Archive for June, 2008
Tumbling Dice - Signing Free Agents is a Gamble
Tomorrow will be the beginning of a new era for several free agents who will receive a contract which will set them up for life. Many teams and their fans will be hoping that a key signing or two will be enough to put them into the top echelon of the NHL.
Sometimes it works [...]
Holiday - Bubba’s Road Trip
It’s going to be a little quiet around here for the next few days. I know, I know, perfect time to take a vacation with the first day of free agency right around the corner, but some things can’t be helped.
The good news is that I will have my XM radio, cellphone, and my [...]
Questions 67 and 68
We’re getting quite a few questions in the comments section and in email this morning, so I thought that I would just create a new article and attempt to answer them here, as well as try to elaborate a bit.
Fred- I agree, 3 million for Commodore does seem too high. I wonder how [...]
Burnin’ For You - Which Free Agent Does Carolina Covet?
Obviously, the Carolina Hurricanes are in desperate need of defense. Earlier this week we looked over the team’s roster, reviewed possible trade scenarios, and examined where the Canes stood concerning their budget limitations.
We also mentioned in that article that we thought the new salary cap would be about $56 million. Yesterday, the NHL [...]
This Ain’t The Summer of Love - Buyouts, Qualifying Offers, and more
In stark contrast to Carolina’s Summer of 2006 when all contract negotiations seemed to go smoothly, players were re-signed without any hitches, coach’s contracts were extended, and love was in the air, so far the Summer of 2008 has had a couple of buyouts, minimum qualifying offers, a disputed buyout, and the inability to make [...]
Take It To The Limit - Canes and the Salary Cap
The Carolina Hurricanes roster is starting to take shape, and it’s not a pleasant sight for the Bank of Karmanos. With the recent signings of Tim Gleason and Tuomo Ruutu, the total number of possible, (or probable) roster players under contract is up to 18 at the present time.
Let’s take a closer look.
The following [...]
Ruutu on Board for 1 Year
Tuomo Ruutu accepted his qualifying offer of 2.25 million and is officially on board the Canes Train for at least one more year. While both sides were hoping for a longer term deal, at least this agreement avoids the arbitration mess and allows both sides to regroup for next season.
Ruutu is certainly [...]
Pro Writers Support Champion of Bloggers
I always thought that professional writers and journalists hated the notion of sharing the pressbox with bloggers? Apparently, that is a misconception.
The Washington Capitals Media Relation staff recently won the Dick Dillman award, an honor which recognizes the best media relations staff in the Eastern Conference. The award is bestowed by the Professional [...]
Roundabout - Melrose Joins Coaching Carousel
The worst kept secret in hockey will finally become official as Barry Melrose will be named head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning at a press conference Tuesday morning. Melrose will take over for John Tortorella who was relieved of his duties earlier this month.
The new ownership group in Tampa is taking an “aggressive” [...]
Darcy Says No - Canes Can’t Sign Hordichuk
and the good news keeps coming….
Looking like a scene right from a Seinfeld episode, last week the Hurricanes traded a 5th round draft pick in the 2009 draft, simply for the right to negotiate early with a 4rth line enforcer who earned 510K last year and who only played in a handful of games.
Carolina management [...]
Free Bird - Tanabe and Hamilton Cut Loose
LSB is reporting that David Tanabe and Jeff Hamilton have both been placed on waivers, with the intention of a buy-out. These are two of the players which we listed as buy-out possibilities a week or so ago right here at Canes Country.
Of course Tanabe has been injured and couldn’t play for several [...]
Thoughts about the Weekend
After having time to review a couple of draft reports it seems like the Hurricanes did all right for themselves on draft day, considering their position and the fact that they only had five picks. According to The Hockey News, first round pick Zach Boychuk could be ready for prime time this season. [...]
Canes Pick a Dalpe, a Whaler, and a Goalie
In a draft that set a record for the number of draft day trades made during the 1st round, there were no trades and no big surprises for the Carolina Hurricanes at the draft this year. After selecting the highest rated player at the time in the 1st, Zach Boychuk, they repeated the process [...]
Boychuk the Man for Carolina
The Carolina Hurricanes selected Zach Boychuk with the 14th pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Boychuk was noted as being one of the quickest players in all of the major junior leagues. He scored 33 goals and had 72 points in just 61 games for Lethbridge last year. [...]
