Fair enough. I just have listened to most of Dundon's interviews and listened to most/all of Waddell's interviews as well as all the local media reports, etc.. There's a LOT more information in there than the little snippets McKenzie, Friedman and others blurt out and people overreact to. Your statement was that because he's a meddling owner and because he's already said "everyone but Aho is available for the right price", that it "prompts you to believe that name-type players moreso than building for the long term." That's the premise I am disagreeing with. I realize there are other factors you listed as well.
The other factors make a difference. Again, you're choosing to cherry pick the part about Dundon, but never did I state that Dundon alone was the deciding factor. I brought up several factors when taken as a whole, paint a picture. Of course, I didn't have the benefit of listening to all of Dundon's speeches and I defer to you on that. However, no matter what Dundon says, there are factors when taken together, open the door to certain interpretations -- whether they are founded or not remains to be seen.
Dundon specifically said in his end of season press conference that he wants to build a team that is competitive year in and year out, not make the playoffs 1 year. He said he's not going to dip into the high priced UFA market until he gets a team that shows it's competitive. There are more comments by Waddell as well.
These comments are reasonable and create confidence for a fan base. Nothing out of the ordinary there.
I agree he wants to be aggressive in turning this around, but I disagree that means it's trading young, promising guys for "name guys" that are older to do it for a short term gain, because that's opposite of what he and Waddell have stated. I'm not suggesting it can't happen, just that's not what they've been saying.
"Name guys" don't necessarily mean short term fixes. When a new owner wishes to make a statement in a market, it's not improbable for him to be looking to adding players that have name recognition. They don't need to be 33 years old either.
Yes, it's from Rumor board mainly, and other boards. I wasn't implying it was here on this board, but it's pretty rampant in many of the Hurricanes threads. Sorry if it came across that I was saying it was here on this board.
Thanks for that. The Rumor Forum in particular, is a thankless place. Why am I not surprised.
Friedman made a pretty good assessment of it IMO. Here's what he said a couple of days ago in this article.
Friedman | Hurricanes may be willing to retain salary in trades Waddell has basically said the same thing a couple of different times.
“But look, I just think it’s Carolina’s way of telling people they’re open for business. I do think Skinner is going to get dealt. I think there’s a lot of interest in him. I’ve also heard that Carolina is willing to keep money on him if it’s going to make the deal even better. So I do think that there’s a lot of interest in Skinner.
The above begs the question -- how much latitude does Waddell really have? How much reliance will be placed on Dudley? How involved will Dundon be in the decision-making process and who will he be relying upon? The whole dynamic is what intrigues me as it's going to determine where the Canes are most likely to lean. Within the same ambit, would they be willing to deal or flip their 2nd OA for the right offer or is that completely off the table?
The one that’s interesting for me is Hanifin. I reported during the year that they were listening on him and obviously nothing happened. He’s an interesting one for me because I do think there would be a lot of interest. I think the price would be very high.
“People take that to mean that all of these guys are getting traded. You simply don’t trade all of those guys. But I think it’s Carolina’s way of saying, ‘Give us a call, we want to hear what you’ve got to say.’
This is what "open for business" means to me. Just cause a team announces that everyone but player X is available, doesn't mean it's a firesale. Far too often, on some HF Forums, you're going to get scavenger-type replies which involve nothing but low-ball offers, including a condescending comment thrown in for good measure. Hanifin is a commodity that is going to receive a lot of interest -- I'm hoping our putzes are looking to make an offer that can get it done. What do you believe the asking might be on him?
