Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Why the Canes Can't Win the Cup
by Jes
Here's a quick question for you ...
Which NHL club has 3 players with 20+ goals and 40+ points, 4 other players with 30+ points, is third best in the league with 144 goals scored, and yet isn't in the playoffs as of today?
Answer: The Carolina Hurricanes.
Yes, once again, Carolina's vaunted offensive power is not enough to make up for its weaknesses on D and in goal.
Look at the defence: Dennis Seidenberg, a good-looking defenseman that has bounced around the league and can barely hold an NHL spot, the ancient duo of Bret Yamaguchi and Glen Wesley, the goalless used-to-be-good-what-the-hell-happened Frantisek Kaberle, Mike "Ronald McDonald" Commodore, the overmatched Tim "This is all we got for Jack Johnson?" Gleason, and Nic "OT Winner" Wallin.
Now, I realize that the Canes won it all with a similar defence a few years back, but that was the mother of all Cinderella runs. We can see that now.
How can a defense where their top scorer has 12 just points, and the entire defence has a whole SEVEN goals this season, be considered anything but crap? Not one of these guys is above average, and the old guys just continue to get worse.
Of course, this point mighty be moot if the goaltenders didn't suck, but they do.
Ever since Cam Ward (undeservedly) won the Conn Smythe, people have been tricked into thinking that he's a great goaltender.
Unfortunately for Carolina, the clock struck midnight and Ward has proven himself to be a below-average goaltender during the regular season.
Cam Ward's playoff stats from that magical run? 15-8 2.13GAA 92.0SV%
His partners in crimes against goaltending this season?
John Grahame: 13GP 3.83GAA 87.5SV%
Mike Leighton: 3GP 2.66GAA 89.7SV%
That's more suckage than the movie Juno. (Guys, if your girl tries to drag you to this, you better get something reeeeeeeeeeeeeally good in return)
Let's face it, we know GM Jim Rutherford has been an exceptionally poor GM for most of his long tenure. Somehow, the guy had an outlier of a year where he made good-for-value signings (like Stillman), made some good deadline deals, and had all of the pieces fall into place. Now? We see he is unable to fill the holes on the back end and the Canes have few prospects that they can deal for veteran assets.
Unless the Canes can do something about their glaring weaknesses, let's not fool ourselves into thinking they can win another Stanley Cup. Winning their weak division? It's possible, and it'll be the only way the Canes make the playoffs. Sad, but true.
Joe Pelletier from The Legends of Hockey blog sends this message to our readers
"I've officially gone crazy. In the past weeks
over at GreatestHockeyLegends.com I've compared Vincent Lecavalier to
Jean Beliveau, Niklas Lidstrom to Raymond Bourque, and Martin St.
Louis to Yvan Cournoyer.
Perhaps my latest set of comparables is a bit of a stretch, but yet
somehow very fitting. Or at least I think so.
Former New York Rangers playboy Ron Duguay is compared to PBS' "Joy of
Painting" host Bob Ross."
Somehow, I doubt Bob Ross ever got Cher in the sack, but what do I know?
Here's a quick question for you ...
Which NHL club has 3 players with 20+ goals and 40+ points, 4 other players with 30+ points, is third best in the league with 144 goals scored, and yet isn't in the playoffs as of today?
Answer: The Carolina Hurricanes.
Yes, once again, Carolina's vaunted offensive power is not enough to make up for its weaknesses on D and in goal.
Look at the defence: Dennis Seidenberg, a good-looking defenseman that has bounced around the league and can barely hold an NHL spot, the ancient duo of Bret Yamaguchi and Glen Wesley, the goalless used-to-be-good-what-the-hell-happened Frantisek Kaberle, Mike "Ronald McDonald" Commodore, the overmatched Tim "This is all we got for Jack Johnson?" Gleason, and Nic "OT Winner" Wallin.
