The Hurricanes are on Fire as They Charge into the Playoffs!

The Carolina Hurricanes have seized control of second place in their division after winning seven straight games and eight of their last nine. Their goaltenders have been exceptional with Kochetkov posting a .960 save percentage in his last four games.

• Goaltending excellence from Kochetkov and Anderson providing stability that allows the team to dictate pace instead of playing from behind
• Mark Jankowski's surprising impact with four goals on four shots since being acquired at the deadline
• Logan Stankoven bringing relentless energy and battle despite his smaller stature, earning comparisons to Brendan Gallagher
• Team chemistry finally clicking after offseason changes, with shared adversity helping forge stronger connections
• Andrei Svechnikov likely to rejoin Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis on the top line when healthy
• Power play remains a significant concern at just 9.4% success rate in March
• William Carrier's eventual return creates tough lineup decisions with Robinson, Jankowski and Roslovic all playing well
• Upcoming West Coast road trip provides opportunities to continue momentum against San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim
• Potential UFA targets to consider include Taylor Hall and Eric Robinson as priorities for re-signing

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Well, the Carolina Hurricanes have weathered the
Meco-Rantanen storm in Oranatare, winning seven straight and
eight of their last nine andoutscoring the opposition 30-14
during that time.
And they've been led byrock-solid performances by their
goalies, piotr Kociakoff andFreddie Anderson.

(00:22):
A surprising contribution froma newcomer, mark Jankowski.
Four goals on four shotsAmazing.
And of course, the Canes.
They're all firing in allcylinders virtually every night.
So joining me to talk aboutthis and we're going to have a
lot of fun tonight because it'smailbag segment coming up

(00:45):
StormTracker Insiders, erinManning and Katie Burtland Howdy
ladies, hello, okay, so Ithought we'd spend a couple of
minutes before we get into themailbag segment and talk a
little bit about the Canes.
I mean this is a great time totalk about them.
They're playing outstandinghockey.
They've climbed up into secondplace, 10 points back of the

(01:08):
Washington Cavs.
It's quite a story.
I mean we look back gosh 10, 15, 20 games ago and it wasn't the
same story at all.
So we've got them going andleading the way.
As I mentioned on the outset,their goaltenders have just been
amazing.
Fyodor Kochekov and we've seenthe numbers lately in the last
four games this is insane.

(01:28):
He's got a 960 save percentageand a .99 goals against average.
It's crazy, and he's beenoutstanding, and I think
Freddie's done a great job aswell.
What do you think about thegoaltending?
It's phenomenal.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Katie.
It's phenomenal, Katie, it hasbeen so much fun to watch.
And they're just.
Piotr and Freddie are takingthe baton and passing it from
one to the other with a lot ofconfidence and a lot of, I think
, the kind of friendlycompetition you want to see
between them.
They're not trying to take eachother's job, but it's a okay,

(02:09):
see what I can do.
Now you try and one-up me andsee what you can do, and this
back and forth.
And they've just progressivelygotten better and better and
better and stronger.
And I think part of what hasstood out to me is the fact that
earlier in the season, even asrecently as a month or so ago, a
lot of times they would bereally good, but they still give

(02:31):
up a goal or two and the Canplayed and having to push a
little bit and made it moredifficult for them to get their
feet going and to really get totheir game, as it were, in those

(02:53):
matches.
And one of the things that'sbeen key in this recent stretch
has been that Piotr and Freddiehave shut the door on those
early goals.
They haven't really beenallowing the other team to get
on the board first, and thatparticular action by them means
that the Canes are able to getto their game faster, they're
able to have enough time tomanufacture some goals and get a

(03:17):
lead and then when there is agoal that goes in, it's not that
big a deal because the Canesare already up by two or three
goals.
So I think that early play inthe first period has really
established their confidence andthe confidence in the team and
allowed the team to build off ofthat and find success on the

(03:37):
other end of the ice.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
Erin.

Speaker 3 (03:42):
Well, absolutely Got to agree with Katie there, and
just the fact that they're notletting in those dreaded easy
ones that we've, all you know,cringed at a little bit.
But even beyond that, to say,you know, one of the comments I
think you had, tom, earlier thisseason was that we needed
goaltenders who were capable ofstealing a game, not just
goaltenders that were, you know,keeping them in the game.

(04:04):
So we've actually seen thatthere was a game that the Canes
did not deserve to win, thatthey won because of Piotr
Kocetkov.
So, you know, those are thekinds of things you want to see,
especially from a young,developing goaltender that
ability to just rise to theoccasion and just shut the door
on a night when the team isstruggling to find their feet,
because they're going to havethose nights, and especially in

(04:24):
the playoffs, they're going tohave those nights, and so those
are the kinds of things that getyou excited about the potential
of this tandem working throughthe playoffs, however that ends
up working, because you needthem to be able to do that,
whether it's to hold the linefor a period while the Kings
measure up the opponent, or tojust stand firm and be the
reason they win on at least afew occasions here and there,

(04:46):
and we've seen that in the pastfrom Freddie not so much, since
you know various health issuesand so on, but he can definitely
do that when he's on.
But now to see that from Peteras well is just really big for
the Kings.

Speaker 1 (05:00):
Well, I think a couple of things.
They definitely are pushingeach other and I think there's a
healthy competition going onthere, and it's kind of what we
saw last year when they weresharing the duties.
They were outstanding.
And here's some interestingstats and we know this about
Piotr he is outstanding on highdanger chances.

(05:21):
His number he's in the 95thpercentile in the NHL and NHL
Edge, I mean no question.
And he's been making thosesaves.
And then of course he wouldhave the odd little you know one
that would slip in that heshould have had, and that's
stopped.
And I think that's one of thebig differences right now and
he's also being a little bitmore careful with the puck.

(05:41):
He's not going out and takingcrazy chances.
He's playing a quiet game, asTrip Tracy would call it, and I
think that's very much the case.
Something else I just want tomention before we leave the
goaltending they have moved upthe ladder something fierce in
terms of their numbers.
If you look at and I tookFreddie as he's got 14 games, so

(06:02):
he's the 14 game number is theminimum.
So Freddie's sitting in secondplace right now with his 2-1-5
goals against average and 9-12save per se I'm talking about
goals against average and thenPiotr, he's sixth and he's at
2-3-7 now after that shutout anda 9-0-8 save per se.
These numbers are fantastic.

(06:23):
They really are outstanding andyou will not find a duel that
collectively has the number theyhave out and a 908 save per
saves.
These numbers are fantastic.
They really are outstanding andyou will not find a duel that
collectively has the number theyhave.
And if you look at the Canesnumbers, and even Dustin
Tokarski's numbers wereoutstanding.
He's 2.18, I think, on hisgoals against average.
So those three guys have reallybeen locking it down, and so

(06:43):
quite a story.
When you look at how things wereat different points of the
season and trying to fill inwith Spencer, martin and Dustin
and so on, it's a great storyand I think we've talked a lot
about this too is that goinginto the playoffs and one of the
biggest differentiators isgoing to be goaltending.
So if they can stay on this runand stay hot, anything's

(07:07):
possible with the Hurricanes forsure.
So a great story in thegoaltending.
Now we're going to have somefun.
Because Mark Jankowski isn'tthis the greatest story?
And you know, when the Canesgot him, we hardly even knew
that because Eric Tulsky haddone this press conference after
the trade deadline and didn'teven mention Mark and basically

(07:29):
he said they were done.
And then all of a sudden wefind out that they, at the last
possible second, were able to dothe deal with Mark and we
talked about it in our lastpodcast.
This is a great story and helooks like he's going to fit in
quite nicely with the Canes.
What are our thoughts aboutMark Jankowski?

Speaker 3 (07:48):
I just love how much fun he's having.
It's so clear that he'sabsolutely loving life right now
.
And I mean, okay, the team hecame from is not having the
greatest year by any stretch ofthe imagination and he was not
playing a ton of games for them.
So seeing him, just you know,he's kind of that smile, just
kind of lights up the room whenhe walks in and talks to the
press about how much fun he'shaving.

(08:09):
And I think, that that attitudedefinitely rubs off on the other
guys.
But just you know, I mean, yeah, the four goals on four shots,
100% shooting.
Yeah, that's not going to last,but it's just so much fun to
see somebody who can finish, sowe're all cheering for that.
We're really excited about that, and he seems to be developing
some really nice chemistry withEric Robinson too, which is

(08:31):
important for what the Canes aregoing to want to do down the
stretch.

