Trade Deadline Insights: What’s Next for the Canes?

Join Erin, Katie & I as we delve into the Carolina Hurricanes' recent struggles with inconsistency following significant player acquisitions, the implications of the upcoming trade deadline, concerns regarding goaltending performance, and defensive challenges faced by the team. We dive deep into the current state of the Carolina Hurricanes, analyzing their performance since acquiring key players Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall. Despite high hopes for a power-packed roster, the team has battled with inconsistency, finding themselves with a 5-7 record post-trade. We explore the dynamics at play within the locker room as established players adapt to new teammates while trying to maintain a winning identity.

This episode takes an analytical approach to the Hurricanes' declining power play, which has dropped significantly in effectiveness since the beginning of the season. As the trade deadline looms, we discuss potential moves that could strengthen the fourth line and bolster the overall roster for a playoff push. 

Highlights include insider perspectives on the current lineup, potential trades on the horizon, and the importance of leadership and chemistry when integrating new players. Our expert guests weigh in on the pressing questions surrounding the Hurricanes' needs leading up to the deadline. Make sure to join the conversation and share your thoughts on what changes could reinvigorate the Canes as they aim for Stanley Cup contention. 

Be part of our next episode by hitting subscribe, and don’t hesitate to leave us a question or comment—we’d love to hear from you!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Well, the Carolina Hurricanes have been struggling
with inconsistency for anextended period and it hasn't
improved since the Canes pulledoff their mega deal acquiring
Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall.
In fact, the Canes are 5-7since that trade, being
outscored 33-30.
That's a little better than itsounds, because one of those

(00:23):
games was the game the Canes won7-3 over Utah.
So some concerning thingsaround the Canes these days and
pundits are having a field daywith the suggestions that the
Canes might flip Miko Rantanenbefore the deadline.
Well, anyway, it's going to beinteresting.
The Canes have had a string oflosses recently in games where

(00:45):
they just haven't looked likethemselves and they're having a
challenge getting to their game.
What are we going to expect atthe deadline and what do the
Canes need to do to get back toplaying the way that we know is
the right way for the Canes?
Joining me to talk about thisand a whole lot more.
The insiders, erin Manning andkatie bartlett ladies ready

(01:10):
ready?

Speaker 2 (01:11):
sure let's, let's get to friday let's get to it
anyway.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
Uh, for sure, a nice weekend for the canes.
They won, or the last, uh fourdays, three games in four days.
They won two of them and almostwon the other.
I thought they played a solidgame in that one as well, so
that's good news, but for surethe Canes have struggled to find
their game.
Erin, what are you thinking?

Speaker 3 (01:36):
Well, it's kind of a topic that's come up
periodically over the course ofthe year.
Apart from that very hot startthat they had, that you know
where we thought, oh my goodness, you know, they brought in
these new players and they justkeep right on going.
These are the CarolinaHurricanes, there's nothing they
can't do.
You know, we all felt that.
And then, you know, 20 games in, or however many games in, we
started, reality started, youknow, setting in like it usually

(01:58):
does.
Ever since then, it seems likethere's been a lot of
inconsistency, a lot ofinconsistency, a lot of ups and
downs.
You know strings of winsinterspersed with losses, and
you know the highs and lows thatthey've gotten to.
So I think what we're alllooking for is we're looking for
that moment when we say, OK,these are the Carolina
Hurricanes.
You know, I feel like we'veseen flashes of that, especially

(02:21):
over these last three games,where there were moments where
you started to see the biggerpicture.
You started to see thingscoming together more, but
there's still some weaknessesthat may hold them back.
So we'll see what happens.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Well, and I think a lot of folks have said you know,
this struggle, this intensestruggle, certainly this last
number of games, mirrors the newadditions of Rantanen and Hall
and some of the challenges thatthe Canes have had, kind of, I
guess, getting back onto theirgame with these two guys in the

(02:55):
lineup.
I want to share an interestingcomment from Jordan Martinuk and
I thought it was very tellingand Martinuk said yeah, they've
been great in the room and thathasn't been an issue.
It's obviously, I think, whenyou bring in different players
at some times and we've all kindof been guilty of this like oh,
we're bringing in Miko andTaylor Taylor, an MVP and Miko a

(03:17):
big point getter that you canbe like OK, well, maybe they're
going to take over, but itshouldn't impact any of our
games.
We need to show them what we do.
That's made this teamsuccessful and then they can
join in on that and bring theirskill set to our foundation and
I think we haven't, as a grouparound them, haven't done a
great enough job showing themhow we play.

(03:41):
So I thought that wasinteresting because you know, we
wondered, as we've taken a lookat the team, have they changed
how they played right and we'vetalked for a little while about
the Canes' challenges to get totheir game, to get up into that
heavy four check, be solid onthe puck, be out shooting the
other teams.
You know very strong on shotsuppression.

(04:01):
We haven't been seeing that.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
Katie very strong on shot suppression.
We haven't been seeing that,katie.
Yeah, I definitely think thatthere has been a bit of forced
play, that they know thatRantanen is a superstar and so
they're trying to force him thepuck or wait around and see what
he can do instead of doingtheir own thing.
But, like you said, I think thelast three games we're starting
to see it round more into formof what it's going to look like.

(04:26):
There is some transition playwhen the opportunity is there,
but if the opportunity is notthere, go ahead, get it deep, go
after the puck, see if they canget possession and work from
there.
And we have definitely seenespecially Rantanen coming
around.
He is just looking so much moredangerous these last few games.
Um, he's, he's produced a littlebit more the chemistry with him

(04:50):
, and ajo looks like it'sstarting to click, starting to
get figured out, and so I'm I'mvery hopeful that perhaps this
is more of a get to know youperiod as well as building some
confidence, and once those twothings happen, then not only
will the top line start to click, but it'll be like dominoes.
After that that, everythingelse will kind of fall into
place.

Speaker 1 (05:11):
Yeah, and I think one of the things we're hearing I
know you're on top of this aswell, katie the numbers for Miko
and the metrics for him arequite strong, right.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
Yep, they are.
I mean, I can go through a lotof different numbers and throw
them at you, but when youcompare his time in Colorado to
his time in Carolina, he isactually producing better
metrics in shots per game.
He has actually a good face-offpercentage with Carolina

(05:44):
because he is a secondaryface-off If his center gets
kicked out.
He's like Jarvis he can come inand take the face-off.
If necessary.
His Corsi percentage for isalmost 10 times higher with
Carolina than it was withColorado.
The shots percentage for isabout four percent higher.

(06:06):
The expected goals, of coursecanes lead all metrics and
expected goals, but that'shigher with carolina and the the
high danger chances for is alsohigher in carolina.
Um, the only couple things thatare lower are the actual
scoring itself and, um, hispercentage.
Once that shooting percentagestarts to come up and match what

(06:26):
it was in Colorado, he's goingto go on a tear and it's going
to be pretty amazing.
And finally, his PDO is worse.
So he's just got it.
You got to eventually break itdown and say just so far he's
been unlucky and eventuallygoing to regress to the mean and

(06:46):
his luck's going to improve andwe're going to start seeing the
real Mika Rantanen show up.
I mean, the real Mika Rantanenhas shown up.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
He is showing up for sure.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
On the scorecard and it's going to be magnificent to
watch.

Speaker 1 (07:01):
And Katie.
Once again, the PDO is thewhich.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
It's the shooting percentage combined with the
save percentage.

Speaker 1 (07:10):
And that's everybody, that's not just his shooting
percentage.
Right, I just wanted to makesure that those folks who
weren't quite up to the PDOagain would be aware of it.

Speaker 2 (07:19):
Actually, now that I think about it, there's one
final stat I looked up, which iscalled the individual point
percentage.

Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yes.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
Which is, if there's a goal scored on the ice, what
percentage of the time is aplayer part of that goal,
meaning got the goal?

Speaker 1 (07:33):
or got missing.

Speaker 2 (07:35):
In Colorado, no surprise, two-thirds of the time
, if there was a goal scored onthe ice, miko Rantanen was on
the score sheet for it, but inCarolina, 75%.
So, three out of every fourgoals that are scored for the
Hurricanes when Miko Rantanen ison the ice, he is a part of.
So, if that continues, with hisshooting percentage going up

(07:59):
and some of his teammates beingable to finish chances more,
they're going to be supereffective.

Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yeah, and I mean I think you know clearly he is
finding his way.
And one of the things that Ithink a lot of fans struggle
with is, you know, they haven'tlooked as closely at Mikko
before as you have Katie, andthey don't really know if, like,
is he playing better or worse.
I mean, all they know is theCanes are struggling and Mikko's
there and he's not getting alot of goals and so on.

