Speculation: What will Canes do at deadline?

[AD Skinner]

I think people are giving out several options: Mrazek, Stewart, Hoffman, Hartman all would have been something. Whether they would have actually worked at making the team better is debatable but it would have been something other than sitting around with a thumb in his butt.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I would have liked Stempniak and Ryan traded for something, but why would a team trade for Stempniak when no one wanted Stewart?

But someone did want Stewart, hence his being claimed.

 

[RodTheBawd]

So the narrative is "do something for the sake of doing something"? While RF has his faults, I'm glad that is not one of them.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

But someone did want Stewart, hence his being claimed.

True. Someone wanted him "for free", which wasn't the case with Ryan or Stempniak (although man would be ok with losing them for free).

 

[TheBigKahuna]

So the narrative is "do something for the sake of doing something"? While RF has his faults, I'm glad that is not one of them.

But that's exactly what he did. One stupid useless traded so he could say he did something. No one expected them to completely mortgage the future on a rental. This team isn't going to the playoffs. But he could have tried to accumulate some drafts picks or prospects. Although the likelihood that any GM looked at our roster and saw something of value is unlikely. But as usual, Francis sat on his ass and did nothing to improve today, or next season or beyond. The team again won't make the playoffs . He has had months to make adjustments, callups, trades, etc and has yet again chose to do not one damned thing of signifigance. You can trade or adjust all season. So can the talk of "just wanting him to do something for nothing" talk. We want him to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, to prove that he has one clue how to manage an NHL team. So far he's failed miserably.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Stempniak and Ryan are two of the 5 adults with families on the team. Part of their lack of trade for the bag of pucks that they are worth may be related to keeping friends around for Jordan right now. Stempniak implied at least their families were somewhat close (similar aged kids, makes sense) and that his wife was in close contact with Jordan’s.

I’m not saying that is the case, but it’s certainly plausibile. And I definitely wouldn’t fault anyone if that was the case. Literally the only selling point of this team is that they will take care of you off the ice (if you’re a top player and not from Russia).

 

[Svechhammer]

So the narrative is "do something for the sake of doing something"? While RF has his faults, I'm glad that is not one of them.

Doing nothing for the sake of not doing something is a tried and true proven failed strategy here in Raleigh with this current squad.

This is what the "just stay the course" people don't get. Its not about making a smart hockey move to make the team better, its about sending a message to the players and fans that this kind of mediocrity is no longer acceptable. Make a move to actively try and improve this team. Do f-ing something to help this team out. As fans we are absolutely sick and tired of watching this team leech points away year after year with no moves done to help us out. This team was in a playoff spot a month ago. Our competition started making moves and got better (Philly went from being below us in the standings to acquiring a goalie and is now 1st in the Metro). We sat on our hands and now we're 5 points out of the last playoff spot.

Its the same story every year. When things start going south, management does nothing to help us steer into the slide and things eventually spiral out of control until its too late and the season is lost. 8 years of no playoffs and its about to be 9 and its going to reach 10 if this acceptance of mediocrity doesn't change. Its unfathomable to have a team that has been out of the playoffs for this long and not have an elite player through the draft. The fans who are still here deserve this team to make a deal that gets them the much needed franchise centerpiece for the next 10-15 years. Sitting on our ass wallowing at the playoff cut line year after year isn't going to accomplish that.

 

[geehaad]

But someone did want Stewart, hence his being claimed.

I'm assuming MIN attempted to trade Stewart before putting him on waivers.

 

[Unsustainable]

 

[CandyCanes]

It's actually kind of amazing how Ron Francis went a whole year with out making any trade of significance or making a waiver wire claim. If you exclude the Jooris move I really wonder when the the last team was to never make a trade or waiver claim during the season?

 

[tarheelhockey]

Yesterday was like having the puck 5 seconds left and trailing, and just stickhandling around until the clock expires.

Yes, you can say that there was a gameplan and none of the opportunities available would have conformed to that plan.

Yes, you can say there was a risk of a turnover if you had done something different.

Yes, you can say it’s only 1 game and The Big Picture is an 82 game season so just be patient.

But for all of that, the bottom line is you had a chance to make something happen. Why even show up to the rink if you don’t want that opportunity? Even if it’s not a great play, even if it fails, just put the goddamn puck on net and let the cards fall. Nobody on that bench is going to think worse of you for trying to seize that moment. And if someone in the stands wants to chirp your weak shot, let ‘em... better that than getting chirped for choking the game away.

