http://www.montrealgazette.com/hockey/nhlnews/Spacek%20happy%20to%20have%20left%20dysfunctional%20Habs%20for%20Hurricanes/6662278/story.html Did you guys see this? As much as we probably don't need him it is nice to know that real vets like Jaro Spacek think playing in Raleigh is great, and really want to be here. Credit Rutherford and Muller for creating a first-class feel in this organization. Now I am wasting words to get to the 75 limit...

Nothing up on the Ponikarovsky trade?

Per TSN:

The Carolina Hurricanes have traded forward Alexei Ponikarovsky to the New Jersey Devils for defenceman Joe Sova and a fourth-round draft pick in 2012.

The Carolina Hurricanes have traded forward Alexei Ponikarovsky to the New Jersey Devils for defenceman Joe Sova and a fourth-round draft pick in 2012.

The Carolina Hurricanes have traded forward Alexei Ponikarovsky to the New Jersey Devils for defenceman Joe Sova and a fourth-round draft pick in 2012.

Rather than adding anymore to the endless speculation, I thought I'd look and see how our prospects are fairing, in order to give us some more data to judge them by.

First off, Brian Dumoulin of the BC Eagles... 3 goals, 14 assists, +8 in 22 games. Best numbers by a defenseman on the team. Last year he had 33 points in 37 games, so he is about on the same pace. He still looks as promising as ever.

Sticking with the D... Ryan Murphy. Statistically, he looks like crap. 14 points, and only one goal in 23 games. Miles off of last year's pace. Of course he was badly injured earlier in the year, and suffered both rejection by the Canes and Team Canada. Hopefully he can put it back together. It probably bears remembering that he is a very one dimensional player, which could make him an interesting, but not great NHLer. I'd be happy if he makes it to Marek Zidlicky levels, or even MA Bergeron, though I fear he is more likely to be an Andy Delmore. Here is a nice recent article about him, and his bad season this year...

http://thehockeywriters.com/future-watch-ryan-murphy/

Moving on to the forwards...

Zac Dalpe looked really good in CLT last year, putting up nearly a point-per-game. This year, not so much (13 points in 21 games as of 1/15). His injuries obviously have affected his play. All of this, however, seems to indicate that he is not a lock to end up as a regular Hurricane, let alone the top-six player we need. Maybe, but at 22, he could be approaching his ceiling.

The other Zach, Zach Boychuk, is only a month older than Dalpe, but shows a lot more signs of having hit a ceiling. He was great in CLT last year, but has only 18 points in nearly a season's worth of chances at the NHL level (69 games). He is probably an excellent candidate for a mid-career role redefinition. He might make the NHL if he added a strong defensive element to his game right now. As it is, he is a failed offensive prospect. 22 points in 28 games in CLT right now.

Victor Rask... putting up decent points in the WHL (31 in 36 games). He had an unremarkable WJC tournament, though earned some praise for his play. Still, I'm not sure he has ever done anything to lead us to believe he will be much of an NHLer. Good, sure, but not star material.

Drayson Bowman is slightly off of his praiseworthy AHL scoring pace from last year (14 points in 28 games). His NHL time was not wasted. This guy has future third/fourth line winger written all over him. Definitely a regular next year, assuming we cut some players loose.

Goalies. I am not going to mention Justin Peters, as he is on the Canes roster right now. Mike Murphy, on the other hand, is doing great things in CLT with his .913 save percentage. Definitely NHL backup material.

Anyway, I am in no way convinced that anyone else in our system is going to do much at the NHL level. Realistically, we should only be really confident in Brian Dumoulin. He should become a top-four defenseman. Bowman will be a good bottom-six forward. Mike Murphy can play backup to Ward, and is probably better than Peters. Otherwise, we don't have much help on the way up. Dalpe might yet make it to a top-six NHL level, but I'd put the odds at less than 50-50. Same for Boychuk, but probably more like 20-80 odds. The reality is, especially in the salary cap era, good players don't linger in the AHL. They make the jump young, ala Skinner and Faulk.

So here we go, a serious break from depressing Canes analysis...