(08:26):
But you're right, I mean thegrade A chances that were
delivered in these games.
We just saw between him Ajo andeither Jarvis or Sveshnikov, it
didn't matter, they had anumber of grade A chances when
they were on the ice.
They could have scored a bunchof goals, frankly.
And so that's.
You know, one of the funnythings and you might remember

(08:49):
this, but before your time, whenI used to cheer a lot for the
Hurricanes and they were not agood team, there was kind of a
classic situation with the Canesis, they get a lot of shots and
a lot of grade A chances andthey wouldn't score.
And you would be so frustratedbecause they had a whole bunch
of folks who just couldn't score.

(09:09):
And I'm a little concerned thatthe Canes have more folks than
I like that aren't scorers.
I think that's something weneed to talk about and it kind
of goes up and down the lineupand it's also showing itself on
the power play.
I pulled out the power playnumbers.
I thought we'd just talk aboutthis for a couple of minutes

(09:29):
before we talk about thedeadline.
We talked about how great itwas at the start of the year.
It was amazing and they justwere clicking on all cylinders,
as you know 29% October, 25% inNovember, 23.7% in December, so
all good heading into Christmasand the break 5.1% in January,

(09:50):
12.5% in February and they'resitting at 10% in March.
These numbers for so long.
And I know the folks in thecrowd and I was one of them
watching Every time they got apower play.
We kind of you know, please no,and they got a four-minute just
at the end of the game andyou're just sitting there going

(10:11):
oh, I just hope we don't getscored against.
I mean, I know that's kind of afunny thing to feel, but the
power play is so out of sync andI'm not sure how that plays
into everything.
But as we take a look at thisupcoming trade deadline, I think
the big question from my sideis.
You know, how do the canes feelabout this is, do they want to

(10:33):
strengthen their team materiallyto go for a run?
Do they just want to add acouple of players?
Do they want to stand pat?
Um, they've made a big move, um, so you know what are we
thinking?
And so it could be it wastalked about a transition year.
Do they say, hey, let's justhang on, we've got the Keeshan
coming tomorrow.

(10:53):
What are we going to do, erin?
Why don't you kick it off?

Speaker 3 (10:58):
Well, I think that most people watching the Canes
and just watching what they'vedone so far I mean, like you
said, they've made their reallybig splashy move.
Is it impossible for them tomake another big splashy move?
Well, we all know about the capconstraints, you know we'll get
into that in a little bit.
But even anything that they dothat would be a big splashy move

(11:20):
is going to require moving someroster players, and that gets
difficult this time of year.
You know we've seen teams thatdo that at the deadline swap out
a bunch of guys that have beenthere all year and bring in guys
that you know have to learn thesystems and understand
everything.
And you know, find thatchemistry like what Miko Renton
is doing right now.
You know and he's had a headstart, because this trade was

(11:40):
completed at the end of January,and so you know you don't want
to do that, you don't want tohave.
You know a bunch of here's howwe're going to make this happen.
We're going to move a bunch ofguys out and bring other people
back in.
So I think that it's.
I don't think it's a play.
It's safe completely here.
I don't think they're going todo absolutely nothing.
There's some holes they need tofill, but I think they're going

(12:02):
to do it responsibly and Idon't think they're going to,
you know, go for broke, so tospeak.

Speaker 1 (12:08):
Katie, you think?

Speaker 2 (12:10):
Yeah, I'm on the same board.
First of all, I'm going to goon the record.
Nobody's going to be surprised.
The big, splashy move is notgoing to involve trading Miko
Rantan.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
Okay.

Speaker 3 (12:21):
No, absolutely that's what I was kind of going to get
to?

Speaker 1 (12:23):
Are we going to move Branta I?

Speaker 2 (12:24):
clearly and firmly believe that not only is he
going to stay in Carolina therest of the season and he is
going to find out what anamazing place it is to play, and
he is going to happily ink avery fat contract for what is
probably most likely the rest ofhis career Right, or at least

(12:45):
close to the end of it.
Not only do I believe that, butI actually believe that the
Canes are serious about making agood, solid run.
They're not going to push alltheir chips in this year that's
not going to happen.
But they have some guys thatthey are playing for, that are
at the end of their career, thatthey love and they want to do
what's right by them before theyleave this team, and they are

(13:09):
going to do what they can to putas good of a team on the ice as
possible to get them deep intoa playoff run yeah so
that's not like aaron said,that's not going to be turning
over 25 of the roster, becausethat would just kill all of the
locker room cohesion that theyhave developed.

(13:31):
In fact, I wouldn't besurprised if the moves that they
make involve little to noactual roster turnover, because
they want to build with whatthey have already created and
move forward that way If there'ssomebody who can manipulate the
cap, it's Eric Tolsky and hiscrew what they have already
created and move forward thatway, and they'll be create that,
you know, if there's somebodywho can manipulate the cap, it's
Eric Tolsky and his crew.
So they'll.
They'll get something figuredout and the Canes as they look

(13:54):
right now is going to be prettyclose to the way that the Canes
look after the trade deadline,but a little bit more perhaps
sturdy and deep, if you know aninjury or two were to arise.

Speaker 1 (14:10):
Well, look, you brought up a good point as
taking a look at the cap, andPuckpedia, of course, is the
place you want to do that.
They basically kind of got thecanes at about just under half a
million dollars in cap spaceright now that they see them
with.
Now they have a couple ofplayers that they do bring in
new players they can move down,such as Tyson Jost or Riley

(14:33):
Stillman.
That would give them a littlebit.
They could put, of course,william Carrier on LTIR, which
would give them a couple ofmillion as well.
So they do have a little bit towork with.
We also know that Eric's verygood at bringing in third teams
if necessary to try to pick upcap.
So if there's a deal to be made, it'll be kind of interesting.

(14:54):
So I thought what we do is justtake a look at the position,
see how it's going to go.
I mean, I have a particularconcern with the fourth line.
Right now.
I think it's very light interms of a fourth line for
playoff play and I think one ofthe questions you have to ask
yourself as you look at thislineup are these the right
players to go into battle in theplayoffs?

(15:14):
And we know that the game isquite different.
You're going to be.
It's a tougher game, it's anin-your-face game, it's not a
game where you've got lots ofextra room out there and I think
some of the players are goingto feel it from the Kane side.
And the fourth line, which iskind of a work in progress right
now, I think, is an area thatEric's going to want to shore up
for sure.
So let's start off.

(15:36):
I wanted to kick it off, and oneof the areas that I've talked
about a lot and I know it's notyour popular area these days is
goaltending.
I have not been as excited withthe goaltending this year.
I think both Anderson and PiotrKociakoff have been fine.
They've had their nights,they've done the job, but they

(15:58):
haven't been stealing hockeygames, they haven't been lights
out nights.
You come away and go.
Man, that was unbelievable.
We see that very seldom and II'm kind of thinking that this
year is maybe, or next year ismaybe, the kind of year where
the canes are going to have toget that kind of goaltending,
because the defense, as we'veseen, has a few awards as well,

(16:18):
and we'll talk about that in aminute.
But there have been rumors fromtime to time about the canes
going for a goaltender, and, ofcourse, the name that keeps
popping up is John Gibson.
I'm a huge fan of Gibson, butwe don't think necessarily that
John's going to be a Cane right.

Speaker 2 (16:38):
I just don't see him as a big enough upgrade in order
to give up assets.
And again, if they were to getGibson, I think you have to
include Anderson as part of thatand I don't see them doing that
to Freddie.
I think they value Freddie andthe time that he has put in with
the canes and the service he'sprovided.
So, like I mentioned before, Ithink they're wanting to do

(17:01):
another big push this season inthe playoffs for some of those
veterans and and Freddie wouldbe one of those veterans that
they are wanting to play for.
So if you're not tradingFreddie, I mean obviously
they're not going to get rid of.
Chekhov.
He has such a so much potentialin such a ceiling.
So and you're not going tocarry three goalies Gibson wants
to be traded somewhere where hecan be the starting goalie.

(17:23):
So even if there was a worldwhere they trade, freddie
Piotr's not going to berelegated to a backup who only
plays when there's aback-to-back or something like
that.
You know, the odds start againsta really weak team.
He is a goalie of the futureand at the very least he is
going to be a tandem, so the fitjust doesn't make sense.

(17:43):
It's not a big enough upgradenow.
If you want to talk abouttrading freddie anderson for
connor hellebuck, then we'llhave.
I don't think that one'shappening gibson is not
hellebuck, that's for sure.
Um, there, there's no one elseavailable.
That's a big enough upgrade,and I think that they want to
try to win one with Freddiebefore Freddie either retires or

(18:05):
goes and finds a new team toplay for.