The decision not to do that, the decision to just hold and hold and hold until the opportunity expires, is a sign of someone who doesn’t have the intensity or fortitude to have the puck that situation.

 

[bleedgreen]

I’m surprised people are so upset this deadline. We were never rumored to be doing anything, never made any signs of doing anything and there were articles saying we weren’t going to do anything. The prices were too high and no player out there really helped us long term. It made no sense to rent anyone, it hasn’t at any point during this rebuild and Francis has said we won’t do that. Doing nothing but hold the course is exactly the right play. I wanted Stewart but maybe it allows someone else a chance down the stretch, he’s not something to get upset over. Mrazek was never an option. We ARE better than we were last year, but we aren’t over the hump yet which is exactly where most of us thought we were going in this season.

If he gave up any future more than a 5th doing pick for something that isn’t part of the picture for a few years I would’ve been way more pissed.

 

[Canes]

I'm surprised there are still people making excuses for Ron Francis in some sort of capacity.

We could miss the playoffs for another 8 years and I'm sure there would still be people making excuses for him. I know, I know, some are just playing "devil's advocate" and being "nuanced" but it just comes off as an excuse given what the fans of this franchise have been through. It's like some sort of weird version of Stockholm syndrome.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I’m surprised people are so upset this deadline. We were never rumored to be doing anything, never made any signs of doing anything and there were articles saying we weren’t going to do anything. The prices were too high and no player out there really helped us long term. It made no sense to rent anyone, it hasn’t at any point during this rebuild and Francis has said we won’t do that. Doing nothing but hold the course is exactly the right play. I wanted Stewart but maybe it allows someone else a chance down the stretch, he’s not something to get upset over. Mrazek was never an option. We ARE better than we were last year, but we aren’t over the hump yet which is exactly where most of us thought we were going in this season.

If he gave up any future more than a 5th doing pick for something that isn’t part of the picture for a few years I would’ve been way more pissed.

I think most of us expected the team to be on the bubble.

I don't think most of us expected to be 3 points out and surrender the season in the manner that we just did.

If Francis had held the course because he genuinely thought the current group was good enough to make it on their own, that would be one thing. But that press conference made it perfectly obvious that he just threw in the towel for the season.

It's the lack of fight that pisses people off. It's the fact that this fanbase has been through almost a full decade without even a sniff of the playoffs, countless disappointments and heartbreaks, STM leaving like rats from a ship, relocation looming on the horizon, and we FINALLY get to the point of having something to rally around and it turns out Ron Francis values 3rd and 4th round picks more than that.

It's just a huge ****ing disappointment. I'm disappointed in him as a person that he doesn't have more compete than that. He's a good man and a smart man, but it's evident that he doesn't have the brass balls to play this kind of game to completion.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Yesterday was like having the puck 5 seconds left and trailing, and just stickhandling around until the clock expires.

Yes, you can say that there was a gameplan and none of the opportunities available would have conformed to that plan.

Yes, you can say there was a risk of a turnover if you had done something different.

Yes, you can say it’s only 1 game and The Big Picture is an 82 game season so just be patient.

But for all of that, the bottom line is you had a chance to make something happen. Why even show up to the rink if you don’t want that opportunity? Even if it’s not a great play, even if it fails, just put the goddamn puck on net and let the cards fall. Nobody on that bench is going to think worse of you for trying to seize that moment. And if someone in the stands wants to chirp your weak shot, let ‘em... better that than getting chirped for choking the game away.

The decision not to do that, the decision to just hold and hold and hold until the opportunity expires, is a sign of someone who doesn’t have the intensity or fortitude to have the puck that situation.

I think the analogy falls apart because they were trailing by 2 with 5 seconds left because they had been trailing by 2 for the last 3 minutes and stickhandled around their own end for 2:55.

If you weren’t going to try to score for 2:55, what difference does it make if you take a 200 foot slapper with no time left?

 

[sheriff bart]

RF and JR traded the spare tires out of their trunks so RF could have a press conference

 

[GoldiFox]

I’m surprised people are so upset this deadline. We were never rumored to be doing anything, never made any signs of doing anything and there were articles saying we weren’t going to do anything. The prices were too high and no player out there really helped us long term. It made no sense to rent anyone, it hasn’t at any point during this rebuild and Francis has said we won’t do that. Doing nothing but hold the course is exactly the right play. I wanted Stewart but maybe it allows someone else a chance down the stretch, he’s not something to get upset over. Mrazek was never an option. We ARE better than we were last year, but we aren’t over the hump yet which is exactly where most of us thought we were going in this season.

