This is the final segment of our end of year “Back For More” feature. We have already analyzed the defense and goaltending, next we will take a look at the forward position.

The Carolina Hurricanes are in the enviable position of having 10 or 11 forwards (either signed or RFA status), with top nine skill. The problem is, there are only so many spots and minutes to go around. One or two of these forwards will have to be traded, probably for some help on the blueline. The magic question is, who stays and who goes?

I won’t pretend to have all the definitive answers here, but I certainly have some theories that I will share. There are many factors that will determine who gets traded, including salary, value of a player to another team, age, injury history, and contract status. Each player brings something different and has his own strengths and weaknesses.

Let’s take a look at what each forward brings to the table and put the Canes Country odds on whether or not that player will return next year. We’ll start with the highest salary and move down.

1. Eric Staal …… What does anyone need to say about Staal? He led the team in scoring with 38 goals and 44 assists. He has not missed a game in over 3 seasons. He stepped up his leadership this past year when it was needed the most. He is a genuine star in the NHL, solidifying his status by winning the NHL All-Star Game MVP honors. Staal is signed for one more year and will make a team high 5 million this coming season. Bottom line, Eric is the franchise and isn’t going anywhere. Chances of him returning are 100%.
2. Erik Cole …… As everyone knows, Cole has had his problems with injuries, but he can also be one of the most dynamic, offensive players in the league. He has one more year left on his contract which will pay him 4 million next season. This past season was the worst of his last 3 as the skater had only 22 goals and a total of 51 points in 73 games played. Erik can bring a physical edge to his game which is a huge asset as well. His rare offensive abilities have made him the subject of several trade rumors for years now, and this summer will be no different. I believe that Cole’s contract is a bit high for Carolina’s liking, and he most likely will be on the list of players to offer as trade bait. There are a couple of intangibles to be aware of though concerning Erik. First of all, since this is the last year of his current contract, he probably will be stepping up his production bigtime in order to maximize his value for upcoming contract negotiations in the coming year. Good players have a knack of doing that. It would be a shame to trade him right before he has a career year. Also, he has been room-mates on road trips with Eric Staal since Staal’s first year in the league, and breaking those two friends up might be tough. Regardless, someone has to go and it could very well be Cole. I think that the odds of him returning are 50%.
3. Rod Brind’Amour …. The Captain’s season ended early because of a serious knee injury which required major surgery. He still ended up tied for 3rd on the team in scoring with 19 goals and 51 points in just 59 games played. Brind’Amour will be entering the 3rd year of a 5 year deal which will pay him 4 million this coming season. I believe that the only way Rod would be traded is if he asked to go somewhere, (maybe Philadelphia or Vancouver?) but I don’t see that happening. Odds of him returning are at 95%.
4. Ray Whitney …. Whitney finished 2nd on the team in scoring with 25 goals and had a total of 61 points in 66 games played, but “The Wizard” ended the season on a sour note as he was recovering from some type of freakish ankle injury at the most crucial point in the season. The forward will enter the 2nd year of a 3 year contract which is paying him 3.55 million each year. It’s been rumored that he has a no-trade clause with this deal, but that is unconfirmed. Ray’s obvious strength is his scoring ability, but he is not a physical presence and is not known as a great defensive specialist either. He could be on the trading block, but I’m not sure if his value would be as high as Cole, who is more explosive and has more of a complete game. Still, I would not rule out the possibility of Rutherford testing the market with the highly skilled, veteran forward. I think the odds of Whitney returning are 80%.
5. Justin Williams …. Amazingly, Justin Williams also suffered a season ending knee injury. He only had the opportunity to play in 37 games and was able to score 9 goals and 30 points before his injury. Williams is in the 3rd year of a 5 year contract which pays him 3.5 million per year. At one time, that seemed like a bargain and Justin appeared to be in a similar situation as Eric Staal, “untouchable”, but now he could very well be on the list of players to be traded if the right deal came up. The odds of Williams returning are 75%.
6. Matt Cullen …. Cullen was having a career year before getting concussed by New York Ranger, Colton Orr near Christmas time. The good news is that he had recovered and was contributing again to the Canes success after the All Star break, but he suffered another set back in a game against Chicago and for all intents and purposes was done for the season after that. He still managed to tie his previous career high with 49 points, and did it in only 59 games played. Matt is in the 3rd year of a 4 year deal which will pay him 2.8 million this year. The center is extremely valuable to the Canes on the powerplay and he will most likely be kept if at all possible. Chances of him returning are at 95%.
7. Scott Walker …. Walker is yet another forward who missed ample time because of injuries. His stats are down from previous years because of that, but he still was one of the more consistent performers in the last part of the year and was the glue that held the Ryan Bayda/Keith Aucoin line together. In 58 games played, Walker had 14 goals and 32 points. He will be starting the 2nd year of a 3 year deal that pays him 2.5 million per year. Even though he is not a big-time scorer, Scott is a valuable physical presence and I doubt the Canes will try to move him. But it is possible, so I will place the odds of him returning at 80%.
8. Sergei Samsonov …. The super skilled Russian skater was recently signed by Hurricanes management to a brand new 3 year deal. It’s been well-documented about how Samsonov had poor stats at Chicago and Montreal in recent years, but he certainly made the most of his opportunity this past partial season with the Canes and scored 14 goals and 32 points in just 38 games with Carolina. He will make 2.3 million next year and I don’t think that he’s going anywhere. Rutherford would not have gone through the trouble of signing him if he didn’t want to keep him. Chances of Sergei returning are at 100%.
