EnteringWest Virginia. Snow on the hills

Temp: 6(got to 3 in VA)



[Edited on January 16, 2009 at 10:38 AM. Reason : lol]

1/16/2009 10:37:03 AM

Did any one read in the News and Observer that Karmanos blamed this season entirely on Laviolette and the Stanley Cup he had nothing to do with? I really hate Karmanos, a lot of it stems from the fact that he refuses to spend money where it needs to be, you have to spend money to put a good product on the ice which will lead to more people coming. Part of me wants us to tank the rest of the season in hopes of getting Tavares, but I don't think we can do that. For one being that we have too many wins right now and the other being that it would absolutely destroy the 'Canes already hurting fanbase. Though I think next year they'd be amazing if they somehow did win the lottery and got him.

Personally I think with the effort this month it is time to turn in the season and become sellers on the trade market. Stock up on Draft Picks and prospects with such a good draft coming in and prepare for next season. I know we're in the race, but I don't know if it's worth it to be honest. I know I won't be buying playoff tickets and my parents said they aren't either as the cost is ridiculous each year and they'd rather go on a vacation. Can't say I blame them though as this'll be a one and done year probably for the playoffs as we'd play Boston and that'd probably be a four game sweep at this rate. I normally would never say kill a season, but this one has been pretty painful watching. Other than 12 minutes of play last night, the team reminded me of the 2002-2003 team that was absolutely horrible to watch. They showed little to no passion at times and I think the only lines that ever seem to give a damn are the Cullen and Sutter lines (who also happen to be the least playing time ones).

I wish Maurice would bench Brind'Amour as his play the whole season deserves to be a 4th liner. I wish we could trade him, but who would want him with how bad he's played this year we'd be lucky to get a 7th round draft pick for him.

But who knows. Good luck in the dump of America steviewonder.

1/16/2009 1:35:36 PM

Entered PA 20 mins ago. Stopped at a nasty Sheetz that had a 20" log floating in the toilet with no accompanying TP. Turkey sub was good though

Next stop, anchor bar.

Temp: 10 degrees, we did hit 2 degrees in WV.

1/16/2009 2:22:01 PM

Lake effect snow is supposed to start blowing in soon, possibly dumping a couple of feet in the area.

I'm worried that my flight tomorrow morning is going to get fucked up.

1/16/2009 2:23:24 PM

Just hit I-90 at Erie. We got a light dusting about 20 mins ago. Nothing major yet.

7 degrees now. Ready for some wings!

1/16/2009 4:41:03 PM

It is coming down now. Twenty miles from buffalo. Roads are crap

1/16/2009 5:50:27 PM

So we made it ok. In the hotel in Niagara Falls now. Anchor Bar was delicious.

About 5 mins after my previous post the snow started rolling. Some guy in front if us slammed on his brakes. Sweden hit his brakes and the car did a 90 degree swerve, going perpendicular to the right lane on I-90. I looked out of my window just in time to see an 18-wheeler barreling straight toward us at around 50mph. Luckily we were not yet done swerving. 2 seconds later we found ourselves sitting on the shoulder of the highway as the truck rolled by. There was no way that thing wouldve stopped in time. Scary shit.

Lost some money in the casino and had a 16 dollar pitcher at hooters, so all in all its been ok. Looking forward to getting absolutely rocked tomorrow.

1/17/2009 12:43:28 AM

fuck that dude, canes are going to rock the slugs

and you're going to be there to witness it

i'm fucking jealous. give those buffalo fucks a taste of their own medicine, k?

[Edited on January 17, 2009 at 12:48 AM. Reason : o wait, do you mean getting fucking rocked tomorrow as in getting wasted and eating wings?]

1/17/2009 12:48:17 AM

rocked as in absloutely SLOSHED and willing to accept whatever comes to me at the HSBC arena

1/17/2009 12:57:18 AM

oh

well shit

next time you have an

Quote :

"EPIC ROAD TRIP"

you better have room for the Genghis

1/17/2009 1:07:22 AM

To RDU I go!

1/17/2009 4:48:33 AM

No one fucking cares.

1/17/2009 12:20:52 PM

uh, yes we do

fucking tool

1/17/2009 12:22:30 PM

WHy?

1/17/2009 12:58:46 PM

uh, because they are heading to BUFFALO

you know, kind of a big rivalry. shows some fucking nuts to go up there. I wish I could go to a canes game in Buffalo.

gtfo, why are you even in this thread?

