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stormTRacker Podcast
Carolina Hurricanes' Offseason Overhaul: Eric Tulsky's Master Plan and New Signings Revealed!
Ever wondered how a team rebuilds after losing key players? Join Erin Manning, Katie Bartlett, and myself, Tom Ray, as we unpack the Carolina Hurricanes' tumultuous offseason and the strategic maneuvers of their new general manager, Eric Tulsky. Learn how the Canes managed the exits of essential players like Jake Guentzel, Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, and Teuvo Teravainen, while successfully extending the contracts of Jordan Martinook and Jalen Chatfield. We provide an inside look into Tulsky's approach to free agency, bringing back Shane Gostisbehere and signing fresh talent like Sean Walker, Jack Roslovic, and William Carrier. Plus, delve into Erin and Katie's personal stories of how they became die-hard Hurricanes fans.
Curious about the behind-the-scenes intricacies of player deals? Discover the complexities of Seth Jarvis's contract extension and the ripple effects it has on the team's dynamics. We discuss Eric Tulsky's meticulous planning and how his adaptability during a transitional period has earned him the respect of players, including Andrei Svechnikov. We also cover the Hurricanes' preparedness for various scenarios, strategic moves in free agency and the draft, and the passionate, competitive spirit of goaltender Kochekov, who could be the next Patrick Roy.
Shifting our focus to the net and the blue line, we analyze the balance between veteran goalie Anderson and the up-and-coming Kochekov. The absence of veterans like Skjei and Pesce brings challenges, but new additions like Gostisbehere and Walker offer a fresh perspective and offensive flair. We also delve into Jesperi Kotkaniemi's development and the potential impact of Jack Roslovic and William Carrier on the team’s offensive depth. Wrapping up, we discuss future player development, including anticipated surprises like Scott Morrow's call-up and Alexander Nikishin's arrival as well as what deal we might expect for Martin Necas. Tune in for a comprehensive look at the Hurricanes' prospects for the upcoming season!
Well, it's certainly been a challenging offseason thus far for the Carolina Hurricanes and new general manager, eric Tulsky. It was inception by fire for Tulsky, as he had several unrestricted free agents to sort through, as well as a trio of restricted guys. The Canes wanted to try to re-up Jake Gensel, who they had acquired at the trade deadline, and worked hard to get that done. Unfortunately, gensel moved on to Tampa. In any case, the Canes could not do much other than to sign Jordan Martinuk to an extension, as well as defenseman Jalen Chatfield. The rest of the guys moved on Brett Pesci, brady Shea, stephan Nason, tebow Taravainen and Tony D'Angelo have all gone from the Hurricanes. The aforementioned Gensel is gone, as well as the other trade deadline guy, eugeny Kuznetsov, who headed back to Russia.
Speaker 1:The Canes did sign restricted free agent Jack Drury to a two-year extension and are still working on Natchez and Jarvis.
Speaker 1:The word is that Natchez may sign a one-year deal somewhere in the five and a half to six million dollar range and it looks like they're getting close to a long-term extension, probably eight years with Seth Jarvis. In any case, that's a lot of folks to move on and a lot of changes for the Hurricanes, and Tulsky had to get busy with free agency. He brought back former Kane Shane Gostaspare, as well as another defenseman, sean Walker, to shore up the blue, and then, up front, he added Jack Roslevic, william Carrier and a couple of depth pieces, tyson Jost and Eric Robinson. The Canes are going to look decidedly different this year and the analysts are already on it saying this is a step back year for the Hurricanes. I wanted to take a deep dive into this, see what the Canes are going to do, how they're going to look, how we feel about the defense, the goaltending and the forward side, and what kind of changes we might see with the Kings.
Speaker 1:To help me do that I've got two folks who are among the most knowledgeable on the Hurricanes, and that would be Aaron Manning and Katie Barlow. Well, it's great to have you on and you know there's lots to talk about. As always with the hurricanes, it's been a hectic three weeks, or just a little bit more, and I thought it'd be great for us to maybe, you know, peel the onion back a little bit, see what the situation is currently with the canes and what we might expect going forward. But before we started that, I kind of wanted to just get a sense of you guys. How did you get into hockey and why the Hurricanes?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm originally from Colorado and when the Nordiques became the Avalanche in the 95-96 season, we were spoiled with a team that came already loaded with stars. Spoiled with a team that came already loaded with stars Joe Sackick, peter Forsberg, very quickly, patrick Waugh and they were a fantastic team. They were a great team and they ended up winning the Stanley Cup. So it was very easy for me to become a hockey fan, and specifically an Avs fan, right from the get-go, and I've been an Avs fan ever since then. But my family moved to the Carolinas in 2013 and so occasionally I would go and I'd go up to Raleigh to try and see the Avs play on their one visit. And as I go up there, I started really noticing how, how good and how interesting the the Canes were, because I think the first time I went up to raleigh was around 2017, 2018, something like that um, and I was like, oh, these guys are good. Then I go back it's like, oh, this ajo guy, he he's really talented. Or this slavin guy, he really, you know, is making life difficult for our superstars. Yeah, just little by little.
Speaker 2:And then, of course, living in the carolinas, the Canes are on the local broadcast, so it's much easier to catch their games than it is the Avs games, and so I'd watch them here. Watch them there, have a free evening. Okay, yeah, let's flip on the the television and see how they're doing. And started watching more and more and more. It just kind of sucked into the wonderful team and experience that is the carolina hurricanes and then in in I was november, december of 2022. I saw that game against the devils, where kochekov was the first star, but they had slavin on the bench to do the interview because they figured with his, with kochekov's english, that he wouldn't want to do the interview. But he went ahead and invited himself right on the bench and interviewed alongside Slavin and Hannah, and had so much infectious enthusiasm and he had the big fist bump at the end and it's like okay, I'm done.