9. Tuomo Ruutu …. Ruutu was an instant fan favorite and brings a physical element with his game that the Canes sorely need. But in addition to that, he also has decent skills, can pass the puck, has a quick snap-shot, and has soft hands around the net. His game should thrive in the Carolina system. The problem? He is a bit pricey for a player of his status. Last year he made 2.25 million and he needs a new contract this off-season. Will he be looking for a raise, and if so, how much? I believe that the Canes would love to keep him in the family, but only if the price is right. There is a possibility he could be a problem to sign and if that happens he might be traded because of it. The good news for Carolina is that he is a restricted free agent, meaning that they have first dibs on him. But if he isn’t signed by July 1st, things could get dicey. Another GM could present him an “offer sheet” which the Canes could either match, or refuse. If they refuse, Carolina would get compensatory draft picks, depending upon the size of the contract. Call it blogger’s intuition if you like, but I sense a possible problem getting him signed. If Ruutu wants close to 3 million a year or more, I don’t see Rutherford wanting to pay that much. These negotiations will be interesting to follow. The odds on Ruutu returning are at 60%.
10. Patrick Eaves …. Eaves was the “throw in” player in the Joe Corvo/Mike Commodore, Cory Stillman deadline deal with Ottawa. Although reportedly, Jim Rutherford wouldn’t make the deal without Eaves being thrown in, so I believe that the young star will be in the mix come next season. Patrick also needs a new contract and like Ruutu, is a restricted free agent as well, but his salary last year was reasonable at 942,000, so even if he gets a bit of a raise he will be affordable for the Canes. He scored 20 goals in his rookie season with the Sens in just 58 games and was drafted in the 1st round, so he will be counted on as having top 9 skills and will at least get a legitimate chance at playing on one of the top 3 lines. The biggest problem with Eaves though is his health. He only played in 37 games last year and needs to prove that he can play and contribute throughout a complete season. He probably would be the easiest person to trade though if the Canes wanted to keep the top end talent, but I don’t think that they would not get much in return for him. The odds of Eaves returning are at 80%.
11. Chad LaRose …. Another fan favorite, LaRose has shown flashes from time to time that he can play in the top 3 lines himself. But Chad is mostly known for his energy and hustle. In my opinion, he is best suited for the 4rth line, but he’s good enough to be counted on to fill in when needed on the top 3, occasionally. LaRose scored 11 goals and had 23 points in 58 games last year. He earned 500,000 and will be due a slight raise. Chad is also an RFA, but I don’t see any contract problems for him on the horizon. The odds of LaRose returning are at 90%.
12. Jeff Hamilton …. Hamilton earned 800,000 last year and is under contract for one more year for another 800K. After a fast start last season, Jeff cooled off and eventually spent more time in the pressbox than he did on the ice. Finally he was put on waivers and sent to Albany, but no other team picked him up. When the Canes needed him to return due to injuries late in the season, Jeff was called back and still was not claimed even at half of his salary. Carolina will probably try to include him in some type of trade this off-season, but he has negative value due to his high contract and will be hard to move. I think that he will be in Carolina come training camp time, but whether or not he sticks will be up to him. He could very well find himself as one of Albany’s highest paid players next year. Odds of Hamilton returning are at 50%.
13. Trevor Letowski …. For the most part, Letowski had a rough 2 years with Carolina, although he did a good job late in the year when he filled in for an ailing Matt Cullen at 3rd line center. Still, it’s hard for me to see value in bringing him back since his role for this team would be on the 4rth line and he is not physical enough to fill that role. Carolina needs to get bigger and nastier at that position, and that is not Trevor. The center made 800,000 last year and is a free agent. My guess is that he will sign elsewhere next year and his fans will be able to watch him kill penalties for Florida or possibly Atlanta. Odds of Letowski returning are at 10%.
14. Wade Brookbank …. Brookbank was recalled from Albany the day after Matt Cullen was knocked out in New York. He seemed to fill his role as “protector” very well as opponents appeared to take fewer liberties against the Canes when Wade was suited up. Most importantly, his team-mates appreciated him and wanted him in the lineup. I specifically remember both Mike Commodore and Scott Walker saying that they felt better with Brookbank on the ice. While Carolina might be able to do better out in the free agent market filling that position for next year, they could also do worse than Brookbank. He’s not a bad skater, didn’t take any stupid penalties, and seemed to use common sense as he did his job. Wade is a free agent next year and I think that the odds of his returning are at 50%.
15. Ryan Bayda …. Bayda has been the last one to make the team out of training camp for 2 consecutive years, only to get sent to Albany soon afterwards. Could next year be the one when he stays in Carolina for good? I doubt it. Rutherford has already been quoted as saying that he wants to get bigger on the 4rth line next year. The best chance that I can see for Ryan to return again is if he signs another 2-way deal which would allow the Canes to move him back and forth from Albany, like in the past. If he can’t get a better contract somewhere else, he could very well be back again in the same capacity for this team. Bayda had 3 goals and 3 assists in 31 games last year and the odds of him returning are at 30%.
16. Keith Aucoin …. Aucoin really made a name for himself last season with some solid play. He finished with 5 goals and 13 points in 38 games with Carolina. I would place him in the same boat as Bayda though. If Keith is willing to sign a 2-way deal, he could very well be back, but if he can get a full-time contract somewhere else, he will grab it. It’s very possible that he could get that offer somewhere else too, because he looked more like an NHL player last year, than an AHL’er. But if he is only offered a 2-way deal by other teams, then he should accept one here. With the continual injuries that this team has year after year, Carolina has to be the best possible place for any borderline NHL’er to be signed. Chances of Aucoin returning are at 30%.

