Rumor: Carolina to Buy Out Scott Darling

[sheriff bart]

He played 8 games in Carolina this year that's not a season that's not even close.

His last real season was 17-18 which was admittedly ****

If he wasn't shit this year, he'd have played more than 8 games. He went to the AHL, and could not stop a beach ball there either.

After he signed the big deal, he got fat and happy. After he struggled...well...we all have our opinions on what occurred. No NHL GM is going to give him a sniff unles he can prove himself at a lower level. He fought his way back once. How many last chances does a guy get?

 

[garnetpalmetto]

My read on him, based on press coverage, is that he felt he had finally "made it" with the 4-year contract. He maybe relaxed a bit that summer, lost the battler's edge.

That was unfortunate, because he was going from a Cup-winning team in Chicago to a rebuilding team in Carolina. Not only did he lose his edge, but he went from a pretty ideal situation to one which was going to require some serious work (think Mrazek and McElhinney fighting for their careers this season).

I don't want to speculate and will couch this in euphemistic terms, but it seems pretty obvious that when he came out flat and the pressure started piling up on him, his off ice habits shifted from inadequate to counterproductive.

From what I can tell, he legitimately did prepare himself to compete this season. He lost 25 pounds in 4 months, which only happens with a pretty extreme amount of exercise and "diet" change. To some extent it was pure bad luck that he got hurt when he did, then McE came along and took his NHL job, and he never seemed quite right after that. Seems to me he might do well to take that buyout and get away from hockey for a while, start over with something else while he has a nest egg to take some risks.

No speculation needed, THH, as that's exactly what happened, per Darling's own words:

Asked to explain what happened, Darling described himself as exhaling after signing with Carolina instead of continuing along the same path that got him to being a multi-million-dollar player in the first place.

"It was like, 'OK, I'm here, it's all going to happen now,' " Darling said. "I didn't train hard last summer. I didn't do pretty much anything. I kind of just relished in getting the contract and getting what was supposed to be the starting job."

At the same time, I think part of the blame can be put on the state of the Canes in the late Karmanos era. If you recall, this was a team that didn't even have a dedicated team nutritionist/dietitian until after Dundon purchased the team in 2018. You'd think/hope a professional athlete would know that they just can't hit the drive-through after practice but that appeared to be Darling's practice which also led to him being out of shape going into his first season with the team.

 

[SEALBound]

If the Canes do buy out Darling, is there a potential deal to be made with the Penguins for Jarry? Carolina has 3 2nds this draft. Getting a quality young goalie to complement Mrazek or another starter they sign seems like a decent use of a 2nd.

Win win for both IMHO.

 

[Chrispy]

If the Canes do buy out Darling, is there a potential deal to be made with the Penguins for Jarry? Carolina has 3 2nds this draft. Getting a quality young goalie to complement Mrazek or another starter they sign seems like a decent use of a 2nd.

Win win for both IMHO.

Doubtful. I see one of 3 setups for 2019-20:
1) Mrazek/McElhinney
Nedeljkovic starting in Charlotte

2) Mrazek/Nedeljkovic
3) McElhinney/Nedeljkovic

No reason to use a pick on a young goalie given the year Ned had in Charlotte and the prospects behind him in the system.

 

[GoldiFox]

If the Canes do buy out Darling, is there a potential deal to be made with the Penguins for Jarry? Carolina has 3 2nds this draft. Getting a quality young goalie to complement Mrazek or another starter they sign seems like a decent use of a 2nd.

Win win for both IMHO.

Canes already have a better goalie prospect in Alex Nedeljkovic. No need for Jarry.

 

[DaveG]

Even if we can't keep Mac and the tandem next season is Mrazek/Ned, both Booth and Helvig have earned shots at the AHL spot. Can't imagine any need for Jarry.