By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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Last offseason, the Canes made a statement that they were committed to keeping their important players in place for a significant length of time by signing Eric Staal to a seven-year contract extension just before the season began. This year, they made another statement by sending a Brinks truck to Cam Ward's house.
Ward today signed a six-year extension that kicks in next summer. The new deal will pay Ward a total of $37.8 million, and it will keep him in a Hurricanes uniform until 2016, when he'll be 32. In 2010, when the new deal begins, Ward and Staal will be the two top-paid players on the Canes' roster, and by 2011 Ward will be the third-highest paid goaltender in the NHL, trailing only Henrik Lundqvist and Roberto Luongo.
It might be a stretch to say that Ward deserves Luongo-type money, but the record shows that if there's any NHL goalie that deserves over six million dollars a year, it's the Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup champion Ward. In his four NHL seasons, he's improved his numbers year-over-year each season, and each improvement has been significant; his goals-against average has dropped from 3.68 his rookie season to 2.44 last year. Ward had a run of six straight playoff series victories until the Canes' loss to the Penguins in the Eastern Conference finals, and entering his fifth NHL season he's already within ten victories of Arturs Irbe on the Canes' all-time wins list despite playing 84 fewer games than Irbe.
Ward said repeatedly at his press conference that he and his wife love the area, and he said that this deal came together quickly given his intention to stay with the Canes long-term. GM Jim Rutherford said it was important to the stability of the franchise to have both Ward and Staal on lengthy deals, since now they can build a continuous run of success around two franchise players who will both be in place for a long time.
Ward's press conference is attached. Click for audio from Ward meeting the media after the press conference.
League predictions will be up later tonight.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Puck Drops Podcast 9/28/09
In this week's edition, Brian and Phil talk to Canes' TV color analyst Tripp Tracy, discuss the depth on the Canes' roster, and preview a tough back-to-back to open the season.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
2009-10 Season Preview: The Southeast Division
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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It's been a while since the Southeast Division could boast two teams with legitimate playoff aspirations. Indeed, the 2009 postseason was the first time since the inception of the division in 1998 that more than one team advanced past the first round of the playoffs. Ironically, both teams that made it to the second round, the Hurricanes and Washington Capitals, were knocked out by the same team, the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
Interestingly, in a division that's long been marked by coaching changes almost at the drop of a hat, the Southeast saw remarkable stability this offseason. Following a season in which four of the five teams either started the season with new coaches (Florida, Atlanta, Tampa) or replaced their coach midway through the season (Carolina, Tampa again), there are no changes behind the bench to start this season, and even the front offices have stayed consistent; the only GM departure was Florida's Jacques Martin to Montreal.
Will this be the season that the Southeast takes the next step and puts three teams into the postseason for the first time in its history? The teams are listed in their projected order of finish.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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It's been a while since the Southeast Division could boast two teams with legitimate playoff aspirations. Indeed, the 2009 postseason was the first time since the inception of the division in 1998 that more than one team advanced past the first round of the playoffs. Ironically, both teams that made it to the second round, the Hurricanes and Washington Capitals, were knocked out by the same team, the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
Interestingly, in a division that's long been marked by coaching changes almost at the drop of a hat, the Southeast saw remarkable stability this offseason. Following a season in which four of the five teams either started the season with new coaches (Florida, Atlanta, Tampa) or replaced their coach midway through the season (Carolina, Tampa again), there are no changes behind the bench to start this season, and even the front offices have stayed consistent; the only GM departure was Florida's Jacques Martin to Montreal.
Will this be the season that the Southeast takes the next step and puts three teams into the postseason for the first time in its history? The teams are listed in their projected order of finish.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
2009-10 Season Preview: The Defensemen and Goaltenders
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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Where the forward corps stayed mostly the same in the offseason, Canes GM Jim Rutherford saw his team get pushed around a bit too much for his liking, and so the defensive corps for the new season will see its biggest upheaval in one offseason since the lockout. Gone are the likes of Frank Kaberle (buyout), Dennis Seidenberg (free agency, Florida) and Anton Babchuk (parts unknown, but probably Russia). In come a bunch of new faces: Andrew Alberts, Jay Harrison and a new face who looks strangely familiar, Aaron Ward.