Speaker 2 (08:36):
So what do you think, katie?
Yeah, I'm loving him, and hedefinitely brings some added
size, which I think is one ofthe things that the Canes have
been looking for, that they'veworried in the past and in the
playoffs they've been a bit toosmall and we definitely have
some players on the smaller sidein other parts of the lineup.
So, having a tall, strongcenter who can play that 200

(08:57):
foot game and yet still has thatscoring threat, it will be a
nice bonus to have to be able toput out against other teams,
either their scoring lines ortheir other fourth lines, and
really feel good about themplaying low event hockey or
being able to create chances inthe offensive zone.
And, like you said, aaron, I'mloving how Robinson and

(09:18):
Jankowski are feeding off ofeach other.
Whoever's their winger therehas worked out well too, but
that particular duo seems to bea nice combo to be uh, bringing
in and that they'll play.
They'll play heavy, for sure,and that's what you need from a
fourth line in the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (09:33):
Yeah, and I know, I know that, uh, when they signed
eric robinson, one of their keyuh target goals for that was
that he was going to bring sizefor them in the playoffs.
And you know, eric, eric isjust playing so well right now.
I think anybody could be on hisline and they're going to have
some success.
He's really playing outstandinghockey these days, and we'll

(09:55):
talk a little bit about Ericlater on, I'm sure.
So that's Janky.
What about Stanky Katie?

Speaker 2 (10:11):
janky.
What about katie?
Um well, my goodness, stankovenhas come in like the tank that
he is advertised as he.
He might not be very tall, buthe is sturdy and he is full of
determination, and there is nopart of the ice that he is not
willing to go to.
And and that first game we sawthat very nice deflection goal
that he had on the power play,which the Canes really needed.
And since then it might not bea whole lot of shine on the

(10:34):
score sheet, but off the scoresheet he has been doing so many
good things.
He had that beautiful goal thatwas disallowed because Stahl
was just a smidge offside.
I felt bad for him for that,because that was a really nice
hardworking goal it's a greatgoal.
But his motor and his work ethicdefinitely fit on that dad's
line really well and gives themanother like-minded winger there

(11:03):
, but someone who also has ascoring touch, and I'm sure
there will be plenty of otheropportunities where he is going
to put up some points on sidesthis time and start hoping to
drive some more offense fromthat line, because we know that
Stahl's line is one of the bestlines come playoff time for
possession they are just not oneof the best lines come playoff

(11:24):
time for possession.
They are just not one of thebest lines when it comes to
finishing, and so I thinkStankoven might help improve
those finishing numbers at leasta little bit, which sometimes
all you need is a little bitwhen it comes to the playoffs.
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (11:41):
Well, the other thing , sorry, go ahead, go ahead.

Speaker 3 (11:44):
I was just going to say I think, watching him the
other night I think it was thegame against the Red Wings when
he was battling in the cornersyou just get that look of
surprise from these huge guysthat he's stealing the puck from
, managing to get it away from.
I go back.
I know I made the comparisonalready before, but it just does
remind me so much of BrendanGallagher, because people when

(12:05):
he was young did not expectBrendan Gallagher to be able to
battle in the corners either.

Speaker 1 (12:28):
They know better now, but when he was first in the
league it was the same kind ofsurprise that someone of that
size and that stature could justbe such a bulldog and be so
ferocious on the puck.
And I'm loving watching him dothat, because that is a feature
of his game that translates sowell to everything that the
Canes do.
Yeah, and you know, the Caneshad great success with Seth
Jarvis, with the dads, and sohaving two bigger players and
then being able to put a smallerplayer like Stankovin on there
is a good opportunity for themand it's great for him too.
They'll be able to open up somespace for him, I'm sure, and
they're starting to get a littlebit of the chemistry going and

(12:51):
he's definitely a skilled playerwe know that and it's going to
be exciting to watch.
So hopefully he'll be anotheraddition to the offensive side
for the Canes.
If they can start to get alittle bit of offense from the
Daz line, that will be very,very welcome, I'm sure.
So one other thing briefly Iwanted to touch on was you know
the Canes are firing in allcylinders.

(13:13):
You know they've just beensmoking hot.
What's changed?
What do you think has led tothis incredible surge, erin?

Speaker 3 (13:23):
Oh, sorry, you want to go, katie go ahead.

Speaker 2 (13:30):
I was just going to say I mean this piggybacks right
off of what we were talkingabout with goaltenders.
The fact that they're notletting in those early goals,
they're not having to play frombehind, means that they're able
to get to their game.
And they're the ones who aredriving play, dictating tone,
dictating pace and being able toestablish how the game is going
to go.
And so for me, the goaltendinghas been the key, because

(13:51):
they're not having to play frombehind, they're not having to
clutch their sticks a little bittighter and wondering when's
the next goal going to come from?
And what I think has also beenkey is they've been getting
production up and down thelineup.
It hasn't just been trying torely on Ajo's line, but you go
and you look at the game cardand it's there's at least two

(14:14):
lines involved in the scoring inevery game, if not, if not more
.
So for me, that's the key.
It's establishing the toneearly, not letting in that first
goal, not having to play frombehind and being able to get to
their own game and dictatingpace and tone of how the game is
going to proceed.

Speaker 3 (14:31):
The only thing I would add onto that is that you
know we talked about this alittle bit.
I think there's been times inthe year when we felt like I
think we all felt like theyweren't gelling together for
some reason or another.
You know, you had a lot ofchange and a lot of drama over
the offseason players leaving.
You had the new guys coming inand certainly working very hard,
but they didn't have the sharedexperiences you know, and

(14:55):
sometimes it just takes a littlebit of shared adversity for a
team to gel together.
And you know, when you thinkabout some of the stuff that
they've been through prior tothis all coming together, and
you know we can look at thewhole drama of the Rantanen
trade, because that was a factor, but I mean just also the fact
that the entire team wentthrough a two week misery of
everybody being sick with theflu.
I mean those kinds of things arethe sort of thing that they
have to battle through and finda way and, you know, pick up the

(15:17):
pieces for each other and haveeach other's backs out there,
because you know the guy next toyou might not be 100% but
you've got to get through thegame anyway.
I think the confidence that youbuild from that.
We talk about teams battlingthrough adversity, but
ultimately the bottom line isthat it's that confidence factor
, that knowing that everybody'son the same page, everybody's
going to do the same job,they're all pulling on that same

(15:37):
rope.
And then, like Katie talkedabout, with the goaltending, you
add that in there, thereliability of the goaltending,
knowing that the guy back therehas your back.
It just all comes together andI think that they're really
starting to coalesce as a team,and at their exact right time
when we head into the finalstretch for the playoffs.
So that's awesome.

Speaker 1 (15:56):
Yeah, and I think some other things are kind of
developing.
Taylor Hall seems to becontinuing to grow with the
Canes and seems like he'splaying better every single
night.
Seems to be continuing to growwith the Canes and seems like
he's playing better every singlenight.
We've got, obviously, the newplayers coming in with energy
and certainly a little bit of adifferent look than Mikko
Rantanen.
These are fast players who playhard.
So I think that's a nicecompliment to the existing team.

(16:19):
The interesting thing and we'vetalked a lot about this, but
they've been making all thishappen and a couple of their key
players and maybe even calledstars, if you will, certainly
their big star, sebastian Ajo.
He's been playing okay.
I don't think he'sdistinguished himself
particularly and of course,they've been playing without

(16:43):
lately, without Andres Feshnikov.
So it's kind of interestingthat they've been doing this,
and again by committee.
I think that's a key part ofwhat's starting to evolve with
the team, definitely Okay.
So definitely, as you say, avery significant kind of move of
the team to come together.

