Archive for September, 2007

Bob from Canes Country Submits:

The question of the moment is, who should the Canes hire to replace the recently “retiring”, Jason Karmanos?

Jim Rutherford says that he has a short list of possibilities, so Canes Country Blog will guess who is on the short list and see what each candidate can bring to the table.

Candidate number one is Ron Francis. What needs to be said about “The Franchise?” He has name recognition, he has vast experience as a player, he’s entrenched in the community, he gives the position and the team instant credibility, and he’s a diligent, hard worker. He doesn’t have much experience in management, but he can probably learn as he goes under the watchful eye of Rutherford. This choice would certainly make the fan base happy. Francis recently told WRAL radio that he is interested in the position, so that makes him a front-runner, in my opinion.

Next on the list is Marshall Johnston, the current Director of Professional Scouting for the Hurricanes. While Francis lacks management experience, Johnston makes up for it in spades. He has 30 plus years of experience in the NHL, including past stints as general manager and assistant general manager. He’s mostly noted for being the brain-trust behind Ottawa’s rise to prominence from being league laughing stock to perennial playoff contender. He’s getting up there in age though and at 65, is older than Rutherford. It’s not like he will be able to take over when JR retires. If Johnston is hired, I would look at it to be more of a temporary stop-gap, not as a possible fill-in for Rutherford after Jim retires.

Next on my list of possibilities is Sheldon Ferguson. Ferguson was the Director of Amateur Scouting before he left the organization a couple of years ago, and has a long track record of over 10 years with Rutherford. He left this franchise to pursue the position of General Manager of the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL. In a mysterious turn of events, he ended up not taking that position and I’m not sure what he is up to currently. One must assume that since he was pursuing that type of position previously, he would be very interested in the Carolina opening.

Finally, Rutherford might have someone from outside the organization in mind. I won’t even hazrd a guess as to who that might be. If this person wasn’t currently coaching the Maple Leafs, I’d have to say that Paul Maurice would be a good candidate. Maybe JR could hire Johnston to take over until coach “Mo” gets fired, then he can have Mo step in. (this isn’t a dig at Maurice, all coaches eventually get fired.) Whoever ends up in this position will work very closely with Rutherford, so I’m sure JR will make a decision based upon, not only who could do the best job, but who he feels comfortable working closely with every day. In my opinion, it would be tough to say no to Francis after he has stated in public that he wants the job. The new poll allows you to make the decision. Who do you think Jim Rutherford will hire?

Other Canes Country News

Last week’s Canes Country poll is down now and it seems that most readers think that Eric Staal will lead the team in goals scored this year. Justin Williams came in 2nd with Erik Cole coming in 3rd. What’s somewhat surprising is that “Sugar Ray” Whitney got little respect from ya’ll and came in a distant 4th place. Ray led the team in goals scored last year. Can’t he do it 2 years in a row?

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With the NHL starting this weekend I thought it would be interesting to see what some of my favorite media people see for the upcoming season. Here are their fearless predictions for the 2007-2008 NHL standings.

Jason Gregor the Team 1260
www.justagame.ca

East

1. Ottawa
2. Pittsburgh
3. Atlanta
4. NY Rangers
5. Buffalo
6. Philly
7. Tampa Bay
8. Washington

West

1. Detroit
2. San Jose
3. Colorado
4. Anaheim
5. Vancouver
6. Calgary
7. Nashville
8. Edmonton

Fluto Shinzawa - Boston Globe
www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/

West

1.Anaheim
2.Colorado
3.Detroit
4.San Jose
5.Vancouver
6.Calgary
7.Nashville
8.St. Louis

Tim Graham - Buffalo News
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/sabresnhl/index.html

1. Pittsburgh
2. NY Rangers
3. Ottawa
4. Tampa Bay
5. New Jersey
6. Buffalo
7. Montreal
8. Atlanta

West

1. Vancouver
2. Anaheim
3. Detroit
4. San Jose
5. Calgary
6. Dallas
7. Minnesota
8. Colorado

Tyler McKinna - NHL Digest
www.nhldigest.com

East

1.NY Rangers
2.Ottawa
3.New Jersey
4.Pittsburgh
5.Atlanta
6.Buffalo
7.Toronto
8.Tampa Bay