So below is a link to a fellow SBNation blog, which discusses an interesting story.  Turns out that NHL teams may have been under-reporting revenue, and the NHLPA is just catching on.  This of course is a big deal since the salary cap, and thus player income, is tied directly to hockey revenue.  After all, none of us buy tickets to watch Karmanos skate around the RBC Center.

Now, while the argument can certainly be made that NHL players, like all pro athletes, are overpaid, the fact is they are the ones who bring in the fans, and therefore the money.  The NHL owners trying to screw the NHL players isn't cool.  Obviously this isn't the bad old days, like when Howe was given a second hand fur coat for a signing bonus, but this is nonetheless interesting.

http://www.ontheforecheck.com/2011/11/13/2558528/nhlpa-cba-nashville-predators-revenue-sharing

What is the community opinion about possibly trading Eric Staal?

In my opinion, he is a complimentary player, not a leader.  He was at his best when he had Brind'amour to lead the way and great wingers (as someone else recently pointed out) to help him score.  As a leader and the team's go-to guy, he gets all the defensive attention (much to Skinner's benefit), and gets frustrated a lot.  He has never struck me as a very inspirational captain either.

Obviously his big contract is a real problem, but I wonder if we might not be able to trade him straight for another highly-paid first line talent.

Anyone else go to the Checkers game last night?  Good game.  I was particularly impressed by Mike Murphy.   Sanguinetti also stood out, as did Justin Faulk.  The rest of the defense was efficient but forgettable as far as individuals go.

On offense, I thought Dalpe looked like the most skilled player out there.  I like the effort from Matsumoto and Nash, though I am afraid Nash might not be a very smart hockey guy.  Never seemed to see the easy pass or easy play.  Bowman through a lot of hits, though he never struck me as much of an offensive threat.  I liked Dodge and Terry, mostly for their effort and skating.  Unfortunately, Zach Boychuk looked entirely invisible the whole game.  I bet he gets traded this summer.

Question for those CC folks with some better first-hand knowledge of this... What is the explanation for the inconsistency of PPs in the NHL.  Even good teams go on mysterious 0-for-20 streaks and the like.  I assume it has something to do with scouts figuring out the opposition's tactics, and then the coaches having to adapt again.  But on the other hand, the PP is one of the more predictable and controllable parts of the game.  Even at the rec level (my level of playing experience), it has always been my experience that slowing the game down and making the easy passes with the man-advantage leads to lots of scoring.  It seems like the ultimate opportunity for tactics to trump individual skill, or lack thereof. Anyway, I'd love to hear some informed (or even uninformed) opinions on this.

Mirtle's numbers.  Looks pretty decent for the Canes, as 14-11 is entirely achievable.They will have to maintain their winning rate... straight .500 hockey wont get it done..  The really good news though is that we are home for 16 of the final 25 games, and all the road games are one-game trips.  If my math is right, this means that as long as we maintain our season-long winning percentage at home, and don't slip below .500 on the road, we should reach the 90 point plateau with no problem.  One hot streak will pretty much seal the deal.

UPDATE: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/globe-on-hockey/the-playoff-push-90-points-or-bust/article1908152/

Mirtle updated the playoff push numbers.  We are at a not so nice 9-6-1

I'm bumping this to see if anyone else is having this issue. The channel came back for a while, but now I am back to watching games in non-HD, which is a tragedy which cannot be exaggerated.

Question for any of you on here who have AT&T Uverse... Are you still getting the Canes games on FSCr in HD? A couple of weeks ago, the channel which carried the HD feed disappeared (1726 for me). The AT&T support people either pretend it isn't a problem, or vaguely refer to contract issues. I can still see the SD feeds with no problem. Anyone else having this issue? Is it limited to Uverse?

Jiri Tlusty a Cane for Paradis.  Winger for a center?  Something wrong with Paradis?  Busy work?  No details available yet, but I guess this gives us an NHL ready guy right now... to what end, I don't know.  Obviously this isn't really a shake-up move.  Also, success of the Finns aside, I am not sure we need to get a lot more European, when it is physical types which we lack.  Our positive hits statistics as of late aside, the Canes aren't a tough team, and I don't see Tlusty helping.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=300950