GDT: Opening Night: Carolina vs Minnesota, 7pm

[Ole Gil]

Re Staal having a C, when you think of who on the roster has been the veteran on this team for most of these guys careers, it's been Jordan.

When the team has a rookie or a low skill forward, seems like they go on Jordan's wing so he can cover for them or create some space for them. Last season, every time someone was struggling to get their game going, onto Jordan's wing they went.

And he's the guy who's going head 2 head with the best in the league every night, on top of being a great example in terms of putting in the work on and off the ice.

 

[AD Skinner]

My trepidation with Staal as captain probably has a lot to do with his brother and that is not really fair to him. But (and this is just my view from my couch and I know I have zero insight into what the actual dynamic in the room is like) the impression I get is both Staal boys ended up wearing a letter that they didn't really want and kind of got given by default. Again I could be way off but that's just how it seems to me- that they were offered a C and didn't REALLY want it but felt like it was their responsibility. but hey they could all put random Swahili characters on their chests for all I care as long as they win

 

[the halleJOKEL]

ancient egyptian hieroglyphs pls

 

[MinJaBen]

I think I read somewhere (might have been on hfboards), that Williams didn`t want to be a captain

Probably the same place I read that Jordan didn't want to be captain. The same place that I read that Faulk didn't want to be captain. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it was probably some cable guy...

 

[ONO94]

Maybe a Ninja.

Being both Finnish and a sea bass--probably more of a Finja

 

[Breakdowns]

Probably the same place I read that Jordan didn't want to be captain. The same place that I read that Faulk didn't want to be captain. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it was probably some cable guy...

Probably you are right

but in the end I think captaincy don`t matter that much if the team is doing well and dressing room in the order

 

[bleedgreen]

I thought the subject of Jordan being captain was brought up in the past, and he didn't seem to want it? I know I heard it, though I guess I can't say for sure it was a reliable source. I remember getting the clear impression he just didn't want it.

Maybe it was a "not yet" thing.

 

[Ole Gil]

Eric is a pretty natural leader.

I thought the subject of Jordan being captain was brought up in the past, and he didn't seem to want it? I know I heard it, though I guess I can't say for sure it was a reliable source. I remember getting the clear impression he just didn't want it.

Maybe it was a "not yet" thing.

When Eric was dealt, Eric talked about just wanting to be a part of the team instead of a captain. Don't know if that might have been what you remember. I don't recall Jordan saying it, but my memory is mediocre.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Someone went to a luncheon and reported that Forslund said the org offered the c to Jordan in 2016, but he didn't want it.

 

[My Special Purpose]

Regarding the captaincy, I honestly don't think it's a factor in how the team will play this season. Guys are either leaders or they're not. Having a letter or not having a letter doesn't change anything.

My only thought is that the Canes are obviously trying to be smarter under Francis and Peters. They're making smarter personnel decisions. They're being patient. They're doing things the "right way." The way the captaincy has been handled stands in stark contrast with how they've handled just about everything else in the Francis/Peters era. It's amateurish and indecisive. It's very out of character, extends this issue instead of ending it, and in my opinion, it opens them up to unnecessary criticism.

It's not the "right way" to handle the captaincy. Hell, open it up to the players and have them vote. Top vote-getter wears the "C," second and third wear "A"s. It is very rare that something like letters on a jersey is an issue for as long as it's been here in Carolina. They had a chance to put it all to rest and they didn't do it.

And again, this has nothing to do with who they chose and who they didn't choose. They could have gone with Ryan as the "C" and Aho/Kruger as "A"s and I'd have been happy that it was over. The way they did things just seems very "old Canes" and I'm surprised Francis would allow that to happen.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Regarding the captaincy, I honestly don't think it's a factor in how the team will play this season. Guys are either leaders or they're not. Having a letter or not having a letter doesn't change anything.

My only thought is that the Canes are obviously trying to be smarter under Francis and Peters. They're making smarter personnel decisions. They're being patient. They're doing things the "right way." The way the captaincy has been handled stands in stark contrast with how they've handled just about everything else in the Francis/Peters era. It's amateurish and indecisive. It's very out of character, extends this issue instead of ending it, and in my opinion, it opens them up to unnecessary criticism.

It's not the "right way" to handle the captaincy. Hell, open it up to the players and have them vote. Top vote-getter wears the "C," second and third wear "A"s. It is very rare that something like letters on a jersey is an issue for as long as it's been here in Carolina. They had a chance to put it all to rest and they didn't do it.

And again, this has nothing to do with who they chose and who they didn't choose. They could have gone with Ryan as the "C" and Aho/Kruger as "A"s and I'd have been happy that it was over. The way they did things just seems very "old Canes" and I'm surprised Francis would allow that to happen.