Now, I realize that the Canes won it all with a similar defence a few years back, but that was the mother of all Cinderella runs. We can see that now.
How can a defense where their top scorer has 12 just points, and the entire defence has a whole SEVEN goals this season, be considered anything but crap? Not one of these guys is above average, and the old guys just continue to get worse.
Of course, this point mighty be moot if the goaltenders didn't suck, but they do.
Ever since Cam Ward (undeservedly) won the Conn Smythe, people have been tricked into thinking that he's a great goaltender.
Unfortunately for Carolina, the clock struck midnight and Ward has proven himself to be a below-average goaltender during the regular season.
Year GP GS MIN W L T OTL GAA SV%
05-06 28 25 1484 14 8 0 2 3.68 .882
06-07 60 59 3422 30 21 0 6 2.93 .897
07-08 36 34 2032 17 15 0 3 2.89 .899
Cam Ward's playoff stats from that magical run? 15-8 2.13GAA 92.0SV%
His partners in crimes against goaltending this season?
John Grahame: 13GP 3.83GAA 87.5SV%
Mike Leighton: 3GP 2.66GAA 89.7SV%
That's more suckage than the movie Juno. (Guys, if your girl tries to drag you to this, you better get something reeeeeeeeeeeeeally good in return)
Let's face it, we know GM Jim Rutherford has been an exceptionally poor GM for most of his long tenure. Somehow, the guy had an outlier of a year where he made good-for-value signings (like Stillman), made some good deadline deals, and had all of the pieces fall into place. Now? We see he is unable to fill the holes on the back end and the Canes have few prospects that they can deal for veteran assets.
Unless the Canes can do something about their glaring weaknesses, let's not fool ourselves into thinking they can win another Stanley Cup. Winning their weak division? It's possible, and it'll be the only way the Canes make the playoffs. Sad, but true.
Joe Pelletier from The Legends of Hockey blog sends this message to our readers
"I've officially gone crazy. In the past weeks
over at GreatestHockeyLegends.com I've compared Vincent Lecavalier to
Jean Beliveau, Niklas Lidstrom to Raymond Bourque, and Martin St.
Louis to Yvan Cournoyer.
Perhaps my latest set of comparables is a bit of a stretch, but yet
somehow very fitting. Or at least I think so.
Former New York Rangers playboy Ron Duguay is compared to PBS' "Joy of
Painting" host Bob Ross."
Somehow, I doubt Bob Ross ever got Cher in the sack, but what do I know?
Labels: Hurricanes, stanley cup
Comments:
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I dunno, Jes. Anyone in the East can win the Cup, or at least get to the Finals. I'm not counting the Canes out at all. The loss of Williams and addition of Samsonov is making me feel a tad uneasy about my prediction. Regardless, I predict they not only make the playoffs, but they also go past round 1, goal-less defence crew and all.
Laviolette changes out his lines too much and has a 'no fighting' rule - that's not gonna fly these days. Kaberle had surgery in the '06 offseason and has never been the same. Staal and Ward each got married and have never been the same. And Hedican basically screwed the team by not retiring.
I say put Kaberle on waivers, move Hamilton down to the AHL, and bring Aucoin up to stay. For starters.
I say put Kaberle on waivers, move Hamilton down to the AHL, and bring Aucoin up to stay. For starters.
# posted by 
: 6:08 pm
: 6:08 pm
Could someone tell me how the "no fighting" line starting circulating? Laviolette doesn't have a no fighting rule, just one of "no fighting" when it's stupid to do so. I would wager that most NHL coaches have similar policies against taking stupid penalties and risks.
http://www.hockeyfights.com/leaders/teams/
(18th in the league with 21 fights, three fights away from the #13 spot.)
http://www.hockeyfights.com/leaders/teams/
(18th in the league with 21 fights, three fights away from the #13 spot.)
Ugh, that picture I think says it all. They're jinxed as a franchise now until they move back to Hartford.
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