West

1.Detroit
2.San Jose
3.Anaheim
4.Vancouver
5.Colorado
6.Nashville
7.Dallas
8.Calgary

Neil Bristow “theneilshow” - NHL Digest
www.nhldigest.com

East

1.New Jersey
2.Tampa Bay
3.Buffalo
4.Ottawa
5.Pittsburgh
6.NYR
7.Carolina
8.Atlanta

West

1.Detroit
2.San Jose
3.Calgary
4.Anaheim
5.Minnesota
6.Colorado
7.Vancouver
8.St.Louis
Your Turn

Agree or disagree with these predictions? What are your predictions?
Feel free to post in the comments section with your own fearless predictions!
It will be a exciting season in the NHL. Let the games begin!!!

Moving On

I would like to personally thank Buffalo News writer Tim Graham for everything he has done for me in the past. He is one of the best in the business. I would like to also like to wish Tim a BIG good luck on his new chapter in his career covering the Miami Dolphins. Tim is leaving the Buffalo News and I know I will miss his articles about the Sabres. Good luck to you and your family in Miami !!!!

Look for more from TheNeilShow throughout the season as he interviews various sports media members as well as coaches and players from around the NHL.
If you have any questions or comments, please share a comment on the site or email Neil at theneilshow@nhldigest.com

Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau made it clear that his No. 1 goaltender on Oct. 3 will be Cristobal Huet and despite the critics calling for Carey Price to take Huet’s job, the statistics tell a different story.

The National Hockey League has issued its verdict on the Flyers’ Steve Downie. Colin Campbell, the NHL’s executive vice-president and director of hockey operations has suspended Downie for 20-games for this hit on Dean McAmmond.

With Scott Niedermayer sidelined for at least the start of the season as he mulls retirement, the Ducks handed his captaincy to fellow star blueliner Chris Pronger on Friday.

The NHL violated antitrust laws and is acting like “an illegal cartel” by monopolizing control of team promotions, Madison Square Garden claimed in a lawsuit Friday.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Scottie Upshall will likely be sidelined for six weeks because of a broken wrist. Forward R.J. Umberger is out two weeks with a broken pinky finger.

The top female hockey players in Eastern Canada have a league to play in this year with the formation of the seven-team Canadian Women’s Hockey League — thanks to the efforts of several star players.

Brent Sopel has left the camp of the Detroit Red Wings and signed a contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. Sopel signed a one-year contract with the Blackhawks, believed to be worth $1.5 million.

Toronto fans hope the acquisition of Vesa Toskala takes their Maple Leafs to the next level. More often than not, the goaltender is the missing piece of the puzzle.

Bob from Canes Country submits:

The talk of the day is still about Jason Karmanos resigning from his position yesterday. In subsequent interviews, he said that he had been thinking about doing it for awhile. In my opinion, the timing of this seems a bit weird. While Jason said that the busy part of the year for management is during the summer months and he purposely waited until after the hard part of the season was over to resign so not to over-burden Jim Rutherford, it seems to me that in most cases hirings and firings around the NHL seem to occur during the offseason, not a week before the regular season starts. Many people assumed that Jason was the heir apparent to being the organization’s future general manager, president, and/or possible owner. Who would turn down a dream future like that?

When asked about any possible sale of the franchise, Karmanos replied, “I’m not aware of any change in any status of ownership”. Maybe I make too much of things, but that’s not exactly like him saying, “no, there are definitely no plans in that regard”. People are going to speculate and make assumptions about this resignation and there are certainly plenty of unanswered questions to fuel that speculation, but we’ll just have to see what happens. Peter Karmanos was out of town and not available for comment. Jason mentioned that he wants to stay in the area and considers Raleigh home.

The Canes beat the Blue Jackets last night, 3-0, giving them 2 shut-outs in the pre-season so far. John Grahame earned it last night, accomplishing something he couldn’t do all of last year. (getting a shut-out) Let’s hope he can carry that success over with him to the regular season. I’m sure he’s aware that it’s the final year of his contract and he will have to play very well to keep earning those big bucks!

