Canes are in a precarious position, 2 games below .500 but could be sitting in 2nd in their division with games in hand.
If they were to play Calgary or Kootenay in the 1st round they would likely be the favourite. That would put them onto face Med Hat, who they've played good this year and upset in last years playoffs. So before today, 3rd round in the playoffs wasn't too far fetched. Now, who knows, will be interesting to see if they can continue to play or if their game will completely fall off. Must have been an insanely hard decision for Anholt.
It was probably a hard decision, but I really think it was the right one. The Hurricanes have been the model of inconsistency this season, and they weren't going to win anything of significance with those three players still around, and all three of them are gone in 3 months anyways. Plus, he gave them every chance to get rolling and even dealt Tarzwell for Zablocki when Vandervlis went down to injury (I bet he'd like that one back now).
As it stands now, they've downgraded Skinner to Flodell (however Skinner has been disappointing this year, and Flodell has better numbers across the board). Also downgraded Estephan to Morrison, Riddle to Stanley is basically a wash, and lost Nagel...but at the same time added two young up and comers like Barlage and Blocker.
Honestly, with the way Skinner has been playing, I really don't think the Canes have lost all that much, and chemistry can be a funny thing. Maybe all these shake ups will jolt this team into a more consistent mode. If it does, they still have a really good chance at making the playoffs and facing Kootenay in the 1st round, but now they are doing it with a much younger, up and coming team.
Love the solid collection of young players Anholt is assembling. Bellerive, Franklin, Addison, Cozens, Zudilov will all be back next season (none of whom will be overagers), and now they've added Barlage and Blocker to go along with guys like Stafford, Harke, Boyko and Boucher. Add in the right mix of overagers and they have a solid chance at being a strong team next season.
Love the picks too. 2020 could be right around the time SC is reloading because they have gone all in now, so if they are on the downswing at that time, the Canes might end up with a decently high pick.