GDT: ISLES @ CANES 7:00pm: Fresh Beginnings of the Dundon Era

[Thrasymachus]

I wouldn't describe CDH as a "two way player". He's a very good defensive defenseman, but there's no offense there.

Give it time. I think he has room to grow offensively

 

[Roboturner913]

Another F tim peel thing was how much he was clearly loving making everyone wait to announce whether the canes goal was going to stand or not

Seriously. It took like 6 minutes and even after he goes out to the middle of the ice he stands there leering and mean mugging for about an extra 12 seconds like a perverted old man in a shopping mall

 

[Unsustainable]

f*** “Steve” Tim” Peel

 

[The Faulker 27]

Yes. He was interviewed during the first period and during the intermission they showed the first part of a show which follows the life of Dundon.

He seems too involved. Just my opinion.

I'm guilty of pointing fingers on last nights loss too, but I didn't come away with this feeling at all. Most likely you've probably maintained this opinion for a while. Which you're certainly entitled to. He's not sitting on his hands like PK did, that's for sure. I think he saw a big shitty mess here in Raleigh and is doing his level best to fix it. You have to at least admire the man's intentions.

 

[Roboturner913]

A certain crowd of people have been hating on this guy since basically the second he took over and I don't get it.

What, you'd rather have PK back?

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Yes. He was interviewed during the first period and during the intermission they showed the first part of a show which follows the life of Dundon.

He seems too involved. Just my opinion.

He owns the team.

If I owned the team, I'd be out there skating every game during warmups, and the team would be wearing a jersey with a picture of me holding gigantic sacks of cash.

From my perspective, he's showing admirable restraint.

 

[Roboturner913]

I'd be about 12 Bud Lights in, driving the zamboni and baring my midriff to dance with the ice girls

 

[Kaako Kappo]

I'm guilty of pointing fingers on last nights loss too, but I didn't come away with this feeling at all. Most likely you've probably maintained this opinion for a while. Which you're certainly entitled to. He's not sitting on his hands like PK did, that's for sure. I think he saw a big ****ty mess here in Raleigh and is doing his level best to fix it. You have to at least admire the man's intentions.

Oh yes, this isn't some new opinion. Dundon chased away Francis (I don't care that much) and hired Waddell as a "GM" for peanuts and appointed Brind'Amour as the coach instead of bringing someone new. I'm willing to bet that even though Brind'Amour probably does not think about the game like Bill Peters does, he's still using a lot of things he learned from him.

I think the material this team has is enough for playoffs. Not sure if coaching and management is.

 

[DaveG]

I mean there's two ways a super-involved owner can go: it can be all Jerry Buss/Marc Cuban/late-Steinbrenner type situation, or it can be a Jerry Jones/early-Steinbrenner/late-Al Davis type situation. As much as I didn't really agree with the way the Francis situation was handled I get the impression that he's far more interested in letting the guys that know what they're doing (Rod, Waddell, MacDonald and co) run things while he learns the ins and outs of the league which would push him far more toward the former category.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I think the material this team has is enough for playoffs. Not sure if coaching and management is.

So either:

1. You think the team had enough talent in previous years too, which implies that the previous coaching and management weren't getting it done.

2. You think the team now has more talent than it did in previous years, which implies that the current management has improved the team.

Which is it?

 

[Kaako Kappo]

So either:

1. You think the team had enough talent in previous years too, which implies that the previous coaching and management weren't getting it done.

2. You think the team now has more talent than it did in previous years, which implies that the current management has improved the team.

Which is it?

The team has Necas, Foegle, Svechnikov and Zykov. I also liked the additions of Ferland & Hamilton. So yes, i do think that the team has more talent than it did in previous years. The goaltending is something i still don't like but Darling showed some promise in the preseason.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

As much as I didn't really agree with the way the Francis situation was handled I get the impression that he's far more interested in letting the guys that know what they're doing (Rod, Waddell, MacDonald and co) run things while he learns the ins and outs of the league which would push him far more toward the former category.