If he gave up any future more than a 5th doing pick for something that isn’t part of the picture for a few years I would’ve been way more pissed.

Last year at game #63 the Canes were 26-26-10 (62 points)
This year at game #63 the Canes are 27-25-10 (64 points)

God willing, next year at game #63 they will be 28-24-10 (66 points). That only puts them 2 years out from catching the WC2 spot! Gotta get over that hump.

This isn't even considering that the Canes have lost less games to injury than any other team in the league this year.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Frustration for the season as a whole I get. Nothing at the deadline was practical. If you wanted Mark Letestu for a 3rd round pick so they could wind up with 86 points instead of 85 I don’t know what to tell you.

Edit: And if Francis did that the fans would be screaming about how f***ing stupid it was because this team is dead and buried.

 

[CandyCanes]

I can't believe I'm gonna say this, we could probably really use JR right about now. Francis has done a great job piling up a ton assets aka depth in the prospects systems. But for some reason he's holding onto those assets way too tightly, probably thinking a magical best deal ever is going to appear at his foot steps. I really feel he's afraid to take a risk on a trade.

I'd love to see what JR could do here now with all these assets available to him (Thanks to RF) and some actual cap flexibility with Dundon's spending availability, something he hardly ever got to experience with PK. One thing JR was pretty good at was making some trades (when he wasn't forced to the bargain bin). We would of just needed him to stay away from free agency and the draft process.

I'm actually surprised I'm souring on Francis as GM, as I thought it'd take longer to do this. He started off well by gutting the team and committing to the rebuild pretty well. But there's no rebuilding left and he's just sitting there with his hands in his pockets asking himself what's phase 2? If he doesn't get aggressive this offseason I'm gonna be calling for him to be let go unfortunately. I really hope he can find a way as I really want him to be a successful GM for our team.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I think the analogy falls apart because they were trailing by 2 with 5 seconds left because they had been trailing by 2 for the last 3 minutes and stickhandled around their own end for 2:55.

If you weren’t going to try to score for 2:55, what difference does it make if you take a 200 foot slapper with no time left?

How does being 1.5 games out of a playoff spot with 20 games left equate to being 2 goals down in a hockey game with 5 seconds left?

 

[The Jerk Store]

Bottom line is, nobody wanted to trade for what we were offering. You have to give to get.

 

[Joe McGrath]

How does being 1.5 games out of a playoff spot with 20 games left equate to being 2 goals down in a hockey
game with 5 seconds left?

Yeah your right my analogy isn’t good. Yours isn’t either though so we’re even. Yours basically says you might as well take a Slap Shot from behind your own net. That’s true, there’s no consequence to that. Trading picks for rentals has actual consequences.

 

[CandyCanes]

How does being 1.5 games out of a playoff spot with 20 games left equate to being 2 goals down in a hockey game with 5 seconds left?

Just an FYI CBUS won lost night so we're 5 pts out now

 

[tarheelhockey]

Yeah your right my analogy isn’t good. Yours isn’t either though so we’re even. Yours basically says you might as well take a Slap Shot from behind your own net. That’s true, there’s no consequence to that. Trading picks for rentals has actual consequences.

If you want to merge the analogies, this is like playing terribly but still being only 1 goal down in the waning moments of the game. And instead of going for a tie you don't feel like you deserve, you decide that you just haven't played well enough lately and toss the puck into the corner while time expires.

It's baffling. This is a competitive game, a competitive league. The whole point is to be in the playoffs. What the hell do we have to lose by at least making a short-term depth move to try and get over the hump? A 3rd round pick? Really? A 3rd round pick is more important to this organization than trying to get into the playoffs?

What is Francis even in the game for if he's not actively trying to win? We could literally have Don Waddell just sit around and sign contracts if that's all our GM is going to do.

Just an FYI CBUS won lost night so we're 5 pts out now

Great.

 

[Joe McGrath]

I think Francis saw what the team looked like without Jordan, realized he isn’t going on the road trip against 2 playoff teams and that they will be 7 points out by March 1 and no move he could’ve made would change that.

You can argue that’s not appropriate or you can’t have that mentality it whatever but it’s the truth.