Speaker 1 (18:09):
Well, it's interesting.
I was just going to mentionthat.
The one thing, that Anyaactually was on X and did have
an interview that had been donewith Piotr.
I don't know if you saw that,but he was very clear that he
wants to play as much aspossible.
Oh, yes, absolutely.

Speaker 3 (18:24):
He wants to play as much as possible.
Oh, yes, absolutely.
And I, like Katie, the onepoint that you brought up, that
I think sometimes we don't thinkabout A lot of fans, myself
included.
You know we have not such greatmemories of Freddie in last
year's playoffs, you know, buthe was coming out of such a
difficult situation with hishealth issues that he had had
all season and then when he cameback in, you know the goal was

(18:47):
to get him as many reps aspossible and I think what ended
up happening with that, you know, when you really look at it,
when you step back and try andtake a really objective view,
they played Freddie a lot downthe stretch, which left Piotr
kind of cold.
You know he was not playing.
This is prior to the playoffs,so you had Anderson playing as
much as possible to get up tospeed.
You had, and you had Kachukovcooling down.

(19:09):
So that didn't lead to a goodsituation for just for that
reason, you know you, you had,by the time that it became clear
that Freddie shouldn't bestarting every game.
They had been starting himevery game and it was.
You know Kachukov came in forone game cold and didn't do that
great, you know for sure.

(19:29):
It would be better for them tostick to their tandem approach
even in the playoffs.
And I've said before that, yeah, I understand why you want to
have a starting goalie in theplayoffs, because you know you
get that that mental game goingon.
You know you want to frustratethe shooters on the other team
and so on, but on the other teamand so on.
But I think if your tandemworks in the regular season, you
should stick to it in theplayoffs and I kind of want to
see the Kings do that this year.
I hope that they do.

Speaker 1 (19:52):
Well, I go a little bit more aggressive on that too,
erin.
I criticized Rod Brendamoresignificantly for not doing that
because, freddie, frankly, hestruggled in the playoffs and
there were games that I thinkPiotr, if he was in, might have
played regularly.
He might have been able to getthat done.
So, for sure, go with him andshare it right through.

(20:13):
I agree, katie, you hadsomething to add.

Speaker 2 (20:19):
No, just I mean I think the tandem as we have it
is fine, and I wouldn't besurprised if it leans a little
towards Kochekov as things goalong.
I think he is hungry and he hassomething to prove and he wants
it.
He really, really wants thatnet and that trust and that

(20:42):
opportunity.
So I agree, I think it will bea tandem, at least to start, but
he might start.
I have a feeling he has anextra gear in him that he's
going to be shifting into as theseason ends and going into the
playoffs and we saw the start ofthat last night.
I think last night was a verygood.

Speaker 1 (21:04):
You know what it's funny.
You mention that?
Yes, because you know I hadcome out recently on X and said
that I was disappointed theCanes goalies are not stealing
any games and it created a bitof a stir and I was sitting
there thinking you know whatPiotr's about?
to steal the game which was good, and you know ultimately he,

(21:24):
you know he let one in, butthat's right.
And the other thing we know isthat both Freddie and Piotr, you
know, at different times havebeen really hot.
They've been lights out inthere and they just haven't
gotten there yet this year, andI think that's something that
you know Taylor Hall talkedabout recently and said, hey, at

(21:45):
the end of the day, it's whoheads into the playoffs on top
of their game.
You know who's really got themomentum going.
That's true.
All this other stuff we canpush and shove in whatever case,
and we're going to try to getas high as we can for home ice
advantage, of course.
But really it's which teams arefiring in all cylinders as they
head into the playoffs andwe've got to hope that both

(22:12):
Freddie and Piotr stay healthynumber one and, of course, get
their game in gear.
But an area that we do know wehave concerns is our defense
core.
That group still has warts forsure.
Brent Burns still averagingover 21 minutes a game.
He's second on the Canes.
Not sure how we convinceanybody that he should play a
little bit less.
Dimitri Orlov yeah, he'splaying good most of the time

(22:36):
but he coughs it up regularly.
He's doing it almost every gamenow and I saw it again while we
were watching these games.
I'm not sure what's causingthat.
That's kind of a strange thing.
We do know that next year we'vegot a couple of youngsters that
are likely going to be in thelineup Scott Morrow and
Alexander Nikitian.
But what do we do now?
Heading into the playoffs,you've got this cast of six.

(23:02):
Likely they're the six thatwe're going with.
What do we do in case of injury?
What's going to be thesituation on the Canes?

Speaker 3 (23:09):
You want to lead off?
Erin?
Sure, I know we talked a littlebit about you know, could the
Canes make a big swing for abig-name player?
We put a couple of names outthere.
I think more likely they'regoing to be looking for a
seventh defenseman.
They're not going to want toshake up the top six, they have
their top six.
And it's interesting that, youknow, because you mentioned
Orlov, I was watching him lastnight when I was watching the

(23:30):
game on TV.
The camera would kind of pan tohim when he would make one of
those gaffes and unfortunatelyit happened more than once.
But you can tell that this is aplayer.
He's very frustrated withhimself with these things.
His whole demeanor, his wholeattitude, the way he shakes his
head after something like thathappens, you know.
And just he looks, you knowhe's clearly feeling it, you

(23:51):
know.
So this isn't a case ofsomebody that just doesn't have
it anymore or is, you know,falling apart?
You know, for some reason orother, he's just, he's not 100%
on top of his game.
Know, falling apart.
You know, for some reason orother, he's just, he's not a
hundred percent on top of hisgame no.
And you know, we don't knowexactly why, you know, this late
in the season everybody's likewhat Rod would say is a little
dinged up, you know.
So he, he could just need sometime away from that, you know.
But but it's just, it's hard tolook at a player like that and

(24:14):
say he's playing badly becausehe's not, he's battling through
it whatever he's doing.
But I think probably thebiggest frustration for him has
probably been his inability toproduce much in the way of
offense, because that's alwaysbeen a big part of his game.
So the fact that his offensehas fallen off so badly, I think
is part of what's eating hisconfidence.
But that's where I think thatyou know Rob Rindemore's looking

(24:36):
at this.
He's looking at the big pictureand he's saying he expects
Dmitry Orlov to return to formand I think that within a range
that's probably going to happen.
So you're not going to go outand look for somebody to replace
Orlov, the only thing thatwould change that would be.
If the Keynes are looking at thefact that he's a UFA and that

(24:58):
somebody else wants a tradeinvolving Orlov, they're going
to listen.
They're not going to initiatethose conversations, but anytime
you have a UFA that you mightbe able to make a trade for and
get something better in return,you're going to listen.
But I don't see that happening.

Speaker 1 (25:11):
Well, that's an interesting point because of
course, it's pretty wellearmarked at this stage that
Alexander Nikitin would takeOrlov's spot.
I mean, that seems to be thegeneral consensus right now, and
Nikitin may or may not get herethis year, we don't know.
But the reality is that if theydecide to go forward with Orlov

(25:35):
, he becomes basically adeadline rental.
You know so.
You know that's a decision thatthey're going to make, but I do
believe that you're right.
If somebody came and offeredsomething interesting, I think
Eric would probably listen.
I believe he's replaceable.
I don't think he for sure Idon't think he's not replaceable

(25:55):
.
You know the other thing and wetalked about this on the
defensive court, just as anaside you know we had one of the
best shutdown pairs in the gamelast year in Shea and Pesci,
for sure.
Those guys, and while they weretogether they were outstanding.
And you know you've movedChatfield up.
You've given Orlovsignificantly more minutes.

(26:17):
It's taking its toll in my mind.
This is hard work for theseguys and you know, I don't think
they were either one of them.
They weren't necessarily asgood a pair as Shea and Pesci,
in any case.
So you're asking them to do alot and you know they're going
to have struggles and in fact,you know, I've been watching

(26:39):
Chatfield and he's certainlybeen feeling the pressure as
well.
So again, I think the D isthey're probably going to go
with what they have.
You know there were talks aboutpossibly going after a guy like
Eric Carlson, and of course theyhad talked about Carlson before
.
But I just don't see the onlyway I would see him in the case
is because the Canes power playis so awful that they decide

(27:02):
that they want to get a powerplay quarterback that can
actually, you know, can reallydrive the power play for them
and they think that he could doit.
You know, crazily enough, twoyears ago it's that recent that
he had one hundred and fivepoints.
So here's a guy that they knowhe can drive offense.
But I don't think that's goingto happen.
I'm kind of like you.

