Sweet Tea, Barbecue, and Bodychecks

Sorry I couldn’t do the live blogging at the WJCs as planned. Some asshole from Nigeria obviously had different thoughts and rather effectively ruined my chances of bringing the equipment I would need… Hey I barely escaped without it going full body cavity search on me.

Anyway, as we have seen over the past 2 months, this team isn’t looking quite as craptastic as we were looking earlier in the season. But the worst cast scenario has happened on the trade front. The dreaded NTC has struck, hard.

First Ray indicated that he wanted to talk extension with any team that could be interested in picking him up. Oh he talked extension alright. There was a deal on the table that would have had the Hurricanes picking up another very high quality prospect from the 08 draft in defenseman Colton Teubert, who went 1 slot before Boychuk, and the Kings second round pick this year. Not a Kings ransom (ok, my only horrible pun tonight, I promise) but definitely a significant enough return that would have immediately boosted our lineup heading into the 2010-11 season and given us a rather nice asset to use to either trade up for another first or to select a good prospect.

What happened you ask? Ray went nuts. Bob McKenzie, who I trust more then anyone else in the biz, says that Ray wanted a 3 year extension with the Kings. http://tsn.ca/columnists/bob_mckenzie/?id=308689 3 years, for a guy that is going to be 38 at the start of said new contract. Sure thing Ray, how about the keys to the Taj Mahal while we’re at it. Bob speculates that he was simply trying to call his shot, but for the love of god, why do it like this? Instead of just outright not waiving his NTC for the offer he sets off red lights all around the league and a few teams that were interested no longer are. That may change now that Kovy is off the market, but COME ON RAY.

Now Wallin, it’s more of the same. While the return for Wallin is speculated to be a pretty nice package in its own right, if not outright comparable to the Kings package (Dman Derek Josslin and a 2nd) the problem that Nic ran into was in negotiating an extension with Sharks GM Doug Wilson. They were close to reaching a compromise, real close, but it didn’t happen. But I don’t put as much blame on the guy to be perfectly honest. Does it hurt? Yes. Do I expect some backlash at Wallin? Absolutely. But it’s misguided. He didn’t kill any chance of being traded. His demands were far more in line with reality.

And oh yes, we should look at the NTCs too. This isn’t the first time Jimmy has been burnt by NTCs. I’m sure some people will remember Sean Hill in 2003. He rejected a trade to New Jersey at the deadline that would have seen the Canes getting a fairly nice package back there as well. There was also a little something about a trade that would have seen Nic going elsewhere two years back. It wasn’t Philly as speculated though, it was San Jose (sounds familiar) and the reported return at the time was Christian Ehrhoff. The same Ehrhoff that’s currently the #1 defenseman in Vancouver. What is that old saying? Ah yes, “Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me”. I wonder what they would say about being fooled four times? Maybe it’s time the fans give a nice little chant at the arena next game to give Jimmy the sense that we’re watching and that we most definitely want and deserve answers.

Edit: Looks like we don’t have to blame the NTC either, at least on this one. The trade was approved just this afternoon, Nic and our 5th this year for the Buffalo 2nd round pick from San Jose, which they had acquired in the Rivet trade a while back.

These are the picks we currently have now:

CAR 1st, CAR 2nd, BUF 2nd, CAR 3rd, NSH 5th, CAR 6th, CAR 7th

Two seemingly unrelated moves this week could have big implications for the Canes down the road.

Firstly, the Hurricanes moved this past drafts #27 overall pick, Philippe Paradis to Toronto for Jiri Tlusty, a top 15 pick from 2006. On the surface this is a real head scratcher. Well, so was the pick of Paradis to begin with. When a guy isn’t regarded as a possible first rounder by any publication or Bob McKenzie, who usually has a pretty good pulse for what scouts are thinking and has a good relationship with our GM, then odds are the guy simply isn’t first round matterial. Most places had him listed as likely mid to late 2nd… painful. One of the guys drafted only a few picks after Paradis, Klingberg, nearly made the NHL out of the Thrashers camp this year. You know, the same Thrashers that are scorching us in the standings this year. Another, O’Reilly, DID make his NHL team out of camp and is a big reason for the Avs huge turnaround this year.

That’s not to say that credit shouldn’t be given for getting rid of Paradis while he still had value. But I have to question the inner workings of this team at the draft table at times. Sometimes it works nicely (Sutter) but others… I don’t think I need to go over the career of one Igor Knyazev as a refresher on this one, do I?