(17:04):
Certainly, we heard a littlebit about the Brent Burns
surprise birthday party.
I mention that because thatseemed to be a galvanizing
activity for them as well.
The new folks were there,everybody was there, and I'm
sure it was quite the party.
But more importantly, I thinkit really has helped the team

(17:26):
become even closer.
And that's kind of aninteresting thing too, because
we had a lot of new players inthe offseason and you know they
were part of the team for sure.
But I think I see them a littlebit different now.
I don't know if you do, but Isee them more kind of as a
cohesive unit and, boy, oncethey get that momentum going,

(17:47):
this style of Rod Brendamore's,with a team that's working as
hard as the Canes are, andthey're starting to get back to
their game, where they'reoutworking the opposition.
And we went through a period,for whatever reason, that they
weren't, and you know that washey, what's going on?
This isn't Canes hockey, right?
So hey, what's going on, thisisn't Canes hockey, right?
So yeah.
So they're coming back onstrong and hopefully, as they

(18:09):
head out west, it's going to bean interesting couple of games.
They've got three games outthere, two of them with lesser
teams, so this might be anopportunity for them to continue
their winning ways playing SanJose and Anaheim in that
three-game trip.
So we'll see how that goes,hopefully on Thursday night
we've got another win to put inthe win column, so that's good.

(18:34):
Okay, so time for mailbag andwe're going to be highlighting
questions tonight from a lot offellow Caniacs on X Some great
questions, I got to tell you.
I really appreciate the folkstaking their time and sending
those into us because there'ssome really really good ones.
So let's get started.

(18:55):
The first question comes fromCanes and Dogs and he says where
in the lineup is Spetch goingto end up?
I like the Aho, jarvis andBlake line, but it sure is
lacking in size and physicality.
Who wants to take that one?

Speaker 2 (19:13):
Oh, I can start with that one.
I think a lot of us, as wewatch, feel like there's just
something about Svetch with Ahothat doesn't quite click.
So we talk about, you know,should he be on the dad's line,
should he be with Kokunyemi, ordo you just kind of have to try

(19:34):
and make it happen again on theAho line?
I think where he's going to endup, where Rod's going to
eventually put him, is going tobe up on the Aho line because of
the aforementioned physicality.
I do think, because of his sizeand his presence there, that he
will make that line a littlebit more difficult to play

(19:56):
against.
I mean no shot at all to JacksonBlake.
I love Jackson Blake and hisgame.
It has been fantastic.
But he is a rookie, he is notplayoff tested and he is smaller
.
And if there is one criticismon Jackson Blake's game, it's
that he's a little too easy tobody off the puck and that's not
a trait that you want to havefor your top scoring line in the

(20:18):
playoffs.
I personally think that Svetchwill end up back up with Ajo and
Jarvis come playoff time orshortly after the playoff start.

Speaker 3 (20:32):
I would agree with that overall.
I think it's probably the mostlikely scenario.
I think the least likelyscenario funny enough given how
much he's played there this yearis to put him back with Stahl
and Martinuk, because I don'tthink that is a solid enough
playoff line for the shutdownrole that that line usually
plays against heavy matchups andwhen you get into the playoff

(20:56):
matches.
The only third alternative thatwe talked about and this could
happen I don't think it's goingto be the starting line, but the
other player that you have thatyou could put with Ajo and
Jarvis to increase their size isTaylor Hall, who's been playing
extremely well, and if thatdecision was made then you would
have Svechnikov with Kokuniemi.

(21:17):
They have played together wellbefore.
It's not like that's a terribleoption, but right now it's not
as good as the option of Hallwith Coconemi because they've
found such great chemistrytogether and that line has been
really humming.
So I don't think that's yourfirst.
I think that's not going to bethe first idea.
We could see it down thestretch.
We could see it tried as anexperiment, you know.
But we'll have to see.

(21:39):
And the question right now iswe still don't have a definitive
answer on whether Svets isgoing to be making the road trip
, but he did take part in anoptional practice today, so
that's a good sign.
We'll have to see if he makesthe full practice tomorrow, and
then I guess we'll know fromthere.

Speaker 1 (21:55):
Well, a couple things I thought we'd touch on with
Svec.
I mean, Svec has not beenlights out this year.
He's had kind of a so-so season.
Katie, you had a little bit ofinformation on his kind of
shooting and some of thechallenges he's facing
offensively.
What can you tell us about that?

Speaker 2 (22:12):
It was just interesting digging into some of
the stat sites.
You go to NHL Edge and of hisuh metrics are really good.
They're in the 70 80thpercentile and whether it's
skating or whatever.
But the one kind of dent thatyou have in his uh, in his kind
of spider web map, there isshooting percentage.

(22:34):
His shooting percentage hasbeen quite low this year
comparatively speaking to therest of the league.
And so I thought well, you know,is this just maybe that he's
not taking as many shots, thathe's not getting as many chances
?
And so then I went to NaturalStat Trick and looked at that.
Oh, that's not the case.
At both five on five and in allsituations he is second on the

(22:56):
team in shots on goal.
So he's obviously hitting thenet with regularity.
So that would.
That was kind of curious.
So I popped on over to hockeyviz and you look at hockey viz
for both um five on five and uhin power play shots.
It is scattered all over theplace.

(23:17):
He is shooting from way too farout.
There are a lot.
There is, I mean, there's afair amount of shot generation
at the crease, where you wanthim to be, but he is too good of
a power forward and too skilledto be taking shots from above
the dots, all the way up to theblue line.
There are some shots he'staking.
You'd think that it was adefenseman taking the shots,
yeah, why he's taking?

(23:37):
You'd think that it was adefenseman taking those shots,
why?
So I think he just really needsto concentrate his game on
narrowing his field of play whenit comes to getting
opportunities and shots downtowards, you know, between the
dots, in the sweet spots of theice, and just keep up that pace,
because eventually there'sgoing to be regression to the

(23:59):
mean, and that regression forhim means a higher shooting
percentage, not a lower shootingpercentage.
So there's still plenty to workwith there.
He's still doing a lot of goodthings.
It just hasn't quite resultedin goals yet, the way that, of
course, we all are rooting forhim to produce.

Speaker 1 (24:18):
Well, the other thing too is he does lead the team in
power play goals.
He's got nine and he couldreally help there.
We know that when he's got hisconfidence he can really do some
excellent work on the powerplay.
So we'll talk a little bitabout that.
But that is an area that he hasdone well this year and he can
do more Interesting.
We've talked a lot about in thepast making sure that Seth

(24:42):
Jarvis was on the top line withSebastian Ajo.
I wanted to say that Ajo saidrecently that I feel like we
have great chemistry.
Every game we're out theretogether I feel like he's been
my guy.
So that's Ajo talking aboutJarvis.
So I think they're going tostay together for sure.
And if you use the concept ofloading up your top line, which

(25:04):
I think is really the rightthing to do for the Hurricanes,
it should be Sveshnikov.
If you look at the minutes withSebastian Ajo this year, coming
out of natural stat trick, it'sinteresting.
Seth Jarvis has 406 minutes, alittle bit more with Ajo.
Roslevic had 395.
So at the start of the year hewas with Sebastian a lot,

(25:27):
sveshnikov 370.
So remember at the start of theyear they had that great line
of Svesh Roslevic and AjoJackson Blake 178.
Mikko Rantanen 148.
So clearly a healthy AndreiSvechnikov should be patrolling
left wing on the top line.

Speaker 3 (25:46):
I think that's true.

Speaker 1 (25:48):
Okay, so that's the first one.
Let's go to number two.
This one's a challenging oneand I know we had to put our
thinking caps on for this oneComing from Reese.
Reese said, with the team fullyhealthy, who comes out for
William Carrier?

Speaker 3 (26:08):
That is a tough one.
There's no question that that'sa tough one.
We went back and forth talkingabout it.
First of all, I think that thething that has to be said up
front is that we don't reallyknow right now when William
Carrier will return.
There is a good indication fromthe team they have talked about
that he will be available forthe playoffs, but, as we just

(26:30):
heard today about you knowsomeone for a different team the
Dallas Stars said that MiroHeskinen will be available for
the playoffs but probably notfor the first round.
Dallas Stars said that MiroHeskinen will be available for
the playoffs but probably notfor the first round, and that is
something that we could beseeing with Carrier too, and
this could be a very similarsituation you don't know with

(26:54):
injury timelines.
Just because someone willtheoretically be available for
some point during the playoffsIf you're assuming that your
team is going to make it acertain distance we don't know
that he will be there for puckdrop in game one of round one.
So that could kick the can downthe road a little bit, because
obviously, if injuries happen,then there's no question about
someone coming out, it's justsomeone coming in.
But having said all that, thebottom line is we don't really

(27:15):
know, because there's no goodchoices, and that's a good thing
to to a good situation to be in, to not be able to pick someone
and say, well, this guy'sdefinitely sitting.
You know we can't say that, soI'm gonna kick it over to katie
that's a very nice not answerthere.

