stormTRacker Podcast
...stormTRacker Podcast is your home for in-depth analysis of the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Wolves & Hurricanes' prospects around the globe. Host, Tom Ray, gives his insightful perspective & is joined by Hurricanes' "Insiders" Erin Manning, Katie Bartlett, Nick Bass (Canes Prospects) & Andrew Rinaldi (Chicago Wolves), as well as special guests, to cover all the top stories for your Carolina Hurricanes. Tom is also active on "X" connecting with Hurricanes' fans on a regular basis. (@stormTRacker24)
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stormTRacker Podcast
When One Finnish Star Leaves, a Hobbit Shall Rise
After the drama of Mikko Rantanen's departure and trade to Dallas, the Hurricanes have emerged with a revitalized team chemistry, having won five of their last six games while integrating key deadline acquisitions Logan Stankoven and Mark Jankowski along the way.
• Rantanen's camp never acted in good faith, affecting team chemistry and Sebastian Aho's performance
• Logan Stankoven brings an impressive pedigree as former CHL Player of the Year and brings much-needed net-front presence
• Mark Jankowski made an immediate impact with two goals in his debut after being acquired for just a fifth-round pick
• Current Hurricanes roster benefits from improved morale and restored team identity
• Goaltending tandem of Andersen and Kochetkov showing ability to steal games
• Power play remains the biggest concern, operating at less than 10% efficiency since January
• Carolina sits third in the Eastern Conference with 80 points and a playoff spot nearly secured
• Potential playoff matchup with New Jersey appears favorable if standings hold
• The Canes' fourth line now has size and scoring potential, critical for playoff success
• Possibility of Alexander Nikishin joining the team after his KHL season ends adds intrigue
The trade deadline has passed and the ongoing saga of Mikko Rantanen is finally behind us. Did Eric Tulsky work his magic? Are the Canes better prepared for a long playoff run now than they were before? Did the Canes do enough to stay up with the other cup contenders in the arms race? Lots of questions to ponder. Meanwhile, on the ice, the Hurricanes continue their fine play, rattling off five wins in their last six games and outscoring the opposition 17 to 11. Why the sudden turnaround? So we're going to get into this and talk about a lot more. Joining me StormTracker insiders, erin Manning and Katie Burr Ladies.
Speaker 2:Hello.
Speaker 1:Hey, good evening. Okay, so quite a week last week. For sure, we were kind of hoping, I think. We talked a little bit about Miko staying and ultimately the decision was that MECO would move on. Yeah, kind of a difficult week Trying to see what would come out of it from Eric's perspective Certainly mixed reactions, as we've seen them on X and other places. A lot of folks thought this was not the best, some thought it was fine. I looked at a number of trade grades on the MECO trade. The best I saw was a, b, and some of them were pretty bad. So anyway, how do we feel about this? Do we like the return? Do we like where it ended up? Katie, why don't you kick it off?
Speaker 3:Obviously I have a unique perspective on this because I was the one who was so excited, being both an Avs fan and a Canes fan, because I saw the fit from the beginning of Natchez and Drury in Colorado and that fit has come to fruition. It has not disappointed. Both of them have been successful and I know at least the vast, vast majority of Canes fans have been super happy for them with their transition over there and been rooting for them. But I also saw the fit of Rantanen in Carolina. I saw how, even though his game didn't fit a traditional Carolina Hurricanes hockey mold, that it could, with just a few slight adjustments, become something that would be truly special for the Hurricanes. And it never happened and it just felt like okay, just a matter of time, shock of the trade, need some adjustments, so on and so forth. But what really kind of frustrates me is that through all of that, through all of that time when we were giving him the benefit of the doubt in this entire process, we have come to find out that from the beginning, from before the trade even happened, miko Rantanen and his camp were not acting in good faith with either the Colorado avalanche or the Carolina hurricanes, that he had made indications that he was open and willing to play with the hurricanes if they weren't able to reach a trade agreement in Colorado, and that idea was communicated to the hurricanes via the avalanche front office, because they were just the passengers in that. And once he got here, there was this well, maybe eventually, once he settles in, once he sees what it's like here and the camaraderie, then he'll come around, and that never happened and it just got more and more difficult. You could see the strain on the players, especially 2020 hindsight, until finally they made the deal with Dallas and he's gone, and it's really unfortunate in a lot of ways on multiple levels.
Speaker 3:Definitely, as a Canes fan, it's unfortunate. I also think that Rantanen gave up a really big opportunity because he was penned into a box not just of his own making but, I think, strongly influenced by other voices outside of just the hockey playing piece of things, and so you things, and so you know I'm really disappointed. I think there was an opportunity there that really could have been amazing, but it was not meant to be, and the best thing, I think, for all parties involved, because of how things worked out, is the fact that he is now with another team and the canes can use this as a rallying moment to gather together to really galvanize the locker room and say we know what we have here, we know how special we are and we're going to go. And we're going to not just finish this regular season strong, but also the postseason absolutely yeah for sure go ahead, no go ahead, no go ahead.
Speaker 2:I was just going to say that I love. You know, when you said 20-20 hindsight, I was thinking about the other 20 involved in this equation, which is Sebastian Ajo. This has been a difficult year for him and we all said, we kept saying when are we going to see the real sebastian ajo? What are we going to see him kind of take flight, you know, and it seemed like he was starting to get there before the trade. And then it was another setback.
Speaker 2:It was another stretch of games where ajo simply did not look like himself and he is such a talented player. You hate to see that because you know there's something going on and we all kept there again. We kept saying maybe it's the pressure of four nations, maybe it's everything going on in his life. You know there's a lot going on here. And then you come out on the other side of this tunnel and find out that you know the canes actually talked to him, not in a we're thinking about trading for retinue, but just to get his impressions. Sure, that must have been a tremendous weight on his shoulders to have someone he considers a friend playing here but not really playing here. One foot out the door, one ice skate off the ice at all times. I mean that's just been rough to watch, and so I mean you touched briefly on last night too.
Speaker 2:I mean last night was a different group, oh gosh they were having so much fun on the ice and I missed seeing that because, ultimately, when the Canes play at their best, they're having fun, they're having a blast out there. So, yeah, this was a really unfortunate thing, and I liked how you framed it, katie. I also think that the word that keeps coming up on X a lot is integrity.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:People expect other people to act with integrity, to act with honesty in their purposes to you know, not lie to your face about something. And so this was a situation where there was very little integrity shown from Rantanen's camp to to create this mess in the first place and then not a whole lot of integrity in getting out of it. So it makes me think that the real loser of the trade, if there's a loser, is Miko Rantanen and his camp. You might say well, how can you be a loser to get $12 million? Well, he's got $12 million in Dallas.
Speaker 2:He has $12 million in Dallas. Dallas is the kind of city where $12 million is not all that special. So I mean, that is what it is, but it's just, I think, going forward. What if things don't work out for him in Dallas two years down the road? What if he's asking for a trade? How many people are going to want to deal with his agent after all this?
Speaker 1:I think you're onto a couple of things. Well, first of all, he's probably going to do extremely well in Dallas because his play is quite nicely aligned with their style of play. They have several stars. He's already off to a great start. As you would expect, he's an excellent player, so you expect that from him. You know it turns out and there's some things that we're kind of hearing. We're hearing a lot right now a lot of different things related to this.