Yeah, my only concern is what happens when Tom Dundon feels confident enough in his hockey knowledge base that he'll start acting unilaterally, up to overriding the advice of everyone around him, like Jerry Jones or Dan Snyder.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The only real issues I have with Dundon:

1) We haven't really seen him open his wallet to improve the roster or front office. This is becoming progressively less of a concern for me as he shows a willingness to spend on other things (e.g., crazy **** like an outdoor game as well as going in with the CA on a large new scoreboard) so I can only assume and hope that he's making a calculated decision that roster spending comes later. But it's still a lingering doubt given the way our personnel decisions have consistently leaned toward spending cuts.

2) He's heavily involved and a risk taker, which can be a dangerous combination. That just is what it is, a stylistic thing that doesn't really condemn him as an owner but definitely will cause periods of stress on this fanbase. As long as he's learning and getting things right more often than not, it's fine. I don't get the impression that he's some mad king who's treating the organization like a toy. It's more like having a DIY type move into your childhood home.

By and large, I prefer Dundon to relocation. That's the big picture here, lest we forget.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Yeah, my only concern is what happens when Tom Dundon feels confident enough in his hockey knowledge base that he'll start acting unilaterally, up to overriding the advice of everyone around him, like Jerry Jones or Dan Snyder.

Literally everything we've heard about his style of team-based decision making implies that this will not be the case.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Literally everything we've heard about his style of team-based decision making implies that this will not be the case.

He's admitted he knows nothing about hockey, but a lot about office management. Hence the setup of smart people who know their remit telling him/Waddell what they should do.

Does this set up remain as he becomes more confident in his hockey knowledge? Who knows. I hope so.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Yeah, my only concern is what happens when Tom Dundon feels confident enough in his hockey knowledge base that he'll start acting unilaterally, up to overriding the advice of everyone around him, like Jerry Jones or Dan Snyder.

The thing that makes me think that won't happen is his common line throughout his ownership.

"Tell me why I'm wrong."

As he starts to learn more about hockey, he will start having more and more "initial" opinions of things (like we all do here). But he's insisted on building a team of people around him who are comfortable standing up to him and saying "no, and here's why."

He could have sought yes men. But how often have we heard him say "my favorite part about him was that he keeps me in check", or "he's willing to speak his mind", etc.?

He knows what he's like and how he is to work with. Billionaire CEOs are that type - they're always trying to move and shake and make things better. But he's willing to build a team to help him do it. And he seems to only value people if they actually have an opinion on things and are willing to stand up to him and say it.

Watch the locker room renovation video. He's clear and directive, but also collaborative, and in some cases gets completely out of the way. I think the quote to the construction lead was something like "I want that, that, and that taken out. Then put in the sayings/colors, whatever he (*points to Brind'Amour*) wants, just not brown." Then he says something like "this is what I do, this is all I think about." If all he thinks about is using his operations and executive skills to enable Brind'Amour to get the locker room he wants (as an example), then he is operating in exactly the way you want an active owner to operate.

 

[The Faulker 27]

If I'm honest my one concern after last night was that ultimately my expectations are too high for RB as our HC this early in his position. He's never done this before. It is a very different animal to assist in a process, rather than own it. I've done both, and owning a process can be infinitely more difficult.

He admitted in the post-game that he made a ton of mistakes. I should be prepared that he is going to make some poor judgement calls, and decisions that could lead to losses, and those losses could pile up this early in his HC journey.

That being said, I'll take his brand of hockey any f***ing day of the week over Bill Peters.

Decrease HCRB expectation thrusters, engage.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

The only strange thing I found about Dundon recently was the Darling news.

The media went to the owner to get updates about a player's health. Not the coach, not the GM, but the owner was the one who broke the news about Darling's injury.

Not that there's anything inherently wrong with that, but it came off as odd at the time. I can't remember too many times where the owner is the main source of player news

 

[DaveG]

He's admitted he knows nothing about hockey, but a lot about office management. Hence the setup of smart people who know their remit telling him/Waddell what they should do.