But I’m getting a bad feeling about Tlusty. He’s a Czech born player that is regarded as being supremely talented but has yet to put it all together at the NHL level, meh it happens. He struggles with the defensive aspects of his game and is seen as more of a parimeter player, not good, but that’s not a career killer. His work ethic has been called into question more then a few times and he developed a reputation for partying it up rather then focusing on hockey in Toronto, wait this is starting to sound familiar but I can’t quite place it… He reported to Leafs camp overweight this past year when it was likely he would win a roster spot out of camp… this can’t be good. Tlusty has also threatened to head over to the KHL after this season if he was not given a full time roster spot in Toronto, DANGER WILL ROBINSON!

Yes, the dreaded Pavel Brendl comparison has been made. The scary thing is that the similarities of their stats in the NHL at the point in Brendl’s career that Tlusty is at now is outright frightening. Mind you?Tlusty made the threat and isn’t exactly what would be considered a “Burke Player”, whereas that was the only option for Brendl at this point?in his career. But?truly the biggest difference between the two is skating speed, where your average midget house league player would be able to give Brendl a run for his money. Tlusty has speed to burn and if there is anything that could turn his career around it will be if he learns to properly utilize this to his advantage.

On to the second item of the week:
The Philadelphia Flyers have hired Peter Laviolette and Kevin McCarthy to replace John Stevens and one of their other assistants. All I can say on this is “good, about time Lavi got another shot”. While he’s not the best fit for Philly, personally I was thinking Ted Nolan or even MacTavish, it was obvious to me that John Stevens was the worst coach in the league after Keenan was canned.

How does this effect us? Well, we now no longer have Lavi on the books and?are no longer?hamstrung by that contract should we decide to pursue another coach if we do make a change. Sad to say but personally I think this season is prettymuch a loss and would like to see a real coaching search done in the offseason. About the only short term solution I could live with is putting Tom Rowe in the drivers seat as he’s one of 4 I would really look at for the coaching position. The other three, Kevin Dineen, Willie Desjardins and Scott Arniel, are all under contract at the moment and almost certainly could not be brought in until the season is finished.

I will say I do have a tinge of disappointment looking at this years WJC lineups.

The US team, which should be a competitor for the medal if they get their coaching issues sorted out, doesn’t have any Canes prospects on their list of players for this tournament. But that was to be expected this year to be honest. Brian Dumoulin (2nd round 2009) was our best shot and he likely will not get the call until the 2011 tournament.

Canada, however, was far more disappointing for me in that they did not even tender an invite to Philippe Paradis. While Paradis wouldn’t have been counted on for his offense he likely could have played the 4th line grind it out role that Andrew Ladd did back on what was likely the strongest WJC team of all time in 2005.

But that doesn’t mean the Canes will be without representation, not by any means. 3 European defensemen should all be named to the teams of their respective counties for the upcoming tournament and we likely could have had a 4th in LW Mattias Lindstrom.

Michal Jordan, a now 3 time player for the Czech Republic in the tournament, has already been named captain for the Czech team.

Fins Tommi Kivisto and Rasmus Rissanen are also expected to be named to their WJC teams. Kivisto played for Finalnd last year registering 1 goal in 6 games and should be expected to play again this year despite not having the best of seasons so far split between the Jokerit SM-Liiga team and the Jokerit Jr A team.

Rissanen, on the other hand, has been a fast riser. Rissanen reminds me a lot of an Ulf Samuelsson type player, albeit a decent bit cleaner, and played a key role on the Finland U-18 team this past year. Unlike most defensemen from Finland he’s not afraid to get dirty and will drop the glove from time to time. He’s not without some offensive upside either with 3 goals and 4 assists in 25 games with Everett of the WHL. I fully expect him to be a 2 year player in the WJCs as Finland will need to add some grit to their team if they have any hopes of medaling this year with such strong teams put out by the Canada, Russia, Sweden and the United States.

Lindsrom, who was regarded as a virtual lock for the Swedish side this year heading into the season, suffered an injury and is not likely to return from surgery until after the trournament.

11 games. A franchise record since moving to NC. Sadly we’re not talking about wins in this one either. 11 straight without a win, and something significant has to change.

I’d say start making trades with the presence that Sutter and Boychuk have brought in their first few games here, but Samson is the only one left in the AHL that I believe is NHL ready forward wise. Bowman needs the rest of the season, or at least until the deadline. Terry probably a 2nd full season in the A. None of the others (Dodge, Chaput, Blanchard) would have an offensive impact with the team.