Summary…. As you can see above, the first 10 forwards listed all have top 9 capability. It would be a waste of money and talent to keep things status quo, and that will not happen. The only question is, who will go?

As I mentioned earlier, it will come down to the types of deals that Jim Rutherford has offered to him and the player(s) he wants coming back here. Also, money is a huge issue and I believe that one of the higher paid players would be more apt to be traded than a lower paid one, simply because of budgetary concerns.

For instance while making a trade, JR can’t replace a lower paid forward with a higher paid defenseman. The Canes will be stretched thin money wise and after signing all the remaining restricted free agents, adding a backup goalie, and filling in a couple of warm bodies on the blueline, they could end up approaching 50 million in salary.

Forget about signing any notable free agents or taking on a higher salary for a defenseman unless they cut salary somewhere else.

Jim Rutherford certainly has his work cut out for him this summer.

Agree? Disagree? What do you think?

Ratt

In a move that probably didn’t surprise anyone, the Toronto Maple Leafs dismissed Head Coach Paul Maurice this morning. Maurice was about to start the final year of his 3 year contract.

Assistant Randy Ladouceur was also let go.

We always liked Maurice, he’s one of the good guys. Best of luck in the future to Paul and his family.

Team Canada beat a tough American team by a score of 5-4 on Tuesday afternoon in Halifax. After falling behind 3-0, Team USA fought back and tied the score 4-4, but Dany Heatley ended up winning it for Canada with less than a minute left in the contest. Cam Ward earned the win between the pipes.

For a detailed recap of the game, check out this link.

The loss doesn’t kill USA’s chances for gold just yet. If anything, it showed that the Americans can play with the Canadians and it should give them a boost of confidence.

Qualifying round games begin on Thursday.

Chris Botta, the VP of Public Relations for the New York Islanders and creator of the controversial “Blog Box” resigned from his position with the team yesterday. Botta had worked on the Island for 20 years but apparently felt that it was time to move on.

Reactions from the Islanders bloggers vary, but this could very well mean the end of the unique attempt to bring fans, bloggers, media, and players together.

For those of you who may have missed the news last year, the New York Islanders media guru created a special place in the arena for selected bloggers to sit, monitor, and report on the game which was dubbed the “Islanders Blog Box”. This seating area was separate from press row, where the professional media resided.

The bloggers were also allowed access to some coaches and players after games for interviews, again apart from the professionals, so not to disturb or interrupt their craft.

Initially, the idea was met with heavy resistance from some professional writers who earn their living doing about the same thing that the bloggers were doing for free. But the Islanders were extremely unhappy with local media coverage. They wanted and needed more exposure, and this was an attempt to accomplish just that.

Surprisingly enough, many in the blogging community were strongly against the idea as well. Some felt that bloggers shouldn’t be given any access. Some felt that they deserved more access. Some were upset they were being handled and treated just like fans.

You know how bloggers are. It’s difficult to get two of us to agree on anything.

Regardless, I always liked the concept and felt that it was a great idea. It seemed to solve one issue that the professional media complained about, the possibility of unruly behaviour in press row. It also gave Islanders fans access to information like no other NHL team had previously allowed, besides the Washington Capitals. (The Caps allow full media access for some bloggers.)

I’m not sure whether last season’s “experiment” was considered a success or a fiasco, but hopefully Botta’s resignation doesn’t put an end to a new generation of reporting in New York and elsewhere.

Billy Joel

The NHL Conference finals took shape late last night after a marathon game was completed, as Dallas outlasted San Jose in a contest which went into 4 overtimes. I stayed up to watch that one and I’m glad I did as it was one of the better games that I have seen in awhile.