Speaker 2 (27:32):
I'm good at that.
Well, I mean, if you thinkthrough the lineup, so we have
the top six pretty much set, inthat you have Svej Aho, jarvis
Hall, kk, blake, and if it's notBlake it's Stankoven.
But Blake's not going to begoing anywhere.
He's too valuable.
Rod trusts him too much.

(27:53):
And then obviously you have,for whichever one of those isn't
up there, you still have Stahland Martin.
They're not coming anywhere.
So that's nine players youObviously you have.
For whichever one of thoseisn't up there, you still have
Stahl and Martinuk.
They're not coming anywhere.
So that's nine players you knoware going to be in the lineup,
set and forget.
So then that leaves the three,because we know Jost will be the
one that comes out forSvechnikov and Svechnikov.

Speaker 1 (28:12):
Yeah, that's easy.

Speaker 2 (28:13):
So that leaves Robinson, jankowski and Roslevic
.
Well, roslevic's been scoring alot of goals.
Jankowski's a center.
So even though Roslevic canplay center, I don't think Rod's
going to trust him withface-offs and the defensive
responsibilities that sort ofthing.
And then you have Robinson, whohas been playing fantastic

(28:34):
hockey.

Speaker 1 (28:34):
He's been phenomenal.

Speaker 2 (28:35):
So the question then becomes can we sit Carrier?
He hasn't been playing in awhile.
He's been phenomenal, a ton ofvalue, the heavy north-south
play of Robinson, the centeringstrength of Jankowski or the

(29:03):
goal-scoring production ofRoslevic I don't know that you
give up what those three bringin order to bring in the
intangibles for Carrier.
So my answer would be you sitCarrier.
But if Rod brings in Carrier, Ihate to say it but I think it

(29:24):
would be robinson because youcan't.
You can't give up the goalscorer and you can't give up the
center okay, now I'll jump backin.

Speaker 3 (29:36):
I think there's a non-zero.
I mean there there's a slightchance.
It's not 100%, but if the goalis to make this line a heavy
punishing, you do not want toplay against them line, then the
person who comes out would beRoslevic and even though I know
we need his scoring and eventhough you could ask the
question, would he occasionally,would he and Blake maybe take

(29:58):
turns on one of the other linesand it could happen, we don't
know.
But if you want that to be thisphysical punishing, traditional
fourth line in the playoffsline, you're going to have
Robinson, genkowski and Carrier,because that is what Carrier's
game is, it's what it's alwaysbeen.
So again, I still think that wehave that chance of maybe he

(30:19):
doesn't come in game one roundone.
Maybe he, you know, maybe allof those guys are cycling in and
out, depending on the matchupsand depending on who the
opponent is and what it lookslike.
I mean, do you need thatpunishing line if the Canes'
first opponent are the NewJersey Devils?
Nope, do you keep Roslevic totry to feast on easy matchups

(30:42):
and get the scoring?
I think there's going to be alot of strategy here and we
could see some very unusualcombinations as they go through
this and think about not justhow do we want to play, but who
are we playing against.
You would want that lineagainst the Florida Panthers, I
think, if you get there.
But there's a lot of stepsbetween here and there for both

(31:02):
teams.

Speaker 1 (31:03):
I think this is going as I expected it would, because
it is a complex discussion.
A couple of things that I'mthinking, just to kind of add to
what you've said, and I thinkboth of you have great thoughts
on this.
Carrier is going to play assoon as he's ready, for sure.
He was brought in because ofthis.
He's had extensive playoffsuccess and I don't see any way

(31:24):
that Carrier isn't in there.
Don't forget, jack Roslevic'shad some playoff action as well.
The two other guys have hadvery limited, so Blake has had
none and Stankoven has not had alot.
So Brendan Moore, likes thatexperience.
As you know, he likes to go withthe folks who've been out there
getting it done.
I would not be surprised if wesaw Blake or Stankoven set out a

(31:47):
game here and there, but Ithink a lot of it's going to be
due to are they all healthy?
You know, are we dealing withsome injuries and some nagging
problems?
He can drop somebody in.
Or, you know, is somebody notplaying well?
Or you know, maybe somebodycould be dropped in to shore up
a line or whatever.
It's a great position for theCanes.
I don't think it's clear today,and I don't think it'll be

(32:09):
clear until we get into theplayoffs, frankly, as to how
this is going toplay out, but I would bet that
William Carrier is going to seesome action in the playoffs for
sure, because he's a playoff guy.

Speaker 3 (32:21):
Great question.
I didn't know you were going towrite about that Great question
.

Speaker 1 (32:25):
Let's go to another one.
They keep bringing these toughquestions Boy oh boy.
Okay, this is from Canes andSeven.
He said I think scratchingMorrill for Orlov is a risky
move for Rod.
If he makes the switch and thecanes get knocked out, I think
the seat temperature might startrising.
Thoughts.

Speaker 2 (32:49):
Something like sitting a rookie for a proven
vet is not going to change theseat temperature for Rod
Brindamore in the slightest.
I think we can say that with acertain amount of confidence.
And again, has Morrow beengreat?
Yes, has Orlov made some reallybig boo-boos that have led to

(33:13):
goals?
Yes, that does not mean that inthe playoffs you sit the
veteran who has won a StanleyCup and has been a key member of
the defense on many a playoffrun.
You do not sit him in favor ofthe untested rookie.
This isn't even a RodBrindamore thing.

(33:36):
Well, brindamore prefers theveterans.
I don't know of any coach whowants their team to get far in
the playoffs.
Who is going to say which oneam I going to?

Speaker 3 (33:46):
put in.

Speaker 2 (33:48):
I think they're going to go with the proven veteran
every single time, as long as heis healthy, and I think that's
part of what has been happeninghere.
I think if we were already inthe playoffs, orlov would have
already returned probably two orthree games ago but they have
the time and they have theluxury of the rest of the

(34:08):
offense playing well, to giveMorrow that time, to let him
develop a little bit extra andto allow Orlov's bumps and
bruises to heal a little bitbetter as as we progress through
the rest of the season.
There's no rush to bring himback.
Let Morrow play and then, oncehe is ready to come back, I
wouldn't be surprised if theyrest a few of the other

(34:29):
defensemen Let Chatfield sit fora game, let Walker sit for a
game, or whomever just to keepMorrow in there.
Keep Morrow fresh.
He is a great seventh D to have, as we saw with Pesci last
offseason.
You know injuries can happen,and lengthy ones at that.
So I feel a whole lot betterhaving Morrow with his

(34:52):
experience as an emergencyfill-in than some of the other
defensemen we've seen this year.
So that part of it is is goodwith with morrow.
But no, orlov is.
Orlov will be in the lineup,provided he's healthy, game one
and he will stay in the lineupabsolutely agree.

Speaker 3 (35:13):
No, no disagreement whatsoever there.
And you know, one thing that Ithink, think that some of our
fellow Canes fans might want tothink about is this when you're
talking about not just a rookie,but a rookie who hasn't played,
I mean, this isn't JacksonBlake who's played the entire
season, this is a rookie who hascome up from the AHL and he's
still I mean, he's still on avery low number of NHL games

(35:35):
played so far.
He's doing great, there's noquestion.
But the playoffs can be a realshock to the system, even for
people who've been in the leaguefor a while, who just haven't
been in the playoffs yet.
So I think that when you knowthere's a tendency to hear Bryn
DeMoor talking about you knowthe possibility of using him as
a seventh D and to see that assome sort of slight or insult or

(35:55):
something.
But it's actually quite anhonor because there are, like
Katie said, there are some guysin the AHL who have been called
up this year and been inrotations and come in to take
that spot.
We've gone 11-7 a couple oftimes with some of these guys on
the roster.
So if you're putting ScottMorrow above those guys, that's

(36:16):
already a level of trust in ayoung defenseman and a rookie
defenseman that a lot of teamswouldn't be ready to give him.
So I mean, I still think thatthat's a sign that he's doing
well and he's doing everythingthat the Canes want him to do.
So I wouldn't look at that assome kind of disrespect for what
Morrow is eventually going tobring to the Canes.
It's just that the key wordthere is eventually.