But one change I would like to see made, one that I honestly feel could help out, is a move to get a new coach in. The one I’m proposing for now? A familiar face to those around this franchse. A former captain, a Whaler legend, and one of the members of the team upon its move to North Carolina, the original #11 for the Canes: Kevin Dineen.

Before anyone says I’ve lost it, here’s what he’s done as a head coach in the AHL since retiring as a player.
Record: 174-107-16-23, a franchise record winning percentage for the Portland Pirates even over current NHL head coach Barry Trotz.
Two appearances in the AHLs Eastern Conference Finals.
2005-06 Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Trophy winner (AHL Coach of the year)

If Mo Must Go (and I think he must, whether right now or after the season) then could there be any better story then Dineen taking a franchise that he was a key component of for years back from being laughing stock of the league to that team nobody wants to face in the playoffs?

While a lot of things have changed since the lockout, the Washington Capitals team of 2003-04 may be the best example of what to do with a veteran filled roster that is proving to be far less then the sum of its parts.

On paper, the Capitals of 2003-04 should very well have been a playoff team. Names like Robert Lang, Sergei Gonchar, Jeff Halpern, Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra, Dainius Zubrus, Mike Grier, Brendan Witt and Olaf Kolzig were the backbone of a team that just the year before had finished 2nd in the division. But the year before they had narrowly missed the playoffs and the team was looking to be at a crossroads.

So what happened? Well, simply put, management decided to “blow it up”.

Peter Bondra: traded on February 18th 2004 to Ottawa for Brooks Laich and Ottawa’s 2nd in 2004.
Robert Lang: traded on February 27th 2004 to Detroit for Tomas Fleischman, Detroit’s 1st in 2004 and a 4th round pick in 2006.
Sergei Gonchar: traded on March 3rd 2004 to Boston for Shaonne Morrisonn, Boston’s 1st in 2004 and 2nd in 2004.
Mike Grier: traded on March 9th 2004 to Buffalo for Jakub Klepis
Brendan Witt: traded on March 9th 2006 to Nashville for Nashville’s 1st in 2006.

what the Caps got as a result of their trades and ineptitude over that 3 year stretch?

Alexander Ovechkin (#1OA in 2004)
Jeff Schultz (#27OA in 2004) via Boston’s 1st
Mike Green (#29OA in 2004) via Detroit’s 1st
Chris Bourque (#33OA in 2004)
Mikhail Yunkov (#62OA in 2004) via Boston’s 2nd
Sami Lepisto (#66OA in 2004)
Nicklas Backstrom (#4OA in 2006)
Semyon Varlamov (#23OA in 2006) via Nashville’s 1st
Michal Neuvirth (#34OA in 2006)

So for two actual seasons of ineptitude they essentially were able to draft the majority of their core that isn’t named Alexander Semin. Bourque has since been picked up on waivers and Yunkov has yet to sniff the NHL, but Ovechkin, Green, Backstrom, Schultz and Varlamov are among their core players. Lepisto and Neuvirth are also both highly touted players and will likely be contributors down the road.

Now why do I bring this up? Because right now we have a Carolina Hurricanes team that is FAR less then the sum of its parts. But we also have some impending UFAs that could bring in some serious return at the deadline over the next year or so. Ray Whitney, Matt Cullen, Scott Walker, Joe Corvo, Aaron Ward and Niclas Wallin are all coming off the books after this season. With the exceptions of Walker and Wallin all are players that could bring significant return at the trade deadline.

With the strength of this years draft, especially on the wings as that is one area the Canes need the most help, it would be stupidity not to take advantage of the situation. Names such as Taylor Hall, Cam Fowler, John McFarland, Vladimir Tarasenko and Kirill Kabanov are already well know around hockey circles. But there are other excellent prospects in the top 15 such as Tyler Seguin, Brandon Gormley, Mikael Granlund, Erik Gudbranson, John Merrill and Alex Burmistrov that I am very high on this season. That’s not to say that GMs will be willing to overpay to the same extent that they did for the Caps players in 2004. But they also might be willing to pay more then a lot of people think for our impending UFAs for a shot at the cup. Lest we forget the examples from the past of Adam Foote going back to Colorado, Tkachuk to Atlanta and our very own acquisition of Doug Weight. All veteran players with plenty of post season experience and performance history… although Tkachuk is still confusing on that one years later. Here’s how I think our guys could play out value wise:

Ray Whitney: Mid to late first. Possible late 2nd-mid 3rd round pick or prospect as well depending on the team trading for him and the prices at the deadline.
Matt Cullen: 2nd round pick, prospect
Aaron Ward: late 2nd round/early 3rd round pick
Scott Walker: 3rd round pick
Joe Corvo: the real wildcard of our bunch. He could be worth anywhere from a first plus to a 2nd rounder depending on the prices and need for an offensive defenseman at the deadline.