Speaker 2:I am now a diehard Carolina Hurricanes fan and I have been watching them ever since. Every game is must-see TV for me, that's fantastic.
Speaker 3:That is so great. I have not been a hockey fan as long as you. We had never watched hockey and my daughter started watching the playoffs the year of the Blues Bruins Stanley Cup Final in 2019 because her co-workers we live in the Fort Worth area. She was working in Dallas. Her co-workers were watching the Stars in the playoffs and then when they got eliminated, everybody wanted to watch the final anyway. So she came to our house, wanted to turn it on. We'd never watched hockey and I was actually just thinking how funny it is now to look back, because when you've never watched a hockey game, you turn on the television. There are these large men on tiny skate blades fighting over a rubber disc and trying to kill each other in the process. It's just riveting. You can't turn away from it. It's like watching a train wreck. So we watched the games and we were so enthusiastic by the end of it. We decided to cheer on the Blues and we were excited, enthusiastic. By the end of it. We decided to cheer on the Blues and we were excited that they won and then that fall.
Speaker 3:My husband said he'd like to watch some more hockey and I said, okay, well, did you want to watch the Blues some more, or are you going to try our local team, the Dallas Stars? And he said well, I'm really interested in the Montreal Canadiens. That took me by surprise because we didn't have any real connections to Montreal, but he loved the history of the team he was. You know, he'd gotten, he'd done a little bit of reading and found out about the original six teams and all of the you know, the Stanley Cups. The Habs have won over their storied history and some of their big stars. So we started watching the Habs and, of course, they were not doing that well at that time, but they did make a couple of surprise playoff appearances. They went all the way to the Stanley Cup final in 2021.
Speaker 3:That's right and I think now the other thing that I that the key that I forget about all the time is that, because it was, you know, we started watching and five months later the pandemic hit. So I had all kinds of time to learn about the game, read books about you know, I have books about, you know, plays, hockey plays, you know, so that I could understand what's going on. And you know, if I hadn't had that time, away from everything I don't know that I could have gotten into it as much. So then, when the canes acquired kokuniemi through the offer sheet, you know I'd watch these two young centers, nick suzuki, and just very I wanted to keep watching both of them.
Speaker 3:So it was that easy. It was like, well, I'll try this team. And I mean it probably took three games for me to realize that what the Carolina Hurricanes were doing felt like a different sport compared to what the Habs were doing at that time. So Rob Rindemore's vision of how the team should play the right way and I'm, you know, I'm telling Martin San Luis last year, I think, said he wanted the Habs to play more like the Carolina Hurricanes. So that ties it all in pretty nicely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, certainly, martin. San Luis has changed so much with the Canadians. I think that's great and you know, one of the big surprises to me is the knowledge that both of you have for such relative newcomers to the sport. So good on you. And those are great stories. And, you know, looking at the Hurricanes, it's kind of interesting. This has been a crazy three or four weeks that we've had. We've seen Eric Tulsky come into a new role and Eric is a completely different type of guy as a general manager. I mean, this guy is brilliant and he's not your traditional type of GM. So he comes in and is given the keys and he had a lot of business to take care of and I thought it would be interesting to get a sense of how you felt he's done so far. How do you feel about, in general, how the Canes have put things together over the last three, four weeks?
Speaker 2:I think they've done the best with the opportunities that have been presented to them. From the interviews that I've heard with Tolsky who is very well spoken, by the way the only concern I really had is how well would he be able to articulate to the public what was going on from the front office perspective? Because the front office really hasn't changed all that much other than Waddell leaving and Tulsky being promoted to general manager as far as the face of the front office. But it's obvious they had their tears. It's we're going to see what happens at level A, and if it goes this way, we'll do this at level B, and if it goes this way, we'll do this at level B, and if it goes that way, we'll do this. And it's kind of been a little clicking of the dominoes, which is part of why people, I think, are frustrated.
Speaker 2:Why does Jarvis not have his extension yet? Well, it's where they have the most control and so they need to see how the dominoes flip over before they can move forward and see what they have to work with when it comes to Seth Jarvis. So once we wait and see what happens. First we saw what happened with Drury, so that domino got ticked over and we have a little bit clearer picture of the cap now. Now we're just waiting for the nature's domino to tip over and once that does, I think it'll be clickety-clack. Jarvi will be done like that. But they're very methodical and intentional and they see 15 steps down the track of the way something can go, and I really appreciate that intentionality and thoughtfulness that they have when it comes to how they move forward with the team in the face of different variables.
Speaker 3:Yes, I think Katie really said it all there.
Speaker 3:That was great, very eloquent.
Speaker 3:I just happened to see this morning and I do not have the name of the reporter in front of me, but a reporter in Russia interviewed Andrei Svechnikov and one of the things that he was asked about Was this changeover in the GMs, and he said he doesn't know him well, but he's known Eric Cholsky as a face in the franchise, for you know, ever since he's come in he's, you know, certainly familiar with him, and he called him a hockey genius and gave the impression that the team is very much thrilled that this happened, as far as that he was put in place to be the next guy up and that you know, they all have perfect confidence in him.
Speaker 3:So I thought that was interesting to hear from a young player's perspective that they like what Tulsky's doing and they trust him completely. So that tells you, when someone who is your GM inspires that kind of confidence, then I think that that's a good sign for the Canes that the team isn't looking at this and saying, well, why didn't we get this guy or why didn't we sign. They're looking at all the moves and saying, you know, they completely trust what Tulsky is doing. So that's neat to know.