1/17/2009 1:00:18 PM

Pregame drinking has commenced. Showing my ass to Buffalo fans begins shortly.

1/17/2009 1:06:05 PM

hurricanes and state not allowed to win on the same day

1/17/2009 9:26:51 PM

here's some "fun" stats for everyone about the Canes:

4th worst PK in the league @ 77.4% (only Tor, Dal, and Atl are worse)

5th worst goal differential in the league @ -24 goals (Tor, Atl, TB, NYI worse)

9th worst PP @ 16.0%

22nd in the league in goals/game, but 8th in shots/game

only win 41% when we outshoot our opponent, good for 28th in the league

we have the fewest PIM/game @ 9.8 (thank god, lest our shitty PK see more ice time)

7th most PP chances in the league

STILL the only team in the league w/o a SHG

1/18/2009 12:49:46 PM

what happened to fun hockey?

1/18/2009 3:11:45 PM

So, we may be coming close to a time where we ask the question...

do we become sellers at the deadline?

I mean, this team could make the playoffs, certainly, but at what point do we think about trying to stock up on prospects?

1/18/2009 3:14:13 PM

I say we became sellers when we re-hired the anti-coach.

also, Brindy is now a minus Bryan Rodney

1/18/2009 3:22:55 PM

I say we trade Michael Leighton for Jonathan Roy and hope his genes catch up with him.

1/18/2009 3:25:15 PM

I personally believe we should be sellers and stock up on draft picks and prospects. I'm sure we could get a decent return for some of our players due to their experience in the playoffs. I wish we'd trade Brind'amour since I'm sure we could get a decent prospect for him just due to his playoff experience and faceoff percentage. Yes his +/- is awful this year, but I think we could still trade him (idk if he has a clause or not, but I think we could get him to waive it if needed). I'm thinking he could go back to his home area of Vancouver for Cody Hodgson (wishful thinking I know) or a first rounder. After watching Hodgson in the WJC I think he would be a great fit on the 'Canes. I think the only player going into free agency that they shouldn't get rid of is Seidenberg, to me he has been one of their best defenders all year and it would be a mistake to get rid of him.

With Tuomo Ruutu's contract being up again at the end of the year I think it raises an interesting scenario. He has a high trade value due to being physical and staying healthy this year, but do we really want to trade who has been one of the few bright spots on the offense this year? I personally wouldn't trade him and hope to lock him up for a few more seasons so that we can build around both him and Staal.

The thing that can hurt or help the trade value of a player is the same thing, the contract lengths. Very few players have their contract up at the end of the year and a few I don't think we should trade (Seidenberg being one and Babchuk the other). I know most will disagree with Babchuk, but I think he's made progress this year and would rather have him than Wallin. I wish we could just waive his ass if he refuses to waive his No Trade Clause and I would take a used roll of toilet paper for him as he's been awful since that stretch at the beginning of the year when he looked good (somehow).

I don't know, I just think after losing 6 straight, it is about time to move on from thinking of making the playoffs. It sucks from a marketing stand point, but next year if we get a good enough pick (bottom 5 finish would be great to get in the running for Tavares' lottery or even Hedman) we could hopefully bring back fans. I just don't see how we can make the playoffs with the way we're playing right now and I would rather profit from giving up then trying and hold on and make the playoffs and not. Sometimes you just got to fold your cards and make some form of profit when you can.

1/18/2009 3:58:03 PM

^I don't think people would trade too much for Brindy.

It's clear his knee is still bothering him.

However, I do agree, we should be sellers.

1/18/2009 3:59:38 PM

yeah, there's no way in hell we would get more than a 3rd rounder for Brindy.

1/18/2009 4:22:58 PM

you don't trade Ruutu or Williams

but Whitney, he'd have some value, I think. And with Boychuk waiting to come up next year, it'd be a good way to give Boychuk those top-6 minutes the staff was talking about.

1/18/2009 5:01:14 PM

What we need to have happen is some contender to make a splash on a center and pay too much (Tkachuk or Weight or Guerin) and then his value would go up in fear of needing him. I think Whitney would be fine to trade as he's too old. I wouldn't part with Ruutu unless it was some ungodly deal.

Who should we sell other than Whitney and Brindy (if we can sell him)? I agree that Williams does need to be untouchable as he's starting to regain some of his old self. I think with the relatively low contracts of someone like Corvo (as much as I don't want to trade him) make him worth a lot more than he would be otherwise. I don't want to, but I think a king's ransom deal would be worth it, since I'm sure there are plenty of teams who could use a puck moving defenseman, especially those with powerplay woes (Columbus comes to mind with their recent play due to Mason's in goal, but lacks a potent powerplay). I'm sure other teams with powerplay woes in the playoff picture would give up a good bit for Corvo with his powerplay ability and what is now deemed a low contract in the 2.6 million range.