Yep, 100% this, good post.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Regarding the captaincy, I honestly don't think it's a factor in how the team will play this season. Guys are either leaders or they're not. Having a letter or not having a letter doesn't change anything.

My only thought is that the Canes are obviously trying to be smarter under Francis and Peters. They're making smarter personnel decisions. They're being patient. They're doing things the "right way." The way the captaincy has been handled stands in stark contrast with how they've handled just about everything else in the Francis/Peters era. It's amateurish and indecisive. It's very out of character, extends this issue instead of ending it, and in my opinion, it opens them up to unnecessary criticism.

It's not the "right way" to handle the captaincy. Hell, open it up to the players and have them vote. Top vote-getter wears the "C," second and third wear "A"s. It is very rare that something like letters on a jersey is an issue for as long as it's been here in Carolina. They had a chance to put it all to rest and they didn't do it.

And again, this has nothing to do with who they chose and who they didn't choose. They could have gone with Ryan as the "C" and Aho/Kruger as "A"s and I'd have been happy that it was over. The way they did things just seems very "old Canes" and I'm surprised Francis would allow that to happen.

I agree. I think I said this before, but this screams that Peters was sick of answering the question of who is the captain. Having co-captains means the " captain " doesn't exist.

It doesn't mean anything tangible, it's just dumb for no reason.

 

[CandyCanes]

Not gonna lie I think you all are going a little crazy about the whole captain situation. I don't care if we have a whole team wearing the letter "C" on their jersey... What I care about is if the team wins or not. I think we're going to be just fine in winning games this season with Jordan & Justin wearing the letter "C" on their chest.

 

[geehaad]

Ah yes, the old "this is a non-issue because it doesn't matter but it's stupid because no one else does it this way and I don't understand why we didn't just do it just like everyone else does it" complaint.

 

[sheriff bart]

Who cares who the captain is? All the team needs is a guy that can call heads or tails for the coin toss to see who gets the ball first.

 

[Unsustainable]

Under Captain J Staal the team is undefeated.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Regarding the captaincy, I honestly don't think it's a factor in how the team will play this season. Guys are either leaders or they're not. Having a letter or not having a letter doesn't change anything.

My only thought is that the Canes are obviously trying to be smarter under Francis and Peters. They're making smarter personnel decisions. They're being patient. They're doing things the "right way." The way the captaincy has been handled stands in stark contrast with how they've handled just about everything else in the Francis/Peters era. It's amateurish and indecisive. It's very out of character, extends this issue instead of ending it, and in my opinion, it opens them up to unnecessary criticism.

It's not the "right way" to handle the captaincy. Hell, open it up to the players and have them vote. Top vote-getter wears the "C," second and third wear "A"s. It is very rare that something like letters on a jersey is an issue for as long as it's been here in Carolina. They had a chance to put it all to rest and they didn't do it.

And again, this has nothing to do with who they chose and who they didn't choose. They could have gone with Ryan as the "C" and Aho/Kruger as "A"s and I'd have been happy that it was over. The way they did things just seems very "old Canes" and I'm surprised Francis would allow that to happen.

I'd just like to point out that the "old Canes" way would be to let the old guy have the C until he's literally the worst +/- player in the league and everyone prays for his retirement, and then give it to the guy who makes the most money on the team and let him sulkypout his leadership style all the way into being literally invited not to return to the team.

So yeah, you may not like this decision because it feels too "Old Canes", but uh, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

(Really, though, I think you're just mad because you expected them to name a single captain and they trolled you. Good for them I says.)

 

[A Star is Burns]

Man, this thread was a hot mess. Fun to read through though.

Had fun at the game. They definitely have some things to clean up, but a good start nonetheless.

 

[Stickpucker]

That second to last faceoff in regulation was to Darling's right and Ryan was the only center with a RHS. I presume that's why he was out there.

I don't have an issue with Peters there. Ryan has been very good at the dots thus far in his NHL career. It just didn't work out in that instance.

Isn't Lindy a RHS? Why not put TT - Staal - Lindy out and have Lindy take the draw?

 

[HisIceness]

Man, this thread was a hot mess. Fun to read through though.

Had fun at the game. They definitely have some things to clean up, but a good start nonetheless.

Can never go wrong with winning on opening night. I'm of the opinion that last years disaster at Winnipeg got into their heads and they never fully took off until it was late into the season. Hopefully this gets them off on the right foot.

 

[Roboturner913]

Hell, open it up to the players and have them vote.

But how do we know that's not exactly what happened? Maybe they did vote and it was a tie or virtual tie between Staal and Faulk, and being both worthy choices he decided to honor that in his decision.

Ok, that's probably not exactly what happened - but my point is, I doubt Peters made this decision without checking the temperature of the room. It's entirely possible that he chose the co-captain situation not because there was nobody suitable to be the full-time captain, but because both players were worthy and capable.

