Jokinen Drops Bubba A Line from Finland

I was ecstatic to hear the news that the Canes had reached a contract ahead of the deadline with RFA Jussi Jokinen. The Juice was solid from the time he joined the team in early February, selflessly pitching in whatever role whereever he was needed. And of course he became a fan favorite and local legend with his exploits in the playoffs.

Well, his status as a fan favorite probably spiked even higher when he took time out of his summer activities back home in Finland to respond to an email from Bubba over at Canes Country:

I am VERY excited to be returning to Carolina for the next two years.. It's been very nice seeing and hanging out with family and friends here in Finland. I started my summer training program last week. I noticed that the Canes drafted two defensemen from Finland this past weekend. They are pretty young and I do not know much about them, though.

I hope all Canes fans are having a great summer!

Best Regards,

Jussi Jokinen

The dude just seems like a down to earth all-around good guy.
Excited to have him back in the fold for at least 2 more seasons.

Kudos to Bubba for yet another scoop!

-m

The clock strikes midnight

As I type this the clock is passing across midnight in the Eastern time zone and June gives way to July. The deadline for teams to negotiate exclusively with their unrestricted free agents has officially passed, and since there has been no news out of Hurricanes HQ or from various media outlets (good job staying on top of this one N&O - natch), one can only assume that Chad LaRose and Erik Cole are now officially free agents, free to field offers from any NHL club.

And according to a post on the Canes website earlier on Tuesday, GM Jim Rutherford is not keen on taking part in any bidding wars for either Cole or LaRose:

“If they go into tomorrow [July 1st] then they’re obviously making the choice to go somewhere else...We’ve given our best offer within our budget to try to keep them, and at this point it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.”

Sure this might just be tough talk, taking a bargaining position through the media, and in general being a hardass, but it does not sound promising.

I would love to keep both guys, but feel stronger about keeping LaRose. He is definitely due a pay raise based on his performance this past season, but I wonder how much money is out there for him on the open market - or at least how much MORE money than the Canes are offering. LaRose is such a valuable player to this team on and off the ice, it could be a blow to lose him. And to be honest, seeing as how he had really found his niche and even exceeded expectations on this team, he might be hard pressed to find a good fit elsewhere. My guess at a fair price would be around $1.5-2million per season. And even that might be a little steep unless it is a short term deal.

Cole was making $4million per year on his current contract with the team, and based on performance over the last few years I'm sure he will have to take a pay cut no matter where he ends up. I'm guessing anything more than $2.5-3 million would be significantly overpaying for the production he provides at this point in his career. I remember when he signed the contract for $4 million per 4 or 5 years ago, some folks thought the Canes were getting a discount. But with the way things turned out in the long run (injuries, inconsistency), he was probably overpaid. If he ends up in another sweater next season I would be bummed, but not distraught.

It also appears that UFA Ryan Bayda will be on the market, and not back with the team. The Canes offered him a two-way deal (after having him on a one-way this season), but I don't really blame him for trying to keep a one-way deal elsewhere.

Man I hope I wake up tomorrow morning to read about some sort of last minute deal for LaRose, or that Rutherford does not just slam the door shut on principle.

-m

Pride

Game 7

Canes 3
Bruins 2 OT

What an incredible game. Amazing effort from both teams.

Man, I am spent. Cannot even imagine what the Canes and Bruins' players must be feeling right about now. What a great game. After that stinker of a game 7 in DC Wednesday night, this one lived up to the billing and then some.

It really astounds (and perhaps disturbs) me sometimes how much I invest emotionally in this team. On nights like tonight it all seems worth it.

I haven't written anything in this space in a while. And I'm going to try to spin a bunch of hyperbole here now. The one thing I will say:

I am so incredibly proud of my hockey team tonight.

About half way through the overtime I found myself thinking "win or lose, I cannot be disappointed in the effort tonight." Both teams left it all on the ice.

And Scotty Walker. What an amazing story that is. One for the ages for sure.

Hat's off to Cam Ward, Sergei Samsonov, Ray Whitney, Dennis Seidenberg, Joni Pitkanen, et al. A complete team effort.

Perhaps I'll write more later, but for now I'll just say, this is why I love hockey.
What an amazing game it is.