1/18/2009 5:25:41 PM

honestly, I fucking love Corvo

but if a great deal comes along, I say we pull the trigger. Whatever our D is trying to do, it certainly isn't working, and JR has his puck moving D man in Pitkanen....we really need some help on the backend.

1/18/2009 5:27:54 PM

Anybody think Brindy may call it a career at the end of this season?

1/18/2009 5:37:50 PM

it wouldn't surprise me, especially with Sutter looking pretty solid.

I hope he doesn't, maybe he just needs another offseason to get back to 100%

1/18/2009 5:40:53 PM

Staal Drinking Game!

When the canes play the rangers or penguins


Single shot to be taken if:
- it is mentioned that the Staals are brothers
- if it is mentioned that there are other Staals, not present, who are also in the NHL
- if a phrase such as "sibling rivalry" is used
- if it is pointed out that BOTH STAALS ARE ON THE ICE
- if anyone mentions the sod farm
- if any random facts are introduced about the present Staals or the Staal family
- if the Staal parents are mentioned
- if any Staal reference occurs that would simply not occur in a one-Staal game

Doubleshot to be taken if:
- a comparative Staal brother graphic is shown on the screen
- if they are verbally compared AT LENGTH by the announcers (use your own discretion in deciding what "length" is)
- if a video clip of the brothers/family is shown
- if an interview with a Staal brother happens at intermission (add an additional shot if the Staal brother is asked anything about playing against his brother)
- if the Staal parents are in attendance (this cancels out taking a single shot if the parents are mentioned, but not if they are mentioned separately from the fact that they are in attendance)


http://setoutyourstaal.blogspot.com/2009/01/staal-brothers-drinking-game.html

1/18/2009 7:15:26 PM

People in Buffalo were too nice; quite disappointing. I am told that I was so disappointed about not getting into a fight that I tried to pick one with a guy at the bar afterward and they had to drag me out.

At the beginning of the game I was excited that Brind'Amour had finally been demoted to the 4th line with LaRose and Bayda. Then eventually I realized that that wasn't the 4th line. Sutter, Williams, Eaves was. WTF Mo?

1/18/2009 10:04:19 PM

^ i dont think there are any set lines anymore, mo has shuffled them so much there isnt much difference between the 1st line and fourth line

1/19/2009 3:59:02 AM

Well there is in the fact that one line plays 2 minutes in a period while one plays 7

1/19/2009 9:38:15 AM

Got to our hotel in TO yesterday. A guy held the elevator for us, I looked him over and noticed that it was Tom Barrasso. I asked him if we had a chance for tonights game... he said he hoped so.

1/19/2009 10:48:38 AM

This trip sounds pretty cool. I may have to get in on this next season.

1/19/2009 10:54:06 AM

why the fuck would you trade Whitney

even with a Brindy package deal, I don't see how we could bring in someone that would contribute anything above what he does. I love the guy.

[Edited on January 19, 2009 at 1:13 PM. Reason : ]

1/19/2009 1:08:51 PM

because despite being an excellent finesse player, whitney is fragile and small on a team that's desperately undersized

1/19/2009 2:39:25 PM

Go Leafs Go

1/19/2009 5:07:38 PM

Blow leafs Blow

1/19/2009 7:38:04 PM

Was it 2 of you at the game, one wearing a black jersey? I think they just showed ya'll after the corvo goal

1/19/2009 8:58:10 PM

TWW SIGHTING

[Edited on January 19, 2009 at 8:58 PM. Reason : ^that was them]

1/19/2009 8:58:25 PM

ahaha, nice

1/19/2009 8:59:16 PM

10 goals for Rosie Wooot

1/19/2009 9:03:11 PM

1/19/2009 9:03:35 PM

to either of you at the game, what did the jumbotron say when they were playing thank god i'm a country boy?

1/19/2009 9:33:21 PM

1/19/2009 9:35:32 PM

^don't fucking jinx it.

1/19/2009 9:38:00 PM

there is only one tww related thing that can jinx them

and we wont mention what that is, but the people who know know its sacred

1/19/2009 9:53:51 PM

whew, no jinx. shut out! man crush on ward is back

1/19/2009 9:55:50 PM