Speaker 2 (27:26):
So if we think they're going to add a deft
defenseman who's on the radarFrom Anaheim, I like Dumoulin.
He was a Canes draft pick andwon the Stanley Cup with the
Penguins and he's been around.
He's, I think, 33.
But he's a very defense-firstkind of guy, so he's somebody
that I think could stick aroundthe team not necessarily play a
lot, slot in here and there tohelp rest a few guys.

(27:50):
Um, he's a good skater, so he atleast fits in with the cane
system that way and um, justthink that you know if you have
a seventh defenseman, you're notbringing in the flashiest
player.
You just want somebody who'sgoing to be steady, be good, in
the locker room, bring thatveteran kind of presence and

(28:10):
gravity and that sort of thing,and he just seems like he would
be a good, a good option for theCanes in that particular area.
Nothing, nothing exciting, butsolid, steady and probably could
work fine with Walker or Ghost,because if he were needed,
that's where he would be, is hewould be on the third pair.

Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yeah, and I think you're onto something with
Dumoulin.
He's on a team that he's beingoffered up.
Apparently, he's available, andthat's one of the things that
you have to look at this year inthis whole trade scenario is
there's so many teams pushinghard to try to get in the
playoffs you can hardly getaccess to any players, so he's
definitely one.
A couple of quick things on ondoomlin uh, 33 years old, as you

(28:51):
mentioned.
He's 6'4 and 214.
He's a big player.
He's played in you know seriousplayoff action with the
penguins, of course, uh, and hadgone there in that Jordan Stahl
trade.
But here's a scouting report onhim.
I thought I'd read that justfor grins, because I like
Dumoulin a lot A big, mobiledefenseman who can move the puck
efficiently and log a lot ofminutes, has the size to play an

(29:14):
effective shutdown game andthat's something I think the
Canes would love if he got inthere and enough offensive skill
to contribute occasionally atthe other end of the ice.
He's just a good, soliddefenseman in my mind and he'd
be a guy that if you put him inthere, you wouldn't be concerned
about doing it.
So he's definitely a guy that Ithink would be on the radar
Another one.
You know a little bit aboutthis guy, david Savard Erin.

Speaker 3 (29:38):
Yes, I, I mean I, I realized that that anybody who
hears that, that that name, isthinking no, there's no way,
because he has fallen off agreat deal, um, this last year,
and really I mean he's.
I would say that this has beenkind of an ongoing thing.
Savard was, of course, um, youknow, he does have a Stanley cup
as well, though, and he's a,he's a veteran.

(29:58):
So, as a mentorship role, youknow and that's not necessarily
something that the Canes arelacking I think he'd be a great
fit for a team that needs amentor.
The only way I could see himcoming to Carolina and you know
we've talked about this just atiny bit, but Carolina might be
looking at some of the otherplayers that Montreal has
available.

Speaker 1 (30:18):
We'll get to those later.

Speaker 3 (30:19):
So if this was one of those things where this is a
package and you're moving pieceshere and there, I could see you
know.
I mean, if you're alreadymaking a deal and you're getting
a player or something, then youknow you might take Savard for
this last run and give himanother shot at it all.
But for what the Canes need, Ithink Dumoulin's a much better

(30:40):
fit.

Speaker 1 (30:41):
Yeah, and both of these guys, by the way, right
shot.
Now.
Savard is an interesting guy.
He checks in at almost 235.
So he is one solid dude backthere and the word on him from
the elite prospect guys is he'sjust one hard guy to play

(31:01):
against.
I can understand it.

Speaker 3 (31:05):
Even having lost a step, he's helped the Habs with
their young defense core, andthat's one of the other things
that comes up is would they evenmove him?
Would you just keep him as?
An own rental through the endof the year With the Habs.
Still not sure whether or notthey might push for a wild card
spot.
They may not want to move himat all, so we'll see.

Speaker 1 (31:24):
Yeah, and at 3.5 million UFA this year.
I think that's on the edge ofwhat you want to pay for this.
A guy that's a little bit lessand a guy that I think is an
interesting option as well.
Another big defenseman we'reall over the big defenseman for
some reason is Derek Forbertwith the Vancouver Canucks Now.
Forbert, 6'4", 216.
He's a guy that he's a firstrounder okay, so he's a guy that

(31:48):
has a pretty good pedigree.
I like Forbert.
I think he's solid.
He's one of those guys youwatch him.
He's kind of no-nonsense.
You don't see a lot of him andthat's a good thing, right, he's
just doing his job out there.
The good thing about Forberthe's a $1.5 million deal in the
UFA this year.
So I mean, again, you'relooking at players that you know

(32:09):
you don't have a lot of money,you've got limited cap space.
You want to find a player that,hey, if he's got to come in and
play some minutes, he can, andhe's been playing a regular
shift.
He's been playing a lot ofminutes with Vancouver.
So I think Derek Forbert isanother guy that I would kind of
keep on the radar a little bitas far as defensemen go.

(32:29):
So wrapping up, the decorfeeling is they're going to go
for a depth defenseman, probablygoing to be a lower-cost guy
not going to cost a lot, lateraround draft pick or depending
on if they add another player.
In any of these situations theymay do exactly what you said,
aaron, and say, hey, we got anopportunity to pick up a couple

(32:51):
of people here forward and adefenseman that can add
something to the canes as we goforward.
And in all cases, thosedefensemen we just talked about
are all unrestricted free agents, so easy decision for the
Hurricanes Brings up aninteresting question on the
front side, as we start to lookat center and the wing, we do

(33:12):
have some forwards that are UFAsas well.
This year, of course, we do havecurrently playing Tyson Jost is
going to be a UFA, and so toois Jack Roslevic and also, of
course, eric Robinson.
So you know, are the Caneslocked to these guys?
Do they feel they're going tostay?
That's an interesting question,and we look at an area that

(33:35):
we've talked a lot about, whichremains an acute concern for the
Hurricanes, and that's centerice.
They just can't seem to get itnailed, in my view.
We know they need a 2C.
That's not going to happen.
I don't think at this stage wemight be surprised, as is
possible with Eric, but I thinkthey're more likely going to

(33:57):
look for someone that can shoreup that 4C.
And one of the key things thatwe know in playoff action and we
saw it certainly with Tampa andSpades and also with the
Panthers last year these teamshave solid fourth lines.
So if you're going to go deep,you've got to have four lines
you can roll, and right now theCanes don't and they definitely

(34:19):
need to strengthen the fourthline.
So if we look at the center icespot, which has been a sore
spot and a big area of concern,what's out there?

Speaker 2 (34:32):
Anything.
The one name that I've seentraveling around a little bit,
not necessarily in Canes circles, but elsewhere is Sissons out
of Nashville.

Speaker 1 (34:41):
Ah, colton Sissons yes.

Speaker 2 (34:44):
Yeah, he's not a UFA at the end of this season, it's
another season.
So that would be if the Caneswant to have somebody that would
work in their depth, goingforward beyond just this year.
The nice thing about ColtonSissons is that he's very
flexible in where he plays.
He can play center.
He is a right shot, so it givesthem that opportunity.
But he has played wing as well.

(35:05):
So, for example, if they wereto keep Roslevic or Jost, who
are also both capable of playingcenter, they can each take
turns, or you can decide whichone suits best depending on the
situation.
The face-off dot, that sort ofthing.
He's not going to wow anybodywith his offense.
He's not that kind of personunless he's playing the Colorado
Avalanche.

(35:25):
I think half of the goals thathe has scored this year have
come against the Avalanche.

Speaker 1 (35:29):
I noticed that he seemed to score almost every
time.
We see the highlights inColorado.

Speaker 2 (35:34):
That's just a weird little extra detail in my head,
but he is decent at face-offs.
I think he's 55% this season,so that would make him fit the
Rod Brindamore style, that sortof thing as well.
So I mean nice, solid, hold thefork kind of guy who would
again work really well either asa 4C or a 12th or 13th forward,

(35:57):
just depending on who's?
Healthy and what role they needhim to play.

Speaker 1 (36:02):
Yeah, his current deal is 2.85, so that's a very
friendly deal.
That's nice for another year.
He's a good size.
He checks in over six feet andI think he's about 200 pounds
exactly 6'1 and 200.
So he's a guy that fits themold.
Here's an interesting thing froma hockey forecaster on Sisson.
I thought it really told thestory and why I think he might
be in the radar of the Canes.