If we go through with this it could suck for a couple years to be a Caniac. Or we could outright do a Philly type turnaround and use the extra cap room this year to bring in a legit first line talent to go with what core we do have. The question is if JR wants to go through with it. But I think even JR realizes that the window for a championship with this core is over and that we have the perfect opportunity to go through an overhaul, due to impending UFAs, that we never have had shy of the post-lockout season. Personally I’d keep the following roster regulars: Eric Staal, Jussi Jokinen, Tuomo Ruutu, Joni Pitkanen, Tim Gleason, Cam Ward, Chad LaRose, Andrew Alberts

I’d be quite happy with a core that looks like this in 2-3 years, even if it does mean the pains of an actual rebuild:

Zac Boychuk-Eric Staal-Tyler Seguin
Drayson Bowman-Maxim Kitsyn-Tuomo Ruutu
Jussi Jokinen-Brandon Sutter-Chad LaRose
Nic Blanchard-Stefan Chaput-Nick Dodge

Joni Pitkanen-Tim Gleason
Jamie McBain-Jarred Tinordi
Brett Carson-Andrew Alberts

Cam Ward
Mike Murphy

ahhh to dream the impossible dream. Faster, younger and most definitely more exciting to watch then what we have out there right now. But of course knowing that, JR would never go for it. Of course, IMO he’s part of the problem, but we’re not getting rid of him until he decides to step down and we all know that.

But Mo Must Go next offseason, plain and simple. We need a REAL coach. Don’t get me wrong, Chairman Mo did a great job of getting a defensive system in place with a team where the forwards probably didn’t know the name of the backup goalie under Lavihockey. But frankly we need someone that actually knows what an offensive zone concept is, yet alone has one. Ted Nolan has crossed my mind, as have some people from the Dub such as Don Hay and Willie Desjardins. If you want a real blast from the past how about former Whalers great Kevin Dineen, who has won the AHLs coach of the year award. Just SOMEONE that knows what they’re doing offensively to go along with a new team.

But that’s probably too much to ask. And knowing my luck now that I’m outright advocating to blow it up they’ll turn it around just in time to get close enough to the playoff picture to keep us from going through with the rebuild just to miss out in the end. And that my friends would be the worst possible outcome for the season.

Yes, it is true, the Acid Queen herself is stepping down. But I will not let this blog die yet. I might not be posting nearly as often as she does but I should be adding some of my usual as we go throughout the season and will in fact be letting some of my opinions on other matters be more well known. I’ll also be live-blogging from the World Junior Championships in Saskatchewan this year, something that should add an interesting dynamic to this blog.

And I’ll go ahead an give a bit of a warning right now, my first blog post for this weekend is NOT going to be pretty. It will likely ruffle a few feathers of the eternal optimists out there. But it’s an opinion that I feel needs to be brought to the foray, which is frankly: this is worse then 2002-03 and it’s time, we’re going nowhere with this core.

You’ll see what I mean when I post it. And odds are if you’re a fan of this team with any hopes for this season, you’re not going to like it.

OK, so the TV schedule is out–and guess who’s NOT on it?

Us.

Personally, I don’t care. I’m sure that some Hurricanes fans somewhere are crying the butthurt fantastic, but honestly? We seem to do better when nobody is paying attention to us, so eff ‘em.

I mean, I’m just sayin’.

And the Hurricanes also agreed to terms on a 1-year contract with Stephane Yelle. I can live with it. He can’t score fer beans, but we need a fourth-line center. He’ll work fine for our purposes.

Of ALL the guys we could have drafted in the first round:
16) C/RW Landon Ferraro
17) RW Zach Budish
20) LW Carl Klingberg
21) C Drew Shore
23) LW Jeremy Morin
27) D Stefan Elliott
34) RW Alex Chiasson (no relation to Steve)
35) D Ryan Button
37) C Joonas Nattinen
38) D Charles-Olivier Roussel
39) C Ryan O’Reilly
40) RW Richard Panik
41) C Ethan Werek
42) D Dmitri Orlov
43) C Tomas Tatar
44) RW Toni Rajala
45) D Eric Gelinas
46) D Brayden McNabb
47) RW Josh Birkholz
48) C Alex Hutchings
49) C Jakob Silfverberg
50) D Seth Helgeson

We pick this dude:

WTF was the scouting staff smoking when they made that pick?? Did all 4 of them decide to gather ’round, light up a big blunt, and come to the collective conclusion that the solution to all of our size woes was some dude that everyone else figured was a second-rounder at best?? What are they going to do with this dude, give him a wand and tell him to go fight Voldemort? Maybe they got so stoned that they thought they were drafting for a Quidditch team instead of an NHL team.

