Anybodyhome

Package? Fugging package!?

The Hurricanes have won 3 straight on their western Canada road trip. Playing very good hockey without 2 of their top 4 defenseman. Y'all should check out the game day forum over there. No bitching, complaining and ragging on the coach. Just a bunch of hockey guys enjoying the game and the team's success.

"Panthers defense very good on 1st down..." Just one small issue with that.... mostly, the other 3 downs they suck.

Ohhhh boy.....

Gotta do it again.

This game is on my bucket list and 2022 is looking good. Navy has been down a couple years now. They're searching for their next QB. Defense won this game.

Jarvis is totally gassed. Would not be surprised to see him as a healthy scratch soon. He's young and doesn't have the muscle maturity to be in the condition as the other guys. Like the physicality of the Canes, as long as they stay outta the box. Canes can score on this guy. I expect 1, maybe 2 Canes goals in the 3rd.

"Sean McDermott, please pick up the white courtesy phone...."

Is he a QB option? He might be available for a couple draft picks.....

Which QB on the roster might be capable of doing that?

The key words being In this country your commute is not considered part of the job, in that you're not "on the clock." Salaried employees may have something different in their employment agreement or contract, but typically the commute back and forth to your domicile is not covered under workers compensation. And to those who went from an office setting to working remotely from home, I would think there were stipulations regarding work hours, as this is the key factor in determining liability.

I read this morning that Slavin set a personal record for ice time the other night with 29+ minutes of ice time, only to break his own record last night by going 32+ minutes. Not only did the Canes survive 2 difficult games, but they're doing it without of 2 of their top 4 defensemen. Glad Tripp finally called out the officiating last night. Not sure anyone other than local watchers will have seen it, but he was spot on. The Canes are among the league leaders in puck possession time, yet they're also one of the most penalized teams. How does that work unless the refs are just going out of their way to scrutinize the Canes more than other teams? How does KK catch a 2-minute for cross checking and after he took a legitimate hit, yet Slavin doesn't get the call when he did the same thing and got cross checked a couple times in retaliation? Calgary had 5 power plays last night. 4 of them were nerve-wracking as hell. Only 1 did Carolina seem to handle with ease. Let's be honest, Calgary had the same puck luck last night the Canes experienced during their short losing streak. No bounces went their way and they had more than a couple open chances last night. I leave you with my highlight of the night (Aho's OT winner aside). Watch this Slavin/Aho save when Anderson got caught out of position.

The TT goal line save was insane, but Slavin's sliding save at the goal was just as ridiculous. Both of those are highlight quality for the rest of the season.

What a finish! Markstrom stopped everything from distance, so Aho is going to the house!

Calgary getting behind the D way too much. One of the younger d's will try to jump in and it'll be a costly mistake for Carolina.

I remember a season the Panthers started with a blow-out win against a good Minnesota team... then promptly lost the next 15. It was 20 years ago.....

I'll be okay with the Canes going .500 in Canada. Get one of the next three (Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver) and I'm good. Anything more then 4 points and I'll consider it a big success. Then the crossing the border game in Minnesota will be a tough match-up as well before coming home to face Detroit.

Another late night with the Canes facing the other top defensive squad in the league. Canes have allowed just 54 goals in 24 games while Calgary has given up 56 in 26 games. Should be a good one. Special Teams Emphasis: Penalties landed the Hurricanes in some hot water during Tuesday's win in Winnipeg, as the Jets were able to spoil their visitors initial two-goal lead with goals coming at four-on-four and then on the power play. Carolina was then also forced to kill off a five-minute major in the third. Calgary's power play is a top ten one, entering the evening with a capitalization rate of 23.9%. While that's impressive, their penalty kill has been even better, currently ranking fifth with 84.8% of penalties killed. One of the only four teams better when down a man? Carolina (87.0%). Putting Up Points In Pairs: Since American Thanksgiving (November 25) Nino Niederreiter has been putting a force for his club, totaling seven points in his last six games. Recently he's been skating on Sebastian Aho's wing and the two have been getting it done, each publishing back-to-back performances with multiple points. For Aho, his streak actually extends back to three games with multi-point efforts, registering seven points during that span. Forwards: Niederreiter - Aho - Teravainen Jarvis - Trocheck - Necas Svechnikov - Staal - Fast Lorentz - Kotkaniemi - Stepan Defensemen: Slavin - Cole Skjei - Chatfield Smith - Bear/Lajoie Starting Goalie: TBD

Well played. On this board, that one flew over quite a few heads into the netting.... lol...