Speaker 1:As time goes on, you hear more of the back office discussion, but it doesn't seem like Sebastian Ajo was as close to Rantan as a lot of folks initially thought. They played together. They did know each other, but I don't think they were best of friends by any stretch of the imagination. And again, the Hurricanes were struggling to get to their game. You remember Jordan Martinuk said hey, we just got to be ourselves. Stop worrying about, you know, rantanen Hall, let's go play what Kane's hockey is and start winning again. So they already started to realize that they had changed their you know their style of play, their modus operandi, because of Rantanen and you know, honestly, watching Nico and maybe part of it was because of the you know the fact that he wasn't buying in. I never really felt like he was the type of player that the Canes really liked to have and that thrives in the Canes system, was the type of player that the Canes really like to have and that thrives in the Canes system. So you know, losing him or him moving on to me was not a particularly tough loss and again, as I saw afterwards, taking a look at the numbers and we'll talk about the return now I think that's probably a good place to go. The Canes just picked up $12.5 million in the cap for next year, between paying Nico almost $13.5 million or whatever it was going to be, and the rumored number and, of course, the number one player in this deal for the Canes, logan Stankoven, who makes about $800K. So, yeah, that's not a bad trade.
Speaker 1:The other thing always remembering and we talk a lot about this for any of these free agent signings and deals that they get into, is this whole question of how they're going to age. So again, mikko, you're talking about eight years. He's going to be in his mid to, you know whatever 30s as that deal comes to an end. That's not a place the Canes really like to be in any case. So, okay, here we go. We got Logan Stankhoven, who I just mentioned, and we got a whole bunch of draft picks two first round picks and two thirds. So in a tough situation that's a pretty good start. Let's talk about Logan Stankhoven for a minute. I want to just say a couple of things about Logan.
Speaker 1:This guy I said it on X he's got some kind of pedigree. He was the Canadian junior hockey player of the year. Okay, so some people are saying, hey, what does that mean? Is there anybody? I know that was CHL player of the year.
Speaker 1:If you take a quick second and look at at Wikipedia, you see some names you might recognize, like like Sidney Crosby and of course, conor Bedard's in there, and Mitch Marner and Conor McDavid and John Tabars. I can go on and on. So, yeah, there have been some incredible players that have been the top player in Canada and you know that's a breeding ground for outstanding NHL players and has been for a long, long time. And then in the NHL last year he was Rookie of the Year and again he's in with some pretty darn good players in that Rookie of the Year group as well. This is pretty impressive. And you know, if you take a step back and say this guy is one of the most interesting players just coming into the league. I mean, he's in his second year now, so he's a guy that again, I think there's a lot to like about him. He had 57 points in 47 games in the AHL. We've seen him in his first game. What are we thinking about? Logan Stankoven, katie?
Speaker 3:So far he definitely seems to profile like a Canes player. He has that motor, he has that 200-foot game. You know, hey, he scored a goal on the power play last night. So that's the help the Canes have been looking for. And it wasn't just that he scored a goal, like it had deflected off of his knee or something.
Speaker 3:If you watch him during that entire power play, he is constantly moving. He was never static, and that the three of us have been preaching that that it seems that the canes power play is just a lot of piss pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass. Well, he wasn't doing that. He was behind the net, he was off to the side of the net, he was in the front of the net, he was over in the face-off circle until finally gossespierre got the puck back at the point and he put himself in a position to get his stick between the um, between the goalie and goes, shot and got the tip and, yeah, into the goal.
Speaker 3:So he, he is obviously very smart, very, very tactful in the way that he approaches the game and works really hard. I mean, is he small? Absolutely. When you make Seth Jarvis look tall, you, you are a mighty might for sure, but I mean, if, if that's the kind of energy and attitude he's going to bring, I am all here for it, and it seems like the group has embraced him as well. I mean, this can't be easy for him, feeling like he's been uprooted out of a very comfortable life.
Speaker 3:I mean, the Stars were playing Vancouver and he had 500 family and friends that were supposed to be at that game and he's down here in Raleigh and the team has really rallied around him and there's pictures of him looking like he's having a great time at burns 40th birthday party. So, um, I have really really high hopes for how well this young man does in the organization and obviously he will be with the canes for a while because he's got one more year on that elc and then he's an rfa, so he should have plenty of time to to integrate with jarvey and kk and that whole whole group that we all know and love and become one of those guys.
Speaker 1:Now, katie, you had a little bit of information from a kind of an analytics perspective that I thought was interesting as well. So, taking a look at HockeyViz, what did you see from some of the analysis that they've done?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, I peeked at the HockeyViz charts for him for his time in Dallas and it did seem like he was having a little bit of a sophomore slump. I know technically he's a rookie this year, but he played quite a few games for them last year and scored a ton, and his scoring has dropped off this season. And yeah, it did for Jarvis too, so no concerns there.
Speaker 3:But if you look at these charts, both for on five and for power play, his goals are all in and around the goal crease, not just the the slot in it, the goal crease and so this is somebody who will get in front of the net, who's going for rebounds, who's doing those tips, getting that dirty work done, and that's something that the Canes really need, because the Canes are great at generating chances but not always finishing them, and so if they're not finishing their chances, there will be opportunities in the form of rebounds and that sort of thing, and he will be the type of player who can gobble those up and deposit them in the back of the net relatively frequently.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think that's the great thing about Stankoven is that he likes to get into the dirty areas. He's kind of like Jackson Blake Now the big difference is Stankoven stays on his feet, blake he struggles a little bit at times. He's still a little bit on the light side and gets pushed around a fair bit. But they both like to get in where the action is. And I think that's a great thing for the Hurricanes because for sure the Canes need some players that can get into those dirty areas, get in where the grade-A chances are going to present themselves and pick up those rebounds. The Canes get a lot of rebounds. They shoot more than anybody out there. It's a question of do they have players in the place to kind of get that? And second of all, of course he does have an offensive touch. I mean his numbers in every league he's been in have been off the charts. And again, if you listen to some of the comments about him I know that there were some things said by the Dallas Stars group. There's a good video that's come out and shown some really cool things about him as well. Very, very, very positive things to say about Stanko.
Speaker 1:And the key thing I think now for Logan, he's going to get some serious minutes. He's going to be on the number one power play. He's going to be out there with the power play, he's going to be out there with the top line, or what is the number one line in the canes, and he's definitely going to get a chance to take those numbers up. The other thing I saw with him when I was watching trying to watch this as well is he seems to be very defensive, aware. So he was heading back into his own zone. He had no problem jumping in. He was trying to find the players he should be hanging on to in the man of money and they've got to learn this, of course. But yeah, very impressed with him. What do you think, erin? Did you like what you saw in Logan?
Speaker 2:I liked it a lot. I think that you know there's a tendency I have sometimes to compare a lot of small players to Brendan Gallagher, the Montreal.