I don't get the sense that, with this team, right now, the captain's position is terribly important in terms of the locker room - if not for having to service on-ice situations, I'm guessing they would've just gone with the all "A's" situation again.

 

[Roboturner913]

Isn't Lindy a RHS? Why not put TT - Staal - Lindy out and have Lindy take the draw?

Just re-watched the end - Aho/Staal/Lindy was on the ice for the shift prior to that, so fresh legs and all that. Even bearing that in mind, Ryan wasn't a bad choice - he is a pretty good faceoff guy and it's not like he lost it clean - looked like it got hung up in his skates and he tried to sit on it but somebody poked it out at the last second.

But, even with all that, had the refs decided to honor the apparent timeout attempt from the bench, or called either one of the two shoulda-been penalties on the last-second play, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

At the end of the day, we got the 2 points, and the loser point went to a western conference team, and we got to see Slavin score a dope-ass shootout goal, so in the end, who cares.

 

[RodTheBawd]

Regarding the captaincy, I honestly don't think it's a factor in how the team will play this season. Guys are either leaders or they're not. Having a letter or not having a letter doesn't change anything.

My only thought is that the Canes are obviously trying to be smarter under Francis and Peters. They're making smarter personnel decisions. They're being patient. They're doing things the "right way." The way the captaincy has been handled stands in stark contrast with how they've handled just about everything else in the Francis/Peters era. It's amateurish and indecisive. It's very out of character, extends this issue instead of ending it, and in my opinion, it opens them up to unnecessary criticism.

It's not the "right way" to handle the captaincy. Hell, open it up to the players and have them vote. Top vote-getter wears the "C," second and third wear "A"s. It is very rare that something like letters on a jersey is an issue for as long as it's been here in Carolina. They had a chance to put it all to rest and they didn't do it.

And again, this has nothing to do with who they chose and who they didn't choose. They could have gone with Ryan as the "C" and Aho/Kruger as "A"s and I'd have been happy that it was over. The way they did things just seems very "old Canes" and I'm surprised Francis would allow that to happen.

Or, maybe the guys that have been doing virtually everything the "right way" know more about how the captaincy should have been handled than a couple of beat reporters and hfboard armchair coaches?

 

[Vagrant]

I have to admit I was expecting a more healthy dose of the 4th line. It was odd that Lindholm had like 25 minutes of icetime even though he was playing really well. Peters did some funky things with lines in the first game. It served as a reminder that all the hand wringing we do in the offseason about line combinations and pairings goes totally out the window when the games start to count.

Pesce looked *rough* without Slavin. I think that's going to be a situation where those two really need to stay together even if it makes more sense to disperse the talent more evenly. Pesce just doesn't play as well away from him. Faulk and Hanifin will have to develop the chemistry required. TVR was quiet and that's what we need. Fleury had some rough moments but for his NHL debut you can't really expect quiet sturdy minutes right out of the gate.

I echo the sentiments regarding Jordan. He's never really felt like a Hurricane, has he? When you think about certain players and you imagine them in your mind as wearing certain sweaters, Jordan is still a Penguin to me. He's never really embraced this community. It is what it is though. I don't think a guy like Justin Williams will be any more or less leadershipy in deference. Faulk was a weird choice as well... it feels like maybe they're trying to force maturity upon him. Jordan continues to be steady eddie, but you can't help but feel like there was more juice if he had the disposition to play as nasty as he is physically gifted. If he had Eric's gumption he'd be so much better. I suppose it's just time to appreciate him for what he is instead of what he's not. We could do worse.

Skinner played....bad. He was doing too much solo work even by his standards. Trying to bull rush through the defense at odd times. Not letting the game come to him at all. The fact that we scored 4 goals and won in the shootout getting exactly nothing from him is a pretty encouraging sign for our team.

Kuokkanen looked decent to me. Didn't seem overwhelmed and wasn't afraid to go into the corners against bigger players. That's one of the good things about these young Euro players. They're so used to playing against older and stronger players that it's not as much of a big deal as it is for kids from the CHL route. It seems like Peters wasn't overwhelmed though. Kuokkanen was doing the Samsonov/Pitkanen thing where he'd enter the zone with a lot of speed and just circle the wagons and end up back at the attacking blueline without having really accomplished a lot. He made some really nifty plays in tight spots that reminded me of the type of plays that Aho makes. Subtle. His skating is really fantastic. It might be a situation where Peters plans to pull him and get a look at Necas in a similar capacity next game.

Oh. The 5 on 3 was just painful to watch. I don't know how I feel about Teuvo on the point in that situation. Slavin and Faulk would probably make more sense. The comfort level wasn't there. They all didn't know who was supposed to shoot it seemed. No bodies in front of the net. None of that anaconda-like build up where the passes get shorter and closer together as the killers get more exhausted and unable to challenge the point. It was an opportunity that could have cost us the game. Especially when Eric scored in the immediate aftermath.