(36:36):
We're not there yet.

Speaker 1 (36:38):
Yeah, and you know what?
That's an exciting thought fornext year.
You know we've talked a littlebit about this.
We see how Scott's developingvery nicely and we know that
Alexander Nikitian is earmarkedto come over for next year as
well.
A couple of things I wanted tomention.
I mean Scott's numbers are good.
I mean he's got a goal andthree assists for four points in

(36:59):
six games.
I mean one goal and two assistsfor three points rather, and a
plus four.
He's playing about 13 minutes agame.
But let's take a look at Orlovfor a second.
I mean Orlov has 92 playoffgames.
Okay, the last two seasons inparticular, you recall, in
Boston he was really outstanding.
He played very, very well forthem.

(37:20):
And last year, of course, heplayed very, very well for them.
And last year, of course,moving up with Jalen Chatfield
into that number two pair,basically in a very tough
situation due to injury, Ithought he accorded himself very
well and so he's a guy thatreally kind of brings his game
forward.
And now, with him getting alittle bit of a break, I think
that's going to give him achance to recenter, come back in

(37:41):
, be sharp and be the kind ofdefenseman that the Canes are
really going to need in theplayoffs.
He plays a heavy game.
He's a guy that can really layon the body and I think that's
key as well.
Morrow's a little bit more of afinesse player, as we know.

Speaker 3 (37:54):
The other thing with Morrow.

Speaker 1 (37:56):
I would not be surprised if Scott goes back to
Chicago.
They're on a run here, they'vegot a chance to go into the
playoffs.
This is a great experience forhim to play big minutes, to play
in all situations with theWolves.
So I would be a littlesurprised if he's hanging around
with the Hurricanes.
I just don't see it.
I see him playing down inChicago and getting a real

(38:18):
opportunity to experience, youknow, some very, very
significant hockey as they gointo the playoffs as well, and
I'm sure that the Wolves wouldlove to have him back.
So that's always possible.
Yeah, so so I think I thinkagain, it's a great question.
Scott certainly got ourattention.
We really liked the way he'splaying.

(38:39):
His offensive acumen is isreally special.
He made some great plays thatwe saw.
One led to the goal withJankowski, another one he set up
Jordan Martinuk on anincredible play.
He sees the ice extremely well.
So lots of excitement withScott.
Great question Canes in seven.
Again, we're with Dimitri atthis point, so we'll stick with

(39:03):
that.
Seven again uh, we're withdimitri at this point, so we'll
stick with that.
Um, I knew this would come upsomewhere and it did.
And beth black swan asked thequestion is there any way to fix
the power play before theplayoff, absent divine
intervention?
And that's exactly the way toput it, I think, at this stage.
Um, I wanted to, before we getinto the discussion, just

(39:25):
refresh where we are with thepower play.
You know we started well, I'vetalked about this in the past.
We headed into January and did5.1% success.
We went into February oh, we'reup to 12.5.
That's going the right way.
We're up to 12.5.
That's going the right way.

(39:46):
We're back into March at 9.4.
These numbers are justabsolutely horrendous and we
know that the power play isgoing to be critical in playoffs
.
It always is those games.
Quite often it's the specialteams that save the day.
And of course, the Canes arevery fortunate to have one of
the top penalty killing units inthe league and they're going to

(40:07):
count on that significantly.
But the power play's got to getfixed, and we've seen them
doing a lot of different things.
You know they're trying to dumpthe puck in and go after it.
They're trying all kinds ofthings, but what do we think has
to happen to get this powerplay fixed?
Katie, why don't you take ashot at that one?

Speaker 2 (40:27):
Well, it's interesting If you go back to
January, the Avs were in asimilar situation until the
trade happened and they ended upwith Natchez, and then their
power play took off, and the onething that was the key for them
is they had had the sameproblem the Canes are currently
having it's too static, it's toostatic, it's too stagnant, it's
too many.
Just people sit standing in oneplace, passing the puck around

(40:49):
the umbrella, not creatinganything dangerous, anything
that resulted in likelihood ofof them scoring.
So what they what the abschanged with having nature's in
there is that nature startedmoving around.
Yeah, he was never in the sameplace.
He'd start out coming into thezone and be in the left face-off

(41:11):
circle and then he'd be behindthe net and then he'd come out
net front and then he'd shiftoff to the side looking for a
tip pass or he just never was inthe same spot and always moving
around, and whenever he movedout of a space, another player
would move into and fill up thatspace, and so the defense
wasn't able to just, you know,be able to turn their back and

(41:33):
say well, I know that thisperson is still going to be
there, even if I'm not watchinghim with an eagle eye, because
you know he might be two feet tothe left or two feet to the
right, but he's going to be inthe exact same place.
If the puck goes in thatdirection, I know how to turn
and position myself.
With the way the abs power playhas been going recently, they
can't cheat on anybody and theydon't know who's going to be
there.
Because even if you knowthere's going to be someone in

(41:55):
that position, it makes a bigdifference whether it's nature's
or mckinnon or if it's drew in,or Valerie Natchushkin.
I mean those are two verydifferent types of players with
different propensities for thetypes of plays they make and
shots they have and that sort ofthing.
And we have that same thingWhether Svetch is taking the
shot or Jarvis is taking theshot.
You have to play themdifferently because of the type

(42:15):
of player they are and what theylike to do with the puck.
That's what I think the Canesneed is they need that movement
and they need that dynamicaspect to to their, to their
power play where they're keepingthe defense guessing about
who's there and what they'redoing.
Other than that, the other thingthey need is speed.
There are too many times thatI'm particularly putting this on

(42:37):
Aho there are too many timesthat the pass comes to them and
they just stop the puck.
They don't even dust it off,they just stop it and they sit
and they wait and they look leftand right, left and right, left
and right, and then dosomething with it.
Well, by that time, if you'retaking a shot, the goalie is
already in position, or adefender is able to get into the
lane and block it, or they'reable to get a stick and prevent

(42:58):
the pass.
It's giving the defense way toomuch time to react, and
definitely the goalie as well.
So they need to be much moreintentional and quick with their
passes and their shots in orderto have a better chance of the
puck getting through lanes andbeating the goalie yeah, I think

(43:19):
she said it all I think theother thing the other thing.

Speaker 3 (43:25):
If there's another thing they need to fix and I
think, tom, you alluded to thisjust a little bit it kind of
boggles the mind, because theCanes are an excellent
forechecking team, which meansthey're really good at getting
the puck into their own zone,except on the power play.
Why are the zone entries so badfor the Carolina Hurricanes?
When they carry the puck in allthe time, even when they shoot

(43:48):
it in on a forechecking shiftwhere they're trying to get it
in deep, they're not justdumping it into a random corner,
they're targeting an area thatnobody is there, and then
there's at least three guysconverging to go get that puck.
Why can they not do that on thepower play when they outnumber
the opponent?
You know there have been somejokes on X about they should

(44:10):
just treat it like a regularfive-on-five shift and send out
the five-on-five lines completewith two defensemen, and not
even try to pretend that it'sanything special, because they
might have better luck.
You know it's hard to arguewith that.

Speaker 1 (44:21):
So Well, I mean, the other thing too is that they
relied on Marty Natchez forthose zone entries.
He is one of the best in theleague, frankly, and they really
counted on him to do that andhe did it well for them Once he
was gone.
This was a major, major hole,and that's been part of the
challenge.
But you know it's interestingwhen you look at some of the top

(44:42):
power plays, you know what.
That's been part of thechallenge.
But you know it's interesting.
When you look at some of thetop power plays, you know what's
being said about them.
Ok, so let's take a look at theWinnipeg Jets and there's this
number one 31 percent successrate, ok, and the Canes, I think
, are down at 18.
So here's what.
Here's what the power play coach, david Payne, said.
He said, yeah, there's not alot of focus on end results.
We basically stick to theprocess about what we want to do

(45:05):
and how we want to do it.
So that's interesting.
And then Josh Morrissey, who'sthe power play quarterback, said
I think there's a pace thatwe're playing at and executing
at that we haven't had in thepast.
We're on the same page andwe're getting opportunities in
different ways.
So he's talking about what youwere talking about too, katie.