Speaker 2:Canadiens, but anybody who knows anybody who's watched Brendan Gallagher play, and especially when he was younger. I mean his goal scoring touch. He was a 30 goal scorer in his young years, you know. So, um, he was very good and he's always been the exact same kind of scorer, just battling it out in front of the crease, getting himself beaten up and down the ice, you know, by people. You know that he's not afraid to go up against you know. So I think that I see a lot of that same spirit in Logan.
Speaker 2:I think that he's going to be one of those players that just absolutely haunts the crease and makes everyone's life miserable.
Speaker 2:And the other thing is that, you know, the smaller players sometimes have the ability to do that in such a way where they can get themselves open and they get lost. Nobody knows where they are. That's a gift that you have when you're small is that if you can position yourself and I speak as someone of that number myself, but that's a gift that you have you can disappear if you want to in a crowd. And so if he can manage to get himself open away from the play, he may get some different kinds of goals as well, because the Canes are very good about actually passing the puck to anyone. You don't have to be a scorer on your team to get the puck when you're on the Carolina Hurricanes. So they will do that. They will find Logan and they will pass the puck to him. So I did make the joke on X that we are now one Hobbit short of a fellowship and it's time to call it a dough.
Speaker 1:But I don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Really and truly, though the way that they had the lines in the game last night they had one smaller player on a line with taller players on each line. That was true for line one, two and three, and even if they do swap Blake and Stankovin, which they looked like they were going to do at practice today. But you never know, I mean Rod's practice lines. He always says, take them with the grain, but this morning's practice they had Hall, ajo and Blake on the top.
Speaker 1:But of course Svetchnikov.
Speaker 2:we don't know his situation right now. No-transcript pointed out, so I don't think that that's going to hold him back at all.
Speaker 1:Well, he's a great skater, as you saw. He's very strong on his skates and handles himself very, very well, yeah, and I think and handles himself very, very well, yeah, and and I think again, he's going to be a guy that you very quickly saw. He is a fun guy, he's. He's going to be right in there, he's obviously he knew Jarvis from from before. They played a little bit together and you know he seems like he's a guy that you know. He just beams out there, he's having fun, he's playing the game, he's playing it hard and that's probably the complete opposite of the guy that left.
Speaker 2:So I think that's a huge advantage right there. The morale boost yes.
Speaker 1:Oh for sure, and you know the Canes are really a team of committee. We talked a lot about this. It's a committee on the Canes, everybody pulling the rope, everybody trying to get it done. And I think Logan's going to be another piece of that and the cool thing about it, he's going to be around for a long time. So, as the Canes, you know, look to build this, you know empire that they're trying to do and we know that next year is going to be an incredible year with the cap situation and some of the prospects coming, logan's going to be a nice part of that. So that part of it, and I think, as we take a look at you know what do we think? You know Eric Tulsky's performance has been through this deadline.
Speaker 1:We have to stop for a minute and just talk about the other player that came at the deadline kind of quietly and certainly came on the scene with a lot of excitement and energy, and of course that's Mark Jankowski. Jankowski, not much said about him. Folks don't know much about Mark. He's kind of been under the radar for a number of years. Of course he had some pretty good seasons with Calgary, you know, six, seven years ago, in a situation where he was actually put up 35 points one year. He had 17 goals one year. So he's you know he was playing you know top nine role for them and doing a pretty good job Last few years. Of course, he's been with the Nashville Predators and their farm team in Milwaukee. He tore up the American League with Milwaukee and, of course, is a solid citizen.
Speaker 1:Let me read the scouting report on him from the hockey forecaster. I think this is an interesting one. It says the 2012 first round pick has bobbed up and down between the NHL and AHL in recent years. It's put up some good offensive numbers in the minors, but has yet to translate that into NHL success. He's big at 6'4 and strong, and he owns good hockey smarts, instincts and awareness. However, he's yet to prove he can be an impact offensive player against stronger competition and the clock is ticking and they look at him as a big depth center. So I think that's pretty well consistent with what we've heard and what we see. Obviously, two great goals in his first game. What do we think about the ad of Mark Jankowski Erin?
Speaker 2:Well, you know that two-goal performance was certainly fantastic. I actually think that he is kind of a prototype of what I've wanted the Canes to have for years going into the playoffs, which is a big, strong 4C. They really haven't had that, you know. They've had to be recycled both Kokuniemi and Drury in and out of that position. But you know, I mean, obviously Kokuniemi's not small, but he doesn't play that you know enforcer role as much as you know some people think that that should be part of it. I think he's not that type.
Speaker 2:And then you know Drury, of course, certainly not afraid to go up against people. One of the Drury was one of the few players on the teams that would have a fight. He just didn't win a whole lot of them. So you want to have someone like that that's big enough and strong enough to kind of impose his will, because that's how fourth lines get things done in the playoffs. What I loved about last night is that it was almost a prototypical playoff game in a lot of ways. As Katie, I think you noticed and pointed out, the top two lines were kind of tied up, trying to keep the Jets' lines from doing more damage.
Speaker 2:You're doing any damage. So as, as that unfolded, we saw that in their stats their possession numbers weren't great, but they did do the job of keeping the those top flight guys from just taking over and and running up the scoreboard. So they did their job, but that tied them up too much to allow them to generate and create offense on their own, because they didn't have the puck enough to do that. That's exactly what happens in the playoffs and that's when you need your third line and your fourth line to step in and score, and Jankowski did that.
Speaker 2:So that is exactly what you want to see. That's really exciting, actually, because I mean no. Is he going to come out and put up two goals every time there's an opportunity? Of course not. I mean no is he going to come out and put up two goals every time there's an opportunity? Of course not.
Speaker 3:He has had a four-goal night, however, he has had a four-goal performance on one occasion.
Speaker 2:So he's not going to do that. But the fact that you have a fourth line that you cannot just write off offensively, because you have Eric Robinson, who put up fantastic offensive numbers this year given his role in his ice time. You have Jack Roslevic, who we're waiting to see him come back to life and he very well might.
Speaker 2:now, under these circumstances, he's got his number back and then on top of those two or right there between those two, you now have a guy who actually can put the puck in the net, and that is extremely exciting to see.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and you could tell he was impressed by his first experience with the hurricanes and you know that the goals helped.
Speaker 3:But his bench interview after the game as the first star, when he's just looking around in awe, I mean it's the only way I can describe it. I don't know that. I've seen one of the players interviewed. They're just looking around like oh, oh, my goodness, what has happened to me? This is the coolest experience in a very long time. I mean he is just thrilled and it all happened so at the last minute because they were waiting for all of the ranting and stuff to get tied up.
Speaker 3:And if the ranting and stuff didn't go through. I think Toski had mentioned in one of his interviews there was only about $500,000 in cap space and so if it doesn't go through, then you can't add players, you can't make deals. So it was very last minute. I can't believe we got him for a fifth rounder. That is incredible. Yeah, I mean that one game already paid for itself as far as a fifth rounder is concerned. That was fantastic. Everything from here on out is gravy. That was fantastic. Everything from here on out is gravy. And I just again, he, like Stankoven, he just exudes this Canes mentality when it comes to how he plays hockey and how he's very much of a team player and a team guy and whatever it takes to win, I'm going to do my part. So I'm very encouraged by having him on the team. I'm very glad they were able to add him last minute after all of the drama with the Rantanen trade was done, because he could end up being a very important factor in the Canes moving forward.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and a couple of things on that. First of all, I really liked him as a person. I mean his interview. He did a couple of interviews. He's very personable. Clearly he's excited to be a Hurricane.