Both goalies kept making unbelievable saves and the skaters never seemed to slow down, even though they had to be near exhaustion. Brenden Morrow broke the tie with a powerplay goal about half way through that decisive 4rth OT period. Not only did Morrow score the game winner, he also had a record-breaking 19 hits for the game, one of which knocked young Sharks superstar Milan Michalek, right out of the game.

The Stars next opponent will be the Detroit Red Wings, a team ranked as the best in the NHL in several different categories. Marty Turco, Brenden Morrow, and company will all have to be at the top of their games in order to stop that Red Wing team.

Over here in the East we have the classic battle of Pennsylvania as the Flyers take on the Penguins. Both teams have red hot goalies and both teams have been playing extremely well. This should be an entertaining series that could go either way.

The Pens got this far by taking out a New York team which was led by Jaromir Jagr, who showed that he can still be a dynamo when he wants to be. But in my opinion the rest of the Rangers didn’t look as good as they did against the Devils.

The Flyers took out the Habs, the number one seeded team in the East. While Philadelphia had outstanding goaltending, the Habs had to settle for average, in my opinion. Some folk questioned my criticism of Bob Gainey when I posted earlier about how I thought that he blew it by giving away Cristobal Huet to the Caps for just a 2nd round draft pick, but I stand by my opinion.

I still think that he blew it.

One argument in support of Gainey was that at least the Habs got something for Huet, an upcoming free agent who was obviously going to move on at the end of the year. Perhaps that is true, but that’s still an extremely unusual move to make for a number one seeded team.

Perhaps someone can give me another example of how a front-runner for the playoffs traded away a current asset for a draft pick on trade deadline day? It seems to me that making your team as strong as possible for the Cup run should be job number one. Strengthening your team for the future is something that the also-rans attempt to do.

Some people said that Huet had never won a playoff series before and the chances with Price were better. My question is, how many series had Carey Price won previous to this year?

Let’s take a look at some stats.

Back in 2006, Huet had a record of 2-4, but his GAA was 2.33 and his save percentage was .929. Even though he lost the series to the eventual Champion Canes, those are not bad stats.

This year Price had a GAA of 2.78 and a save percentage of .901, and that includes 2 shutouts that he posted against Boston. I’m not sure exactly what his stats were against the Flyers, but I am confident that they were not very good.

Again, I’m not saying that Huet was a better choice than Price to start out with, but I still believe that Huet would have at least been a better choice as a backup and could have made a difference. In my mind, trading him was still a mistake.

Carolina used both of their goalies during their runs in 2002 and 2006, and both had important contributions. I think it was unrealistic to assume that a 20 year old rookie would be able to shoulder the load for the entire playoffs.

I know, I know. I was 0 for 4 on my picks for the 2nd round, and I have the nerve to say that hockey genius Bob Gainey made a mistake? I’m not sure that I should even bother picking winners again for this next round, but since I must, then I pick the Wings and Pens. Wouldn’t that be a dream final for NBC, the NHL, and for many fans as well?

Speaking of goalies, I am sure that more than a few Russians were celebrating after the Sharks were eliminated last night. Team Russia’s starting goalie, (up to this point), was injured on Sunday so Evgeni Nabokov will be welcomed into the fold as soon as he can get to Canada.

In other World Championship news, Team Finland won in overtime yesterday on a goal scored by Tuomo Ruutu. They defeated Team Norway 3-2.

Team Sweden defeated France by a score of 9-0. Nic Wallin chipped in with a goal.

Team Canada plays Team USA in a showdown at 3:25 this afternoon.

Lynard Skynard

Team USA beat Slovenia on Sunday by a score of 5-1 as Phil Kessel had a hat-trick. David Booth and Patrick Kane scored the other goals for the Americans as Tim Thomas allowed his first goal of the tournament to Los Angeles Kings superstar Anze Kopitar.

In the meantime, Team Canada slaughtered Team Latvia 7-0. Pascal LeClair was in net for Canada. Latvia has yet to score a goal in this tournament. This combination of wins sets up a key match-up on Tuesday between these two top contenders in the B Grouping.

Over in Group A, Team Russia had a tough time with the Czech Republic as it took them until overtime to defeat their opponents, 5-4. Patrik Elias had a hat-trick for the Czechs. Alexei Morozov scored the game-winner for Russia.

In a game that featured Hurricane team-mates, Tuomo Ruutu’s, Team Finland beat Dennis Seidenberg’s German team by a score of 5-1. The Finns could definitely make some noise in this tournament. They have some big names on their roster.

More about the World Championships later as I am still watching this never-ending game between Dallas and San Jose. Unbelievable goaltending.

Main stream media, (MSM), has always held contempt for blogs. The disdain took a very public turn during this past week as well known sportscaster Bob Costas hosted a special feature about the new media on his most recent “Costas NOW” series on HBO.

The 90 minute show was comprised of several related topics and was filmed in front of a studio audience, supposedly so it could have a “town hall” type of feeling, but neither the town or the hall had any chance for questions or feedback.