Speaker 1:Well for sure, and boy when.
Speaker 1:when Eric got in there, all I could think of was ET phone home because he must've been talking with Tom Dundon like 724, because course he had all the unrestricted free agents and the restricted guys as well and heading into free agency to draft, you name it it was. You know what a way to jump into your position. It's really something. And he's held up quite nicely and I know a number of times they've asked him like how are you standing up to this? And his comments were pretty clear hey, this is what I do.
Speaker 1:It's my job, no problem. So he's a guy that goes, he really thinks things through and and he's a guy that really goes about his business.
Speaker 3:I think in a smart way, he mentioned that in an in an article that during the draft he hadn't slept for three days in an article that during the draft he hadn't slept for three days. So I know he was hitting the ground running and that's something I can't even fathom taking over at that specific moment. But he did a great job.
Speaker 1:Well, one of the things he said, which I think was very consistent with what you just said a minute ago, katie, was they had plan A, b, c, d, e.
Speaker 1:Like they had peeled the onion way back on this and were ready for any eventuality. They knew that they could sign some or none. They knew that they may need to get free agents or not. I mean, it was just kind of a you know, anything could happen kind of scenario, right, because everything was coming to the last minute on a lot of this stuff. So, anyway, great to have him in there. I think he's a great addition and so far, so good. Why don't we take a look at the positions just for a few minutes? I thought that would be kind of fun and you know, we've seen most of the team is ready. When you listen to Eric, he's basically saying I think for the most part, our team is here. I believe there's another move, maybe that's pending that he can do later on this summer He'll add one more player.
Speaker 1:He's going to have some money, I think, left over, but let's say this is the lineup materially. Let's start with goaltending and hey.
Speaker 2:Katie, why don't you start? Yeah, I do love the goaltending position. Um, before I even became a hockey fan, my sister was a soccer goalie and so I got to go watch all of the stuff that she had to go through.
Speaker 2:That was just a different game, different mentality, different type of prep that the regular players have to go through so because, because of my sister, I've always loved watching the goalies and, of course, being an Avs fan, I have the gold standard of goalies to compare people to. Because when I first became a fan, I was watching Patrick Waugh game in and game out and he was amazing His not just his skill level and his ability to tend to the goal, but just his heart and his passion, which is why I'm really excited for this year, because Kochekov, for me, is the goalie since WAA that I have watched that comes the closest to having that same compete, that same passion, that same heart, that same willingness to get in there, like we saw when Kochekov did the poke check and Brady Shea came after him and Kochekov wasn't going to back down. There was a scrum at the end of the game and everyone was getting into it and Kochekov went in there and pushed some of the other team away, saying no touch my guys. He is a team goalie through and through. He spent portions of the last two seasons down in the minors and that's not going to happen this season. So I can't wait to see what he's able to do with a complete season with the NHL club and hopefully as starting goalie.
Speaker 2:I still think Anderson has plenty to give, but because of his age and his injury issues, he's don't overwork the guy, let him be the backup. You know, two Kochekov starts for every Anderson start sounds like a good balance. Let's see what this young guy has and what's. You know a lot of people are calling a transition year and move forward. But if Kochekov is able to polish some of the rough edges in his game, I really really think that he could take the Canes pretty far in the playoffs and maybe even put up numbers that'll have people considering him for the Vezina.
Speaker 3:That would be amazing, that really would, and I think, because it's a transition year, they have nothing to lose by giving him the starts and you know it's not like anything. You're not going to learn to be a starting goaltender in the NHL unless you do it. So I agree with you 100%.
Speaker 1:Well, I think Piotr, at one stretch I don't know if you recall, but there was one stretch of games where he was just his numbers were phenomenal and he was, you know, the more he played, the better he played. So I think he's proven he can come in and really take a gauntlet for them and get the job done. You know, Freddie, when he came back from the blood clot issue, he was amazing. His numbers, like, were under two goals against and a 925 or 35, say, percent. It was some stupid number. And I think the challenge with him was, you know, after he had gone through that, and I think the challenge with him was, you know, after he had gone through that, you know, on going into the playoffs, I think he was overworked and this is where I think Rod Brindamore might have come up short last year. A lot of folks have criticized him for this, for this decision to use Freddie like every game in the playoffs type thing, and, seriously, if he had gone back to what had worked so well the last quarter of the season, which was simply alternating those two guys, I think it might have been a different situation. So, definitely, piotr has earned the right and to me he's going to be a great goaltender.
Speaker 1:And the other guy that I've been thinking a lot about lately is Ruslan Kozaev, and I've been talking to Nick Bass about Ruslan. He's heading into Chicago this year. This guy is a giant. He's 6'4", about 210. He's a big, big, big goaltender and he is really, really talented. If you watch some of the video on this guy, he makes saves that are circus saves, so he's going to be a great player as well. Yeah, so you know, I'm kind of thinking two or three years out. Wouldn't it be kind of cool to have a dynamic duo of Russians in the net for us? So some really exciting stuff, for sure. And again, we still have Spencer Martin. He's going to probably be in Chicago this year, so that gives the Canes a little bit more depth, but I think the goaltending is in wonderful, wonderful shape. So let's put a checkbox to that one. And that's despite the comments of ESPN and their team rankings. And I think, katie, you had something to say about that.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, Well, I posted on X when that came out how it was just very frustrated to see ESPN obviously know nothing about the Canes because they were talking about Anderson being the starter and the Canes maybe going out and looking for a backup for Anderson. And how do you not know about Kochekov? He has come in the past two seasons and saved the key the Canes season when they were stumbling and there were goalie injuries with either Freddie or Father Finn on Tiranta and just got the team stabilized and gave them really good goaltending. He is our guy. Freddie is great. I hope Freddie has another great season, but Piotr is the goalie of the future for the Canes.