Speaker 1:The guy has a good pedigree. He was a first-rounder. He's produced in the past. Maybe getting into this fresh start on a team that has a chance to go deep in the playoffs I mean, he left a team that was far out of the playoffs and he gets a chance to come in and go into the playoffs is great. And if you watched him, he's got skill. He can skate, he can shoot the puck, he's. He was hard on the boards. You know this is a guy that you know. Some of these guys the motivation maybe wasn't there in their other situations. Who knows, he was OK in Nashville. I'd see him now and again and think to myself he's, he's, he's okay, uh. But I think he is a guy that, uh, as you say is, is tailor-made for the canes.
Speaker 1:I was really hoping and we had talked a lot about centers getting someone else at that center spot. We really felt like they needed to shore it up and I had some other big guys in my mind, but clearly he fits the bill, coming in at 6'4 and 2'12. I think that's ideal. So, yeah, I think a smart move by Eric, last second, as you say, brings in a guy that can make a difference. And so let's talk about Eric's body of work. Okay, so we go back and the initial trade, of course, to get Rantanen was Marty Natchez, was Jack Drury, a couple of draft picks. They bring in Rantanen, here we go, and then all of a sudden they've got to pivot. Now the other guy that came in, of course, was Taylor Hall. So you end up sending that package out, you end up with Hall. You end up with Hall, you end up with Stankoven and you end up with four draft picks, two first-round picks and two thirds. So what do we think about Eric's body of work?
Speaker 3:Katie. I think that he made the best of the situation that he was dealt. There are a lot of Canes fans on X that are probably going to be unhappy with me because they're, all you know, Toski masterclass.
Speaker 3:I'm not sure I'd go quite that far, but again, with the information that he was not provided in, and around all of the Rantanen dealings, and then all of the attitude andanen dealings, and then all of the attitude and the difficulties on and off the ice leading up to the trade deadline, I think he made I think he did really well of making back, as best as he could, what they had given up. I mean, he did give up a lot, especially in the form of Natchez.
Speaker 1:Yes, he did.
Speaker 3:I know a lot of people have been saying you know, natchez was never going to sign back here. Well, no, but you still would have had him for this season and next season. He could have been a part of a different trade that maybe would have been more successful. I mean, you can if and or but the whole thing all the way through. So at the end of the day I think a little bit more went out the door than came back in the door, but it could have been a whole lot worse.
Speaker 3:I mean, what if they had kept Rantanen and that this bad faith attitude continued through the entire rest of the season and the post season? And then it would have just been a lost season and there would have been a lot of sour feelings and just dissatisfaction, not only from Renton, and I think it would have permeated throughout the entire locker room. And so bringing in Stankov and bringing in um jankowski I think brings that fresh air and helped turn the the focus around from all of the drama around rantanen. To look, this is who we are. We are a family, we have a purpose, and now our purpose is to go out, finish the season strong and go and show them in the postseason that we are a team to be reckoned with and should not be written off. So I guess that's my conclusion. Ultimately, more went out the door than came back in, but the outlook for the team is much, much better and much, much more positive, moving, which you cannot put a dollar figure on that particular perspective.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think the operative word is today, because you know, we don't know how far Stankoven's going to go. He could be a 30-goal scorer, he could be a pretty darn good player. And you've got those two first-round picks and, as we are kind of hearing, or what seems to be the case, is that Eric was looking to parlay one of those into another significant player for the Hurricanes. My expectation is that at the draft he will do that this year. So once we see what the final outcome is like with the picks and the players and so on, I think we'll be in a better place to kind of, you know, grade eric on. On what's happened, um, I agree with you. I mean, if you look today in the cold light of day, sure, uh, players out versus players in, yeah, I think a little bit on the on the uh on the wrong side. But uh, we do have taylor who's probably going to re-up with the Canes, and I like what he's doing. He's definitely a Cane type player. I think you know, again, the ability to to bring in Mark Jankowski as well. All these things kind of play into this. So time will tell. You know that I believe Eric is the wizard and I fully expect that, by the time all is said and done, that this is going to work out very, very well for the Hurricanes let's talk a little bit about then. You know, as we see the lineup right now, we know what we have. Ok, so we kind of know the team as it is today. Do we still think the Canes are a serious cup contender or is it back to? This is a transition year. We'll probably be out in the first or second round. It's been fun, but let's get ready for next year.
Speaker 1:A couple things on this. First of all, the Canes sit in pretty good shape right now because they're on this hot streak. They've got 80 points on the year, so they're third in the conference, in Eastern Conference. So they're looking pretty good and they're three points back of the Panthers. So despite all the crazy things that have gone on, they're still very much in the mix. And then let's look at the brackets. So we've got the Panthers are going to looks like they'll play the Senators. This is the way it looks today. The Maple Leafs will play the Lightning. So you probably expect it'll be the Panthers and the Lightning or the Leafs. I mean, I think that's you know the Leafs have strengthened as well, so that's going to be interesting. One of those guys will come out, and then you've got the Hurricanes likely playing the Devils, which I think would be a nice opening volley, and of course, the Blue Jackets and the Caps and the Blue Jackets are kind of a.
Speaker 1:Cinderella story this year. So again, you never know what's going to happen in these playoffs. But in any case, as we've talked about previously, some of the top teams will be gone after that first round. That's a fact of life and anything can happen from there. So, thinking about all this, taking a look at where we are right now, let's take a look at the roster and see how we think we're going to stack up. I mean, clearly, goaltending is a good place to start. The goalies have been red hot lately, in fact been red hot lately In fact. I was on their case for quite a while about goalies not stealing games, as you know. And in the last couple of games we've seen just that Piotr Kociakop against the Bruins and then, of course, anderson against the Jets. So this is really exciting stuff. Both of those guys solid numbers. The Canes right now, overall as a team, are eighth in the league goaltending-wise, goals against average. So how do we feel about our goaltending, katie?
Speaker 3:I feel pretty solid. I mean, it's not amazing. Obviously we're not going into the postseason with Connor Hellebuck in goal. We beat Hellebuck. What?
Speaker 1:I know I goal. We beat Hellebuck what.
Speaker 3:I know, I know we did, but the main thing is health. The main thing is health and the main thing is also deployment. There was a lot of questioning last season of you know, should Kochakov have been used more in the postseason so that when Freddie did need a breather, kochakov would have not been so ice cold for not having played for a couple of weeks? And so I just think that those are the two things. I think that we're fine in goal. We have a really solid tandem back there, especially considering our team defense in front of them. As long as they remain healthy and they remain a tandem, so neither of them has the possibility of being too cold when they have to come in in a big moment yeah, erin I would agree with that.
Speaker 2:I think health is the biggest concern, like katie said. You know, and that's just been the reality of the situation. I I mean and that's honestly though you can say that about every position, because most teams don't have ex-spare 1Cs sitting in the closet. You know most teams don't have spare top defenders sitting, you know, down in the AHL. So it's more crucial because the goaltender is so much more of a crucial piece of victories in the postseason. They have to be. You know that is when they shine and we've all any of us who've watched top goaltenders in the postseason you know that that sometimes is the difference.