Cory Stillman is in the same contract situation, and seems to have found his game, scoring 2 goals last night. (one on an empty netter) Jeff Hamilton continues to impress. The much maligned defense is certainly holding their own so far. But I don’t think anyone questioned how well they can play, I think the big question is how healthy can they stay? If this group stays healthy, this could be a very successful season. At least they are starting out better than they did last year in that regard!

Tonight is the last game of the seemingly, short pre-season schedule. The Blue Jackets are in town to look for some revenge. We should see most of the Hurricanes regulars tonight, as they try to get a feel for how the opening night lineup will play out. In other news, Michael Leighton cleared waivers and Albany fans have reason to cheer. We will have to keep close tabs on those River Rats, I think that they should be a pretty decent team this year.

TGIF!

Brad Lee of St. Louis Gametime Submits:

What a weird ass time to be a sports fan in St. Louis.

The Cardinals had one of the most depressing and sh***y years in recent memory. A scant season removed from winning the World Series, the franchise is at a crossroads with its Hall of Fame manager, franchise players and payroll.

The Rams seemed to be poised to make a run at the NFC West and then two quarters into the season left tackle Orlando Pace was lost for the season. Suddenly Marc Bulger was swarmed every time he dropped back to pass. When they hand the ball to Steven Jackson, four defenders are on him before he hits the line. A .500 season looks to be about the best the team can do unless the team makes dramatic improvements.

Who would have thought the team that has the best outlook right now would be the team that “earned” the No. 1 overall pick a little more than a year ago would have the brightest outlook.

If we weren’t lazy, we’d look up what we wrote at the trading deadline last year. Basically, we said the re-signing of Manny Legace and Eric Brewer set up the Blues to only worry about offense in free agency. Combined with some extra draft picks from the Guerin and Tkachuk trades, things turned around faster than anyone expected. And we’re already seeing the results.

After begging for fans to come back to the DrinkScotch Center, the team claims it has sold 8,500 season tickets (compared to almost 4,800 last year). And while we don’t know if that includes partial-game plans or not, that’s pretty impressive. We’ve noticed an uptick in traffic around these parts. There was genuine buzz at the Fanfest last week. People are even buying the still odd looking to us new sweaters.

To our way of thinking, the first month of the season is crucial. It’s odd saying that because the popular opinion is that the regular season in the NHL doesn’t really mean anything. Not to the Blues, who were basically eliminated from playoff contention by Halloween. If the team is drawing fans and winning games in October, that’s going to sell tickets in January and set up a playoff run in February and March.

We don’t own a crystal ball, but we would wager that the Blues will improve upon their 2.54 goals a game average last season. With Paul Kariya, they should be better than 29th on the power play. They should have at least one player top 60 points this season compared to none last year. That’s all a start. We don’t think Jay McKee will miss most of the season. We think Eric Brewer is ready to earn his money. We think Dutchie Stempniak is going to get even better.

Basically, we expect to have a lot of fun this year.

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Dean McAmmond suffered a concussion as a result of a viciuous hit at the hands of Steve Downie. Downie, a 20-year old prospect caught McAmmond coming around the back of the net with his head down. However, Downie’s hit was a blatant charge and certainly deserved the match penalty that he received.

After viewing the video footage, it is apparent that Downie definitely left his feet during the body check.

Downie will likely be a little intimidated the next time he faces off against the senators.

“It was a cheap shot. There’s no part in the game for hits like that,” said Senators right-winger Brian McGrattan, who was ejected from the Senators’ 4-2 exhibition victory after he sought justice on the offending Downie. “A guy can’t defend himself and you take a 40-foot run and jump and hit him. Hopefully the league takes a look at it. Those are the hits we don’t want in our game.”

Downie Received a 20 Game suspension for his actions?
Do you think it was worth 20 Games? Give us your opinion in the comments!

I’m not sure if the Flyers think that bringing back the Broad Street Bullies will increase ticket sales, but they have made NHL hockey tickets including Detroit Red Wings tickets, Anaheim Ducks tickets, NJ Devils tickets, and Boston Bruins tickets more sought after as these rivalries heat up down the home stretch of the season.