Zero
There’s a whole lot of nothing going on with the Hurricanes right now. There’s been zero Hurricanes’ news in the local paper for days, nothing new in the popular Lord Stanley’s Blog, and no updates on the team site. So what’s a fan to do other than read unsubstantiated trade rumors? Well, we can always fret about the blueline! I just started a new poll on the right sidebar asking what readers think about the defense. So, what do you think? I must admit, I’m a bit concerned. Jim Rutherford went over budget when he traded for Matt Cullen. That trade probably gave the Canes the strongest bunch of forwards, as a group, in the entire NHL. But we can’t have it all, Caniacs. When the balance of the money available on the budget went to Cullen, there was nothing left to add another defenseman. This group of guys on defense could probably be a pretty strong bunch if they could all stay healthy. The problem is, that’s a big “if”, right now. After John Forslund recently gave Bret Hedican a 50/50 chance of being able to play come training camp, that left the door wide open for some concern. Poor Pete Friesen might have his work cut out again this year!
Maybe it’s a good thing that hockey news is quiet right now. In other sports, they wish things were this quiet. In the NBA, you have a ref accused of gambling on games he reffed in, in the NFL, you have a 30 million dollar, franchise quarterback allegedly involved in an illegal and sickening dog-fighting operation, and in baseball you have a player who has probably been abusing steroids for years and years, about ready to break the most sacred of all baseball records. It’s enough to make a person give up sports and turn to politics! Thank goodness for hockey, eh? At least our scandals are few and far between and are minor compared to the others.
Don’t worry fellow hockey fans, CanesCountry will remain active throughout the summer, with or without the help of the local media. Tomorrow, I will review some of the new sites that have asked to be linked here and we’ll review the rest of the blogroll as well. A few sites will be coming off the list. Watch out for another Bubba rant! Some blogs are rated better than others, but what is the rating based upon? I think it’s stupid and unfair, but we’ll talk about that tomorrow. Then we will touch upon a couple of other topics later this week as well. Happy Tuesday!
Smashing Pumpkins
About the Author: Bubba is a hockey fan/citizen journalist who has always wanted to be a sportswriter and is pursuing his dream. He also writes a Hurricanes blog for 
nuts4pucks | Jul 24, 2007 | Reply
What is the cap story on Bret Hedican? Is he one of those guys who, if he gets into training camp and then decides he’s not going to be able to play and retires, does his salary still count against the cap? Not that the Canes are in trouble regarding the cap, but if they don’t have to pay him, that gives them some bucks to invest in another D man. Then they could maybe trade Letowski and potentially the rights to Babchuk for a defenseman who’s not considered a real gem right now, but has some potential or a solid mid-tier defenseman. It’s certain that an established premiere defenseman is not in the team’s budget right now, with or without Matt Cullen!
Bubba | Jul 24, 2007 | Reply
Good question nuts, there are a couple of different ways that this could turn out. Most importantly as you noted, the Canes are comfortably under the Salary Cap so regardless of Hedican’s decision it shouldn’t hamper them in anyway. Now, as far as them having to pay his salary and having it affect their internal budget, I think that if Hedican decides to retire the Canes are off the hook concerning having to pay him. (and it comes off the Cap number as well). If Hedican tries to play but gets hurt and then decides not to retire and stay on Injured Reserve, I believe the Canes are still legally responsible to pay him and his salary stays on the Cap number. While most teams have some insurance to help defray the cost of this possible expense, Hedican still gets paid and the number stays on the Cap.