Speaker 2:But I'm not sure, given the teams that we're looking at, given the way, like you just outlined everything, I don't know that this year's Stanley Cup final is going to come down to goaltending. You know it does not look like it's going to be the biggest piece of the puzzle for a lot of these teams. So I think that our tandem, if it's used, like Katie said, deployed properly, given each guy given some, at least some games, whether it's back to back or whether it's here you take a couple and then you take a couple. I don't know that. They'll probably work around being creative with that, but whatever it ends up being, I look at the other teams around and I think there's going to be a lot of variance really, when you look at who's coming in right. There's not. Everybody else has one of the top guys and we don't. You know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying. I'm not putting this really well, but I'm trying to think about how you know, like we all know. You know, sure, gazilevsky, we all know Borovsky? Yes, but not every team has one of those in the Eastern Conference. And so if those teams get knocked out for other reasons, or if they're goaltending, or if their goalies were to get injured, then suddenly the playing field is a lot more level. So if we're looking at a more level playing field, it's postseason. Anything can happen.
Speaker 1:Well, and a couple of things. We saw this last year At the end of the season. Freddie and Piotr were smoking hot. Those guys were incredible and as a tandem, when they get going and they're pushing each other and they're playing, you know they're rested, they're sharp. These guys are as good as they get. We know that and they now are proving they can steal games.
Speaker 1:So I think I feel very comfortable with our goaltending. I'm like you as long as there's nothing in the injury side, I think our goaltending is going to stack up very, very nicely because we got two guys and if one gets cold, we still got the other guy and both of these guys are very excellent goaltenders. So I think this could be a surprise piece as the Canes kind of run towards the end of the season and the playoffs, that if these two guys get going as they can, all of a sudden the rules change and you know some of the losses we had earlier this year were because of, you know, mental errors and some other things. But if they get back onto their game and they really get fired up and start doing what they can do, I think it's going to be kind of fun. So I'm bullish on the goaltending and I think it's starting to show, as the Canes are rolling off this current win streak, they're really reducing the goals against.
Speaker 1:Okay, and that carries to the next part, which is the decor. So we've got an interesting thing with the decor. You know, throughout the year we've talked about a couple of guys quite a bit Obviously Brent Burns and Dimitri Orlov. They both had kind of challenges at different points. The question is, you know, are they going to return to form? That's going to be a key question.
Speaker 1:Can they return to form? Going to return to form? That's going to be a key question. Can they return to form? Is the six-man unit defensively sound enough for the rigors of the playoffs? I mean, we know it's going to be tough and you know, again, we've seen some times when the Canes D isn't quite sharp enough, they're not on the ball and they're giving the puck up, or they're not on the ball and they're giving the puck up, or they're caught out of, out of, you know, out of the play and so on. So those things are key. And the final point I'll mention because we've talked a lot about it do we think there's an opportunity to get more offense out of that D, and that would be a huge ad, as the Canes struggle to, to you know, get enough goals to get this done. So, looking at this whole unit, looking at those two guys I talked about, erin, why don't you kick it off with?
Speaker 2:your thoughts on the blue line. Well, they all had, you know, a pretty good game last night, and one of the interesting things there is that Dimitri Orlov was not part of that crew. Last night he missed a game with injury. I'm not, this is not a, I'm not saying that after this. Therefore, because of this, that's not, we're not getting into that fallacy, but what it does. Give me an opportunity, though, to mention, when you talk about getting some offense from the D, how about Scott Morrow's game last night? I thought he looked great. I didn't think he looked out of place at all, I thought he was very much. You know, this is the first time I think I've seen him come up for a call up and be just so dialed in and seem to be where he needed to be, doing what he needed to do. Like they always say, the best games from a young defenseman are the ones where you don't notice them very much, and the one time that we did notice him, it was because he got that fabulous assist on his goal.
Speaker 2:So, you know, at his first NHL point, which was a great thing for him to see. So there's some offense coming from the D, and just you know what I liked about seeing Morrow play last night, it's not that he was taking Orlov's spot. I think Demetri Orlov is going to be very much a part of the postseason, and I think that he's doing fine. I think he probably needs some healing they all do at this point. So what I liked, though, is that it gave me some confidence to say, regardless of whether any other potential people might come in and I know you're going to want to talk about that, tom but Scott Morrow being ready, nhl ready, really looking NHL ready in that game last night, and I think that that, honestly, I have to say for myself, I feel like that was the first time there were people that were saying before, when he came up the last time and played a couple of games here, they were playing some low minutes just doing it. You know they did a seven D rotation and everything.
Speaker 2:Not a great way to showcase the young defenseman skills, for one thing, and just very difficult on all the all the other guys, cause they're getting cycled in and out. I never got that moment of feeling like, wow, this kid could come in and play. Some people were pushing for that after that series of games and I thought, no, it's a little too early. He's got a couple more things, a little bit more puzzle pieces to put together. Well, I think the puzzle's there and I think that he's ready to play. And that is fantastic news for the Canes because, yeah, as far as the other guys, happy 40th birthday to Brent Burns. He's going to be one of the oldest guys playing defense in the playoffs, so that's a story all of its own.
Speaker 2:But he has looked better in the recent past the offense is still not really picking up, but he's looked better defensively and that's all you really want to see. And I think you were the one, tom, who pointed out an X, that Ghost had a great game last night he did.
Speaker 1:He did have an excellent game at both ends of the rink. I thought he looked really sharp. And I'm also thinking about Goss Despair. Lately, you know, he's starting to look like you know the Goss Desp despair at the start of the year. He's playing with confidence, he's, he's, you know he's doing. I mean, obviously, on the power play he made a great play but he's starting to look like what we saw early in the year and I mean Walker has been solid alongside him all year and I think this is a.
Speaker 1:This is a nice. This is a nice uh add to the Kane situation because, because you know again, there were a lot of things that were just off with different players. One final thing on Dimitri Orlov, and I'll let you continue as well, aaron and Katie. Dimitri has played very well in the playoffs historically. Yes, very well. A couple of years ago, we recall he was with the Bruins. He was outstanding. I mean, the word on him was incredible. Last year, guess what? He and Chatfield move up and take big minutes because of, you know, injury problems on the Canes D and he looked outstanding again. I have every expectation that this guy's going to find his game and I think he's going to be a key part of the playoff run as well. So my two cents on Dimitri, katie, what do you got?
Speaker 3:Man, I don't know that. I think you guys covered most of the bases. I don't know that. There's a whole lot more to add. I definitely agree that I think that Orlov this season 95, 97% of his game has been very solid and very good.
Speaker 3:The problem has just been those other few moments have not just been mistakes, but they have been costly mistakes that they have resulted in Odd man rushes the other way and oftentimes goals the other way. So I think once the playoffs come around, everybody reaches a new level, and I think Orlov will reach a new level when it comes to his decision-making, his pinching, his puck play, making smart choices and not risky choices, and so a lot of these faux pas that we have been seeing will be minimized greatly come playoff time. So I'm not particularly concerned about him greatly come playoff time. So I'm not particularly concerned about him.
