Confirmed with Link: Hainsey a Cane (2 mil/1 year)

[Identity404]

Jim Rutherford ‏@HurricanesGM
Ron Hainsey is an experienced, two-way defenseman.

Oh JR, you're fooling no one.

Hainsey makes this team better, I won't deny that. I just really don't like the lack of offensively capable defensemen. Hainsey, Gleason, Harrison, Komisarek, Faulk, Murphy, Bellemore and Sekara combined for 10 goals and 51 assists. Between 8 players.

With all the extra Defensive D-men, Faulk will probably be given a longer leash to develop his offensive game. I expect Murphy to sick around as the 7th D and eat up power-play minutes and Sekara is a pretty good 2-way guy. I think we will be fine.

 

[Unsustainable]

Now if we can can lend Morrow. Damn.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Now if we can can lend Morrow. Damn.

Lend him to who?

 

[cptjeff]

Wow! I'll eat crow on what I said earlier. Maybe Hainsey doesn't have the black mark? Or maybe PK had to get the okay from his buddies first?

Nothing to complain about. Good contract and value. Didn't have to give anything up. If he's trash, at least he's our trash. Still some room left under the cap. Let's get on with this season!

Hainsey didn't have a black mark. The speculation was that he was just holding out for more money, but a little more detail came out a few days ago- he basically had an offer from the Canes on the table all along, but he was holding out hope that a team he viewed as a contender would make a similar offer. With Pitkanen out, JR probably upped the money a small amount, and probably also used the increased role as a carrot as well.

 

[vwg*]

Jim Rutherford ‏@HurricanesGM
Ron Hainsey is an experienced, two-way defenseman.

Oh JR, you're fooling no one.

Hainsey makes this team better, I won't deny that. I just really don't like the lack of offensively capable defensemen. Hainsey, Gleason, Harrison, Komisarek, Faulk, Murphy, Bellemore and Sekara combined for 10 goals and 51 assists. Between 8 players.

I'm not sure who else we could have added at this point to do anything about the lack of offense though.

Hainsey has definitely become more of a stay at home guy, but he's not completely devoid of offensive talent. If he can produce at a similar pace to last season then that would be more than enough production from a 2nd pairing guy.

But yeah, I am a bit concerned about the lack of offense from the first pairing... Faulk really needs to have a break out season offensively.

 

[Unsustainable]

Lend him to who?

3rd line.

 

[bluedevil58*]

This is the first time since 06 that we have a defensive minded blue line. No offensive d men liabilities. I am ecstatic.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

this is the first time since 06 that we have a defensive minded blue line. No offensive d men liabilities. I am ecstatic.

2009-2010?

 

[What the Faulk]

I'm not sure who else we could have added at this point to do anything about the lack of offense though.

Hainsey has definitely become more of a stay at home guy, but he's not completely devoid of offensive talent. If he can produce at a similar pace to last season then that would be more than enough production from a 2nd pairing guy.

But yeah, I am a bit concerned about the lack of offense from the first pairing... Faulk really needs to have a break out season offensively.

Short of a trade, no one really. And a trade always seemed far-fetched with Hainsey still out there.

I do think the team is better though. I have nothing against Hainsey, just when his name was first floated, I didn't like Pitkanen as the one heading out to make room. Still really don't, but talent is talent.

 

[Zombie Mike Murphy]

2009-2010?

*cough* McBain Corvo *cough*

 

[the halleJOKEL]

*cough* McBain Corvo *cough*

Gritty Veteran A Wardo

 

[TheBigKahuna]

Kind of had to make this signing.

 

[tarheelhockey]

It's really strange how this blueline rapidly went from having too little offensive skill, to having too little physicality, back to having too little offensive skill. Balance has not been our forte I guess.

That said, our pure offensive defensemen (McBain, Sangs, Bergeron, Corvo) didn't score nearly enough to account for their god-awful play in their own zone. I think I feel more comfortable with this group, even after downgrading from Pitkanen to Hainsey.

 

[Lynk]

You have also gained an invaluable poster.

 

[DaveG]

This is the first time since 06 that we have a defensive minded blue line. No offensive d men liabilities. I am ecstatic.

We had Tverdovsky, Babchuk, and Hutchinson in 06, none of them were that good at this whole defense thing. We had Frank Kaberle too but he was at least passable at it.

Now if you were to say this is the first time we've had a balanced defense since 06, I'd semi-agree, though 08-09 was pretty well balanced too, and we just so happened to make the playoffs that year as well.