(45:26):
There's a pace.
They're moving around, they'redoing things, they're on top of
it.
Todd McClellan for the RedWings they're third at 28.3%.
We know they've been smokinghot at different points this
year.
Said it is very well connected.
So the other thing about this isthat these players have got to
be on the same wavelength.

(45:46):
Okay, so to me, what you needto be doing is you've got lots
of movement, people know wherethey're going to be, the puck's
moving quickly.
All of a sudden you get thatshot.
You know that gives you achance to get a rebound, or it's
a one-timer from the right orleft side.
Again, doesn't sound likethere's a lot of magic here.

(46:07):
You just go out, move quicklyand get the shots on net and, of
course, first and foremost,you've got to get into the zone.
But the Canes have got to getthat number up.
They cannot be in the playoffsat 8% or 10% or 12% success rate
.
It's just not going to go, andthat would be the Achilles heel

(46:28):
for them this year, because theother parts of their game are
looking good.
They're looking very, very good.
So again, great question, andit's a tough one.

Speaker 3 (46:41):
Some divine intervention probably wouldn't
help.

Speaker 1 (46:44):
Well, divine intervention is definitely
what's going to be needed atthis stage Wouldn't hurt sorry.
Yeah, okay, our next question.
It's actually two folks had avery similar question, so I'll
read both of them before we jumpinto it.
Sean Barron said with us havinga lot of cap this upcoming
offseason, are there anyexpiring contracts you feel are

(47:05):
a must sign, or at least wouldtry to sign before free agency?
Okay?
And then Eric K8 came back andsaid if you could bring back
only one of the pending UFAs onthe canes, who would you want to
target the most?
So here's the questions we'regetting who should we be looking
at with the folks who arecurrently unrestricted free

(47:27):
agents?
Katie?

Speaker 2 (47:30):
Okay.
Well, let's start with the onesI definitely think that the
cane should be looking at, andthat would be at the top of my
list, holland, think.
I think they both fit in verywell.
Robinson has just worked histail off and shown that he is a
Canes player through and through.
Fits to a tee.

(47:50):
Same thing with Hall.
I'm going to throw a little bitof a curve ball out there for
my third one.
Just because of the way themarket is looking for this this
summer, I would not be surprisedif the Canes re-sign freddie
anderson okay because it's justnot looking like there's going
to be a lot of goalies.

(48:11):
That would be an upgrade overhim, even with the injury issues
.
That.
That might be an area freddie'swilling to come back at, a
number the canes are comfortablewith.
They can say look, we know thisduo, we know this tandem, we
know how it works.
Let's just keep know.
There's not a better option outthere right now.
Bring him back for a year ortwo.
So that's perhaps my curveball,but I think if I only had to

(48:34):
choose one, though, I'd probablygo with Robinson.
I just I love his vibe, I lovehis energy, I love the heaviness
with which he plays and thefact that he seems to work just
about anywhere in the bottomnine.
I don't want him on the Aholine, but he has been able to
work well with KK.

(48:54):
He has played with Stahl onbump-up shifts after power plays
and looked really good.
And then obviously, on thatfourth line he's been phenomenal
and really seems to be creatingsomething with with Jankowski
as well.
So just that versatility thathe has, that he, that he can,
you know, take the minutes justabout anywhere other than that

(49:14):
top line is super good as well.
So, yeah, if only one, sign meup for Robinson.

Speaker 3 (49:22):
Aaron, I think I pretty much agree with Katie.
I would say that that's alsothe choices that I would make.
I would not be surprised, justin a practical sense, if they're
looking at both Hall andRobinson, and I would not be
surprised if Hall were to besigned before we even get to the
summer because he really wantsto stay in one place.

Speaker 1 (49:41):
He does.

Speaker 3 (49:42):
And if he likes it here well enough, then he might
be willing to sign it, a numberthat everybody's happy with.
So that could get done evensooner than Robinson, if, if
that's, if that's something thatthey do with Freddie.
I know we've gone back andforth on this.
I see what the thinking is,because there really isn't a lot
available unless, you know, theCanes managed to pry someone
loose.

(50:02):
That we aren't even thinking isavailable, because that's
always possible.
But the only concern I havewould be that I would say if
they did it, it would have to bea one-year deal.
Only because he will be 36years old.
You don't want to sign him fortwo years at this age.
Goalies can deteriorate quicklywhen they get into that age

(50:22):
range and especially if theyhave an injury history.
You know there are not verymany Marc-Andre Fleury's out
there that are playing.

Speaker 1 (50:29):
I was just going to say the flower's been around for
a while.

Speaker 3 (50:32):
Yeah, the guys that make it into their 40s and can
still play goal are pretty fewand far between.
So we don't want to get tooclose to that age range with
Freddie's history.
And the other thing is that Ithink that the Canes would have
to be pretty convinced thatKochetkov could actually handle
the kind of tandem where it'stwo games to everyone Because

(51:00):
you know two starts for everyone of Anderson's or you know,
or being able to take hold downa significant stretch in case of
injury.
So if they're ready to see thatin Piotr, that would be great
for the team if they see if theyhave that kind of confidence in
him.

Speaker 1 (51:06):
So in that case sure, Well, and Piotr's deal is $2
million.
He's got another year on it.
So I think you know the Canesare in a pretty good situation.
They may decide to acquire athird goalie.
If they do keep Freddie, theymight get a third goalie that
could play some games in the NHL.
There are some folks like thatfloating around and I think you

(51:27):
could probably do that.
But I totally agree with whereyou're going with this.
I think Eric Robinson has beenjust wonderful 13 goals, 16
assists on the year.
He's a guy that scored thatcool empty netter the other
night, which I thought was greatfor him.
He works so hard, it's nice forhim to get a break once in a

(51:48):
while and he's a plus 10.
So he's been out there anddoing a solid job on both ends
of the puck and I think that'sgreat.
Taylor Hall Sorry yeah.

Speaker 2 (52:00):
Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were about to
transition.
I just want to say you know theone unrestricted free agent
none of us has mentioned yet.

Speaker 1 (52:07):
Who Jack Wosolik yeah .

Speaker 2 (52:10):
So I don't think he's coming back, because I think
he's going to want a bigger roleand I think that the price tag
that he is going to want isgoing to be more than the Canes
want to play him for the type ofplayer they would be targeting
for the team.

Speaker 3 (52:23):
Canes want to play him for the type of player they
would be targeting for the team.
I would agree with that becauseI think that he's going to be
able to command a little bitmore salary and there's nothing
you know, there's absolutelynothing wrong with him seeking
that at this point in his career.
He's had a really good yearwith the Canes and he should be
able to capitalize on that.
If he wants to Now, if he wantsto stay and work out a
teamfriendly deal, then the onlyquestion becomes you know,

(52:43):
where does he go if the Canesdecide to elevate someone like
Bradley Nadeau, for instance?
And those are questions thatare going to get more airtime as
we get closer to the summer.

Speaker 1 (52:57):
So we'll wait for that going to be tricky.
But I was just going to mentionon Taylor Hall, just to wrap
this up, is that I felt likejust in recent games Hall is
really kind of taking his gameup a notch and he's a guy that
you know.
His pedigree is incredible.
He's been an MVP, he's donevery, very well in the past and

(53:18):
has struggled through someinjuries, but really looks like
he's finding his game again andhe's made it very clear he'd
like to stay and for sure he'sthe type of player that the
Canes would love to have andit's just a question of what the
deal looks like.
But I suspect it'll be arelatively team-friendly deal.
He's had many big deals.
I don't think he needs to worryabout that.

(53:39):
So I could see him on athree-year deal.
It's something that'sreasonable to worry about that.
So I could see him on athree-year deal.
It's something that'sreasonable.
And again, with Jack Roslevic,I'm back and forth on Roslevic,
because Eric Tulsky has beentalking about looking at most of
the free agents, like talkingto them, and he's made that very
clear.
And Roslevic, if he gets hisgame going and it's starting to

(54:03):
come together again you know ifhe had 25 goals or something
this year and you know he'sstarting to play the kind of
hockey he can play.
He becomes an interestingplayer to bring back.
He knows the system, he knowseverybody knows him.
He seems to get along greatwith the teammates.
You know he seems to be smilingmore these days, so that's

(54:24):
always a good sign and he's gotchemistry on that line with
Kokanemi and Hall.
And that's the other thing Iwant to mention is you know,
when we look at the lineup goingforward, I'm not quick to move
Rostelevic out of that position.
Frankly, that line has lookedreally, really good and for the
first time the Canes have anumber.