Does this set up remain as he becomes more confident in his hockey knowledge? Who knows. I hope so.

Yeah don't get me wrong that thought is always going to linger in the back of my mind a bit, but even with this being the case I get the impression that he's the type that is going to want multiple options whenever possible. Smart management is surrounding yourself with as much expertise in relevant subject matter as you can and that seems to be the kind of playbook that Dundon wants to play by.

 

[GoldiFox]

The Canes didn’t crush the Islanders. Aho saved 2 goals against on his own and Pesce (I think?) intervened to save another goal. That first PK the Canes had was scary, NYI was pulling on their man-to-man scheme like they had been watching the Canes PK tape all year. Twice it came down to Mrazek vs shooter in the slot which isn’t going to end well most of the time.

Aho looks like he added 100 lbs to his snap shot. That thing is heavy. Nearly gave Greiss a heart attack a couple minutes into the game.

I’m really hoping I don’t see Williams, Staal, and Faulk playing prime minutes all year while Svechnikov/Necas/Zykov gets 10-12. If Rod has one blind spot I’ve seen it is his allegiance to the vets in the room. Jordan Staal is devoid of offensive talent, he belongs nowhere near a PP and it’s a testament to how effectively he uses his size that he is able to put up 40-50 points a year.

The decision to play Faulk for 4 PP minute while giving essentially zero to Hamilton is really mind boggling. I want to know why. The only goal of the game came off a nice Hamilton shot, as he was doing in the Preseason.

Overall the Canes created a ton of net front traffic and got a lot of chances. Live by the chaos, die by the chaos. Most nights it should work out in their favor.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

ordan Staal is devoid of offensive talent, he belongs nowhere near a PP

I'm tired of watching the PP setup work to get J. Staal point blank slot one timers, with a sterling 15% conversion rate.

 

[ThreeLeftSkates]

Give it time. I think he has room to grow offensively

When he was partnered with Hamonic, thew coaching staff tried to turn Travis into Denis Potvin and made CDH stay home. Before his injury last year, he was noticeable in the offensive zone, without making bad pinches. I wish they had let Hickey go instead.

 

[Thrasymachus]

When he was partnered with Hamonic, thew coaching staff tried to turn Travis into Denis Potvin and made CDH stay home. Before his injury last year, he was noticeable in the offensive zone, without making bad pinches. I wish they had let Hickey go instead.

Leaf fans mock us about being bitter over JT but hear me Canes fans: I am 100% cool with De Haan leaving if that’s the choice he felt was right for him. I honestly think he decided to walk, and I wish him all the best. De Haan never strung us along.

The problem with keeping CDH from the isles POV has to do with management turnover more than anything. De Haan was hurt last season - I don’t think Lou and Trotz realized what they had. We didn’t make it clear we wanted him badly. Whereas I bet the canes really made Calvin feel wanted.

I think Calvin is going to keep getting better, so long as his shoulder holds up

 

[Svechhammer]

I came away from the game last night thinking this team has some serious skill that just needs some time to come together. We play that same team in February or March and its a 5-1 route in our favor. In fact, last night probably should have been if not for some really good goaltending by Greiss and some back luck on our shots. These things will change.

I was impressed with the defense. Really kept the pressure off Mrazek all night. They do that every game, and there won't be too many games we can't win this year.

 

[geehaad]

my expectations are too high for RB as our HC this early in his position.

That's very wise of you to admit.

Similar to, it would seem, the general expectations of the team from HFCanes members. I'm not going back to look at the "Where will the Canes finish" thread, but the general tenor has been that of low expectations for the year. Then, in the first game, those expectations suddenly skyrocket to the point where an OTL is unacceptable. It's almost like wanting the team to tank at the end of the season and being mad about barely losing a game.

At some point, the rubber (desires/predictions/expectations) has to meet the road (losses), otherwise you have to face the reality that you've been lying to yourself in a very public way.