Don't forget that the past few years Hainsey hasn't had to be an offensive guy with the Thrasherjets. His decline in offensive production just so happens to coincide with the emergence of Enstrom and to a lesser extent Bogosian, then they traded for a certain 275lb offensive force and put him on the blueline as well. I'm not expecting 35-40 points out of him, but 25 would not shock me in the slightest if he shows he can help out effectively on the 2nd PP unit.

You have also gained an invaluable poster.

WOO!, Welcome Lynk.

 

[Wolfpuck]

I'll take a defense that can play defense over...whatever the hell we've had the past four seasons.

 

[Novacane]

**** yes

 

[TheOllieC]

I'll take a defense that can play defense over...whatever the hell we've had the past four seasons.

This pretty much sums it up. Our top line can just score 4 goals a night and we hopefully wont let in 5.

 

[My Special Purpose]

It's really strange how this blueline rapidly went from having too little offensive skill, to having too little physicality, back to having too little offensive skill. Balance has not been our forte I guess.

That said, our pure offensive defensemen (McBain, Sangs, Bergeron, Corvo) didn't score nearly enough to account for their god-awful play in their own zone. I think I feel more comfortable with this group, even after downgrading from Pitkanen to Hainsey.

I think we put too much stock in the individual skills of defensemen. The bottom line is that hockey is a team sport, and the team plays as a five-player unit, all with the same goal. Sometimes, guys with more of certain skills work best when partnered with guys with opposite skill sets, sometimes, they work best with their mirror image. Nobody really knows how or why. Chemistry either happens or it doesn't. We really won't know until they play for a while.

Even the word "balanced" is inappropriate, IMO. We've got a bunch of good hockey players. Let's see how they play as a group.

And I may be the only one, but from a "hockey team" point of view and not a "hockey skills" point of view, I think Hainsey is an upgrade from Pitkanen.

 

[TheBigKahuna]

I'll take a defense that can play defense over...whatever the hell we've had the past four seasons.

Red traffic cones, and tripping drunks!

 

[urho]

This just had to be done.

 

[Oenatzu]

Red traffic cones, and tripping drunks!

I've seen traffic cones that can break up a pass better than McBain and Sanguinetti.

 

[DaveG]

I think we put too much stock in the individual skills of defensemen. The bottom line is that hockey is a team sport, and the team plays as a five-player unit, all with the same goal. Sometimes, guys with more of certain skills work best when partnered with guys with opposite skill sets, sometimes, they work best with their mirror image. Nobody really knows how or why. Chemistry either happens or it doesn't. We really won't know until they play for a while.

Even the word "balanced" is inappropriate, IMO. We've got a bunch of good hockey players. Let's see how they play as a group.

And I may be the only one, but from a "hockey team" point of view and not a "hockey skills" point of view, I think Hainsey is an upgrade from Pitkanen.

Depending on what Murphy can bring I might not necessarily disagree with that. He's the big X factor for us this year since he's so new to this whole NHL thing. But I would have agreed before this move too. Faulk may be given more free reign too, and he's shown some serious offensive upside in the past IMO.

We basically swapped out McBain, Corvo, Sanguinetti, and MAB, a who's who of bad one-way guys where only McBain is salvageable, for Komisarek, Sekera, and... maybe Bellemore as the first callup? Now add Hainsey into that mix and this is a much much better defense at least as far as the primary concern for defensemen goes.

I honestly think Pitkanen's defensive abilities get a bad wrap, but Joni's problem was that he needs the right partner to play with: another semi-offensive oriented guy that can skate. Back when we had Seidenberg he and Joni made one hell of a pairing because both were good skaters, not too bad in their own zone, and Seids knew what he was doing offensively even if he wasn't super productive. McBain likewise actually worked with Pitkanen because he could skate and play offense, putting him with Joni made McBain look kindof competent, which is something no other defenseman in this org the last 5 years has been able to do with McBain.

Put Joni with a more defense oriented guy like Ward who's not a strong skater and doesn't have much offense to his game and, well, we've all see the Youtube video.

I've seen traffic cones that can break up a pass better than McBain and Sanguinetti.

Those were the drunks.

 

[KevFist]

Good signing for Canes. Best thing about Ron is he scores 6 goals every night.

 

[TheBigKahuna]

There's your "mystery player". It's being reported that he wanted to come here, and was patiently waiting. Grew up as a Whalers fan.