Darling was .....interesting. The shootout was electric. The second stop he made with his glove flush on top of his pads was just textbook fundamentals. The broadcast alluded to how quiet he is in net for a big guy and that's true. He likes to let the puck hit him, so our defense will have to be cognizant of the fact that rebounds are going to be a thing. There were times where a little more battle would have been nice to see. Especially the "goal" at the end of regulation. I think if he makes more effort to find the net we probably get the interference call. He was just so far out of the play there was no real chance he was going to be able to get there. I think there was discretion used there that perhaps shouldn't have been, but there needs to be more urgency in that scramble. It's too early to come to any meaningful conclusions obviously, but it's a situation to keep an eye on. It's also worth remembering the Wild aren't a basement dweller and having a game under their belt to settle into the season was a big time advantage. The start was just pure nervous energy. The team feels the weight of the expectations and that's a good thing.

 

[Breakdowns]

I have to admit I was expecting a more healthy dose of the 4th line. It was odd that Lindholm had like 25 minutes of icetime even though he was playing really well. Peters did some funky things with lines in the first game. It served as a reminder that all the hand wringing we do in the offseason about line combinations and pairings goes totally out the window when the games start to count.

Pesce looked *rough* without Slavin. I think that's going to be a situation where those two really need to stay together even if it makes more sense to disperse the talent more evenly. Pesce just doesn't play as well away from him. Faulk and Hanifin will have to develop the chemistry required. TVR was quiet and that's what we need. Fleury had some rough moments but for his NHL debut you can't really expect quiet sturdy minutes right out of the gate.

I echo the sentiments regarding Jordan. He's never really felt like a Hurricane, has he? When you think about certain players and you imagine them in your mind as wearing certain sweaters, Jordan is still a Penguin to me. He's never really embraced this community. It is what it is though. I don't think a guy like Justin Williams will be any more or less leadershipy in deference. Faulk was a weird choice as well... it feels like maybe they're trying to force maturity upon him. Jordan continues to be steady eddie, but you can't help but feel like there was more juice if he had the disposition to play as nasty as he is physically gifted. If he had Eric's gumption he'd be so much better. I suppose it's just time to appreciate him for what he is instead of what he's not. We could do worse.

Skinner played....bad. He was doing too much solo work even by his standards. Trying to bull rush through the defense at odd times. Not letting the game come to him at all. The fact that we scored 4 goals and won in the shootout getting exactly nothing from him is a pretty encouraging sign for our team.

Kuokkanen looked decent to me. Didn't seem overwhelmed and wasn't afraid to go into the corners against bigger players. That's one of the good things about these young Euro players. They're so used to playing against older and stronger players that it's not as much of a big deal as it is for kids from the CHL route. It seems like Peters wasn't overwhelmed though. Kuokkanen was doing the Samsonov/Pitkanen thing where he'd enter the zone with a lot of speed and just circle the wagons and end up back at the attacking blueline without having really accomplished a lot. He made some really nifty plays in tight spots that reminded me of the type of plays that Aho makes. Subtle. His skating is really fantastic. It might be a situation where Peters plans to pull him and get a look at Necas in a similar capacity next game.

Oh. The 5 on 3 was just painful to watch. I don't know how I feel about Teuvo on the point in that situation. Slavin and Faulk would probably make more sense. The comfort level wasn't there. They all didn't know who was supposed to shoot it seemed. No bodies in front of the net. None of that anaconda-like build up where the passes get shorter and closer together as the killers get more exhausted and unable to challenge the point. It was an opportunity that could have cost us the game. Especially when Eric scored in the immediate aftermath.

Darling was .....interesting. The shootout was electric. The second stop he made with his glove flush on top of his pads was just textbook fundamentals. The broadcast alluded to how quiet he is in net for a big guy and that's true. He likes to let the puck hit him, so our defense will have to be cognizant of the fact that rebounds are going to be a thing. There were times where a little more battle would have been nice to see. Especially the "goal" at the end of regulation. I think if he makes more effort to find the net we probably get the interference call. He was just so far out of the play there was no real chance he was going to be able to get there. I think there was discretion used there that perhaps shouldn't have been, but there needs to be more urgency in that scramble. It's too early to come to any meaningful conclusions obviously, but it's a situation to keep an eye on. It's also worth remembering the Wild aren't a basement dweller and having a game under their belt to settle into the season was a big time advantage. The start was just pure nervous energy. The team feels the weight of the expectations and that's a good thing.

I agree with pretty much everything you said, just, I think this was bad game for Peesh, and he can play without Slavin. In the end of last season he looked solid with Hanifin. IMO just a bad game, and if we choose to split those two, there will not be many problems in the long run. But Peesh - Slavin shutdown pairing is very nice indeed. One of the top in the league.