Speaker 1:I agree and I think, as I say, I think we're in really good shape and, despite some of the folks who are recognized as the talking heads and the analysts sometimes they get it wrong- In any case.
Speaker 1:let's move on to the blue line. A couple of things there just as we head into this discussion. Of course, big losses veteran Canes that we've loved so much, brady Shea and Brett Pesci, of course, and of course Tony D'Angelo is probably gone as well. So we've lost probably three players from last year's D-Corps who were strong contributors. Two new guys former Hurricane Shane Gossespierre. Now Shane had a big year last year. He had 10 goals, 46 assists for 56 points in 81 games. So he really and 29 on the power play. He really got it done for Detroit.
Speaker 1:So the good news is he knows the system and he's happy to come back, so I think that's a positive. The other one, of course, is Sean Walker, and Walker again, he's a guy that really drives the offense. He skates very, very well. He really likes to get up in the offensive zone we actually saw him get a goal with the avalanche. That was quite nice where he comes in and pops it. So he's definitely got the capability as well. But both these guys, I think, lean more to the offensive side for sure, and you know that may mean some changes in how the defense goes. Katie, what do you think about some of the things on the blue now?
Speaker 2:Well, first, I know this is probably not a popular opinion, but if one of Shea and Pesci was going to walk, I'm perfectly happy that both of them walked because they really felt like a two for one deal. I'm not sure how either of them would have done with a brand new partner after this. I think a lot of their success hinged on each other. So it'll be interesting to see how how Pesci does with the devils and how Shea does with the predators, with new D partners, and whether or not they're able to match what they were able to do with the Canes, because I think that will be a challenge. You know it depends, we'll have to see. But all you know, all the the best to them in their new endeavors, except when they play our team. But with getting Walker and Ghost, obviously we know Ghost loved him from his time with the Canes after the trade deadline a couple seasons ago and then the Avs had Walker. So I got to see Walker play a lot after the trade deadline when he ended up with them, and I don't know that he really fit with the Avs because of where he was placed, but you could see the moments that he had. He really sees the ice well, a lot of the way that Shea sees the ice and can transition the puck out of the zone with tape to tape passes. He has a decent speed. He's not Chatfield, but he will. He will move well. And then he finds those soft spots in the offensive zone and with the way that our guys pass the puck, they are going to find walker in those spots and he is going to get lots of opportunities to score goals or to create rebound chances for some of the other guys to gobble up and put home. So I think he really could fit well.
Speaker 2:Um, what I don't want to see is him and ghost paired together. They're two similar player and I think you might end up giving up a little bit more defensively if you put the two of them together. So I have seen some people suggest breaking up Chatty and Orlov. I wouldn't do that. They are so good together, just like you wouldn't have wanted to break up Shay and Pesci.
Speaker 2:Don't break up Chatty and Orlov. Leave them together. Go ahead and put Walker up with Slavin. Let Slavin guard that blue line. Hold down the, which will give Walker a whole lot more freedom to work into his skill set. And then put Burns down with Ghost, there'll be a dual threat Either one can stay back while the other one jumps into the play or alternate, and it's really going to give the other team fits. Trying to figure out do we need to keep an eye on Burns or do we need to keep an eye on ghosts? Because the answer to that would be yes. So that is that in my opinion, that would be the ideal arrangement for the d core to be as solid defensively as the canes d has been in the past, but to also give them lots of opportunities in the ozone for them to do what the Canes have done and be one of the highest scoring defensive cores in the league this coming season.
Speaker 3:Wow, I like that because it's so creative. You know, I think a lot of people are definitely doing the let's split Orlov and Chatfield and I kind of agree with you. They've been working really well and I think it's hard to remember back to the beginning of last season. Really well, and I think it's hard to remember back to the beginning of last season, but when Orlov was struggling, you know, in the early time period when he was paired with Tony D'Angelo, you know it really Chatfield really clicked with him and they, they really managed to get that chemistry going.
Speaker 3:So it would be neat to see if, if the team agrees with you. It'd be really neat to see the things that you've laid out there. And I think it would help with another issue that you know we're not really going into, but I think that managing Burns' ice time a little bit during the regular season would be beneficial to the team when we get to the playoffs, because there aren't that many players 39 and older in the NHL and you know as good as he is and as top conditioned as he is, the one thing that all the older players say is that after a while the legs just start to go. You know, you don't have that stamina to keep skating for those big heavy minutes. So if they were to reduce his time during the regular season, then they'd have him fresh for the playoffs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think. I think that makes a lot of sense. And you know, Jalen Chapfield to me is a player that's got a lot more to give. He's got immense talent. He was rock solid. I mean, if you you know any of the games you'd watch, he was always the defender that would you know cover up from someone else. If Orlov was, you know, heading into the O zone, it was always Chatfield that could get back and save the day. So I think they're a great combination. I agree with you and I think they need to play big minutes. I think they should be the number two pairing and I think they should play big minutes and that would allow, with the design that you're both talking about, that would allow a bit more sheltered minutes for Ghost.