Just looking at the names that came and went, it's obvious that Rutherford accomplished what he set out to do. Now, will adding that extra bulk pay off for a team that's always been undersized on the blue line? And behind the defensemen, can Cam Ward repeat last season's performance that carried the team for long stretches?
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Where the forward corps stayed mostly the same in the offseason, Canes GM Jim Rutherford saw his team get pushed around a bit too much for his liking, and so the defensive corps for the new season will see its biggest upheaval in one offseason since the lockout. Gone are the likes of Frank Kaberle (buyout), Dennis Seidenberg (free agency, Florida) and Anton Babchuk (parts unknown, but probably Russia). In come a bunch of new faces: Andrew Alberts, Jay Harrison and a new face who looks strangely familiar, Aaron Ward.
Just looking at the names that came and went, it's obvious that Rutherford accomplished what he set out to do. Now, will adding that extra bulk pay off for a team that's always been undersized on the blue line? And behind the defensemen, can Cam Ward repeat last season's performance that carried the team for long stretches?
Monday, September 21, 2009
Puck Drops Podcast, 9/21/09
In this edition, Brian and Phil discuss Erik Cole and Chad LaRose's new contracts, how tough the Canes will be to play against, what to expect from a full season under Paul Maurice and more.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
2009-10 Season Preview: The Forwards
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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It's no surprise that the Canes' forward corps saw significantly less turnover this offseason than the defense did. The only significant changes were on the bottom of the roster, where Ryan Bayda (free agent, training-camp tryout in Pittsburgh) and Patrick Eaves (trade, to Detroit via Boston) were replaced by the likes of Tom Kostopolous and Stephane Yelle. Indeed, even in the first few days of training camp Paul Maurice was able to put some lines together, a rare occurrence at a time when all-stars and untested rookies tend to play together for a few days.
The Canes managed 236 goals last season, good for 16th in the league, but 171 of those came in the final 57 games after Paul Maurice took over behind the bench for Peter Laviolette. Although a 3.00 goals-for average under Maurice is a welcome change of playing for 2-1 games in his previous tour of duty, the Canes have always relied on an offense by committee, and with the exception of Eric Staal the Canes again have no real threats to light up opposing goaltenders on a regular basis. To be successful, they'll need to repeat their Stanley Cup-winning committee of 2005-06, when six players scored at least 20 goals and four topped 30.
We'll run down the list in order of the projected lines. Projected totals are nothing more than a guess, as well as something to laugh at me for around the beginning of April, and they assume no injuries (which clearly won't be the case).
Here goes nothing...
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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It's no surprise that the Canes' forward corps saw significantly less turnover this offseason than the defense did. The only significant changes were on the bottom of the roster, where Ryan Bayda (free agent, training-camp tryout in Pittsburgh) and Patrick Eaves (trade, to Detroit via Boston) were replaced by the likes of Tom Kostopolous and Stephane Yelle. Indeed, even in the first few days of training camp Paul Maurice was able to put some lines together, a rare occurrence at a time when all-stars and untested rookies tend to play together for a few days.
The Canes managed 236 goals last season, good for 16th in the league, but 171 of those came in the final 57 games after Paul Maurice took over behind the bench for Peter Laviolette. Although a 3.00 goals-for average under Maurice is a welcome change of playing for 2-1 games in his previous tour of duty, the Canes have always relied on an offense by committee, and with the exception of Eric Staal the Canes again have no real threats to light up opposing goaltenders on a regular basis. To be successful, they'll need to repeat their Stanley Cup-winning committee of 2005-06, when six players scored at least 20 goals and four topped 30.
We'll run down the list in order of the projected lines. Projected totals are nothing more than a guess, as well as something to laugh at me for around the beginning of April, and they assume no injuries (which clearly won't be the case).
Here goes nothing...
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