(54:45):
I don't know if it's two orthree, but they do have a line
now with Kokaniemi.
Hall and Roslevic.
That actually brings offenseand I think that's you know.
I don't like mucking aroundwith these lines much because
they seem to be starting to getit going and we've struggled for

(55:08):
so long, you know, with thatparticular line packaging.
It just hasn't been there.
We had drury up in there for awhile and then kokanemi was back
on the fourth and you know wehad all kinds of different
situations and right now they'redoing well and they're all
happy Like Kokeniemi is very,very pleased about what's going
on.
You can see it in his play.

(55:29):
Roslevic now starting to getsome goals hey, this is kind of
good.
And Hall starting to reallybecome a Carolina Hurricane.
There's something going thereand I think that's something we
want to watch as we go forward,for sure.
Anyway, yeah, robinson, bringhim back, hall, bring him back,
for sure, and we'll see withRostovic and Freddie.

(55:51):
I think is exactly right,unless they trade for John
Gibson and I know we're nottalking about that.
I just thought I'd throw thatin there for fun.
I'm not necessarily suggestingwe do that, okay.
So our final question.
These are all great questionsand we're having fun with them.
This one is a tricky one, okay.

(56:12):
So from Deanna.
She said with all the noisearound, big pending UFAs in the
league, is there anyone underthe radar you think the team
should target?
So, looking at the UFAs thissummer, we know that the guys
that are, you know, up in theether and certainly where

(56:34):
everybody's talking about them,are, of course, mitch Marner,
again Nikolai Ehlers, you know,sam Bennett.
These are all folks that we'dlove to have on the Canes, but
they're in that other group andwe may end up with one of them.
We don't know that.
But I think Deanna is askinglet's go down a layer or two and
are there some players therethat we might be considering?

(56:56):
Who wants to kick it up?

Speaker 3 (56:59):
Go ahead, erin.
Okay, well, I mean, I know thatone of the big questions that
keeps coming up on social mediais you know, are the Canes going
to do anything to add a 2C orwhatever number Rod assigns to
that person, because we have nosay over that.

(57:19):
And yeah, if they were going togo big game hunting, if they
were going to go look atsomebody like Sam Bennett, you
know that might happen or youknow, sure, but there are some
other potential options.
I know.
I think that you, tom, hadmentioned Mikael Granlund.
I'm a little unsure aboutwhether he's going to be the

(57:43):
right fit for the Canes, justgiven especially his age.

Speaker 1 (57:49):
That's the concern with the Carl.

Speaker 2 (57:51):
The.

Speaker 3 (57:51):
Canes have such a young group right now, and then
there's a lot of people that arelisted as centers who don't
really play center.
I know that, for instance, theSeattle Kraken have Morgan Kiki,
who used to play for the Canes.
He can play center, but thelast data I had from Kraken fans
is that he's really barelytouched center this year.
He's not been playing centervery much at all.

(58:12):
So that's where, I guess, forme, I start having the question
are these, if you're going to,if you're talking about bringing
up these players as, or signingthese players as, depth wingers
, how many depth wingers are theCanes really going to need,
especially if they do bring backEric Robinson, if they do bring
back Taylor Hall, there's goingto be a crowd there.

(58:33):
So it's possible that we couldlook at some of those guys, and
I know you've got a couple thatyou like too, tom.

Speaker 1 (58:45):
Yeah, for sure.
No, I mean, if you're'relooking at, I think anyone that
canes brings in in that group isis a role player, somebody that
fills the spot.
Uh, you know.
And and, uh, you know, youmentioned morgan geeky.
He's actually with the bruins.

Speaker 3 (58:54):
Uh, geeky um he's a guy that, yeah, yeah exactly.

Speaker 1 (58:59):
He's a guy that, uh, you know, previously played
played for the Canes, so they doknow him and he's had some
success.
This year he's got 23 goals, sohe's a guy that's interesting.
He'd be low cost.
Trent Frederick is aninteresting one.
He's with the Oilers now.
He was traded by the Bruins buthe's a big player Like he's 6'3"
, 220.
He's had, you know, 18, 20 goalyear, whatever close to.

(59:21):
So he's a guy that, again, ifyou wanted to bring in somebody
that could be a role player inthat regard, he might fit the
bill.
Luke Cunningham is another guythat could do it.
He's with Columbus now.
Cunningham, again anexperienced player, not that old
.
He's 27 years old, he's been inthe league for a while but he's
solid too.
He's six foot, almost 200pounds.
These are all players that Ithink are of the type of player

(59:45):
that would fit a role for theCanes.
You know, mikhail Granlin, Iagree with you on age, but, boy,
he's a heck of a nice playerand he's finished.
So that's kind of cool.

Speaker 2 (59:58):
But again, maybe that's not a good thing.

Speaker 1 (01:00:00):
Sorry, I wouldn't say that, but again, yeah, you're
looking at players that aregoing to be complementary.

Speaker 3 (01:00:05):
And I think that when you look at what we've got
coming along and you know, Iknow that there are players
playing right now for theChicago Wolves who aren't
necessarily ready just yet yes,but they're getting closer and
closer you don't want to be oneof these teams that fills all of
those lower, especially thebottom six wing spots, with guys

(01:00:28):
that you know you've got topick them up as a UFA and you
sign them for you know three,four years, because then those
guys look at that roster andthey say, well, there's
absolutely no way for me tocrack this roster because, let's
face it, a lot of our forwardsin Chicago are probably not top
six players.
I mean, there's a coupleexceptions and we're all really
excited about those exceptionsbut especially some of the guys

(01:00:50):
in Chicago that are that arecurrently playing top six roles
in the AHL, but they probablywon't play top six roles if they
make the leap to the NHL.
So I worry sometimes aboutthere's some teams in the league
that I think send a messagethat the wrong way to their guys
in the AHL by by over slottingthose, those positions with

(01:01:11):
extra depth when they don'treally need to.
I mean, right now I would lookat I look at the Canes and I say
I don't see a need for most ofthese players.
I really don't.
You know, um, there's not onename on that list that jumps out
at me, apart from those firstthree that you mentioned.
There's not a game changer onthat list.
There's not somebody that you'dsay, oh, we really need the

(01:01:33):
Canes to have these players.

Speaker 1 (01:01:36):
So you know, and I don't know, I think that's right
, Erin, and the thing I wasgoing to mention is that they've
got to lock up the existingunrestricted free agents,
because if some of these guys domove on and who knows, I mean
until they're signed, they couldThen you are looking for some
role players Sure, absolutely,and fill in for them, and that's

(01:01:58):
where these folks come in.
But we do have players likeBradley Nadeau, who definitely
should get a long look in nextseason, whether or not he makes
a team, who knows.
The other thing is that on thedefensive core, I don't see
anything there either.
The Canes are loaded on theblue and they've got youngsters
coming that are going todefinitely want to claim spots
next year.

(01:02:18):
Now there was another playerthat we talked a little bit
about, and that's on the goalside.
So if Freddie doesn't come back, Katie, what do you got for us?

Speaker 2 (01:02:30):
So this is a controversial suggestion, but
remember when you listen to thisif Freddie doesn't come back,
the UFA market we're talking,just the UFA market, not through
a trade or something like that.
I fully believe that if Toskiwanted to try and find somebody
to play goalie for the CarolinaHurricanes through trade, that
he could do that.
So I'm just looking at UFAoptions, which aren't many.

(01:02:54):
They are few and far between.
So if you're really talkingkind of a dark horse and outlier
, there is a chance that perhapsthe Canes would take a look at
Alexander Georgiev, which iscrazy to say, because Georgiev I
mean to label the year that hehas had this particular season
as rough is being a little bitgenerous.

(01:03:15):
He has really really struggled,especially in a lot of the ways
that would be problematic,let's just say, for the Canes,
like giving up goals on thefirst two or three shots of the
game, so the team's having toplay from behind.
And that was happening when hewas playing with the Avs and
it's still happening whileplaying with the Sharks Now.