One of the most confrontational portions of the broadcast came up when the topic was concerning the “New Media” and how blogs on the internet have affected the perception of sports news reporting. The guests for this segment included award winning author Buzz Bissinger who wrote “Friday Night Lights”, Braylon Edwards of the Cleveland Browns, and Will Leitch of Deadspin.

As a blogger, I kind of got the feeling that things were going to get ugly, quickly when Costas started the segment off by introducing the art of blogging as “blurring the lines between news and gossip, truth and rumor, and commentary and insult”. Some of that is true of course, but as usual the focus was presented in a negative tone, and is not representative of all blogs.

The rest of the discussion mainly consisted of attacks on Leitch, with the somewhat overwhelmed blogger trying to defend himself and the content of his site. While Costas was at least tactful and polite with his questioning and comments, Mr. Bissinger came across as an enraged jilted lover, throwing out profanity laced insults and ignorant jabs at not only Leitch, but the entire blogging community.

Toward the end of the exchange, Buzz admitted that he was upset because blogging was a big part of the future of sports reporting and that more people were probably reading blogs, (even his own son), than reading books and newspapers. He thinks that bloggers are “dumbing down” America because of their poor writing skills and ill-informed content.

The subject of press credentials came up, and Leitch explained that he did not want to be in the pressbox since that is not what his blog is all about and he did not want to be beholding to anyone. Bissinger went to attack mode again and claimed that the blogger “did not want facts to get in the way” of his reporting.

The frustrating thing about this subject is that the majority of bloggers who want to have press access are denied, putting them in a no-win situation. They are not looked upon as being “legit” because they have no access to the inside facts, but they can’t get access because they aren’t considered to be “legit.” This of course only pertains to the bloggers who want to have credentials, because many have no interest in that at all.

While I admit that I am not a regular reader of Deadspin and would not rely on that site to get my hardcore sports news, it is an entertaining site which has humorous and talented writers. I can also understand why sites like that would upset old-schoolers like Bissinger, because they can see their professions evolving before their very eyes and they don’t like what they see.

In my opinion, Deadspin does not seem to be a site where you would get typical sports news, like a detailed recap of what happened during a game, or statistics, or the like. It seems to be a site in which the authors make note of a variety of different situations and give their opinions about such, primarily focusing on humor, or even poking fun at people. They also don’t hesitate to throw in some gratuitous “T and A” while they’re at it.

I wouldn’t consider most of their authors to be “sportswriters”, and they probably don’t consider themselves to be either. So why pick them for this show?

I think ignorance runs rampant when it comes to outsiders trying to understand blogs. They attempt to define what all sports blogs are like, or should be like in general, and it just doesn’t work that way. As I have mentioned before, there are a multitude of different types of blogs out there, and they vary just as much as the individuals do who write them.

But as usual, all bloggers were pretty much lumped together during the broadcast, the good, the bad, and the ugly. There was no mention of the well-written blogs, or the blogs which have media access and have represented the “profession” well. Although, I have a feeling that it wouldn’t have mattered who the featured blogger was on the show, that person was going to be hammered anyway, because that was the intent.

I received a couple of emails from Canes Country readers asking me what I thought about the show, and my response is that I enjoyed it very much and I can see both sides of this debate.

Members of the MSM can see their livelihoods possibly slipping away. Instead of embracing the new art, they are focusing on the negative and fighting it every chance they get. But they show their ignorance, for instance, by not being able to distinguish between a blog author’s article and a comment left afterwards, and this ignorance or lack of understanding is a big part of the problem.

I think that more professional journalists, such as James Mirtle and Luke DeCock, should start blogging themselves and should attempt to draw a larger audience to their traditional writing. If MSM writers would embrace the art rather than fight it, they would probably be surprised just how much they would end up loving it.

As for Deadspin and other blogs like it, I see nothing wrong with them. As long as what they are doing is legal, and they aren’t pretending to be something that they aren’t, then so be it. They do remind me a bit of the Paparazzi or National Enquire though. They seem to look for a particular thing in sports news and attempt to sensationalize it.

All in all, the “Costas Now” show was a good one and you should try to see it if you haven’t. In another segment they also blasted talk show radio, so bloggers were not the only group being scrutinized.

If I may offer just a hint of advice to any of my fellow bloggers who gets invited to an open forum with members of the traditional media attending? Wear a helmet, a bullet proof vest, and be prepared for the worst.

Deep Purple

Team Canada opened their tournament with a 5-1 win over Slovenia as Dany Heatley had a hat-trick. Cam Ward only allowed one goal and that was while the opposition had a 5 on 3 advantage. Next up for the home team is Latvia on Sunday. For more info check out this link.

Team USA also won their first match with a 4-0 win over Latvia. The Americans outshot their opponents 49-24. The youngsters once again provided the scoring as Patrick Kane, Zach Parise, Dustin Brown, and Patrick O’Sullivan each had a goal. Boston’s Tim Thomas earned the shutout. Check here for a game recap. Next up for this group is Slovenia on Sunday.