Speaker 1:He's not the best defensive defenseman, so that's okay, but he's great on the power play, which is one of the reasons they want him, and also reduce the time for Burns, and I really like that idea. I think at the end of last year he, along with Jordan Stahl and we'll talk about him in a minute I think both of those guys struggled a little bit because you know, they just ran out of gas. So I think that's a great idea. I like where you're going with this. Of course, the Canes have lots of depth. As we know, they've been signing a lot of players for Chicago. Recently Joaquin Ryan was re-signed. He had been back. He'd been with the Canes for a cup of coffee a few years ago. He's a right-shot guy. They've got a couple of left-shot guys. They've got Ty Smith, who came in the deal with Gensel, and they've got Riley Stillman, who I quite like. He's kind of a no-nonsense defenseman but the kind of guy you can call up for 15 or 20 games and he's not going to hurt you much. So I think they've made great moves to strengthen up on the veteran side as well for depth, and so I think, and I feel very strongly this way, I think the blue line is going to be just fine. In fact I think it's going to surprise a lot of folks how strong our defense is. Okay, all right, sounds good. Yeah, so good.
Speaker 1:Let's move on to forwards. This is a tricky one. We lost some key forwards. Of course, the big loss was Jay Gensel, who you know. Everything sounded like it was going the right way and all of a sudden he's being traded off to Tampa Bay and he signs a long-term deal with the Lightning. Tebow. Tarvinan's gone, mason's gone. You know that's kind of you've lost some players that certainly contributed last year. Evgeny Kuznetsov is gone and that was a bit of a surprise, but I think a good situation for the Hurricanes. But it left the Canes with a little bit of a shortcoming at center ice and generally some challenges up front. Erin your thoughts.
Speaker 3:I think that a lot of media has focused on the goal scoring and, in particular, what Carolina has lost with the loss of some of those players.
Speaker 3:One thing I think that needs to be maybe focused on a little bit, though, is that both Kuznetsov and Jake Gensel came in as trade deadline players and then put it in the playoffs. They certainly had an impact. I'm not discounting that at all, but the team was well positioned for the playoffs before they got either one of them. So as far as getting back to the playoffs without Gensel or Kuznetsov, I don't think that should be anyone's concern. They haven't lost that much from the regular season players, except for Taravainen. I think the impact of losing Taravainen is going to be there. You're going to feel it, but at the same time he can be a hot and cold player too, and I think we've noticed that over the last few seasons more. He was great out of the gate last season, but he was also shooting it at around a 30% shooting percentage, which is highly unsustainable and not even close to something that you can you can keep producing at. So I don't think the goal scoring is going to suffer as much as some of the media thinks that it will. I'm interested to see what they do with the younger guys. I would love to see Bradley Doe come up and actually get a spot on the team, and I've also been curious what their plans are for Ryan Suzuki. I think Ryan Suzuki has been through an awful lot and I would love to see him, even if it's not out of training camp, even if it's a call up during the mid season or something for an injury situation. I would love to see Ryan get a chance to play in the NHL this year.
Speaker 3:Um, and then the you know there's the question of 2C. We've we've talked about that. You know quite a bit in terms of um on Twitter, x or whichever you want to call it. There's been a lot of of controversy and comments about well, we didn't go out and get a two C and I I keep asking people who would you get that was available that the Canes could even remotely afford? You know there aren't a lot of players at that level that are just sitting out there waiting to be snatched up. So there, I don't think that they missed on anybody. It wasn't like there was a great 2C available in the offseason that they just failed to somehow make a move, for there wasn't anyone, so I think that it was going to come down to Kokuniemi, drury, maybe some others, as taking turns at that spot.
Speaker 3:I really think that, because of what they're paying Yosemite Cotkaniemi, they would like to see him take that step forward and solidify and be in that position, and there are. I know there are people who say, well, he's not going to be that, but it occurred to me that really and truly, there's no reason why the Canes can't function with what you might call a 3A, 3b configuration between Cotocanemi and Stahl. Rod Redmore doesn't play his centers like a 2C on a team that's doing a lot of high-octane rush scoring goals. He's never going to do that. He's never going to bring in a center who's going to be scoring every other minute but giving up goals every other minute. He's just not. You're going to have defensive centers, whether you like it or not. So if you're going to have defensive centers, whether you like it or not, why not work with the young guys you've got there and see who can take that spot?
Speaker 1:Well, I think that's a great impression. Now you did a survey actually on this I did. I thought I'd ask you about that and also, I wanted to ask you a little bit more about KK, because you've followed him since his early days in Montreal and I want to get a sense of you know. Do you think he's grown? Do you think he has the capability to get this done? What do you think in general? But I'd like to hear about that survey first.
Speaker 3:Well, first of all, on the survey yeah, completely non-scientific, as all X surveys are. I believe I had just under-reported responses. I asked Canes fans who they saw taking 2C, at least to start the season. And I had Kokaniemi, I had Drury, I said someone else on the team already, another player that's already on the team, and then another player that's not on the team. And the rundown roughly, I'm not you know, get the exact numbers in front of me, but it was about 53% for KK, 27, 28% for Jack Drury, only about 6% for somebody else already on the team, which I thought was interesting, given that there are a lot of people who still think Martin Natchez should play center, but then again and Natchez himself may think that we talked about that too, but then again, and they just have himself may think that we talked about that. And then there was more about 13, 14% that said no, no, somebody else not already on the team. And that's where I still say, well, who? Then you know who is who is out there. But I think sometimes people just think, well, we, we're just going to go get this guy and this guy is a cornerstone to see on someone else's team. Then he's not available, but they would let who they would like. You know. Well, we can all dream, right? No, but that's not going to happen. So so that was interesting to me, that really, of the responses I got, more people are perfectly ready to go with. Let's try KK at 2C and see what he can do, and I think that that's a reflection of the reality.
Speaker 3:That last year really was an anomaly for him. It was not a normal season. We don't really know what was going on with that. The whole team had some issues in the beginning that were kind of not normal. If you think back to the October, november, december, it really wasn't until probably late December, early January, that it seemed like everything started to gel. So some players maybe just were more affected than others.