I Heard it Through The Grapevine - Trade Rumors Galore
This is the time of year for rumors, and there are new beauties everyday. It’s known by everyone that the Carolina Hurricanes are in need of a defenseman or two, so of course the Canes are a big part of the ever-churning rumor mill themselves. But what is a legit rumor and what [...]
A Deeper Look - The Gleason and Hordichuk News
The Tim Gleason signing seems like a good one for both parties. Obviously, the blue-liner deserved a raise (he made $1,175,000 last year.) The new cap hit will be 2.75M for the next 4 years, which certainly won’t break the Hurricanes budget.
I think that Nashville’s signing of Ryan Suter a couple of [...]
Gleason Re-ups for 4 - Darcy Hordichuk Next
The Carolina Hurricanes just announced that they signed defenseman Tim Gleason to a 4 year deal today. The contract will pay Gleason a total of 11 million over a 4 year period. (the annual payout is 2M in 2009, 2.5M in 2010, 3M in 2011, and 3.5M in 2012. )
It was also announced [...]
He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother - Draft Preview
Remember back before the 2005 draft? The Hurricanes had done very well in the draft lottery which gave them the 3rd overall pick, and all the experts were drooling about Jack Johnson, the can’t-miss American defenseman who was destined to be the first blueliner picked immediately following Sidney Crosby and Bobby Ryan.
But suddenly a [...]
Back in the Saddle Again - Jason Karmanos Rejoins Hurricanes
It was announced this morning that Jason Karmanos returned to the Carolina Hurricanes and was named Executive Director of Hockey Operations. Karmanos had previously served as Assistant General Manager, a post that Ron Francis holds now.
According to General Manager Jim Rutherford, the duo will be sharing duties and there is plenty of work [...]
Injury Status Report - Q&A With Pete Friesen
Several readers have been asking about the current status of some of the injured Canes who were either unable to play, or who were not skating at 100% when the season unceremoniously came to an end last April. I decided to attempt to get in touch with the organization, to see if [...]
Patience - Plenty of Work Ahead for Canes
So far this off season, new contract signings have been few and far between for the Carolina Hurricanes. Other than Sergei Samsonov, Trevor Gillies, Michael Leighton, and Patrick Eaves, the rest of the unsigned Canes are still waiting for contracts.
LSB recently reported that negotiations between Jim Rutherford and restricted free agents Tim Gleason [...]
I Will Buy You a New Life - Any Buyouts For The Canes?
Now is the time that many NHL teams will seriously think about buying out the contracts of some over-paid and under-performing players. Ottawa’s Ray Emery is at the top of the list of possibilities, as well as Boston’s Glen Murray and Atlanta’s Alexei Zhitnik.
There are also rumors that Andrew Raycroft and Darcy Tucker of [...]
Just The “2″ of Us - Ley and Wesley Retire Same Number
Last week when the Carolina Hurricanes announced that they were going to retire Glen Wesley’s number 2, they put the franchise in the unusual position of retiring the same number twice. The Hartford Whalers retired Rick Ley’s number 2 after he had played for the Whalers for a total of 9 seasons, from 1972 [...]
I Can’t Drive 55 - Ovechkin President for a Day
It’s a great time to be a hockey fan in Washington D.C. these days. On Friday afternoon, the NHL’s most valuable player Alexander Ovechkin, was awarded the key to the city. After he was handed the award by Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty, the superstar addressed his loyal subjects with a few words [...]
Let’s Stay Together - Canes Extend Lease
The Carolina Hurricanes made a commitment to play in Raleigh until the year 2024 as their parent company, Gale Force Holdings re-negotiated a lease with the Centennial Authority, the legal owners of the RBC Center. The original lease kept the club in the RBC until 2019, so the Canes extended their previous [...]
It’s a Major Award !
Is anyone excited about the NHL Awards Show tonight? I kind of forgot about it until recently.
Fellow blogger, Sean Leahy came up with a great idea to poll bloggers and ask them who should win the various awards. He called his creation, the 2008 Blogger’s Awards, and he was nice enough to send [...]