Coaching staff is really reaching for answers now, eh?

Ian Cole was fined $5k for his knee on knee collision with Scheifele. Scheifele was not fined for his embellishment.

I preferred Linda Hamilton back in the day...

I have a feeling the dog I posted in this forum needing a new home is from a similar situation. Pretty sure they had an older dog who recently passed and they immediately got this one- probably way too soon before they were ready. But, while we can talk about it all day, the fact of the matter is the dog needs a new home and I'll do whatever it takes to help find one, regardless of what I may think about the owners.

https://thehockeywriters.com/hurricanes-tough-contract-decision-vincent-trocheck/ Since coming to the Carolina Hurricanes via a trade with the Florida Panthers back in February of 2020, Vincent Trocheck has emerged as a key piece of the team’s identity. He’s slotted in exclusively as the second-line center since his arrival, which pushed down Jordan Staal to his rightful position on the third line – which has, in turn, been a key to his resurgence. With Sebastian Aho centering the top line, this trio has given the team one of the strongest center-ice groupings in the NHL. Despite the success, many factors go into the business side of things in this league — and that’s where things begin to complicate surrounding Trocheck. He’s set to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2022, and will be 29 when his next contract kicks in. The Dougie Hamilton negotiations this past summer showed that the Hurricanes aren’t particularly interested in committed big-money contracts to aging players. With Troheck’s injury history and style of play, it’s difficult to see the team breaking the trend for him. Trocheck’s Overall Impact Even though it currently seems like a long shot that Trocheck will get the kind of deal he wants in Carolina, it’s important to note how important he is to the current make-up of the team’s roster and how that could factor in upcoming negotiations. He’s been a seamless fit in his role thus far — a role that the Hurricanes had been searching for nearly a decade to fill. You can argue that his stability as the second-line center has also stabilized the entire depth chart at the position and has brought out the best in other players (like Staal). Things get even more complicated when you consider the type of production the team will need to replace, should they move on from him. Since joining the team, he’s posted 61 points across 77 games — and has developed some legitimate chemistry with youngsters like Martin Necas. The fact that head coach Rod Brind’Amour also trusts him enough to deploy him in all situations really needs to be considered. He averages well over three minutes per game on the power play, and he’s one of the team’s most relied upon forwards in ice-time per game (17:06). He also features regularly on the penalty kill and has had fantastic results — in 23 games, the Hurricanes have not surrendered a single shorthanded goal with Trocheck on the ice. Considering he averages 1:24 per game on that unit, his suppression rates are very impressive, and they speak volumes as to why Brind’Amour leans on him so often. Kotkaniemi Among Many Internal Replacement Options When you’re talking about potentially replacing a player who’s such a vital part of a team’s identity, you better be damn sure that there are adequate options to fill that role in place. Thanks to first-class drafting and development by the Hurricanes’ organization, they’ve amassed numerous potential options that may be a fit for that role in a year from now. Of course, it must be remembered that none of what they have internally has proven they can effectively play second-line minutes in the NHL. The team would be taking the “trial by fire” approach — which has both upsides and downsides. The most logical option as far as replacements go – as of this moment – would be Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who’s begun settling in quite nicely in Raleigh. The team had intended to move him to the wing as he transitioned into the system, but mediocre results in the process have seen him move back to center. He’s been much more effective in that role — which is expected — as center is his natural position, and that’s where he played with the Montreal Canadiens. His production through 23 games is a down-grade from that of Trocheck’s, but he’s on pace to score 21 goals and has played exclusively in a bottom-six slot. With Kotkaniemi, you’d imagine that elevated minutes and playing alongside more skilled linemates would translate to an uptick in production, which is certainly plausible. He’s far younger than Trocheck, he has room to grow and could theoretically have more upside if things go to plan. On the other hand, he’ll be drawing much tougher assignments and being allocated heavier minutes. There’s sure to be growing pains and a learning curve for him to adapt to a much-expanded role in the system, and he’ll have his work cut out for him to earn the same trust that Trocheck currently has. The major question will be how comfortable the Hurricanes’ staff would be to go with a much more inexperienced option. Kotkaniemi is a huge dip from Trocheck in that regard, but the other potential options are even further down the chart. Jack Drury and Jamieson Rees are both top prospects who impressed in training camp and have had strong developmental seasons — but they’re both first-year pros and adapting to the rigors of men’s hockey. Ryan Suzuki is another young center with a bright future, but injuries continue to limit the acceleration of his development. While all three of Rees, Drury, and Suzuki figure to be part of the Hurricanes’ future, it’s hard to sit here today and realistically pencil any of them in as a legitimate Trocheck replacement in less than a year from now. They’re all very talented and could turn the switch on at some point. Still, it’s difficult to imagine the team being comfortable with such inexperienced options in a major role — especially if they plan to be a Stanley Cup contender again next season. For now, Kotkaniemi would be the clubhouse leader. He has the skill, experience, and a comparable style to Trocheck — he has all the tools, but can he put them all together? Trocheck Likely to Cash In In the world of pro sports, money always does the talking — and that’s what it’ll boil down to for Trocheck. He’ll be 29 years old when his next contract kicks in, so it’s fair to say that this could be his final major opportunity to cash in on a long-term deal. His production through 23 games has him on pace for a 57-point season, which is a solid output from a second-line center and even more valuable when considering his relentless forechecking and penalty-kill success. Safe to say, I think there’d be a rather large market for Trocheck should he go to free agency. Players of his caliber don’t become available all too often, and NHL teams have shown a commitment to building down the middle. I’d assume that his strong scoring pace, combined with the team’s reluctance to commit long-term contracts to aging players, makes it a very likely possibility that he’ll head to the open market in the summer of 2022. If he continues to produce at this rate, I’d imagine that he’ll price himself out of the Canes’ comfort zone – similar to the Hamilton contract. Recapping the Hurricanes’ Options The good news with this negotiation is that the ball figures to be in the Hurricanes’ court. They’ve emerged into a legitimate Stanley Cup contender and are becoming a destination place to play — in a great city with a great fanbase and organization. If Trocheck’s contract demands are reasonable and the team is willing to commit to that, there’s a lot of reason for optimism that he’d choose to re-sign in Carolina rather than start fresh elsewhere. He’s been a seamless fit on the ice, he seems to be a popular teammate, and the fanbase has grown attached to him. On the other hand, should Trocheck opt to head to the market and sign elsewhere, the Hurricanes would obviously be OK with the move, and at that point, and would have their replacement options in mind. They could opt to use that freed-up cap space to bring in a replacement from outside the organization, or they could turn internally towards their youth and roll with Kotkaniemi or a Drury/Rees type — if they mature. Regardless, General Manager Don Waddell and Co. have earned the benefit of the doubt that they’ll do what’s best for the team with the long-term vision in mind and continue to have this group on the right path moving forward.