Speaker 2:And you know I can't wait to see what level Slavin gets to in the playoffs because he is already so elite and so excellent, game in and game out.
Speaker 3:I mean, everyone was just flabbergasted. Well, everyone who's not a Canes fan was just flabbergasted by his play during the four nations. And he's come back and he it. He has matched, if not exceeded, that level of play already for the regular season. And so to think that there is another level of defense that jacob slavin might be capable of come playoff time is just a delicious thought, because might be capable of come playoff time is just a delicious thought because he is so good and so elite. And a lot of that's where burns is going to come in too is, like you said, less on the offense and more of the just complimenting slavin and helping to shut things down and keeping that pair strong, because if that pair can deny scoring opportunities for whoever they're playing against, that can only work in the Canes' favor. And let the others, whether it's defense forwards, worry about putting the puck in the other net. Just keep the puck out of our net and let everybody else do the rest.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean with Jacob, he just is a difference maker for sure. And one of the things you look at going into the playoffs is going to be special teams, for sure. And again, you know, on the defensive side of it, with the penalty kill, there's nobody better than Jacob Slavin in my mind. So that's a good place to start. But I think and good points, all good points, ladies I think the defensive core, I think, is solid. We know that.
Speaker 1:You know we've been seeing some interesting things too with Orlov out. We saw both Walker and Chapfield moving over to the left side at different times, which was kind of interesting. Um, and that could be a valuable precursor if there's an injury that comes up. Uh, with a lefty guy, because if you bring in a Scott Morrow again you've got a right shot guy. So a little bit of flexibility there. Both of those guys handled it quite nicely. Um and again, good solid group. And with the depth of Morrow now you've got some cover if an injury comes. He certainly looked the part, and that's not saying he wouldn't have the odd blunder, but he certainly looks like he's very, very close to being able to play as a regular in the National Hockey League. So that's all good.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about forwards. You know, the big question is what are the lines going to be, and we saw some lines the other night. I'd like to get your take on that. And then, second of all, but do the Canes have enough guns up front? Are they going to be able to put the puck in the net sufficiently enough to win these games and come out on top? So why don't we start with you, erin? Do you want to kick that one off?
Speaker 2:Sure, but I'll try to be shorter this time so that Katie has more time. I think that they need to settle down now, and this is something I know we talked about a little bit, but it's going to take a little bit of time to figure out the exact best line combinations on the ice for the playoffs. They're working on that. It's a work in progress. I'm not convinced yet that they have that. I think that they will get there, but I'm not convinced. They need to make sure that Ajo's line is a scoring line. I think I'll let Katie talk about that a little bit more. They need to.
Speaker 2:You know, if Stahl's line is going to take the second most minutes, then they need to make sure that they're scoring on that line too. They've got Jarvis on there right now. I think that could change scoring on that line too. They've got Jarvis on there right now. I think that could change. They have other options now that they didn't necessarily have before the trade deadline, and I'm not even just saying it's not a question of do you put Logan Stankoven on that line or do you just have somewhere else to put one of the other guys that's already there? So that could happen too, to get scoring on that line. And then there's also I think there's some good news that we might have we'll carry A back for the playoffs. So that's going to add to the number of things we can do with all of those combinations.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:As far as having the big guns in the scoring, I feel like the reason they haven't been scoring is because they have been trying to play differently. Like martinuk said, that that was the big issue, starting really in late january. Prior to that, the up and downs that they were experiencing this year. To me just it just felt like the team was having trouble gelling on a couple of different levels they were um. So I mean that those kinds of things will happen when you lose as many players as they lost last year.
Speaker 2:So now I'm ready to see this team turn into a playoff team and I think that the forwards can produce enough scoring to win um, provided that they get back to their way of scoring, that they get back to their way of doing things, that they play the game the right way, that they don't sacrifice too much defensively. They do have to be a little bit flexible to get some offense going. And then there's that other one big elephant in the room that I know we're going to talk about, but we've got to talk about special teams scoring because it can't all be the penalty kill. So over to you, katie.
Speaker 3:Well, I think for me, when it comes to the forwards, the biggest key as as Aaron alluded to, is that top line, that top line has got to be a scoring line and unfortunately, Rod, really, because of how much he trusts Ajo I mean this is a nod to Ajo in a positive way, in that he trusts Ajo to shut down other teams' top lines is is that when that is the mentality of how you are deploying your best scoring center, then you are going to diminish his ability to go on the attack and to score.
Speaker 3:In fact, I think a lot of canes fans will agree with me. What is the one time in the game where canes fans just kind of lean forward a little bit and they hold their breath because they know something exciting potentially can happen? It's when Ajo and Jarvis are on the penalty kill. On the penalty kill Because you know they're still going out there to be defensive, minded that they are going to protect their zone. But as soon as there is an opportunity to disrupt a pass, to jump in a lane, the other one is moving up the ice on the attack and they have created so many odd man rushes. And what is it?
Speaker 3:Since the beginning of January, it's something like five or six different shorthanded goals, and if they haven't accounted for all of them, they've accounted for almost all of them. So that, first of all, so the key is if it's Ajo and Jarvis who are able to produce this kind of push up front and this kind of directional 200 foot play, when you're not dumping and chasing, you are moving the puck in transition, you are creating odd man rushes. If they can do it on the penalty kill, why can't they do it on five on five? And I think it's just the, the assignment that they are given and the, the mindset that they have when they are out there five on five with their other winger, and that needs to change. The other thing is you can't have what Jarvis and Ajo do on the penalty kill at five on five if you don't put them together five on five. They have to be on the same line and I have harped.
Speaker 1:I have harped on this so many times and I still feel like I'm right.
Speaker 3:Get Jarvis off of the dad's lawn. Is he good there? Yes, no doubt Jarvis would be good anywhere. Like he said for four nations, put him at right D and he'll be. He'll work his rear end off, you know, perhaps not goalie, I think. Perhaps Jarvis would not work at goalie. But other than that, you can put Jarvis anywhere and he will be an impact player.
Speaker 3:But if you want the most impact possible, he has got to be on that top line with Ajo. They are not going to get enough scoring if the two of them are not together. Game in and game out, five on five, power play, penalty kill. The two of them have to be a set and forget duo, do not separate, do not mess with these two. Then decide whoever you want up there. If you want size up there, go ahead and put spetch up there. Yeah, still don't think spetch and ajo have a whole lot of chemistry, but as long as they're he's with jarvis, maybe something will happen. Put someone else up there, whoever. But the key, the key to the Canes' offensive production, especially when it comes to the playoffs, is Ajo and Jarvis have to be together and they have to stay together.
Speaker 1:No, I think for sure they have real chemistry and you know. Again, back to what Aaron said Look, it's Rod Blendamore. So we're going to see a lot of changes before this is all done. I just hope they find the combinations that work. I think they have a cast of 12. And and you can go to 13 if you want to bring in Tyson Jost as well, and maybe even more as we talk about Will Carrier. So they definitely have. You know, they have enough horses and I think, as we look at the team going forward, maybe one of the most exciting things is that they're going to have a very, very big, heavy fourth line, and that's going to be something that in the playoffs, we've talked an awful lot about the fact that teams that have gone deep or won the cup have had fourth lines that you could talk about.