Team Russia pulverized Team Italy 7-1 and it could have been worse as Sergei Fedorov had 2 supposed goals waived off. Their next game on Sunday will be a bit tougher as they play the Czechs.

Who the heck is Johan Franzen and where did he come from? Affectionately nicknamed “The Mule”, Franzen is a Swedish born player who was drafted by Detroit in the 3rd round of the 2004 NHL draft. The center has literally come out of nowhere to be a leading candidate for the Conn Smythe this year while helping the Detroit Red Wings to a round 2 sweep of the Colorado Avs.

Franzen has been absolute dynamite in this postseason. He has 2 hat-tricks in the last 3 games and has set a new Red Wings record by scoring 11 goals in this year’s playoffs. The amazing thing is, he could still have 2 more series to go!

Did I forget to mention that he also set an NHL another club record by scoring 9 goals in a single playoff series, shattering Gordie Howe’s previous record of 7. Only thing is, Howe needed 7 games to make his mark while Franzen just needed 4. Were the Avs really that bad, or is Detroit that good?

Love them or hate them, you have to take your hat off to the Wings organization. They sure know how to pick up talent in the later rounds of the draft.

Deep Purple

Team Canada and Team USA begin their quest for gold as the IIHF Hockey World Championships start this afternoon. Canada’s first contest will be against Slovenia starting at 3:15 PM. Team USA will play against Team Latvia beginning at 7. For a complete schedule, check out this link.

Carolina netminder, Cam Ward will get the start in goal for Canada and he will be joined on the ice by team-mate Eric Staal who will also see plenty of action at center. The remainder of the Canadian roster is as follows…

Goalies: Cam Ward (Carolina Hurricanes), Pascal Leclaire (Columbus Blue Jackets), Mathieu Garon (Edmonton Oilers).

Defenders: Dan Hamhuis (Nashville Predators), Logan Pyett (Regina Pats/WHL), Jay Bouwmeester (Florida Panthers), Mark Giordano (Moscow Dynamo/RUS), Brent Burns (Minnesota Wild), Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks), Steve Staios (Edmonton Oilers), Mike Green (Washington Capitals), Ed Jovanovski (Phoenix Coyotes).

Forwards: Derek Roy (Buffalo Sabres), Patrick Sharp (Chicago Blackhawks), Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes), Chris Kunitz (Anaheim Ducks), Dany Heatley (Ottawa Senators), Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks), Kyle Turris (Wisconsin /WCHA), Shane Doan (Phoenix Coyotes), Jamal Mayers (St. Louis Blues), Cory Emmerton (Brampton Battalion/OHL), Jason Chimera (Columbus Blue Jackets), Martin St-Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning), Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks), Rick Nash (Columbus Blue Jackets), Sam Gagner (Edmonton Oilers), Jason Spezza (Ottawa Senators).

Head coach: Ken Hitchcock (Columbus Blue Jackets). Assistant coaches: Craig MacTavish (Edmonton Oilers), Mike Johnston (Los Angeles Kings), Pat Burns (Hockey Canada).

Tim Gleason will be the lone Hurricane playing for the Americans. Team USA’s roster …..

Goalies (3): Craig Anderson (Florida Panthers), Robert Esche (Ak Bars Kazan/RUS), Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins).

Defenders (7): Keith Ballard (Phoenix Coyotes), Tom Gilbert (Edmonton Oilers), Tim Gleason (Carolina Hurricanes), Matt Greene (Edmonton Oilers), Paul Martin (New Jersey Devils), Mark Stuart (Boston Bruins), James Wisniewski (Chicago Blackhawks).

Forwards (13): David Backes (St. Louis Blues), David Booth (Florida Panthers), Dustin Brown (Los Angeles Kings), Adam Burish (Chicago Blackhawks), Jeff Halpern (Tampa Bay Lightning), Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks), Phil Kessel (Boston Bruins), Peter Mueller (Phoenix Coyotes), Patrick O’Sullivan (Los Angeles Kings), Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils), Jason Pominville (Buffalo Sabres), Drew Stafford (Buffalo Sabres), Lee Stempniak (St. Louis Blues).

Head coach: John Tortorella (Tampa Bay Lightning). Assistant coaches: Mike Sullivan (Tampa Bay Lightning), Kurt Kleinendorst (Lowell Devils/AHL).

The remaining rosters can be found here.

WCSN.com is offering a great deal to watch the action. For just $4.95 you can either watch the games live, or use their “In Demand” option. That price is good for as many games as you can watch all month! Check out that offer here.

For even more information, check out the Tournament Homepage.

Cat Stevens

Do you get the feeling that perhaps Montreal General Manager Bob Gainey traded away his team’s best chance at winning the Stanley Cup for a measly 2nd round draft pick? That is what probably happened when he decided to trade away ex-Canadiens goalie Cristobal Huet to Washington for a 2nd round pick.

One can only ask why? Was the acquisition of a 2nd rounder that important? Did he have that much confidence in a 20 year old kid to get the job done in 4 rounds of pressure packed hockey? Gainey is supposed to have a keen mind for the game, but this move looks amateurish and makes no sense.