The game of hockey has relatively few rules and only a handful of penalties when you compare it to baseball, football of basketball. That being said, the officiating in the NHL may be the most inconsistent relative to the other 3 sports. Carolina had 2 5-minute majors and game misconducts following plays that were questionable 2-minute penalties just based on the eyeball test. Sandwiched between the 2 Carolina games which saw Trocheck and Ian Cole tossed, there was the debacle of the Jets-Toronto game where Pionk obviously stuck a knee out and put Sandin down. There was no call on the ice and Pionk got word Monday he was suspended for 2 games. If you were to look at all 3 plays- Trocheck's (sort of) hit on Thompson, Pionk knee to knee on Sandin, and last night's Ian Cole hit on Scheifele, the most egregious of the 3 was Pionk's knee on Sandin, yet there was no call made on the ice. Now he's out for 2 games. Think he would have been suspended had a 5-minute major/game misconduct been assessed on the play? Based on what we've seen and not seen over these 3 specific incidents, I wouldn't be surprised if Ian Cole gets 2 games for his hit on Scheifele, although it was more painful to watch Scheifele looking for the ref and waiting for the call than the hit was. A pretty clear embellishment as well. Last night's game is an easy 4-1 win without the gift power plays awarded to the Jets. 23 PIM for the Canes to 6 PIM for the Jets. Tells me everything I need to know.