our two keepers had essentially bombed us out of the playoff race.
 
jeffbear said:
Nah. Nobody should care until summer. And FWIW, quoting numbers and leaving out the first couple of months of the season serves to clearly illustrate the problem. By then our two keepers had essentially bombed us out of the playoff race.
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Yeah. And it's not as though he hasn't done it that way, like... every year.
 
ThinIce said:
They don't call him "Ft. Knox" Francis for nothing! Not a whole lot of new details provided, except to say he would sit down after the season to see what's best for the Canes. he did mention that since December, both Ward and Lack have a save percentage of around .920.
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That's the "ifs" and "ands" spin we've been getting for years-- from both JR and more recently from RF. Only difference is that RF's actions have been a bit more clearly reflecting his verbalized long term strategy. Could never say the same thing for JR.
 
How much of that better save percentage is due to the Goalies and how much due to the skaters? Not sure the goalies are really playing that much better. But they tend to get more than their share of the blame and or credit. A good team is generally going to have a goalie with good numbers. What's the cause and what's the effect?

No need for RF to talk either of our guys down. The difference between RF and JR is that JR would say both of our goalies have .920 save percentages since December and then having sold himself on how great they are, he'd sign them for 4 years @ $6M per, while I'd bet RF will make a more astute move - either letting Cam walk, or signing him to a backup level contract for a year or two.

The only move I really question that he made was M. Jordan. That's just a head scratcher.
 
Jordan's one-way was probably what was necessary to sign him versus a European contract.

Plus, at the time, with no knowledge as to whether or not Hanifin would stick, and no idea that both Slavin and Pesce would make it into the NHL in anything other than a brief call-up role, he was undoubtedly just an insurance policy to make sure we at least had someone for the bottom pairing.

And, as a seventh defender, he's not been bad coming off the bench until trade-deadline moves and Faulk's injury opened up a full-time gig.
 
Elsker said:
Jordan's one-way was probably what was necessary to sign him versus a European contract...
...And, as a seventh defender, he's not been bad coming off the bench until trade-deadline moves and Faulk's injury opened up a full-time gig.
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Umm... yeah, even off the bench, he's been awful. We could have signed any offseason dreck who would have been better and let him go back to the CR.
 
I think you're right on the reasoning on that Elsker, but most of the folks here thought it was a bad move at the time, and in hindsight, it still looks bad. We'd have been at least as well off had we not signed him - we'd have had to pick up someone else, but he's been pretty bad. It's really not a big deal, as we ended up needing a body. JR logic would be that he played significant minutes since December and the team was a playoff team the second half, so since he was a top 6 D on a playoff team he's worth $4M per for 5 years. hmmmm. I hope RF has JR's number. "Hi JR, we got a goalie and a D that are just a little too good for the market down here."
 
Elsker said:
Jordan's one-way was probably what was necessary to sign him versus a European contract.

Plus, at the time, with no knowledge as to whether or not Hanifin would stick, and no idea that both Slavin and Pesce would make it into the NHL in anything other than a brief call-up role, he was undoubtedly just an insurance policy to make sure we at least had someone for the bottom pairing.

And, as a seventh defender, he's not been bad coming off the bench until trade-deadline moves and Faulk's injury opened up a full-time gig.
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The other part of the Jordan signing was apparently his strong showing at the World Championships last year for the Czech Republic where Francis and Peters apparently got fooled into thinking he was finding his way!

I agree though Elsker that no one saw Pesce, Slavin and Hanafin as being as ready and as good as they have been all season long on defense.
 
Bottom line I think is that Ronnie and crew got duped into thinking Jordan was good enough to be a #7 Dman. His play this year clearly showed he is not.

Barring trades, next season it will be Faulk, Hainsey, Wiz, Hanifin, Slavin and Pesce as the top 6. Unless the plan is to sprinkle in Carrick, McKeown and Fleury (or even Biega or Lowe) to cover the #7 DMan spot while keeping them all playing in Charlotte if not needed to cover an injury or as long road trip insurance, Ronnie will need to find us another #7 DMan not named Michal Jordan. Jordan I suspect will have to find a deal in Europe to continue a pro career because he clearly has been overmatched as an NHL DMan this year. His pro future is not in the NHL.
 
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cmaleski2 said:
Bottom line I think is that Ronnie and crew got duped into thinking Jordan was good enough to be a #7 Dman. His play this year clearly showed he is not.

Barring trades, next season it will be Faulk, Hainsey, Wiz, Hanifin, Slavin and Pesce as the top 6. Unless the plan is to sprinkle in Carrick, McKeown and Fleury (or even Biega or Lowe) to cover the #7 DMan spot while keeping them all playing in Charlotte if not needed to cover an injury or as long road trip insurance, Ronnie will need to find us another #7 DMan not named Michal Jordan. Jordan I suspect will have to find a deal in Europe to continue a pro career because he clearly has been overmatched as an NHL DMan this year. His pro future is not in the NHL.
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In a perfect world you would like to find a #7 D-Man on a two-way deal that can be sent to Charlotte if needed if a guy like Fleury or McKeown or Carrick makes waves enough to deserve to stay up with the big club at some point. Jordan on that one-way deal was where it went wrong. That starting 6 you mentioned is going to be strong next season, so that's the least of our worries overall.
 
cmaleski2 said:
Bottom line I think is that Ronnie and crew got duped into thinking Jordan was good enough to be a #7 Dman. His play this year clearly showed he is not.
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Forget this season. Jordan played a fair amount of NHL hockey in callups in the previous two seasons and CLEARLY showed he wasn't ready for a one way contract. All I ever heard from Ronnie when he signed that stink-o deal was that Jordan was exceptional at the World Championships last spring. I know one thing ... it must have been one heck of an out of body experience for that guy to have looked like an NHL defenseman because he had done not a single thing to indicate that level of competence previously.

And to your other point ... I fear we're going to see Murphy in that 7th D role next year. Call it a hunch, but I'm betting we're not done with that kid just yet. Don't get me wrong ... personally I'd burn any contract proposals sent by his agent, but ...
 
jeffbear said:
Forget this season. Jordan played a fair amount of NHL hockey in callups in the previous two seasons and CLEARLY showed he wasn't ready for a one way contract. All I ever heard from Ronnie when he signed that stink-o deal was that Jordan was exceptional at the World Championships last spring. I know one thing ... it must have been one heck of an out of body experience for that guy to have looked like an NHL defenseman because he had done not a single thing to indicate that level of competence previously.
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I wonder how much of that was based on who he was partnered with. Remember when we got A. Ward back from the Bruins? Either he got old over the summer or Chara hauled his dead carcass up and down the ice every night. But he was a shell of the dman he had been the previous season.
 
andyt said:
I wonder how much of that was based on who he was partnered with. Remember when we got A. Ward back from the Bruins? Either he got old over the summer or Chara hauled his dead carcass up and down the ice every night. But he was a shell of the dman he had been the previous season.
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The issue with AWard that year he came back was in part he had been partnered with Chara, but he also needed surgery on his knee. The front office wanted him to have it, but AWard thought he could play through without it without issue. He made the wrong choice. I really like AWard and felt bad for him-- he was put on waivers the day of the STH party and he sat there as a class act taking questions and autographing items knowing he had just been signaled as past his prime before God and the league.
 
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