Speaker 3:But as far as watching him from his days in Montreal, I think he certainly has matured a lot as a player. I myself am not qualified to evaluate the skating, but everyone tells me it's significantly improved. I do believe he's not falling as often as he used to. So so he's built up strength and I think even those kinds of things. It's like you look at the physical types of different players, you know and, um, you know, the old hockey books have all kinds of charts about. You know the physiognomy, the different body types. You know the players that are more small and speedy, the players that are more tall, but you know they carry their muscle weight in the lower half of their body versus the ones that carry their muscle weight in the upper half of their body. So you know, not every player is physically mature at 22 or so. You know to that extent. So I think we're going to see. I don't think he's going to have a problem this year. I think he's going to come out just fine.
Speaker 1:Well, a couple things he has bulked up, which for sure has helped him when he gets playing his kind of heavy game where he'll go in and, you know, start hitting players.
Speaker 3:My clutter bucket? Yeah, it's like.
Speaker 1:Is that Kokanemi? He starts to play that way and he's effective, for sure, and he's very strong on the board. So he continues to strengthen up and I think you mentioned one time he was stick thin when he went to the hurricane.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so.
Speaker 3:He looked like a toothpick on stage. So yeah, when he was 19 years old in Montreal and my husband told me he'd already been playing for a whole year, I said that's not possible, you know, because he didn't.
Speaker 1:he didn't look like he belonged in the NHL at that point. He was very young and his face has always been that way, right, so he's a young kid. But I agree with you, I think I think he's going to have a real shot. And one thing that we can also kind of draw from with Kokuniemi is, of course, two years ago he finished the year very, very well, ended up very strong. He had 18 goals on the year, I think 43 points.
Speaker 1:So he had a great second half and he started this past year extremely well. He came out of the gate like you wouldn't believe and for some reason he just fell off a cliff and I think that might be kind of the shining light that the management of the Canes have looked at and said this guy has produced before he knows how to do it. We just need to find the magic to bring that up.
Speaker 3:And I think that the ice time is a factor for sure in the deployment, because when you're deployed it's not just about the minutes, it's about where and how you're deployed and whether you're deployed on a scoreline or whether you're deployed on a checking line. But in the three years that he's been with the Canes, any time his ice time has exceeded 15 minutes a game. He's produced at around a 55 point base, which is more than acceptable for a two. But he the majority of his games he has not played to see ice time. He's played less than 15 minutes a game and there isn't a two C that plays less than 15 minutes a game, so he in those games he's not producing at that level.
Speaker 3:So I think that if they really give him a shot with a 2C roll where he's got enough ice time 13 to 15 minutes at 5 on 5, plus maybe a minute or two on one of the second unit, power play or even on the penalty kill would be great. Just get those minutes, get that momentum going, because again, I think that that's something, something when a player is used to playing those minutes it's harder to produce when you're playing these little short shifts at the end of everybody else having gone out twice on the ice and you're just kind of waiting. It's not the same A lot of players I think Sean Couturier was talking about that in Philadelphia it's the same thing when you're used to playing big minutes and your ice time gets cut, you don't quite know what to do with yourself.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a big change and I think those are very valid points and you know he's going to be critical this year, as it sits right now.
Speaker 2:Now another guy they did pick up as possible.
Speaker 1:Insurance was Jack Roslevic. He's not played a lot of center recently, but he did previously with the Jackets. In fact, in 21-22, he scored 22 goals and 23 assists. So he had an excellent year and I remember watching a lot of his highlights and, man, he scored some wonderful goals Like he's got some very strong talent Again. A guy that you have to put him in the right place and I think maybe that's part of what you know the Canes are strategizing is where to put him. It's not clear where he could end up Now. One of the possibilities, of course, would be if Jesper.
Speaker 1:Faust who continues to rehab and we're seeing some positive signs with him. But if he's delayed coming back, maybe there's an opportunity for Roslevic on the right side to kind of fill in for Foster. Certainly move on one of the lines that could affect that.
Speaker 2:So he's a guy that could be possible.
Speaker 1:Have either of you seen much of Roslevic?
Speaker 2:I'm not very familiar with Roslevic's game, but it seems like he can kind of be a jack-of-all-trades kind of fit in wherever the Canes need somebody at that particular moment whether it's through injury or just needing a little bit of a change of pace or something like that he can go up in the lineup or he can go down in the lineup. He can just be that kind of plug and play guy. The same way, perhaps Nason was used a little bit in the past. So other than that I'm not as familiar with his game, but I am looking forward to seeing how he fits in with a Canes sweater on.
Speaker 3:I think his recent stats actually compare really well to Stephan Nason's over the last couple of years, so that could be where they're thinking that he's going to do. I know that Rod Brindamore loves his wingers to be centers, having those extra guys that can play both positions so that if you have an injury and then you're not scrambling to find somebody, you have people that are sort of built in. I would be surprised to see Roslevic play center to start, because his face-off win rate rear face-off win rate is 43%.
Speaker 1:That's terrible.
Speaker 3:And that's not going to fly at Carolina. We all know that that's a big, big X factor there, so he would have to improve that significantly. I think to get a steady shot if they wanted to use him in one of the center roles, but he could certainly fill in. If you had an injury to one of the centers, he could certainly fill in at center and that would not be a problem because he's used to playing the position. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I was going to say. I think the biggest key for the Canes is just going to make sure that they find scoring beyond Ajo's line.