Besides, what if Carey Price got hurt, then what? Was he really going to count on Jaroslav Halak? I realize that Huet is no Vezina candidate, but he’s not too shabby either. He’s a big reason why Washington was able to make it to the playoffs. It would seem to me at the very least that they should have kept the French goalie for insurance, if nothing else.

I have been ranting about this a bit already and a few other bloggers have been questioning the move as well. Now that the Flyers have taken a 3-1 lead in the series and starting goalie Carey Price has been benched in favor of back-up Halak, more and more people will be wondering why the Montreal GM chose to make his number one seeded team weaker at the trade deadline, when most other playoff bound teams were making trades to strengthen their clubs.

Oh well, if worse comes to worse and he gets fired, the Maple Leafs will be happy to take him.

Speaking of General Managers and the Leafs, one of the things that Peter Karmanos mentioned in yesterday’s article was that no one from Toronto had even asked for permission to talk with Jim Rutherford yet. Perhaps much of the Toronto media’s speculation about JR being near the top of a short hiring list was a bit premature?

In a recent report written by beat writer Luke DeCock, the sometimes “absentee” owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, Mr. Peter Karmanos has promised to be more active in the running of his NHL franchise this coming year. Karmanos is reportedly taking a lesser role at Compuware, his number one business interest and will have more time to devote to managing the Canes.

“I plan to come in and actually help work on both those areas myself two or three days a week starting in July,’‘ Karmanos said this week in a telephone interview from his Detroit office. ( he was referring to sales and advertising).

Also from the report….

The Hurricanes could lose as much as $10 million this season because of the absence of playoff revenue, a larger-than-budgeted payroll, reduced NHL revenue-sharing payments and decreased attendance.

As the NHL’s salary cap increases - from $50.3 million this season to an expected $56.3 million in 2008-09 - the Hurricanes need to bring in more money to keep pace.

Beset by injuries last season, they ended up spending about $49 million on salaries - 11th among the NHL’s 30 teams and at least $5 million more than expected.

“We need to put more people in the building,” Karmanos said. ”We need to do a better job of selling advertising. It’s not so much a cap that we put on (general manager) Jimmy (Rutherford). Its the cap we put on ourselves. We’re just not maximizing our revenue streams.”

Because of his Compuware commitments, Karmanos has been somewhat removed from the day-to-day operations of the Hurricanes during their decade in North Carolina. He has often voiced his preference to become more involved and now thinks he has that chance.

It comes at a critical time for the franchise. Because of the fall-off in revenue from the post-Stanley Cup honeymoon season in 2006-07 to last season, the Hurricanes lost a quarter of their NHL revenue-sharing money when they failed to meet the league’s growth benchmarks.

”We quite frankly need to sell more tickets regardless of the CBA or not. I want our building full because I think it adds to the atmosphere and it’s great entertainment. We’re going to work really hard on trying to increase our revenue.”

I agree with Karmanos on all fronts. It must sting like the dickens to be the owner of a team who just barely missed the playoffs, and the millions that would have come with it. But not only does he take that hit, he loses out on 25% of the revenue sharing money because attendance dropped off? Either Jim Rutherford or someone else dropped the ball on this one.

Don’t they realize that all they had to do was to offer some type of package deal like the old Harris Teeter 4 packs, and they probably would have met their goals? Even if they had to discount their tickets, they still would have made up for the loss by taking in the extra revenue sharing. That quite frankly, is not very smart business. No wonder the owner wants to get more involved.

If this blogger could offer some humble suggestions….

1. Start your own blog Mr. Karmanos, and submit articles daily. Let your fans know what you are thinking about regarding the team, regarding advertising, and regarding the fanbase, or anything else that comes to mind. Ask for and respond to feedback. This would generate interest as well as let the fans know that you care about what they think.
2. Enlist the aide of your blogging empire. There are already a couple of teams in the NHL who recognize the value of having well-informed, popular bloggers spreading the word about the team. You could be number 3, or you could even take it to another level.
3. Bring back the old “family packs” and other popular ticket specials. So what if you give away a couple of free hotdogs, you will make that money back 100-fold because of the lost revenue sharing.
4. Get the faces of the team out in the public more often. They are your best advertisement.

I’m sure that other folk have more ideas of their own, and probably better ones. What do you think, does anyone have anything to share?

Personally, I think it’s great that the owner of the franchise cares enough to get more involved. I have wondered myself if the Hurricanes could ever get to the point when they would sell out every home game and what that might be like. Shouldn’t that be the goal? With hard work and creativity, it could be done.

Bon Jovi

The Albany River Rats ended their season with a 2-0 loss against the Philadelphia Phantoms last night in the final game of their round one, playoff series. As previously mentioned, goalie, Michael Leighton was the hero of the series for the Rats, but he wasn’t quite good enough. Congratulations to Coach Tom Rowe and the rest of the Albany franchise, for making the playoffs and giving it a heck of a go.

