News Article: News and Notes XXVI: A Sisyphean Rask

[Finlandia WOAT]

Uncontextualized ice time and low point totals aren't the problem, it's that rod isn't using staal purely as a matchup center. 24 toi is fine if he's out there equalizing top comp and killing penalties (and fine, 2nd unit pp time). Put him with foegele and mcginn and say don't bother about scoring, get it deep, play keep away, make sure ovie/crosby/giroux/panarin don't kill us.

But he isn't consistent with who has the bad matchups, 75% dzone start, and who gets fed good matchups. Rod said in the summer that the success of 2006 was in part that everyone knew their role, well, staal is an amazing defensive 3rd line center who can neutralize top comp with ahl wingers, so why isn't he being used like it?

 

[zman77]

 

[The Faulker 27]

Why is he welcoming us to the grind. We were born in the grind, Chip.

 

[raynman]

Uncontextualized ice time and low point totals aren't the problem, it's that rod isn't using staal purely as a matchup center. 24 toi is fine if he's out there equalizing top comp and killing penalties (and fine, 2nd unit pp time). Put him with foegele and mcginn and say don't bother about scoring, get it deep, play keep away, make sure ovie/crosby/giroux/panarin don't kill us.

But he isn't consistent with who has the bad matchups, 75% dzone start, and who gets fed good matchups. Rod said in the summer that the success of 2006 was in part that everyone knew their role, well, staal is an amazing defensive 3rd line center who can neutralize top comp with ahl wingers, so why isn't he being used like it?

Rod thinks that Jordo is Brindy Jr

 

[AD Skinner]

He played like it for like a week at the start of the season then went back to being his usual aloof self

 

[bleedgreen]

So today marks my 15th anniversary of posting here. I just got my “lifer” award.

I don’t get more than that for 15 years of being in THIS teams board?!?

That shit should be rewarded with some cash money.

 

[Bub]

So today marks my 15th anniversary of posting here. I just got my “lifer” award.

I don’t get more than that for 15 years of being in THIS teams board?!?

That **** should be rewarded with some cash money.

 

[The Faulker 27]

So today marks my 15th anniversary of posting here. I just got my “lifer” award.

I don’t get more than that for 15 years of being in THIS teams board?!?

That **** should be rewarded with some cash money.

Thank you for your service.

 

[MinJaBen]

So today marks my 15th anniversary of posting here. I just got my “lifer” award.

Sucker. That’s not an award. It’s a sentence.

 

[bleedgreen]

Sucker. That’s not an award. It’s a sentence.

And I’ve paid my debt to society.

Set me free.

 

[SlavinAway]

Dom Luszczyszyn's new monthly projections are out. I'm not exactly sure how The Athletic's model works but they still have us at a 70% chance of making the playoffs with 94.8 points even though most of our players are trending negative since November with the exception of Slavin, Faulk, Svech, Ferland, De Haan, Martinook, and Wallmark who he had listed as an honorable mention for hottest players over the last month.

"Lucas Wallmark
A bit of an afterthought before the season and to start it, Wallmark has really come in to his own of late. He’s getting over 15 minutes per night, had nine assists in 13 games in November and was Carolina’s top possession player at 60.4 percent."

NHL Trends: The downfall of Chicago, Alex DeBrincat's...
Appendix: How each NHL team has changed since November

 

[CandyCanes]

Looks like we’re getting ourselves an outdoor hockey game boys n girls. Look forward to tailgating for this one.

Canes working on plan to bring outdoor hockey game to Carter-Finley :: WRALSportsFan.com

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Has to be against Nashville, right?

 

[RodTheBawd]

Spin up the choppers, boys!

 

[TheBigKahuna]

Has to be against Nashville, right?

Tampa or Dallas, just to piss Canadians off.

 

[Svechhammer]

Tampa or Dallas, just to piss Canadians off.

Honestly, I hope its against a team that doesn't historically bring a large contingent here. If he's doing this for the local fans, then go out of your way to make sure it isn't overrun by the visiting fanbase.

So give me Canes vs Vegas or something. I have no desire for Canes vs Caps or Canes vs Pens where half the stadium is overrun by visitors.

 

[zman77]

 

[Tryamw]

Can I report Chip Alexander? For providing redundant information to anybody that gives a damn?

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Honestly, I hope its against a team that doesn't historically bring a large contingent here. If he's doing this for the local fans, then go out of your way to make sure it isn't overrun by the visiting fanbase.

So give me Canes vs Vegas or something. I have no desire for Canes vs Caps or Canes vs Pens where half the stadium is overrun by visitors.

Then Dundon had better plan on icing a team that can sell out some games, and soon. Because it makes no sense to hold an event of this magnitude that runs the risk of *not* selling out -- and if that means it's 75% Rangers or Caps or Pens fans, that's way better than seeing empty seats.