Half way to the promise land.

Bring on the Pens.

LET'S GO CANES!

-m

Canes vs Avalanche

The Hurricanes will try to keep things rolling with an afternoon matinee against Colorado today. Coming off 2 solid wins over the Islanders and Lightning, this afternoon's match up promises to be more of a challenge.

STREAKS: Colorado enters the RBC Center on a 3 game win streak with victories over Red Wings, Senators and Capitals. This streak of success comes on the heels of a 4 game losing streak for the 'Lanche. Both the Canes and the Avalanche have had up and down seasons, with both clubs struggling to develop any sort of consistency. The Avalanche enter today's game having gone 5-5 in their last 10 and 9-11 in their last 20 outings. The Canes are 6-4 in their last 10 and 10-10 in their last 20.

STANDINGS: The Canes currently sit in the 9th place slot in the Eastern Conference with 65 points (30-25-5), while the Avalanche currently occupy the cellar in the Western Conference with 57 points (28-30-1). The Canes currently sit 3 points out of a playoff slot, while the Lanche is 6 points out, but have 6 teams ahead of them.

TEAM LEADERS: Ryan Smyth leads the Avalanche in points (49) while Milan Hejduk leads in goals with 21. Ray Whitney leads the Canes with 49 points overall, while Eric Staal leads the team with 27 goals.

INJURIES: Colorado has been decimated by injuries this season. Stars Joe Sakic, Paul Stasny and John-Michael Liles have all missed significant time with a variety of ailments. Phillipe Dupuis and David Jones are currently listed as day-to-day. The Canes are currently without the services of Justin Williams, Scott Walker and Joni Pitkanen, though Pitkanen could return to the ice this afternoon.


Let's go Canes!

-m

Just what the doctor ordered?

Let's just say you are an NHL franchise just outside of the playoff picture having just lost 3 very important games at home by a combined score of 15-2. Your confidence is reeling and you have suddenly lost any sort of identity as a team. What might be the subscription to cure your ills?

How about back-to-back games against the Islanders and Lightning?
Yeah, that seems to be the ticket.

Having come off a 6-2 pasting of the Islanders on Long Island Thursday night, the Hurricanes followed up with a 4-1 win over the hapless Tampa Bay Lightning Friday night in front of what could have only been a anxious crowd at the RBC Center.

The Canes played a solid game overall, but did have some obvious trouble moving the puck out of their own zone at times. This team seems to pull the string a bit on way too many passes on home ices - cross ice passes to defensemen who apparently aren't even looking at the play, a lot of pucks in skates and turnovers at the blueline. BUt on this night, after some shaky moments that were enough to make this Caniac cringe, the home team was able to put the game away in the third period and continue to climb in the Eastern Conference points race.

Joe Corvo iced the game in the third with two goals 39 seconds apart, to give the Canes a 4-1 lead. Both goals came with the Canes enjoying a 5-on-3 powerplay.

Eric Staal got the scoring started mid way through the first period with his 27th goal of the season. It was Staal's 4th goal in his last 4 games, but his first on home ice since January 29th, which just so happened to be the game winner in a 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay.

The Lightning only managed to generate one shot on goal in the first period. But they did get a tying marker early in the second when Vaclav Prospal found the back of the net to make the score 1-1, and the RBC Center grew tense once again.

But what turned out to be the game winning goal came from former Lightning Jussi Jokinen at 14:30 of the second. The tally was Jokinen's first goal for the Hurricanes after being acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay on Feb 7th. Rod Brind'Amour forced a turnover deep in the Lightning zone and was credited with an assist on the game winning goal, his first point since Jan 27th.

Corvo's two goals in the third then put the game out of reach.

Tampa Bay managed only 13 shots on goal for the entire game, and their star forwards Martin St. Louis and Vinnie Lecavalier were kept off the score sheet entirely.

Sergei Samsonov picked up two assists, giving him 5 helpers in his last two games.

Ray Whitney also scored two assists for the Hurricanes.

Next up is what promises to be a sterner test against the Colorado Avalanche at 3pm on Sunday at the RBC Center. Colorado will come into town on a 3 game winning streak, including a 4-1 victory over the Capitals on Friday night in DC.


-m