What's wrong with this team

[CanesAvs16]

The problem is if J. is a 3c, then why did we trade a pretty darn good 3c plus extras for him.

I agree, and I believed it at the time that it was not a good trade. In hindsight based on the body of work (and not making the playoffs), we would have been better off with Sutter and all that went with him, and trying to sign J. as a free agent.

The only ???? is - Is E. improvement this year solely from Semin or does having his brother here have some motivational impact.

Yes I agree. I mean like it was pointed out he is only 24. But still, I have to wonder why, knowing his history of being a 3C, it was never tried? Maybe Jokinen would have worked better as the 2C. Or maybe nothing could help this team from spiraling into oblivion.

I'm not necessarily saying it was a bad trade (though at the time I was entirely pissed), whats done is done. I'm just thinking about working with what we have, and how this idea was never utilized.

 

[Clark Gillies]

Yes I agree. I mean like it was pointed out he is only 24. But still, I have to wonder why, knowing his history of being a 3C, it was never tried? Maybe Jokinen would have worked better as the 2C. Or maybe nothing could help this team from spiraling into oblivion.

I'm not necessarily saying it was a bad trade (though at the time I was entirely pissed), whats done is done. I'm just thinking about working with what we have, and how this idea was never utilized.

Possibly stubbornness? If they started playing J. as a 3c in more of a defensive shutdown role, then wouldn't it be admitting that they made a mistake trading Sutter who could already fill that role.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

JR letting go of Seidenberg was unpardonable. This is a guy who wasn't playing for the dollar...just a good work ethic.

D-berg has become extremely overrated. He wasn't that good for us, and IIRC, we let him go because he was asking for WAY more than what he was worth.

The pining over him is just the result of watching him having success with another team (next to Chara, no less) and assuming that same success would have happened here in Carolina. What's odd is Ian White did the same thing, but it's recognized that playing with Lidstrom helps.

The reality was: Seidenberg just finished a disastrous stretch of play in the playoffs (Getting beat by the back door play three times in a span of a couple games, showing either an inability or unwillingness to learn from past mistakes) and then proceeded to ask for much more money than he was worth in the offseason.

Obviously, if D-berg had suddenly turned his game around and started playing in Carolina like he is in Boston, letting him go was a mistake. But unless JR can see into the future (which, if he could, makes some of the moves he makes all the more baffling), letting Seidenberg walk was the right move at the time.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Worst special teams in the league and have been missing their franchise goalie for a month (and will be 2). Sure, there are other deficiencies but ****** goaltending has cost them at least 3 games and the PP has cost them even more.

 

[StormCast]

D-berg has become extremely overrated. He wasn't that good for us, and IIRC, we let him go because he was asking for WAY more than what he was worth.

The pining over him is just the result of watching him having success with another team (next to Chara, no less) and assuming that same success would have happened here in Carolina. What's odd is Ian White did the same thing, but it's recognized that playing with Lidstrom helps.

The reality was: Seidenberg just finished a disastrous stretch of play in the playoffs (Getting beat by the back door play three times in a span of a couple games, showing either an inability or unwillingness to learn from past mistakes) and then proceeded to ask for much more money than he was worth in the offseason.

Obviously, if D-berg had suddenly turned his game around and started playing in Carolina like he is in Boston, letting him go was a mistake. But unless JR can see into the future (which, if he could, makes some of the moves he makes all the more baffling), letting Seidenberg walk was the right move at the time.

Agree across the board. People need to remember too how many other mediocre Dmen thrived due to the Chara effect, e.g., Aaron Ward, etc. Seidenberg was and still is a complementary D. Ask him to play a more prominent and primary role, which he'd have to do here, and you'd see his ups and downs more readily.

 

[NorthStar4Canes]

I think the team is too young because it has the wrong type of youth, too mentally soft, and way too used to losing. Too many players get outskated, outhit, and manhandled in too many games. They lose momentum with the first hiccup and can't get it back because they don't have mental toughness, and instead start playing stupid and soft instead of just soft. This is the 3rd or season where they've given away a chance for the playoffs when players disappear during the push, incapable of elevating their game like those on winning teams do.

Make fun of gritty vets all you want, nobody needs them on a fantasy team or if you learn your hockey from an Xbox. But this ever-younger team has gone absolutely nowhere but worse since' 09, and 2/3 of it is a Diaper Brigade that can't even skate with most teams for a full 60 minutes let alone dominate them. Maybe thier wives having babies or getting new girlfriends is like injecting them with estrogen or something, or maybe they spend all day at the gym only to psyche themselves out on days they didn't get the correct amount of dietary fiber and it turns them into mental *******. Who knows? But this is a pattern that has developed, a pattern of a team that does have enough talent to at least make the playoffs, but can't find a way to win.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

If toughness is the issue, some Free Agents we should look at:

Matt Cooke
Andy Sutton
Andrew Ference (would be second on team in hits)
Raffi Torres

We could also do a trade. But there is no lack of supply in veteran players who can play a physical, over the top game that some here are demanding we add. Hell, we could trade Ruutu for Cole and sign Clowe (neither of which will ever happen), and add toughness and speed right there.