(36:22):
He continues to fashion an NHLcareer out of a supreme work
ethic, excellent intensity and adash of skill.
He's a good defensive forwardwho wins more than his share of
face-offs.
He can play anywhere up frontand has the grit to make a pass
out of himself.
That's a guy that fits RBAsystem to a tee and I've watched

(36:43):
him a lot.
He's had a couple of 15-goalyears.
So I mean the guy can put theodd goal in and so on, and I
like him a lot.
I think he's a good choice aswell from you, katie, on that
one.
Another person I wanted to talkto was JG Pajot Now.
Jg Pajot Now JG Pajot issomeone I'm really excited about
and he's a little bit moremoney and it might be a little

(37:05):
bit more complex trade.
He's at 5 mil to 25, 26.
But Pajot is a pest.
He's a hardworking guy.
He's one of the best face-offguys in the league.
He's at 60% right now and he'sagain a guy that you know.
You read this from HockeyForecaster.
He began his career as more ofa checker and penalty killer

(37:27):
than a scorer, but has developedhis offensive skills as he's
matured.
He plays way bigger than his5'10 frame.
So he's a guy.
If you watch them you know he'sout there.
He's a pest.

Speaker 3 (37:44):
He's doing something.
What do you think about a guylike, maybe, JG Paggio in the
Canes?
Well, I'm going to quote thefamous thing that everyone says
when they talk about any playerfrom the Islanders is JG Paggio
actually going to be available?
Only God and Lou Lamorello know.
Of course you don't know thatfor sure.
Lou keeps his cards very closeto his vest.
He does not let anybody knowwhat he's thinking about doing

(38:06):
and more often than not theIslanders fans have been
surprised to find out thatnobody got traded.
So we're sure that they weregoing to.
So we don't really know.
So we don't really know.
And that I think, in additionto the complexity of the money
and everything else, wouldprobably be something that would
hold the Canes back a littlebit, because that's going to be

(38:28):
a lot of money for them to fitin under the cap.
But also, if Peugeot isavailable, there will be a lot
of people throwing offers at theIslanders and the Canes
typically don't get into biddingwars for these types of players
.
If, especially in this yearwhen we've already talked about
how they're looking for mostlydepth, you know, I think system

(38:49):
fits the bill better thanPeugeot in that sense.
So I don't see that beingsomething that that could
realistically happen.
I mean it's possible.
But there again the othercomplaint that the I mean it's
possible, but there again theother complaint that people have
about the Canes is that theyhave too many small forwards
already.
That's true, I mean for sure andthat is something that you have
to think about in the playoffs,because no matter how skilled
you are, I know it's somethingthat we've seen with our own

(39:10):
smaller forwards that some ofthe best players on the team can
get overwhelmed in thatenvironment.
So I know Peugeot doesn't.
He's been through the playoffsplenty of times.
He makes an impact.
But the Islanders also haven'tgotten very deep into the
playoffs in recent years.

Speaker 1 (39:26):
Yeah, and I mean, the guy that you really want out of
there would be, of course,Brock Nelson.

Speaker 3 (39:33):
But I wasn't going to swing for the fences.

Speaker 1 (39:34):
at this stage I sort of agree with you.
I do love Pajot, though.
I think he's a great player,would be an ideal fourth-line
centerman and I particularlylike the fact he's a right shot
and very significantly capablein the faceoff.
Okay, so to your point, gettingsomeone a little bit bigger and
we've talked about him a fewtimes as Nick Bukes said, with

(39:57):
Utah I'm not sure, and we don'tknow what the situation is with
Utah as well Players are goingto be available.
We do know.
There's some names kind offloating around, whether or not
they are.
Bukestad's an interesting one.
He's 6'5", he's 205 pounds.
If you watch him he's huge.
But he's a guy that last year,I mean, he had 22 goals, 23

(40:18):
assists.
He had an excellent year lastyear, a bounce-back year.
He had had some years where hewas really injured quite a bit,
some serious injuries, and hekind of bounced back.
But the thing about Bukesadthat I like again, he's got a
very friendly contract 2.1.
He's a UFA.
That's all working beautifully.
He's a guy that can play up anddown your lineup though.
Can play up and down yourlineup though.

(40:43):
Uh, he, uh with the with utah.
Uh, he played quite a bit withuh, with, uh, you know, clayton
keller and uh, nick schmaltz, sohe was right up on the top line
and then, of course, next thingyou saw him he was down in the
fourth line.
So he's a guy that can go upand down the lineup and and he's
not going to hurt youdefensively, he's very solid.
He's good in the face-off dotas well.
What do you think about a guylike Nick Buse said?

Speaker 2 (41:06):
I don't know that I buy into that reputation as much
.
A lot of what I've readactually says that he's
questionable defensively andstruggles in the face-off dot
and that he just hasn't quitefigured out how to play to his
size yet.
And I think that's part of whyyou see the you know, sometimes
up, sometimes down the lineup,that's, you know, it's either on
or it's off and it's not quitefigured out, but that could end

(41:28):
up being a good thing for theCanes as far as getting him,
because if there's one place tohelp him play to those strengths
and really get to that sort ofthat side of his game, I can't
imagine a better coach for thatthan Rod Brindamore.
So there's a potential therethat could work out.
That's nice and, as you said,that size is something that

(41:50):
definitely would come in handy,since we have some big guys on
our team but we also have somesmaller guys.
So having that extra muscle andphysical presence on the ice
definitely would be a benefit.

Speaker 1 (42:04):
For sure.
I mean, we've definitely beentrying to focus in on right shot
centers.
There's one more that his nameis out there a lot, and this is
coming to you, aaron, of course,and that's Jake Evans.

Speaker 3 (42:18):
Yeah, I actually I like Jake Evans.
Yeah, I actually I like JakeEvans and I think that when
you're talking about a RodBrindamore fit in terms of the
player, jake is very defensivelyresponsible, has been forever
Very good in the face-off circle, somebody that does play up and
down the lineup.
He has had to because theMontreal Canadians have had many
, many setbacks with theircenters.

(42:39):
In fact, the most recent newsis that the young centerman,
kirby Dock, who has been playingas their second line center, is
now injured again for theremainder of the season.
So that's another blow for themto have to deal with.
So Evans has had lots more icetime than your typical fourth
line center and he's not adisaster or a liability.
He's actually an asset when hehas to move up and down the line

(43:01):
.
He's very much like theMontreal Canadiens version of
Jack Drury that we had with theCanes for so long.
So I think that in many ways hewould be a good fit.
He's a little bit smaller, he'son the six foot side, right at
six feet, but he's very deadlyon the penalty kill.
He's scored a number ofshorthanded goals this year and
a number of shorthanded points,especially assisting on

(43:24):
shorthanded goals on thebreakaways, so that's an asset
that he brings to the team.
He's having a career year inscoring and that's mostly
bolstered by highlyunsustainable shooting
percentages, in combination withthe ice time and the extra
opportunities he's gotten.
But the only thing that's a bigdrawback to me is, I think,

(43:45):
that the Canes.
Well, there's two things firstof all.
First of all, he's going to behighly sought after, which again
.
This is another player that whenyou're on the top of the list
and everybody wants you to cometo your team, that's not the
players the Canes usually go for, because nearly always someone
will end up overpaying.
I know that the Habs arereportedly asking for a lot for
Evans.

(44:06):
They would honestly prefer topackage him with UL Armia.
So if they do that then that'sgoing to be a big package as far
as what they expect back.
And the other thing is thatEvans' agent has kind of let it
known that they want a prettysizable extension.
So if this is not a player thatthe—he's not your typical depth

(44:27):
defenseman that you're justgoing to take for the playoffs
and then let go, if the Canesactually wanted him, they would
want to sign him for a longerterm.
But if the money that I'mhearing is anywhere near close
to what he's actually asking for, I think the Canes will keep
looking.
So that's just my feelings.
I love the kid as a player.
He's a great player for hisrole.

(44:47):
He's always been just gritty,determined and has worked hard
for every inch of ice he's everhad.
So that part of his game wouldfit the Canes very, very well.
But I think that he's going tohave a lot of suitors and he's
going to probably go to someonewho's willing to overpay just to
get a center of his type.

Speaker 1 (45:06):
So well, what I've seen has been a second round
pick generally thrown around forEvans.

Speaker 3 (45:12):
I think that's, that's kind of in the vicinity,
but then they're also, I thinkthere's some, there's some
indication that they mayactually even be looking for a
little bit added on from youknow.

Speaker 1 (45:23):
Yeah, again, as you say.

Speaker 3 (45:25):
Depending on who else goes with him and how else they
yeah it depends on who wantshim.