 

[zman77]

Hurricanes Scoring Future:

In terms of trying to find more scoring from the players already at the NHL level, Andrei Svechnikov jumps out. He is still incredibly young, but Svechnikov comes with draft pedigree and expectations that he will one day be a goal scorer at the NHL level. And in recent games, he seems to be knocking on the door every game. At least while Micheal Ferland is out of the lineup, why not give Svechnikov ice time with Aho and/or Teravainen? There are any number of lineup possibilities if Brind’Amour wants to tinker, but simply putting Svechnikov in a position to score more jumps out to me as the most obvious thing to try.
Currently with the Charlotte Checkers

Janne Kuokkanen

I had Kuokkanen as making the NHL squad even if the team would have been overstocked at the time. Kuokkanen is averaging a point per game in the AHL. In addition, he brings a mature game defensively. I would not classify Kuokkanen as a likely high-end scorer. But Kuokkanen could still be an upgrade scoring-wise.
Aleksi Saarela

Saarela is and interesting consideration. To be honest, I was not overly impressed with Saarela’s play in prospect camp and later the Traverse City. But the one thing that Saarela has going for himself is the fact that he is a natural goal scorer. Right now, the ability to put the puck in the net is overwhelmingly the team’s biggest need. Saarela has a bias toward shooting the puck, and his shot is a very good one. No doubt, I question whether he will do enough in between shooting opportunities, but with the Hurricanes struggling mightily to score, perhaps having a forward quietly wandering the offensive zone looking for places to shoot from is exactly what the doctor ordered.
Martin Necas

His 2018-19 audition was not a great one. In addition, Necas took some time to get his feet under him at the AHL level. More recently he caught a scoring spark after being moved to wing. I am of the opinion that Necas belongs at the center position. But just maybe he is ready to relaunch the NHL as a wing at least short-term. The skating and the skill are there. Could Martin Necas arrive sooner than expected and hit the ground running offensively?
Carolina Hurricanes options for seeking scoring help from within | Canes & Coffee

 

[Svechhammer]

Then Dundon had better plan on icing a team that can sell out some games, and soon. Because it makes no sense to hold an event of this magnitude that runs the risk of *not* selling out -- and if that means it's 75% Rangers or Caps or Pens fans, that's way better than seeing empty seats.

oooh so edgy

If they market it right, people will go for the spectacle alone, regardless of the team being iced. If anything, make the game itself secondary to everything else that is going on, and it'll be a huge hit. We won't need to whore ourselves to a big market to sell out.

 

[Lempo]

Helsinki Jokerit apparently is preparing to hijack Saku Maenalanen. They just acquired his KHL rights from Sibir Novosibirsk, sending the rights to Jens Looke to Sibir's way in exchange.

Finnmedia reports that Jokerit are speculated to strengthen their roster already in this season with Maenalanen, but Maenalanen obviously is under an ELC with Carolina and doesn't have the European Assignment clause to pull a Vesalainen. (Looke is signed to Arizona even for the next season and plays in Roadrunners, no EA clause)

 

[Navin R Slavin]

oooh so edgy

If they market it right, people will go for the spectacle alone, regardless of the team being iced. If anything, make the game itself secondary to everything else that is going on, and it'll be a huge hit. We won't need to ****e ourselves to a big market to sell out.

Not meaning to be edgy. Serious. This team has been invaded by fans from other markets for years and years, because (a) we can't sell out the place, (b) it's a transplant market, (c) it's sometimes cheaper/easier for fans from other markets to come see games here than elsewhere.

Dundon is a businessman. He's going to make the decision that makes the most business sense. If that means the crowd is half full or more with the other team's fans -- remember, it's an event for them too, especially if they haven't had an outdoor game of their own -- then so be it.

My money is on Nashville, probably, since they're probably the best of the teams that hasn't had an outdoor game yet.

 

[Lempo]

oooh so edgy

If they market it right, people will go for the spectacle alone, regardless of the team being iced. If anything, make the game itself secondary to everything else that is going on, and it'll be a huge hit. We won't need to ****e ourselves to a big market to sell out.

You oxy moron.

 

[Svechhammer]

Not meaning to be edgy. Serious. This team has been invaded by fans from other markets for years and years, because (a) we can't sell out the place, (b) it's a transplant market, (c) it's sometimes cheaper/easier for fans from other markets to come see games here than elsewhere.

Dundon is a businessman. He's going to make the decision that makes the most business sense. If that means the crowd is half full or more with the other team's fans -- remember, it's an event for them too, especially if they haven't had an outdoor game of their own -- then so be it.

My money is on Nashville, probably, since they're probably the best of the teams that hasn't had an outdoor game yet.

Dundon is a businessman, but he's also smart. He's not out for the quick buck. If he was, he wouldn't have been literally giving tickets away last year, actively devaluing the STM package. He wouldn't have made it a top priority to overhaul the team facilities and announced plans (still unrealized due to engineering issues) to replace the jumbotron with a massive video screen. He's investing heavily in the fan experience for Canes fans knowing that money spent (or sacrificed) now for the direct benefit of local Canes fans will pay off 10-fold down the line.

Angling this outdoor game to be against a big market team for a one time guaranteed sellout cash grab is pretty much counter to everything that Dundon has done so far when it comes to his direct relationship with fans.