I agree with the people who find it puzzling that Bean and Gauthier haven't gotten more of a chance to impact games this season. for me, it's part of a larger concern about the trimmed-fat roster with 1-2 open spots literally every game, and this season's attempts to squeeze out every nickel of cap space.
now in general, I am all for taking sometimes ridiculous steps to maximize cap space so you can squeeze in another contract at the trade deadline or whatever. and I broadly agree that Brind'Amour should have the ability to construct his roster how he sees fit, particularly given his role with the organization. and yeah, having players draw an NHL salary in Raleigh just so they can suit up once every other week and otherwise put their feet up in the press box doesn't sound like the most productive approach to roster space, particularly when you don't really have the requisite veterans who can perform under those conditions, and instead have your reserves populated by up and coming prospects who benefit most from regular playing time.
that being said, I think it's more than fair to account for all of that, but you also have to take note of the nature in which the Canes have lost on numerous occasions this season. the games where it just seems like the team doesn't have the legs or the juice to execute the gameplan as its designed. if you don't have that extra energy to forecheck like a demon, or leap into the "dirty areas" to scoop out a loose puck and maintain possession, or reach your mark in the defensive zone, then it feels like the whole idea of what it means to play like a Hurricane begins to wither pretty quickly, and games get out of hand. what happens on nights the Canes play like this is pretty consistent, really. can't get the puck out of their own zone. numerous overly-ambitious stretch passes, passes intercepted in the defensive zone. icing after icing after icing. stick penalties out the wazoo. I'm just speaking anecdotally, but it feels like this has happened the most frequently since around Christmas.
it just seems to me that if you are going to ask of the players night after night what Rod Brind'Amour asks of them in terms of energy, commitment, and grinding, and to point to that as a core of your team identity, then you had better be prepared to shuffle players in and out so that you can maximize your chances of getting that effort night after night. and it's weird that it hasn't happened specifically with two prospects who might be considered closest to becoming regular contributors at the NHL level in Bean and Gauthier.
the Marlies/Checkers game I saw a couple weeks ago was eye opening to me for Gauthier in particular. it was soooo obvious that Gauthier was ready to matriculate. he was a physical presence the entire game. the Marlies spent lots of attention trying to rattle him, remove him from the play, goad him into taking a penalty, make the Checkers succeed without him, the whole bit. I'm thinking his name was circled on the whiteboard in the locker room before the game. and yet he absorbed all their attention and still got to his game. and then he got the puck on his stick on the penalty kill and outraced two Marlies down the ice to score a beautiful shorthanded goal. if that's not the performance of a Rod Brind'Amour player then I don't know what is.
in my less charitable moments, I look at the return for the Marleau deal, and the approach to inactive roster spots, and the juggling of Fleury last season, and wonder if the past two seasons aren't one last sandbag before making a true run in the classic "competitive window" sense. otherwise what is it, some sort of ascetic approach to building a winner? hard to get my head around that.