Speaker 1:They didn't hurt you out there. They were making things happen, they were pushing the play, they were getting the odd goal and I think the Canes have actually fixed that. And if it stays as it is today, with Jack Rostovic as the offensive guy on the line, if he could find his game again, it would change all the rules for the Hurricanes, because all of a sudden now you're going to get some matchups with that fourth line that are going to be very favorable, and you know we've already talked about Robinson and we're quite pleased with the initial volley of Mark Jankowski. So I think there's a lot there, but it's a work in progress and we're going to see how it all plays out as the season goes on. But, but certainly don't feel bad about the, the forward compliment.
Speaker 1:I'm not getting up in the morning saying I'd like to change a lot in that forward group. I think for the most part we're in pretty good shape and I think there's an opportunity for some folks to do better. So if we talk about going into the playoffs, then as a team, what's going to be the it factor? What's when we get up and say, okay, wow, this changed everything for us? What do you think it is with the team side. Katie kick it off.
Speaker 3:Oh, I, I'm just gonna piggyback right off of what I was saying about the forwards. It's got to be the power play. Yes, the power play has been. It's not just been bad, it's been downright anemic since the calendar turned to 2025. And it was good to see the power play go from stankoven last night, definitely moving the right direction, but it still made them only one for six. So while there was success on that one, there were still five other power plays that they failed to score on, and we just can, you know, with a bad power play, maybe they can still manage to get out of one round, but I don't see them going past a second round.
Speaker 3:If they have a bad power play, they need to find a way to get it running and, more than anything, to get it moving. Stop with this pass, pass, pass. It needs to be pass, pass, shoot. You have a lane. You've got someone now in the net front who can clean up that area.
Speaker 3:Whether it's Jarvis or Steinkoven, let them go be, let them shift back and forth, and whichever one is there, let him be the crease gremlin I keep talking about, who just likes to num, num, num, num all those little rebounds and or at least collect the puck and get it back out so they can cycle it around again and get another chance. But that that power play just cannot be passive, cannot be static. It has to have movement, it has to be quick and it has to have intention behind it, with a plan of I am going to shoot this puck if I have a lane and then, whatever happens, go and win those puck battles and do it again until we're successful. So I definitely think that power play has got to find a rhythm and some life going into the playoffs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you're right about how terrible it's been. And even in the game we saw they had a four-minute power play and it was absolutely anemic and actually the power play has been so bad that it's been going against the momentum of the team itself. I mean it's crazy. I sat there and said please don't get a power play and we're like, just keep going because your five-on-five play looks good. But looking at the numbers I mean January 5.1%, february 12.5% and March so far 9.5%- these are ridiculous numbers.
Speaker 1:These aren't even hard to believe that the Canes power play could be that anemic. It's just it's hard to comprehend. I mean, with the weapons that they have on the power play it just doesn't make any sense. So you know they've got to fix this. And you're right, katie, if they don't fix the power play, this is a short post-season for the Canes End of story and we've talked about and Rod's talked about this forever. Special teams are so huge in the playoffs so they got to fix this and that's definitely the top of the list on a team side. If we look at the player side, is there somebody that jumps out at you that you say, hey, if this guy could get his game in gear, would that ever change the rules? Erin?
Speaker 2:I think that we all agree that the biggest name there is Svechnikov, and unfortunately we don't know his status right now. He did seem to get injured in the last game, went off early and did not return, and then today we didn't have an update. So we don't really know if this is going to be something that he's going to be out for a bit or if he's going to be back in a game or two. But we all want to see Andrei Svechnikov play the way we know he can and, in particular, to be more aggressive in trying to score.
Speaker 2:I don't know what the issue is there, but it seems like when I first watched the Canes a couple of years ago, andre was one of those guys that was always peppering the net and especially going for those top corners and those tricky shots that Moura will go for. He has backed way off of that and he's become just as pass first as the rest of the team. Which is probably one of their biggest flaws as a team is that they just they will. They will be right there coming in towards the goal with a great opportunity and they go oh here's somebody next to me, you take it. I mean, they have to fix that, that mindset, that mentality, that that always passes, instead of trying to take the shot you know and, and that's that that's hard to understand exactly why they do that.
Speaker 2:But in particular, it's hard to understand with Svets, because the kind of goals he scores, in addition to the really nice shots, are the power forward goals, where he lowers that shoulder, drives the net goes to the far post and it goes in. We need more of that from him. He needs to trust himself more to do that. I think there's been a little bit of a lack of confidence in that area just you can see it a little bit in his demeanor in games.
Speaker 2:Every now and again the shoulders will slump a little and you just feel like he's just not feeling it the way that he can and I really hope that that will come, you know, roaring back to life.
Speaker 1:Well for sure, and I think I think it's confidence. You know, it's one of those things where and you see this regularly with some of these scorers, you know they lose their confidence and we God, I mean Jack Roslevic is probably one of the best examples of that he lost his confidence at some point and he's not been able to kind of get it back. From a, you know, sniping perspective, he was scoring some beautiful goals. So I think it's confidence. If they can get that back, I think that's going to be huge. And again, they have some other players that we certainly could see more from and that's going to help as well. And, of course, the linchpin to this whole thing is Sebastian Ajo. So if he can continue what has been improved play recently, I think that's going to go a long way. So, you know, you take a look at that and then you sit back and say, well, hey, there's a couple of wild cards here, and we talked a little bit about one, and that's Will Carrier. If Will Carrier comes back, he's a guy that he's really built for the playoffs. If Will Carrier comes back, he's a guy that he's really built for the playoffs. Right, he's built for the tough hockey. This guy is solid as a rock, he plays a heavy game, he scores the all-gold. He had 16 goals a couple of years ago, so I mean he can put the puck in the net and certainly he was fitting in nicely. You know, from a Hurricanes perspective as well, he seemed to be a guy that clearly was buying in playing Canes-style hockey. So I think definitely, you know, we're going to wait and see, but the you know, the indication from Eric Tulsky was we could see Will carry it. Now.
Speaker 1:The other thing that was interesting in the recent presser from Eric, of course, was a discussion on one of our favorite interesting guys, and that's, of course, alexander Nikitian. I wanted to read this because I think it gives us a bit of a harbinger of what we might expect. And he said he's in the KHL finishing out his regular season and then he'll go into the playoffs. When those end he'll still be under contract through May 31, and he can't come over until the contract ends. In that case I guess he's gone. But wait a minute. In many cases the team may be open to terminating the contract early once the season is over, therefore allowing him to come over At that point. You then have to go through immigration logistics and there could be a delay there, but our goal is to get him here as soon as we can.
Speaker 1:Our understanding from his agent is that is Alexander's plan as well. So what happens if an Alexander Nikitin shows up? Now that becomes an interesting ad, and yes, we have questions about him jumping in the lineup and so on, but he would be a nice guy to put on the roster as well. You know you're going to have injuries. There are going to be some problems with players that you're going to be looking at. For sure he gives you additional depth at a minimum, but wouldn't it be exciting if a guy like Alexander Nikitian showed up?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it would be fantastic to have him here. Yeah, it would be fantastic to have him here, even if he doesn't play a game, just having him around the locker room, starting to get a feel for the guys you know making his way. I'm sure he'd start with Svech and Kochekov and work his way from there and all the personalities and all the fun. Just think Kochekov gets to be the English teacher this time.