Speaker 1 (45:30):
I mean, the thing about Evans that I've noticed
this year is he certainly ismore confident.
He's very.
He seems to be doing muchbetter with the puck.
Obviously it's showing in hisstats as well.
He's always been a hard worker,a good penalty killer.
You know one of those guys.
You put him over the boards andhe's getting it done.
He is like Jack Drury.
I mean, he's very much likeJack Drury, very much.

Speaker 3 (45:50):
Very much in that mode.

Speaker 1 (45:51):
And I think that would be an attraction to the
Hurricanes because I think,frankly, I think they miss Jack
Drury right now.

Speaker 3 (45:59):
Yeah, so Katie says we can't have it back.
Nope, nope.

Speaker 1 (46:06):
That's the frustration, right.
I mean it's interesting becauseof course Jack was great in the
face off dot and, and you knowhe scored the goal or set one up
once in a while.
So he was a guy that couldreally help.
But I think if you, if you kindof zero in on you know, are
they going to try to get a rightshot center?
There's not a lot out there.

(46:28):
That's the challenge.
You know, when you take a lookat who's going to be available,
there's not a lot of them outthere, and the names that we're
talking about are amongst thefew that are out there.
So if the Canes are deciding todo something are out there.
So if the Canes are deciding todo something, it could very
well be one of these folks thatwe've been talking about.
I wouldn't be surprised.
But it's going to be toughbecause other teams are pushing

(46:50):
too, because there's more teamsthat are going to be trying to
strengthen at the deadline andthere's fewer teams that have
players available.
So the cost will be a littlebit higher.
But I think the Canes have beentalking about this for a long
time, trying to shore up thatcenter spot, and they do want a
right-shot centerman that canhelp them in the faceoff.
So we'll keep an eye on thatone.

(47:13):
There hasn't been as muchdiscussion on this, but I do
believe strongly the Canes willkeep an eye open for a possible
move on the wing as well, andthere are some players that kind
of fit that again low cost,going to be UFAs type thing.
I think for the most part thoseare the players that they're
probably going to look at.
But there are some names outthere and you mentioned one of

(47:34):
them, joel Armia with Montreal.
Aaron is a guy that you know.
He's got a $3.4 million deal.
He's a UFA this year.
I thought he looked good in theFour Nations face-off.
He's a guy that seems to helphis game when the playoffs come.
Good-sized player skates well.

(47:55):
What can you tell us about Joel?

Speaker 3 (47:58):
Well, armia is one of those players that you know.
I think a lot of peopleunderrate him in the regular
season Because he just goesquietly about his business and
does his job and you know he'shad ups and downs in that area.
In fact, he had kind of a bigsetback last year.
He went down to the AHL for alittle bit because he just
wasn't doing the job and so forhim to do that and clear waivers

(48:19):
and everything else and stillcome back and be the player that
he is right now, I think hejust needed to have kind of a
reset of what his role was andwhat his expectations were.
You know he was just goingthrough some stuff and now he's
back to being the steady,dependable player that he's
always been.
You know that bottom six wingerwith you know a big physical
profile.
He's a big guy.

(48:39):
Armia is and he's.
You know he just gets it doneand he's very he's one of the
best to me, one of the bestdefensive minded wingers on the
team in Montreal.
I think that Brindamore wouldlove his defensive game.
I really do believe that he islike you said, he's a playoff

(49:01):
person who elevates their gamein the playoffs and in
tournaments.
He is known for his ability toexceed expectations in those
situations.
You put him out there on thethird or fourth line in the
regular season and he's going towork hard, he's going to
forecheck hard, he's going to doall those things right.
But in the playoffs there'sthis extra little edge where

(49:21):
those goals actually go in andhe scores and so there's that
little elevated, you know,scoring effect.
So I just I like him as aplayer.
I think he'd be a really goodfit for the Canes.
I don't know if they would beable to get him again because
Montreal is not sure yet whothey're moving, or if they're
making.
You know if they're selling atall.

(49:42):
You know, I think realisticallythey probably are coming to
that decision.
The Habs are playing the Sabresfor a back-to-back again
tonight.
They're within a game or two ofneeding to make that
determination.
Are we selling or not?
You know, I think that theyhave certainly worked hard to

(50:03):
try to get into a wildcard spotthis year, like all these other
teams in the East.

Speaker 1 (50:07):
There's a bunch of them.

Speaker 3 (50:08):
So they don't want to .
They don't.
I think that my feeling is thatmanagement doesn't want to
preemptively start selling offguys that have been there all
this time and that are such aconnection with the young kids.
They will do it if they need to, but they're going to.
I think it'll be Friday and sowe'll see if the Canes are going

(50:29):
to hang around and wait forsomething like that or if
they're going to make a movesooner than that.

Speaker 1 (50:32):
But I'd love to see Armia in Carolina.
Oh, he'd be a nice.
He'd be a nice add to thatfourth line, for sure, and I
think he could even play withthe dads quite nicely.

Speaker 3 (50:41):
He could easily be a third-line winger.
He could take William Carrier'sspot.
Just before we go on to talkabout the other wingers, that is
one thing.
We don't really know.
If the Canes feel like there'sa good chance that Carrier will
be back for the playoffs, Idon't think they'd pick up a
winger at all.
So that's another thing thatcould affect this
decision-making process.

Speaker 1 (51:06):
You're absolutely right, but we have not heard
anything that gives us any kindof comfort.
He's coming back.
I think he's gone.
And you know what theinteresting thing is and this
has worked well and is going towork well in the favor of the
Panthers is how often have teamsput these folks on LTIR and
they show up just at the startof playoffs.
And the Panthers are going todo that with Matthew Kachuk and
they're going to be in asituation to load up.

(51:28):
They're going to load up andyou know who's done this.
Vegas has done this virtuallyevery year.
They put Mark Stone on and theyget six or seven additional
million and go and get a guylike you know whoever.
Okay, so I agree with you.
I mean, I I'd love to see Armia.
I do think any of these playersare possible.
I don't think they're out ofthe realm of possibility.

(51:50):
I believe that Eric's going tobe out there trying to
strengthen the team, and that'swhat he's always talking about
is making the team better, and Ithink there are some areas that
need improved.
Now, a guy that that I havetalked about and I know you're
not as keen on him, katie is, ofcourse, ryan Donato.
Donato is getting a lot ofattention and I've been reading

(52:12):
a ton about Donato lately.
Some of it great, some of itnot so great, but he's a guy
that definitely is playingextremely well.
This year he's got 21 goals, 22assists on Chicago.
That's an insane number and, bythe way, 18 of his 21 goals are
five on five and I think that'squite a story.
He is playing the wing, so Iwould not consider him a center

(52:35):
iceman.
I think he's a guy that again,he's got a very friendly
contract $2 million.
He's a UFA.

Speaker 2 (52:49):
I wouldn't be unhappy to see Ryan Donato join the
Canes, oh well, I would have todisagree with you.
I know you do.
I mean to start with, he's justreally not a good skater and
he's not a playmaker.
He's not really physicalpresence, he's just kind of
there.
And the only reason that he'shad success this year is because
Chicago has not been very goodand he has an above average

(53:10):
shooting percentage.
So you take him off of aChicago team where he's getting
a whole lot of minutes becauseof the reality of the situation
they're in and you put him onthe Hurricanes with you know
he's going to see a whole, he'sgoing to see his ice time really
reduced in a role with theCanes and so, and he's not going

(53:31):
to be playing with as good of aplayer, you know, even on
Chicago's limited lineup.
So the reduction in ice time,the fact that he'd be fourth
line type players, that sort ofthing, the fact that he'd be
fourth line type players, thatsort of thing, I just I don't
see him being effective with theCanes and the Canes system.
For all of those reasons listedthere's just he's just so

(53:52):
middle of the road and doesn'treally excel in anything and the
Canes need somebody who will bea little bit more present than
that and not be a liability.

Speaker 1 (54:04):
I mean the only reason I look at a guy like
Donato, sure, and this is kindof an outlier for him too as
well.
I am not particularlycomfortable with the Canes
scoring these days.
I think the Canes are light,their goals are way off and

(54:25):
frankly, if they don't shore upscoring somehow some way, I
don't feel particularly goodabout that.
I mean, we can add anotherlunch pail guy, that's fine, but
frankly, I think goal scoringis a problem.

Speaker 2 (54:41):
Not going to come from Donato, though, for all the
reasons I just mentioned Hisreduced dice time, his shooting
percentage has to come back downto earth.
I think he'll get on the canesand he'll have just as many
struggles as everyone else.
He's not going to move theneedle as far as putting pucks
in the back of the net.
No way, no way.