(01:03:36):
Granted, there's a bit more ofan excuse there, because the
Sharks are what the Sharks are.
Yes there, because sharks are,but at the same time, the thing
that georgiev would provide isit would provide a vote of
confidence in kochekov.
This is something the frontoffice would do to say you are
our guy and we don't want to tieup a ton of funds in somebody

(01:03:58):
because we plan to extend you assoon as we are able to.
You are our starting goalie.
We fully expect to be able tomake you the guy in net going
forward.

Speaker 1 (01:04:11):
Yes.

Speaker 2 (01:04:12):
In which case the person you want to have backing
him up needs to not be anotherrookie, needs to not be somebody
who's inexperienced.
It needs to be somebody likeGeorgiev, who has played both a
backup and a starter role.
So if Kuchekov were to get hurt, he would be able to play a
significant amount of games in arow.
He's a fellow Russian speaker,so you would have that going for

(01:04:36):
that particular duo.
He has playoff experience andin fact, his playoff experience
has been quite good and has putup really good numbers in the
playoffs.
So again, if you needed him toto take on that role, it would
be possible.
So the question is just whetheror not the canes feel like they

(01:04:56):
can take on that particularreclamation project and whether
or not it's worth putting thetime in.
There is potential upside, butthere's definitely potential
risk there.
But I mean, if that's not thedefinition of a dark horse?

Speaker 1 (01:05:10):
ufa signing.

Speaker 3 (01:05:15):
Yeah, that would be an interesting option.
And the other question that gotasked the other day on x, that
I I really don't have any uhknowledge way to answer it, but
you might, tom, because you'vepaid a lot more attention to the
Wolves.
How is the young Russian forthe Chicago Wolves?

Speaker 1 (01:05:31):
doing these days Well , Ruslan Kazeev, it's early days
for him.
He's not seeing a lot of actionnow.
Of course they've got bothTarkarsky and Spencer Morgan, so
he's a ways out.

Speaker 3 (01:05:43):
For sure he is okay that was my thinking, but I
didn't want to say that withauthority when I haven't really
had a chance to watch the Wolves.
But there are some people thatare, I think they're pinning
their hopes on him making thatleap a little faster.
I did not think that was thecase, so that's good to know for
sure.

Speaker 1 (01:05:59):
Well, don't forget, he came over as a 19 year old as
well.

Speaker 3 (01:06:02):
So he's very young.

Speaker 1 (01:06:07):
He's got lots of time and they're you know they're
keeping them in Chicago becauseyou know they've got Stan
Dubicki who's a great, a greatgoalie coach there and he did
some work with Piotr before.
So he's had experience withRussian goaltenders and you know
they're just bringing themalong slowly and he's a guy
that's got.
He's a big player, he's gotsome incredible natural talent.

(01:06:28):
But you know it takes time forgoalies, as you know.
Sure, absolutely, and I thinkhe's a guy that could be a
goalie of the future for theCanes.
I really like what I've seenfrom him.
But again, he's still learning.
So lots of time there.
We won't rush him.
We could bring in Georgiev forthree or four years and then
bring in Bruce In case we'd havea Russian duel right through.

(01:06:50):
So it's kind of fun.
Yeah, you know Georgiev.
Just a last comment on Georgiev.
I mean he's seeing lots ofrubber right now.
I can tell you that with SanJose he gets all kinds of work.
So if he wants to bring hisgame back up to some kind of
level, that's probably a goodplace for him to do it.
So we'll see if he is around inthe summer and if Eric has

(01:07:13):
interest in Alexander Yorga.
Great questions to all of thefolks that sent those in.
Thank you for doing that.
We have a lot of fun with themailbag segment All challenging
questions, and certainly we hadto put our thinking caps on and
and have discussion to kind ofbe prepared for that.
So look forward to the next one.
For sure We've got a road tripcoming up, ladies.

(01:07:36):
Closing comments Katie.

Speaker 2 (01:07:41):
I just I'd like to see the key the canes keep the
good vibes rolling out on theWest Coast.
I think they have a really goodopportunity to go 3-0.
I don't want them to overlookand take for granted the Sharks
or the Ducks, but smack dab inthe middle of those games and
remember this is three games andfour nights, so they're
traveling to the West Coast andit's going to be tough.

(01:08:02):
So you have san jose day off,los angeles and then anaheim.
The los angeles game is goingto be really interesting.
It's the one that I am lookingforward to the most, because los
angeles has a phenomenal homerecord.
Yes, a lot of the people thatI've been listening to that have
talked about possible playoffmatchups are looking at the fact

(01:08:23):
that it's probably going to beLA and Edmonton again in the
first round, like it's been forthe past few seasons, and that
the one key for them is who hashome ice, because they think
that this could be LA's year toknock off Edmonton If LA can
gain home ice because they havebeen so dominant.

(01:08:43):
So I'm really interestedbecause we've talked about how
the Canes have not been quite asstrong on the road as they have
been at home.
In fact, they really have beenmuch, much stronger.

Speaker 1 (01:08:55):
They have been on the road.

Speaker 2 (01:08:58):
So to you know, for that to be an area where they
could use some improvement.
I really want to see, with thestreak they're on the role
they're on, how that translatesagainst a really good home team
and another playoff-bound teamlike Los Angeles.
That will be a really good testnot just test, but litmus test

(01:09:18):
for where they're at and howthey're proceeding heading into
the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (01:09:24):
Erin Agreed, agreed, but I actually think that it's
interesting you brought that upbecause one of the things I was
thinking about when we weregetting ready for this is that
the Canes last, you know they'vewon seven games in a row and
they have faced teams from thebottom of the you know, not even
in playoff contention.
They have faced playoffshoe-ins like the Winnipeg Jets

(01:09:45):
dominant teams and in betweenthere to me the most dangerous
ones of all have been the onesthat are really pushing to make
the playoffs, trying to get thatwild card spot.
They have a number of thosegames coming down the last
15-game stretch too.
So when you look at the factthat they have won all seven of
those last games, this isagainst a wide variety of
opponents too.
So when you look at the factthat they have won all seven of

(01:10:06):
those last games, you know thisis against a wide variety of
opponents.
There's no easy nights in theNHL.
Like they always say, justbecause somebody's a kind of a
bottom barrel team doesn't meanthat they're going to be easy to
defeat.
So I'm hopeful to see thosethree games be wins, just like
you are, katie, because there'sno reason really that they
shouldn't be.
I grant you that LA is going toprobably be the team that will

(01:10:26):
be pushing the hardest, but theother two teams are going to be
trying to get a win too, andthey're going to be hoping that
the Canes are in that mindset ofoh we don't really need to
prove anything here, we don'treally need to, you know, as so
many contending teams get intodown the stretch, you know, but
I, as so many contending teamsget into down the stretch, you
know.
But I think that right now theCanes mindset is not like that
at all.
I don't think there's anybodyon the team right now that's

(01:10:50):
thinking they can have a coupleof easy games, you know, and not
really care about the outcome.
I think they care very much.
So it will be interesting tosee them bring their A game
against all three of those teams.

Speaker 1 (01:11:00):
Yeah, I mean, I think you hit right on the head.
We've seen this before wherethey've gone out and played some
of the lesser teams and uh, anddidn't really start on time and
uh, and the outcome and theoutcome was not particularly
good.
The one team that couldsurprise a little bit is the
anaheim ducks.
Uh, the ducks, uh are, uh,they're, they're a team that's
developing nicely and they alsohave a goaltender that uh in luc

(01:11:21):
Dostal, who could really steala game.
We know that.
We've seen that before from himthis year.
So they're the ones that I kindof think about.
I'm not so concerned aboutAlexander Georgiev and the San
Jose Sharks.
I thought I'd throw that inthere, katie, just for fun.
Sure, in any case, it is goingto be fun as we continue to

(01:11:42):
watch the Canes.
We're going to be herevirtually on a weekly basis
trying to keep everybody up todate on what's going on.
This is an exciting run for theCanes, and boy I tell you, it's
great to be a CarolinaHurricanes fan right now with
all this great news that's goingon To all of you who are
watching or listening.
We're all delighted that youspent the time with us, and I

(01:12:04):
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