Speaker 2:And it doesn't have to be lots and lots, but enough to keep it balanced, because if Ajo's line is doing the majority of the scoring, then it makes them very one-dimensional to plan against. Because you figure, if you can shut down Ajo, svetch and Jarvis assuming that's the line, that's what most people are talking about then you feel like you have a really good chance to win that game. So where Rasevic plays, whether KK's your 2C, how things work out with Natchez is all very, very key, because there needs to be that second scoring threat behind Ajo's line, which is why I would really actually like to see Jarvi put on that KK line. If KK is the 2C because and Natchez put him on the wing, and then either, you know, bring up one of the prospects like Nadeau that can learn from Ajo, someone who is a scorer that needs to be given the right opportunities to use his talents and then that way you have a scoring line with Ajo and Svetch. You still have the size with Svetch and you have the defensive acumen with Ajo, and that will make Rod very happy. And then, if you have a line with Natchez and KK and Jarvie, you you still have Size on that line. You still have Jarvie, who you know Rod trusts when it comes to the defensive zone to balance things out.
Speaker 2:So that's the sort of arrangement I would like to see, where they have a one-two punch. It's like, okay, you absorbed our Aja line, now what are you going to do with our KK line now that we've made a dent in your defense? Let's see how you do this. And then, following with Stahl's line, he's just going to forecheck you to death in the offensive zone and never let you even get a sniff of the goalie in the next. I mean, that's just what they need. They can't let Ajo and his line be targeted so easily that there's not going to be a threat of scoring somewhere else. It doesn't have to be the same level of scoring as Ajo's line, but they need to get something significant enough to where you know that the Canes still have a chance to be successful, even if Ajo's line is played well defensively.
Speaker 3:And I would actually add too, um, when one player we haven't talked about I didn't mean to miss him, but, um, I think we're all pretty sure that William Carrier is going to be on that fourth line as well. And I, you know, I've had the few opportunities to watch him, you know, before, but I've always been impressed by his ability to make some things happen. You know, from the scoring perspective. He's not just a fourth line grit guy. He can get those sneaky goals in there and if he was paired, if Roslevic is on that fourth line as well, he might have a serious scoring threat. You know, and that would be. You know, if Jack Drury ends up centering that line, you know that would be. We know that Jack Drury can be a threat. That would be a very sneaky, good scoring fourth line that can come out there and not just run the other line ragged but actually get those offensive chances and make something happen.
Speaker 2:That would be really neat to see, that's a lot of attitude and snarl, and I know Jack Drury looks like a pretty boy, but he has a heaviness to his game and a grit to his game that I just love. So I hadn't thought about that before. Erin, that line gets me excited. If something like that were able to emerge, well, I think Jack led the team in fights last year.
Speaker 1:I think you're right and I think that's the plan the Canes have. Frankly, I think they are looking at a little bit more offense from that line. And then of course, you've got Stahl's line, which is really defense. First, they don't deliver a lot of offense, but if they have a couple of guys like particularly Roslevic and Drury on the line, those guys can definitely conjure up some offense. In fact, interestingly enough, two years ago Kerry scored 16 goals, so he can put them in the net as well. So these are guys that you know. They sure bring that energy and so on, but they can also bring a little bit of skill. So I'm kind of excited about that. You know one guy that I think could be a real X factor. This year.
Speaker 1:I got a lot of excitement with this guy, bradley Nadeau. Nadeau, interesting story and there's a bit of a similarity between him and Tyson Jost that I found really kind of curious. So Nadeau, from a small town in New Brunswick in Canada, he went out to play in British Columbia for a team called the Penticton Bees. The Penticton Bees are in the BC Junior League and they are one of the real top franchises in that league. So he went out there and he just tore it up. He got like 110 points or something some ridiculous number and then he went off to play in Maine and he starred, of course, in the NCAA. So he came up and he starred, of course, in the NCAA, so he came up and he's ready to go now. So he's going to get a real shot with the Hurricanes and he's a guy that first round pick I think 27, he was picked or 30, somewhere in that range. Anyway, he's a guy that has elite skills and, talking to Nick Bass, particularly on Nadeau, he really thinks Nadeau has got an incredible shot and is a guy that can really fire it. So I think your idea of putting him up with Sebastian Ajo is brilliant and I'd love to see him get a chance.
Speaker 1:Now. Tyson Jost. I just wanted to add a few comments on Tyson. He's 26 years old now. It seems like he's been here forever. He was drafted 10th overall in 2016 by the Avalanche. Now he had had a monster season with the Penticton Bees over 100 points. Same deal he goes to University of North Dakota, which is really one of the best programs in the US college ranks, and he tore it up. And then, of course, the next season he comes into play with the Avalanche. He scored 12 goals, 10 assists, his first year for 22 points and I think, that was like a 20-year-old right, so he just turned 20.
Speaker 1:This guy was really looked like the real deal and you know that. You know, since he was drafted the first round, 10th overall. There are a lot of players drafted after him that we know well. Something about him really caught the attention of the avalanche. So he may be the kind of guy that's just quietly under the radar who could come in and he's still young enough to grow his game and, with the right kind of system and the right kind of mentorship, maybe this is a guy that could also be a factor for the Hurricanes and I I'm looking forward to watching him. He is a complete player.
Speaker 1:If you watched any of his action in recent years, he, you know he was kind of like Kokaniemi in some ways because he was moved down in the pecking order. He was taken off the you know, the the offensive lines and put down into checking lines, which really affects his numbers and affects his game. I wanted to touch on a couple of quick things. One of them is are there any surprises we might look forward to this year as we look forward right now? Is there anything that you think, hey, that might surprise us?