Come On Over - Hurricanes Sign Leighton
The Carolina Hurricanes signed goalie Michael Leighton to a two year, 1.2 million dollar contract yesterday, making Leighton the number one option to back up Carolina starter, Cam Ward. The 600K per year that the Canes have committed to this backup is 800K per year cheaper than what they were paying John Grahame previously.
Let’s [...]
Strange Brew - Weird Timing of Coaches Hired and Fired
There were a couple of transactions announced yesterday in the NHL where the timing (sort of) defied logic.
First of all, the Toronto Maple Leafs officially announced the hiring of Ron Wilson as their new head coach. Wilson was just fired from the same position in San Jose a couple of weeks ago.
What makes the [...]
Night Moves - Should the NHL Relocate Teams?
The National Post, (which I’m told is a joke of a Canadian publication) seems to have a constant agenda to promote the movement of certain NHL teams to Canadian cities, even if they need to resort to absurd, weak arguments to do it. Monday, they published an editorial with more nonsense trumping their cause.
The [...]
Wind of Change - Rowe and Daniels Switch Positions
(photo from CH.com)
The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that Albany Head Coach, Tom Rowe would be joining the Hurricanes staff in Raleigh, changing places with assistant coach Jeff Daniels, who will be taking Rowe’s position as head coach for the River Rats.
This move makes good sense in that it should help both men to gain experience [...]
Give a Little Bit - Leighton in, Hedican out, Lavi quiet
Reviewing some brief news….
Luke reported late yesterday that Michael Leighton will indeed be offered a one-way contract with the Canes for next season. This news isn’t shocking considering the goalie’s outstanding performance in Albany last season. He also performed well in training camp and during a brief stint during a call up with [...]
Glen Wesley Tribute
This is one of those times when I wish that I had some journalistic expertise so that I could write a proper article, because this person really deserves it.
Of course I’m referring to Glen Wesley.
If you wanted to paint a picture of a prototype athlete as well as a person, you couldn’t go wrong with [...]
Glen Wesley Announces Retirement
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman, Glen Welsey announced his retirement today in a press conference at the RBC. Glen had been with the Hurricanes for 13 years and leads the team statistically in many categories.
The Hurricanes have created a new position for the popular player, as Glen will be the new “DDD”, Director of Defensemen Development. [...]
Rock The Night - Europe Wins the Stanley Cup
Can all the talk finally stop about how a European Captain has never won the Cup? About how Europeans play soft? About how they can’t play with enough grit to be successful in the playoffs?
This absurd generalizing should be put away for at least a year because the Detroit Red Wings, a team [...]
Hurricanes Sign Patrick Eaves
The Carolina Hurricanes signed 24 year old, Patrick Eaves to a 3 year deal this morning. The contract will pay the young forward 1.1M in the first year, 1.4 in the second, and 1.7 in the third. Eaves spent much of last year hurt, but the Canes are obviously counting on [...]
Eye of the Tiger - Top 10 Reasons Why Hockey is Better Than Golf
It was reported the other day that when asked about the Stanley Cup Finals, Tiger Woods said that he “doesn’t think anyone watches hockey anymore.”
Bad answer, Tiger. It’s a shame that you just dissed a sport which has so many athletes who love to play yours.
Here are Bubba’s top ten reasons why golf takes [...]
Minute by Minute - Quick Hit News
The news is changing every minute, so let’s try to get caught up and review a few headlines…..
Good Luck Sami!
It was announced yesterday that ex-Whalers, Canes, and Flyers, Sami Kapanen was retiring from the NHL. Sami will be playing for his own team in Finland next year.
It was a joy to watch Kapanen [...]
I Will Buy You a New Life - Penguins Survive
The Pittsburgh Penguins received outstanding goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury when they needed it the most, and held on to beat the Detroit Red Wings in the 3rd overtime period on Monday night by a score of 4-3. The unlikely win gave the team new life in a series in which they have been dominated [...]
Wrapped Around Your Finger - Wings and Pens in Game 5 Tonight
The Detroit Red Wings can wrap things up tonight as the Penguins invade “The Joe” for game five of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Wings hold a 3-1 advantage and will be looking to close out the series and hoist the Cup in front of their rabid, octopus loving fanbase.
I didn’t get to watch [...]