Speaker 3:He gets to be the translator. I just I think that would be invaluable for the mood in the room for whatever playoff run is left after that point, hopefully a very long one. But honestly, best case scenario is maybe, maybe there is an opportunity for him to get in and play. I remember a few seasons ago when the Avs were in the playoffs and there was an opportunity and a particular college hockey team was eliminated from their particular playoffs and all of a sudden a young Kaleccarr joined the avalanche in their series against calgary and made quite a splash and quite an impression. So whether it's no work at all, but he at least gets to experience being around the team or even something as potentially impactful and splashy as what happened with Makar all those seasons ago and anything in between, I think it would just be fantastic to have an opportunity to finally get to see the Keishon in a Carolina Hurricanes sweater.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think just by virtue of that would be an uplift to the team and, of course, to the fans as well. Lift to the team and, of course, to the fans as well. I guess my feeling is that if Eric and the crew go to the extra effort that's going to be required to get in here in time, I fully expect we'll see him in a game or two for sure.
Speaker 3:It's the playoffs? I don't know. It just depends. I mean it depends If all six D are sinking really well and they are playing excellent defense. No, he's not going to see the ice. But you never know, Sometimes people go cold, Sometimes there's an injury. There could very well be opportunity for him to jump in.
Speaker 1:For sure, and so I'm cautiously optimistic. I'd love to see Alexander here this year, and most important in all of this for me is that he would be under contract and ready to go with the Canes in the future. That is the biggest single thing of all of this, because until he is, until he's here, we just don't know, and there's been recent interviews with him and there's a lot of confusion on a number of different things. So, you know, we have to hope that Eric's on top of this one and that Alexander and Akishan will be coming over at some point and signing a contract with the Hurricanes. So, okay, lots to talk about. We've covered a lot of ground today. I thought we'd wrap up with our closing thoughts. Erin, what do you got?
Speaker 2:I think my closing thoughts are that, even though I really really wanted Mikko Rantanen to work out, I was tremendously excited by the trade. I posted lots of positive things, just like everyone else. We were all operating under the assumption that he actually wanted to be here and once I found out that was not true, yeah, I did a complete turnaround on that, like many people did. But the important thing is that I feel much better about the team as it is constructed right now today than I have felt for the last several weeks, when it became increasingly clear that something was terribly wrong. So, even though we didn't know the details or what was going on, we all felt that you know, collapse in the play and you know, even though, like Tom said, they've won five of their last six. But we saw what a struggle it was. We saw what a battle you know internally for a lot of these guys and we didn't understand why until Friday's events unfolded. So I'm excited. I'm happy to have the players that we have. I'm happy that they want to be here.
Speaker 2:I'm happy that the team had a tremendously positive victory, and even that, I think, was just kind of to me a really enlightening moment Watching them have so much fun on the ice against the Winnipeg Jets of all teams and then celebrating Kids Day with the players' families and their kids. That was fantastic. That was exactly what they needed. I'm very optimistic about how far they can carry forward with that much positive momentum, so let's see how they can do carry forward with that much positive momentum.
Speaker 1:So let's see how they can do.
Speaker 3:Katie, I think I'm going to take a page out of Coach Ekov's book and no touch my guys. No touch my guys. We're good, we're happy here. Don't be coming for them.
Speaker 3:This is a family, this is a unit, this is a group that, while they might not have the flashiest names on their roster, they are a solid group from top to bottom and they will go out on that ice and they will battle for each other night in and night out, game in and game out, until they have no more battles left to fight.
Speaker 3:And they're, they're just there. Isn't that's so valuable, to have that kind of camaraderie and that kind of attitude towards each other? This, I mean rod, said this is a family and it wasn't just a speaking point. That's the thing is, if it was just a talking point, then you'd be able to see it. And part of what made the Rantanen thing so unfortunate but perhaps so important in the long run, is that it showed what happens when you disrupt that synergy that they have as a locker room, as a group. And now that Rantanen is gone, now that that dark cloud has been removed from them, how much more determined they are now to play to their identity, to have each other's backs and to go into the trenches and grind, whatever happens, whatever may come that, they are the Carolina Hurricanes and they are going to play hockey their way.
Speaker 1:Exactly.
Speaker 3:Let's see, now that they're ready to move forward like this, what comes of the rest of the season and the postseason, because it could be a whole lot of fun.
Speaker 1:Well, absolutely, and well said Katie as well. A couple things Eric put the team together with the players in the offseason that are Carolina Hurricanes players, so we know that they're going to come in, they're going to play the right way, and he's continuing to do that with the recent ads, I think as well. And folks like Jack Roslevic is an interesting one to me, way, and he's continuing to do that with the recent ads, I think as well. And you know, and folks like Jack Roslevic is an interesting one to me. I don't know why, but he seems like he's really happy to be a hurricane right now and he's got to be a guy that is breathing a little bit easier these days because a lot of rumors that he could go and all of a sudden he finds himself. He's with his friends, he gets along very well with them, he's like I see him. Recently I've really been impressed with how he's presented himself as a hurricane and so he's buying in and he's a guy that has more to give. Like when I talked about other players that could give more, I think he's one of them and, boy, if he started to get hot, that would sure help a little bit.
Speaker 1:But let's just look for a minute at the upcoming schedule. They've got Tampa and they've got Detroit at home. Okay, so those are key games. Tampa's going to be tough. Hopefully they can knock Detroit off. And then they're on the road and they're going west. So they're going to have San Jose and Anaheim in that four-game run, along with Philadelphia and Los Angeles. They have a chance to continue some pretty good win numbers here. I think they've got momentum. I think they can continue to do that for a period of time and the biggest thing for them, as you know, has been the struggle on the road. So hopefully out West, if they can play a couple of easier teams that are out of the playoff run and stay focused and knock off some wins, I think you know getting some confidence on the road is going to be another key piece for them in terms of going deep this year. So lots to be excited about.
Speaker 1:I'm with you both of you on this one. I'm feeling very bullish about the Canes. I know folks outside look at us and say, well, gosh, they lost a big player. They're no better they're. You know they're going to fall off pretty quick, but we know that Rob Brindamore's teams don't give up that easy. So it's going to be a lot of fun and we're going to be following it very closely all the way through.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, this is going to be great and, as always, ladies, your input and insight has been phenomenal. Great fun talking hockey with you, and particularly now with the Canes on a bit of a wind streak. It's just a little bit more fun For those of you who've been watching or listening. We really appreciate it, of course. Thanks for spending time with us. If you like this episode, please press the like button. If you want to be alerted of future episodes of Storm Tracker, please subscribe and hit the bell and you'll be made aware as soon as those are available. And finally, if you have comments or questions or just want to reach out to us, we'd love to hear from you for sure, and Katie and Aaron and I will get back to you just as quickly as we can. Once again, thanks for joining us here on Storm Tracker and we'll catch up real soon.