Speaker 1 (54:57):
Well, okay, that's fair enough, and I'm not sure if
he can help or not.
I'm definitely interested ingetting a goal scorer.
And, of course, the big fishout there would be Ricard Raquel
Raquel, of course, withPittsburgh, he's a guy that
again, it's going to be a littlebit more of a deal.
He's got $5 million until 27,28.

(55:19):
He's been rumored to be indiscussion with the Canes.
On some sites I've beenchecking out that they've been
looking at him.
He's a guy that to me, would bea nice addition on the top six,
which would give you someflexibility.
I'm not sure how a deal couldget done, but you know they've
done deals with the Pens before,using prospects and draft picks

(55:42):
, so that I think you know.
Again, one of the things wehaven't talked about is the
Canes are so flush withprospects they have got extra
prospects and they're not doinganything with them.
Frankly, some of these dealsthat they should be looking at
should be prospect based,because they're not going to be
able to bring all these peopleup.

(56:02):
This is not going to happen.
So you know, we haven't reallyfactored that in.
We've kind of been looking at,you know, a later round draft
pick, or you know somebody thatwe don't think about or whatever
.
But there are some deals, likeyou know.
I'm sure Pittsburgh and some ofthe other teams would be happy
to pick up.
You know some of our Bprospects and some of the other
teams would be happy to pick up.
You know some of our Bprospects and just as we did

(56:23):
with Billy Koivunen andPonemarov to the Penguins, so,
yeah, so a guy like RicardRaquel would be an interesting
one.
Another guy that I've thoughtabout, have mentioned a few
times, is Lawson Crouse withUtah.
Lawson Crouse again, he's on adeal till 26-27.
So, looking at a deal that Ericwould like, something that is

(56:48):
not just this year but maybebring a couple more years on it.
Kraus is a big guy.
He's a player that again hashad some success.
He had 320 goal years in a row.
This year he's way off.
So maybe Utah is still in themix.
So we don't know if they'regoing to have anyone available,
but if they decided to offer upa player like Kraus, what do you
think about a guy like LawsonKraus?

Speaker 3 (57:12):
I don't know a lot about him.
I have seen him when various ofmy teams have played Utah.
I think that Utah, in general,their players, have a very nice
physical touch and approach thatI think that the Canes could
certainly need, and I imaginethat Kraus would be one of those
guys.
So again though, like you said,just not knowing the

(57:33):
availability, and then he is alittle bit more money.
He's not a depth person, so Ithink that the biggest thing
that's going to come down is,you know, as we look at these
different areas we look atdefense and we look at center
ice and we look at a possiblewinger to step in I think that,
of those three positions, thewinger position is actually, to

(57:56):
me, the one that they're mostlikely to either spend very
little or just not even add mostlikely to either spend very
little or just not even add,because one of the things that
was said when Carrier went downwith injury was he can't be
replaced.
He's not replaceable.
I think it was either Tulskyand Brendamore who said that or

(58:16):
just Tulsky, but they both kindof repeated that message that
they're not looking to bringsomeone in to replace Will
Carrier.
They signed him to this lengthydeal, this very unusual deal,
for a reason.
So to me, when I look at youknow both Raquel and Krause I'm

(58:40):
looking at it and saying I don'tsee the Canes looking to to
make that kind of a move Unless,like, for instance, if they
were to trade a winger away,that would be the person we've
talked about would be Jack RossoExactly, I would expect he
would be part of that deal, yeah.
Then you're not talking about afourth line player though.
So then, you still might need afourth line player.
So that's where you I guess youjust have to see what, what
kind, how they're, how are theygoing to put all those pieces
together?
Because right now it's a puzzle.

(59:01):
So you have to figure out howare they going to fit in their
various deadline needs whilestill you know, staying within
what they can do with the capand everything else.
So you know.

Speaker 1 (59:13):
Well.

Speaker 2 (59:13):
I think you're onto something.

Speaker 3 (59:15):
Yeah, if they're going to go for a move like
Kraus or like Raquel, then Ithink they're going to be making
a trade.
So we'll have to see whathappens with that.

Speaker 1 (59:27):
And I think they're going to be making a trade.
So we'll have to see whathappens with that.
And I think you're ontosomething.
I mean one of the things Inoticed there was a period where
it looked like Rostelevic wasactually adding some value
recently, which you know.
For a long time he's been onthe fringe, frankly, and he
actually looked like when he wasup with Kokuniemi there was a
bit of you know, chemistry andthere were some things happening
, but he was quickly put backonto that fourth line.

(59:47):
And my feeling is and I've saidthis kind of a number of times
I do not see Jack Roslevic as afourth line player.
I do not see that I do not seeJack Roslevic as a center.
So if you have Roslevic andhe's really playing on the
fourth line and he's not reallythe right player he's a UFA I

(01:00:13):
keep thinking that he's going tobe part of a deal and I know.
I mean it's easy to say thatthey don't really need to do
much.
They do need to do something.
The Canes need to improve.
In my view, they's easy to saythat they don't really need to
do much.
They do need to do something.
The Canes need to improve.
In my view, they're not goingdeep if they don't improve.
I just don't see it.
I don't see it with the teamthey have right now.
So I think Eric's probablysitting there feeling the same

(01:00:33):
thing.
He's loaded up with a big gunin Mikko Rantanen, he's gone and
he's got Taylor Hall.
I just can't see him sittingthere saying I think I'm happy
with the crew we have.
I mean I'm struggling.

Speaker 3 (01:00:47):
We haven't reached the we like our group moment yet
yeah, I'm struggling with that.
I'm waiting for them to saythose words before.
I think that they're actuallydone.

Speaker 1 (01:00:54):
Yeah, that's the right way to go.
I love my crew.

Speaker 3 (01:00:57):
No one has said we like our group yet this year, so
I'm waiting to see.
Could we like them better?
You know, I think we could, soI agree with you on that sense.
And as far as Roslevic goes, Imean, yeah, his line I don't
remember which game it was Now Idon't have my notes in front of
me, but one of the recent games, when he was on that line with

(01:01:20):
Kokuniemi and Robinson, for thenearly five minutes they played
together at five on five, theyhad a 100% Corsi four rating.
Now you will see 100% Corsi fourfor a period, for a few shifts.
You don't see that for anentire game, because that was
the entire time that they playedtogether at five on five and

(01:01:41):
that was crazy to see.
So, yes, he, he clearly doesbetter when he's not buried in a
fourth line role because thatline was trying to generate
offense the three of themtogether, um, and so they were
spending most of their time inthe offensive zone and that's
why they had those puckpossession and shot chance
numbers you put on the fourthline, and it's a different role.

(01:02:02):
That put Krasnick on the fourthline and it's a different role.
That's not the role that thefourth line usually plays, so I
don't see how that works either.
I'm kind of in agreement withyou there.

Speaker 1 (01:02:11):
Well, and there's another challenge that I think
we're seeing is that JacksonBlake is not going to be a
fourth liner either, and Jacksonis.
I'm concerned for Jacksonsonblake in the playoffs, frankly,
and we talked about his slightframe, and he gets pushed around
an awful lot, and when thisgets tough and these teams are
going to bulk up, they're goingto add more defensemen.

(01:02:33):
You know how it goes.
They can get in there andreally get in your face.
Um, I am concerned for whathe's going to be able to do, and
I think you know having him andRoslevic as two of your right
wingers.
You know you're really exposingyourself a little bit, and
that's where I think they've gotto shore up, and I know it's

(01:02:53):
not a must-have, but I think asmart move by Ayer would be to
go get another forward that hecan put out there.
And a guy that I like, anotherguy who shoots right and he's a
good player, and I'll mentionhim while we're on this is Luke
Cunningham with San Jose,formerly with the Wild.
You may have seen Luke quite abit.
He's a guy that againhardworking guy, he's in your

(01:03:15):
face, he's a great penaltykiller.
He does a lot of differentthings.
He's a solid player, though lotof different things.
He's a solid player, though hechecks in at six 200 pounds.
He's a guy that you know youneed that kind of player right.
He can skate, he can get outthere, he can make something
happen.
And I think the Canes right nowhave some of these guys that
just they're on the fringe.
I guess that's the best way toput it.
They're on the fringe of thegame and playoff hockey is going

(01:03:39):
to be so much harder.
And that's my concern with ourcurrent lineup and I hope Eric's
going to address some of this,because otherwise I think we're
going to find it's going to be ashort, short playoff season
this year.

Speaker 3 (01:03:56):
There's definitely moves that need to be made.