Speaker 2:I think, as far as I'm really not expecting a lot of surprises, at least initially, I think that the Canes just need to see what they have and where they're at and then, as we move along through the season, depending on how things go, you know, does KK work out as a 2C, if that's where they try him? Do they have scoring from other places besides just Ajo's line? Are there any injuries? You know, you just can't foresee who might end up going down and would need to be replaced. And so most likely any, any concerns. Any big moves that happen for the Canes will happen around the trade deadline. They have plenty of time to see who they have, where they're at, figure out how all of the pieces work together and then the the areas where they feel there's the most concern. Then they can shore those up come what is it? February, march?
Speaker 1:yeah, february, march yeah I.
Speaker 3:I think for me, the only surprise potential is, um, another player we haven't talked a lot about is, uh, scott morrow. Okay, I know he's good. I'm pretty convinced that he'll start in the AHL, because there's not. You have the blue line pretty well established. He was fun when he came to play last season at the end of the season. I think he's got a ton of potential. I think he's going to be a good piece for the team going forward. Going to be a good piece for the team going forward.
Speaker 3:If there was a need to call up a player, he has the one advantage of being waiver-exempt, true. So, even though we have a lot of depth right now in the AHL with both the forwards and the defensemen, I think that the fact that he can move back and forth between the two teams without the Canes risking losing a piece of their depth is a reason why they might choose to call him up, depending on how things go in the AHL this year. So that would be the surprise. It would be we get to see Morrow, maybe mid-season, during an injury or something like that. That would be an interesting thing to see happen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. And of course, some of us are still waiting anxiously to see if the vaunted arrival of Alexander Nikitin takes place around that time as well. So it was expected sometime around March April. Not sure if he'll actually play this year, but if he signs on and comes over, that's going to be something to really look forward to, and I'm sure the folks will be saying, hey, this is better than any kind of trade deadline move we can make, oh, my goodness, so. So something to look forward to for sure. One last question before we wrap it up here now Any concerns with the current roster of the Hurricanes, any concerns with the current roster of the Hurricanes.
Speaker 2:I think I just want to see the team get consistency when it comes to their ice time, who they play with that sort of thing.
Speaker 2:There's the joke on X about oh there goes, rod blend them more again, you know, mixing up the line, something's not working so he's quick to yank somebody off of one line and put somebody else up there or, you know, push someone up or down, just tinkering, tinkering, tinkering.
Speaker 2:And I think that this team this year, especially with it being a transition year see what you got, see what's going on they need consistency, especially to start the season. If you're going to give KK a shot at 2C, it shouldn't be a shot for two games. It needs to be a shot for 20 games and really give him good line mates. That will bring the best out of him and give him the most opportunity to be productive. So I think that's just. My main concern is I don't want to see the lineup getting yanked about too much. I want to see them being able to play in certain lines and have their you know whether it's their line mates or their D pair or whatever. It needs to be consistent and give them a chance to really gel and see who they are and see what they have, because otherwise, I think you know, come that trade deadline I mentioned, you might be getting false information if you don't have that consistency in play.
Speaker 3:That's a good point. I think my only concern is something we've already talked about a little bit here today, and that is making sure that the ice time is managed for the players that are in that older bracket managed for the players that are in that older bracket.
Speaker 3:You know, statistically players begin dropping off earlier than we think, but there's some big moments of drop-off after age 32 and then again around age 34, 35. We have players that are significantly older than that. Even so, if we want them to be able to be playing all the way through the playoffs and be at their absolute best, we don't want those players to be eating heavy minutes on, you know, a February game on a Tuesday night in some city or other. We want them to be able to have, you know, a back-to-back game right against Detroit or something. We don't want to do that to Stahl or Burns or even Jordan Martinuk. You know he's not there yet, but he's starting to creep into those age ranges and you know it's not just for the sake of minimizing the wear and tear, it's also to reduce injuries. We don't want to have someone like Jordan Stahl injured and out for weeks because he took more games than he needed to and more minutes than he needed to, back in part of the game.
Speaker 1:So that would be my only concern, and I think they're very valid concerns. I think you know one of the things that folks are thinking about right now is what's going to happen with Marty Natchez. I think we've heard some things. Maybe, erin, you've heard a little bit about what's going on with Marty.
Speaker 3:The most recent thing I saw and this was from, I think it was originally posted sometime yesterday, I believe Corey Lavalette was on a radio show and said that it's looking like a one-year deal for Natchez between five and a half and six million somewhere in there and he did mention that Natchez would still like to play center and that, I think, is an interesting little disconnect between him and the team and that's going to have to get ironed out somehow sooner or later. But the one-year deal is, I think, what most of us were expecting and it should still have him be an RFA at the end of it, which would be the point of not going any further than a year. So if they're going to get that done, I mean that could happen anytime, it could happen before this video goes out. There you go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's true, and that would be great information, because I know that would clear the way to finalize the big deal with Seth Jarvis as well. So, anyway, ladies, this has been great fun and we got to do this very soon, I'm sure, and there's lots to talk about. One of the things we'll get into in the near future, I hope, is to talk about the Russian connection, and there's some other areas that we can certainly delve into. But, once again, thanks so much for joining and we'll look forward to getting together soon.
Speaker 2:Thanks for doing so much fun.
Speaker 1:Thanks again to Erin Manning and Katie Bartlett for joining us today on Storm Tracker. We have future episodes planned, so stay tuned for that. As always, if you have any any comments, please put those down below. We'll respond as quickly as we can. If you liked the session, please hit the like button, and if you'd like to be alerted for future episodes of Storm Tracker, please please subscribe. Once again, as always. Thanks so much for joining. We'll catch up with you real soon, right here on StormTracker.