By the looks of things, there will be three NHL teams not far behind the Rats in scheduling future “T” times. The Penguins, Stars, and Red Wings each have 3-0 leads in their respective series. I don’t remember ever seeing 3 of the 4 Conference Semi-finals ending in sweeps before. That would be something.

The Albany River Rats and the Philadelphia Phantoms finish their best of 7 series tonight in Philadelphia with the series all tied up at 3 games apiece.

Rats goalie Michael Leighton has been nothing short of spectacular in this showdown. Not only does he have 2 shutouts against the Phantoms so far in this playoffs, he also had a record 98 saves in a marathon game which lasted into 5 overtime periods.

(Leighton’s new mask)

According to this article, Leighton has stopped 276 out of 284 shots on goal, giving him an unbelievable save percentage of .971 in this series.

This will be the first ever game 7 situation for many of these players, as well as for coach Tom Rowe, who says that he is looking forward to it.

Marc Cavosie, a graduate from nearby RPI, thinks that the pressure is on the home team. He has been in two game 7 situations while playing for Houston, and won both of them while on the road.

The game is available online via a pay-per-view network for $7.00. Just follow this link for more information. If you prefer to just listen to the game, you can find the free radio broadcast here.

Team Russia beat Team Canada 4-1 on Monday night in another WHC exhibition game in Quebec. Canada’s coach, Ken Hitchcock called the game a “wake up call” for the Canadians. Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Sergei Fedorov, and Alex Radulov didn’t even play in the game. They are physically ready to play, but are still waiting for “clearance” before they can officially join the team.

Looks like Team Russia is loaded for bear.

Team USA is off until Friday when they play their first official tournament game against Latvia in Halifax. Remember the days when Arturs Irbe played goalie for the perpetual underdog Latvians? That used to be fun.

Speaking of goalies, young Carey Price was chased from the Flyers game earlier last night. Seems to me that I said something before the series about Price looking a bit shaky. (although I did pick the Habs to win) I wonder if Gainey is going to look foolish for trading away Huet for a measly 2nd round draft pick. Why did he do it? It’s not unusual for a team to need 2 solid goalies during a long playoff run. Just ask Carolina.

If the Habs end up losing this series, fans might just burn down Gainey’s house this time rather than a couple of police cars like they did after round one was over. The Flyers now lead the series 2-1.

The Pens are having their way with the Rangers so far in their match-up, but the venue soon changes to Madison Square Garden, and things could get crazy.

The Red Wings look like world beaters at the moment and are dominating the Avs in every aspect over in the West. I’m beginning to wonder if Colorado can win a game. Theodore has not played well at all so far, supposedly because of an illness. Sounds like he might have a case of the “Martin Gerber” playoff disease.

Finally, the Dallas Stars have a 2-0 lead over the Sharks. I haven’t watched much of this series, but I did see a “highlight” of Sharks Captain, Patrick Marleau jumping out of the way of a shot, which eventually went into the net and helped Dallas win game one. The Captain is getting some well deserved criticism for his untimely ice dancing.

Some apologists are claiming that the “Marleau hop” was just a reaction. Can you imagine Glen Wesley, or most other Canes for that matter, having any other natural reaction than to try to block a shot?

Hello, this is the playoffs! Now is not the time to be shying away from the puck. No wonder San Jose always fades into oblivion during the 2nd season, it looks like they have no heart, right from the top on down. Perhaps all of those rumors earlier this year about them wanting to trade Marleau were not far off base. I bet they heat up again this summer.

The Guess Who

Team USA beat Team Sweden on Sunday night by a score of 5-1 in the opening, pre-tournament WHC game for both teams. Craig Anderson and Robert Esche split time in net, with Anderson stopping all 14 of the shots he faced while Esche stopped 6 of 7 shots.

The Americans have a pretty young group and the youngin’s are the ones who provided the scoring.  Goals were tallied by Peter Mueller, Patrick O’Sullivan, Dustin Brown, Nathan Gerbe, and Patrick Kane.

For more information check out this link.

Martin St. Louis scored 2 goals and Jason Chimera scored one as Team Canada defeated Team Finland by a score of 3-2 in a WHC pre-tournament game in Quebec City on Sunday. Cam Ward played 30 minutes and allowed just one goal.

Tuomo Ruutu and Ville Peltonen had the goals for Finland. For more info check this link.

Carolina forward Ray Whitney had to withdraw from the tournament because of a recurring ankle problem. Obviously, this is the same ankle that forced “The Wizard” to miss the last month of the season for the Hurricanes, (except for the last couple of games in which he probably shouldn’t have played.)

I was a bit surprised when I heard that Whitney was going to be in the tournament. He certainly didn’t look like he was playing at 100% when he came back to play for the Canes at the end of the season. This ankle injury has really been hanging on for a long time.

Nice to see that Ruutu hit the back of the net.

Team USA is playing Team Sweden tonight. More about that game later.

Radiohead