The only team that was made of more fail than the Hurricanes on Day 1 of the Draft were the Hartfordelphia Whaleflyers. When that trade got announced, I had to ask myself if Homer was hitting the sauce again–all that for My Golden Bitch?? Really?? Really?? 2 first-rounders, a conditional 3rd-rounder, AND two good young players?? For Pronger?? If I’m a Pflyers fan, I’m getting out the cans of gas and the matches and preparing to immolate myself in front of the Walk-Over-Ya Center because…damn.

p.s. TSN’s trio of commentators can blow me for deciding to cut away from/talk over Ron Francis when he announced our pick. I mean, I get that they figured “eh, it’s the Hurricanes, they’ll just blow it anyway”–but really. You asshats could have STFU and let Ronnie announce the pick.? I mean, I’m just sayin’.

Can’t wait to see how they blow it on Day 2. Somebody pass me a Mojito…or ten.

Pop this window out

10 years ago yesterday, I got in to my job in one of the function-test labs at IBM. I had sat down and was getting ready to go grab a drink before settling in to writing down some thoughts about the playoff series that had just ended for the ‘Canes, when one of my co-workers came over and said “Did you hear the news?”

No, I said. What happened?

“Steve Chiasson died last night.”

I sat there gobsmacked. WHAT?!

“Yeah”, she said. “Go read The Penalty Box.”

I went and pulled up the board (at that time the most highly-trafficked Canes board on the Net)–first thing I saw was “Chiasson dead in single-vehicle accident”.

On our lunch break, my co-worker and I tried to find a place near IBM that was showing the press conference–no luck. So we had to settle for posts from other TPB readers filling us in on the presser and what was said, and what little was printed by the N&O about the accident and what was being discussed on 850 the Buzz–then the only sports radio station in town.

Mike Solarte was in tears on his morning show. He knew all the guys on the team, so to him it was like losing a member of the family. He was doing all he could to keep from breaking down sobbing on the air, and he even mentioned that alcohol may have been a factor. In the lab, the mode was very somber; all the other testers came around to offer their condolences. We were crushed and a little numb.

And we got to listen to Adam Gold blasting Chiasson as a worthless drunk because Chaser made the awful decision to duck his teammates (who were trying to call him a cab), steal his keys back, and drive home before anyone could stop him. Gold denies it now, but no ‘Canes fan who heard his nastiness back then (when the Buzz gave the Hurricanes short shrift and only Solarte spoke well of them on a regular basis) will forget it. Any fan that took issue with Gold’s remarks were insulted on-air and hung up on. Anyone that sent him an e-mail received a patronizing reply that amounted to “he deserved what he got”.

It was a nightmare; we were all angry that Chaser had decided to drive while intoxicated, but at the same time we were sad that he was gone and grateful that nobody else was hurt or injured. There are still some that refuse to hear anything good about Steve Chiasson, and continue to deride his memory and cry about the Hurricanes’ Steve Chiasson Award as somehow “glorifying” irresponsible behaviour; the rest of us–and the Hurricanes–choose to remember the whole man and honour his memory while reminding others of the final lessons Steve taught us:

Whether you are celebrating or drowning your sorrows, be responsible: take a cab or have a designated driver, and always wear your seat belt.

Hail, Steve. We miss you.

Game 1, 2nd round is tonight. If I said I wasn’t at least a little worried about this game, I’d be lying my ass off.

A Liveblog will be up for Game 2 on Sunday. Feel free to come and join the fun, and I’ll have some Versus schwag for a few lucky peeps.

….this slightly mopey and sad post all set to go, when The One Who Will Be scored the series-winner.

I’m still kind of speechless right now, so I’m just going to leave you with the immortal Svend Karlsen:

.02? What?

Back meds kicking in. Must go to bed. Post in morning.

Chairman Mo in power again — TSN

I finally manage to have some time (new job has been exciting so far, but it takes all my time)…and the Hurricanes decide to bring a huge step BACKWARD and bring back Paul bloody Maurice.

And I’ve started smoking again. Don’t tell my doctor.