Speaker 2 (01:04:01):
Definitely.
I mean you even look at someone.
Like you know, we got taylorhall and he has been spending a
lot of time on the fourth linetoo.
It's just about finding that,that chemistry and that fit and
who works well together and thatbalance as well.
If you remember, in theplayoffs we started with jarvis,
up with ajo and genzel and theneventually, because of the size

(01:04:23):
mismatch, they moved Svetch upthere in order to try and
balance that out a little bit,and so I'm sure they're going to
be looking at that going in youknow, you definitely will not
see Jarvis and Blake on a linetogether come the playoffs.
That no, no too tiny, but youknow you talk about Blake and
what the work he's put in andthe success he's had.
You know what, if he was on aline with Svetch and KK, then

(01:04:46):
he's got two big brothers tohelp look after him and he can
go and be the pesky littlebrother who you know mucks it up
in the corner and getseverybody riled up for the other
two to finish off.
So it's the sort of thing thatthe Canes are going to be
looking at for not just theindividual player, but how they
match and mesh with the otherplayers on the team, because we
do have so many other goodplayers I mean, if you're

(01:05:07):
looking at putting a Hall or aBlake on a fourth line.
We really are very fortunate inthe kind of depth that we have
on our team and the fact that weget to just tinker around the
edges a bit is truly a blessingand a privilege this time of
year, because I know a lot ofother playoff teams have much

(01:05:29):
deeper surgeries that they needto do to their rosters in order
to feel good heading into theback end of the season and the
playoffs.

Speaker 1 (01:05:38):
Well, you know, you know that one of the teams that
we're going to have to deal withis going to be the florida
panthers.
Likely and the panthers havejust strengthened themselves
significantly, I think gettinguh, seth, seth jones, uh, so
they're, they're in a, they're ateam that's definitely trying.
I know you don't care for him,but I think he's a solid
defenseman.

(01:05:59):
So, again, a little bit of adisagreement on that.
Um, I think he's going to helpthem, I think he's a solid
defenseman.
So, again, a little bit of adisagreement on that.

Speaker 2 (01:06:03):
I think he's going to help them.

Speaker 1 (01:06:04):
I think he's going to help them in their system.
I think he's going to be a niceadd for them.
And again, they're going to domore you can expect, because
they've got Kachuk going on theLTIR.
They're going to do more, andthat's the thing.
The other thing you have tokind of look at is, you know,
and I know, oftentimes they saywe can't kind of be worried

(01:06:25):
about what other people do, butyou do have to make sure that
you're paying attention to it,because if these teams are
continuing to strengthen andyou're not, that gap becomes
even more so.
In any case, a lot's going tohappen before Friday, I'm sure.

Speaker 3 (01:06:39):
I'm hoping.

Speaker 1 (01:06:40):
As we wrap up, ladies , I'd like to circle back and
say what are your hopes for thetrade deadline, Katie?

Speaker 2 (01:06:49):
I think my hopes are just that the Canes strengthen
their identity both on and offthe ice, with whoever they
acquire and whoever, if anybody,they send off.
They're moving in such a gooddirection right now.
Uh, ranton and hall aresettling in.
They're starting they still gotplenty of work to do, but

(01:07:10):
they're starting to to get theirskates under them and be
pushing in the right direction.
It's easy to focus on the lackof offensive output, but if you
look at the last few games thatthey had these last three in
particular they were fantasticdefensively.

Speaker 3 (01:07:26):
They didn't give up um hardly.

Speaker 2 (01:07:30):
I mean what?
Just a couple of goals each,each of those games, only one,
yeah, kachakov.
I mean that the mp netterdoesn't count against the oilers
.
They, they really have theiridentity back there, starting to
get fixed, and so, as long asthey could bring the forwards
around and start scoring morethan one or two goals in

(01:07:51):
regulation, then they're goingto put themselves in a great
position.
So, as far as this tradedeadline, I want them to be true
to themselves.
That's what I want Be true toyourselves.
Build on what you've alreadygot, trust in the vision that's
been there this entire time, andI think that a really

(01:08:12):
significant playoff push ispossible.
I'm tired of this.
It's a transition year talk.
No, the front office does notsee it that way.
Stop talking about it.
They don't see it that way.
And if Tolstoy and Rindemore arenot looking at this as a
transition year.
We need to stop looking at itand talking about it like it's a
transition year.
This is a year they are goingfor the cup and they're going to

(01:08:35):
go for the cup being true towho they are, and that's with
Rantanen, that's with Hall.

Speaker 3 (01:08:43):
That's with whoever they bring in at the trade
deadline.

Speaker 2 (01:08:45):
I want to clap for you.

Speaker 3 (01:08:49):
I would only just add that there's one area I don't
want them to be true tothemselves and that's the power
play.
Could we please take it outbehind the wheel and bring in a
new one because it's not working.
But yeah, that is where, inmore serious vein, when I look
at any deadline acquisitions, Ithink that the focus should be
on players that can play to theCanes' identity, just like it

(01:09:11):
always is, and I don't see themgetting somebody that's going to
necessarily help them out onthe power play.
But I liked seeing talkingabout Rantanen Katie.
I liked seeing him sitting onthe bench going over video clips
with Ajo.
After you know some of theevents of yesterday's game, I

(01:09:31):
think that we all have saidforever that they need a new
power play coach and you know,or something to change how
they're doing things, to changehow they're doing things.
But when you have a player thatis capable of sharing you know
his experience and skill andtalent from a different system
and just you know who's beenvery good at this, who's a top
player in the league, you know.

(01:09:56):
I think that will do more thananything when it comes to fixing
that.
But as far as going back to thedeadline.
My other thing that I want tohope for I am not delusionally
expecting Miko Rantanen to signbefore the deadline.
My other thing that I want tohope for I am not delusionally
expecting Miko Rantanen to signbefore the deadline.
We would all throw a huge partyif he did.
But I am looking forward to theclock striking what is it?
3 pm Eastern on Friday.

(01:10:16):
I am looking forward to themoment of disappointment that
sweeps across the media whenthey realize that Mikko Rantanen
is, in fact, still a CarolinaHurricane and will be so through
the entire playoff season atthe very least.
Because, like you said, katie,I'm tired of it.
I'm tired of them.

(01:10:37):
Some of the trade proposals thathave been thrown out there have
been so ridiculously insultingto who Rantanen is as a player.
You don't take a player likeMikko Rantanen and trade him for
a couple of guys that are kindof.
I mean no, but it feels likethe media is generating a lot of
this because, once again, thedisrespect that the Carolina
Hurricanes get oh, surely nobodywants to stay there.

(01:11:00):
The Canes can't have asuperstar.
That's not fair, you know,because they're too good without
one.
And I think that's whatunderlies a lot of this
narrative is the idea that youknow they don't like the fact
that the Carolina Hurricaneshave achieved as much as they
have achieved under RodRendemore without having that
star player.

(01:11:20):
You know, without having that.
What you know Sarah Seviancalls the oomph for 60 factor.
You know it's like no.
Now they have someone like thaton top of everything else they
have and, yeah, it's going to bescary for the rest of the week.

Speaker 1 (01:11:33):
So let's get there.
Well, Katie, I'm shocked youdidn't say my big hope for the
deadline is that Nico Rantanensigns a deal in advance.
I was expecting that, but that'sgood enough.
And to your point, aaron, justquickly.
Of course Eric Tulsky will onlypick up players that fit the
Canes style.

(01:11:54):
We know that.
That's his mantra.
So I think anyone that joinsthe Hurricanes will be RBA-type
players and will be folks thatcan pick up the cane system
pretty quickly.
But in any case, three o'clockFriday we're going to know what
has happened, if Miko has signedor if other deals have happened
, and we're going to be excitedabout that.

(01:12:15):
And we're going to try to gettogether very quickly after that
to review what's happening withthe canes and what kind of
moves they've made.
So, as always, spiritedconversation and some good
discussion on a number ofplayers, some needs of the Canes
, our thoughts on where theCanes go.

(01:12:36):
Clearly we feel strongly.
A depth defenseman would begreat.
Another sentiment would begreat as well.
So we'll keep an eye on that.
Ladies, as always, it's a riot.
We had a great time and lookforward to another episode very,
very soon with you as well.
For those of you who've beenwatching or listening, as always

(01:12:56):
, we really appreciate it.
If you like this episode, hitthe like button If you want to
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And finally, if you have anycomments or questions for Katie,
aaron or myself, please leavethose down below and we'll get

(01:13:18):
back with you just as quickly aspossible, as always.
Thanks a lot for joining us.
We'll catch up real soon, righthere on Storm Tracker.