• Moderators, please send me a PM if you are unable to access mod permissions. Thanks, Habsy.

2023-24 Canes Misc Thread

NoMich said:
If you have the extra time while in Las Vegas, I highly encourage folks to spend copious amounts of quality time at the Pinball Hall of Fame and Omega Mart. Both places are 100% worth your time and money spent there.
Click to expand...
The only definites on our agenda are a Cirque du Soleil show and the Neon Graveyard. My wife saw that on an episode of The Amazing Race and said we had to go there if we ever got to Vegas. Other possibilities are the Mob Museum and Hoover Dam.
 
cmaleski2 said:
Hanifin developed into a solid 2nd pair guy. That said, I would rather have Brady Skjei for the same amount of money.
Click to expand...
Honestly, he was a solid second pair guy when he left Carolina. Unfortunately he wanted to get paid like a first pair guy ... which he has only barely become. So long as he has a good enough partner. He's solid, for sure ... but still not the foundational player he was drafted to be.
 
LeBrun had his annual pre-deadline chat with Waddell over the weekend ... so there's an article up on The Athletic.

Bottom line ... Donny says they're comfortable with the goalies now that Freddie is on track to return at some point. He also said they fell good about the defense. That leaves forward, and he made the usual noises about not being interested in over-spending for rental players.

My thoughts:

Goalie ... fine. The question is, with Freddie looking like he might be back, are you going to get anyone better than him without shipping out a truckload of assets? The answer to that is almost certainly no. IMO they're past the point where an "anybody who is halfway decent" option makes sense. Kudos to Kooch and Martin for standing in the gap.

Defense ... I'd prefer a more playable 7th D than DeAngelo, but whatever. They're under-utilizing Orlov 90% of the time, and any injuries tend to bump up his responsibilities. So, it's probably fine.

Forward ... with a rental out of the picture, I'd think Waddell might tinker around the edges a bit and maybe look at some 4th line presence. Lemiuex has been willing but lacking, and while Noesen gives as good as he gets, he's only pretending to be tough. If they could find a bigger body who can move well enough to pressure the puck, then that's my bet for a deadline move. Extra points if they find a center who fits that description because they're kind of thin there. Also, keep in mind that Martinook has had an alarming tendency to get banged up in the playoffs. Another big motor guy for cover would certainly be nice. Donny is usually pretty up front on this stuff. I don't see a rental move for a guy like Tarasenko on the club's radar. As always though, Carolina will be open for a move for a guy with term should something pop up for one of their long term projects. Those are always long shots though, so don't hold your breath.

Not covered ... black ace types. I expect Ponomarov, Suzuki and maybe Rees to be around for the playoffs, and Pono could well play a depth role if injuries crop up. I'm also wondering if they won't go ahead and LTIR or re-waive Raanta so they can keep Martin around. He has certainly earned an extended look.
 
Oh lord, there are only 28 games left in the regular season! The Rangers are winning games at an unreachable clip for the Canes, but that's fine as long as our good guys keep winning at a 7-3/6-4 clip through the remainder of the season, there's hardly an avenue for the Flyers or Devils to overtake them for the Metro #2 spot. That's a mighty assumption, of course, as the last few Marches haven't gone according to the script for the Hurricanes. They didn't lose the division, but man, they sure made it "may you live in interesting times" level of interesting.
 
The Rangers are 6 points ahead, and Carolina has one game in hand. That's hardly a chasm, although it does seem that NYR has sorted out their month long rough patch of late. The Flyers have seen their wheels fall off a bit, but there's only darkness chasing them. New Jersey kinda/sorta looks interested in giving it a shot, but everybody else in the Metro is just a mess. All of them are stuck in neutral or worse. Carolina would have to absolutely implode to miss a top 3 slot in the Division. Not saying they couldn't, especially if the goal tending reverts to late fall form, but it's darned unlikely. Carolina is on fairly safe ground to make any deadline deals with an eye towards the post season.
 
There is no way I would let go of Spencer Martin at this point. Raanta is the odd man out if/when Freddie is actually capable of playing. LTIR or waivers/Chicago would be in the cards there when Freddie is back.
 
cmaleski2 said:
There is no way I would let go of Spencer Martin at this point. Raanta is the odd man out if/when Freddie is actually capable of playing. LTIR or waivers/Chicago would be in the cards there when Freddie is back.
Click to expand...
💯 agree, based on his injury history and declining stock Raanta has to be fourth on the depth chart when everyone is back. Let’s be honest, Raanta is likely in his last year in the league and you have to go with a guy younger and healthier as a third option right now because you really don’t know how Freddy’s health is going to be.
 
The only thing with Raanta is how popular he is in the room ... and specifically with the other Finns. I'd still exile him in a New York minute though.
 
I read the Cory Laviolette article in the Athletic from February 15th on TDA and him wanting to play. If you don't subscribe or didn't read the article, TDA is frustrated about not being a regular but is being a good teammate about it (which means not raising a public stink or demanding a trade while letting his agent do the private talking with the Canes).

If I recall when TDA signed here and was asked about the fact that there were already 6 other NHL quality Dmen on the roster, he stated basically that the players would sort that out by their level of play. Well, that is exactly what happened and TDA rightfully came out as the clear #7 D of the bunch. As an aside, congrats to Chatty in this. He earned that #6 spot last season with his play. When Pesce wasn't traded, Chatty proceeded to earn that #6 spot AGAIN by just being solid as heck out there again. Not every guy riding that AHL/NHL train ever get's off it. Chatfield is rightfully going to get paid now after this season by someone.

As we already discussed here, I would much rather the Canes find a playable #7 Dman who can actually defend and not rely on TDA to play that #7 Dman role. Having Orlov as insurance though lessens that need a bit, but I still would rather have a Brad Smith type #7 available over TDA.
 
Last edited:
This is the wrong team for Tony to kick up a fuss, and he knows it. There's no media to manipulate and nobody in that room wants to hear it ... so he's kind of stuck. Go ahead, ask for a trade. They've been shopping you since Christmas.
 
NoMich said:
Happy BunchOfJerksiversary! It was five years ago today that what's his name went on a rant during a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast that launched a marketing juggernaut.
Click to expand...
I got Bunch of Jerks shirts for my next younger brother's boys when all that went down. It's fun to see them still wearing them. Especially considering that they live in ATL and went from Trash fans to Jets fans. Win/Win.

Jim
 
I love the line about not talking numbers with a player who’s struggling. “You can be playing really well and not scoring and you can be thinking your playing really well because you are scoring, but you’re really not” amen
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top