The Canes came out with vengance on their mind after the season ending loss only months before. Instead they fell into a 2-0 hole to start the first thanks to an old friend. But the Canes were resiliant and kept at it. After a powerplay goal by Ruutu and a dazzling move by Whitney near the end of the first the Canes have all the momentum. Brindy would put them up 3-2 but would be answered a few minutes later by Dvorak. Joni was being Joni again tonight and put the home team up to stay with just over 5 to play in the 2nd. Despite a late comeback attempt and some, shall I say “questionable” calls, the Canes stood solid and emerged victorious 6 to 4.

So here’s some thoughts on the game. Defense:
Pitkanen – Gleason was solid, real solid. They compliment eachother extremely well and very well might be the best top pairing in the southeast. Dare I say it they could very well be among the top 2 or 3 #1 pairings in the east when all is said and done if they can carry this play over to future games. But they weren’t the only ones doing their part from the blueline. Frank Kaberle was back in fashion tonight and after doing the matador routine on the Panthers first goal had an otherwise solid night. Corvo didn’t produce but he didn’t look bad by any meens either despite his -2 so that’s a wash to me, he should put up the numbers this year regardless. Seidenberg impressed looking like he really wants to be a part of the Canes long-term plans and he deserved the 21+ minutes of ice time he got. Fantastic feed by him on the powerplay to Ruutu. Wallin was also a very pleasant surprise making the nicest play I’ve seen him make since the 05-06 playoffs to set up Lacouture for his first Hurricanes goal.

Up Front:
The Staal line was dominant despite Eric not ending up on the scoresheet. He was dangerous all night, Whitney is still the Wizzard and Eaves looks like he could easily have a breakout season alongside those two. The Brind’Amour line was not at its strongest even strength but they more then made up for that on the powerplay contributing both goals. Ruutu showed some glimpses of why he was considered the best prospect in hockey a few times tonight. The Cullen line was alright, shut down the Panthers forwards and pestered their D all night but didn’t produce until an empty netter at the end. The line that impressed me the most was actually Brookbank-Sutter-Lacouture. Generated a lot of action in front of Vokoun and the end result was a goal for Lacouture and Brandon’s first NHL point.

Special Teams:
This powerplay is lethal, period. The Pitkanen-Corvo setup on the point will generate more then it won’t and having the Brind’Amour setup with what looked like a resurgent Kaberle on the 2nd unit ensured that if the Panthers focused on stopping the 1st unit they would get burnt in the end. It happened, twice.
The PK… I’m still not sold on. It should improve over last season by simple law of averages, but there were only 3 players iced tonight that I would consider putting on a PK with Gleason, Wallin and Seidenberg. That said, the Canes new attacking attitude with the forwards will pay off and ensure that the PK improves. Sutter especially was impressive there, this kid has Selke written all over him, just such a cerebral defensive player at such a young age.

Dave’s 3 stars:
3 – Ray Whitney
2 – The Pitkanen-Gleason pairing… yeah I know it’s a copout, so sue me
1 – Brandon Sutter

Well.

In a previous post, I questioned (in a roundabout manner) the wisdom of the Hurricanes’ training staff in being so super-aggressive when it comes to rehab.

IF–and this is a large if, of course–TSN’s Darren Dreger is to be believed, Jim Rutherford has asked Pete Friesen and his crew to go in pretty much the opposite direction.

Actually, check that. He’s asked for a different direction, rather than a full-on reverse:

Rutherford’s frustration with injury peaked last month when Hurricanes forward Justin Williams suffered a ruptured achilles tendon while participating in a run.

Williams, who sat out much of last season with a serious knee injury could miss six months with his latest setback.

Rutherford has seen enough and has challenged Pete Friesen, his longtime trainer and strength and conditioning coach to research a training program that is designed for individual athletes and not the team as a larger group.

(boldface courtesy of a poster on hfboards’ Hurricanes forum–where you can still take issue at Dwayne-o and get away with it)

The Anti-Luke quotes the following from JimR:

“I’ve given my opinion cautiously the last few years, because it’s a long way from my expertise,” Rutherford said. “But with the amount of injuries we’ve had, we have to do something different. There’s some reason we’ve had so many and it’s not coincidence.

“I’m not saying don’t train. But in my opinion, athletes today may over-train. There have been a lot more injuries in the past decade, especially in hockey.”

Of course he’s not saying “don’t train”. He’d be foolish to say that. But it’ll be interesting to see how Pete responds to the challenge.

Stay tuned.

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