The Storm is Building

[lightsout]

Since many here may not know much about the Canes or why these are exciting times, allow me to explain a brief history.

 

For years Canes fans have languished in the gutter of the division and the league. 2009 was our last real taste of success and for those of us who were fans then, watching Pittsburgh dismantle what some of us felt could be another magical ride was terrible. After almost a decade though, it seems like some magic is brewing in Raleigh once again.

Raleigh has been contentious to fans outside of the Carolinas as an odd place for hockey. Most don't seem to realize that you're in the middle of three pretty big universities with very diverse students, and an economy that brings even more northern transplants. With all of that you have a large fan base of hockey fans in the area, which is why the Canes found their way into Raleigh's heart. This was especially evident during the Cup run when the noise was among the league's best. 

However, the Canes hit a snag after the Cup win. Two straight seasons of no playoffs made many fans give up hope. Lightening in a bottle that simply wouldn't come back, many thought. That magic is gone. The 2009 playoff run rekindled that fire in the fans. 4-3 series wins in two sets against New Jersey and Boston made many think the Canes were back, but that fire was put out by a sweep in the Conference finals to the Pens. This lead to the absolute travesty of the last decade. No playoff berths, never higher than 9th in the conference. This not to mention including the league lockout in 2012.

The head coaching situation was a strange one. Peter Laviolette lead the team to a Cup, but was fired during the 2008-09 season. Paul Maurice manned the helm and held the job until midway through the 2011 season, when Kirk Muller took the job. Just three years later, after 2 and a half seasons, Bill Peters would replace Muller. This coaching turnaround was seen by many fans as signs that the front office had completely lost control and did not know what to do to fix this team. Faith in the franchise was low. After Peters failed in his first season, the talks of moving the Canes got stronger and fan attendance saw it's steepest decline. 

But what was occuring during the unrest in the coaching? Players were in and out of this organization at a steady rate. Top draft picks were promptly traded away in the hopes of finding that one guy to help on the ice. When that didn't work, we decided to trade away the one superstar we had in Eric Staal. Rod Brind'Amour went from being a Stanley Cup hero to assistant coach, and bad contracts and mismanaged minor league talent stifled all growth.

However, the 2016-2018 era did bring about some positivity. The young talent in the AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers was showing promise. The bad contracts were slowly filtered from the Canes, and what we were left with was a more bare bones roster of JAGs with a couple gems sprinkled in like Skinner, Hanifin, Di Giuseppe, and McGinn. Many fans were still cautious, but some dared to dream. 

The 2017 season concluded with the Canes showing signs of a playoff push but not finishing, Bill Peters was fired. New ownership stepped in. Rod Brind'Amour was named head coach. The young talent that showed such promise at the end of the 2017-2018 season was now ready, most of us hoped. Certain moves were made that many questioned, like trading what seemed to be our most valuable assets. These moves were odd to many, but each has worked to the Canes benefit. Those pieces were replaced by new blood that could and would buy in to the vision of what the Canes can become. Guys who had no expectations. Nothing to lose, and entire careers to gain. 

Notable changes to the presentation of the team coupled with a completely altered makeup of the locker room has given way to a team that, for the first time in a decade, has excitement brewing. A lone team captain, for the first time in years was named (yeah, the team captain situation was often... unconventional?). The intensity of play we're seeing now isn't an abberation, but a requirement under Brind'Amour. This change being the most noticeable since Muller and Peters seemed to call for a slower, more  conservative play style. Brind'Amour knew that isn't what Canes hockey is. It's intensity that brought Lord Stanley's Cup to Raleigh, an intensity that Brindy helped create as a player then and as head coach now. 

Fan attendance climbing, the Canes having the strongest opening week in the league, and a long season still ahead. Maybe the marketing all preseason was spot on. #TakeWarning

[The_Light_Brigade]

Cautiously optimistic.  Dundon is hands on and inexperienced.  I mean that as in, he doesn't seem like a hockey guy so he's flying blind.  I feel like the league knows that and tended to stay away from the organization.  Brind'Amour was handcuffed with Peters because he micromanaged everything and since we couldn't get a coach or GM to come here from a promising up and coming team we had to resort to someone in Waddell who's been mediocre elsewhere.  Brind'Amour supposedly lobbied hard to Dundon to give him a shot.  Honestly, Dundon probably didn't have much of a choice seeing as how the team seemed kind of blackballed.  I don't have much evidence for this but that's the feeling I got.  I went to opening night and the crowd wasn't bad, didn't come up with the win but you could tell the team was playing hard just like all of preseason.  We haven't faced, what I would consider elite goaltending, this team struggles with Greiss for some reason.  Like I said, cautiously optimistic.  

[MillionDollarCam]

The Canes are now a really fun team to watch and the future is bright.

Outside If Toronto they may be one of the most exciting if not the most exciting team to watch from a hockey fan perspective simply because they play a heavy and fast game.

The Canes currently lead the league in hits and are currently in the top five in goals scored.

This team is making hockey fun again.

[lightsout]

12 hours ago, The_Light_Brigade said:

  We haven't faced, what I would consider elite goaltending, this team struggles with Greiss for some reason.  

Bobrovsky? Dude is absolutely top 5. He is elite. And we put 3 on him in a winning effort. Greiss played out of his mind, happens. I don't think our issue is scoring against good goal tending. Our issue is going to ultimately be defensive errors. Our only weakness has been bad defensive turnovers/errors. 

[rhyslloyd]

I'm excited to be excited about the Canes, again.  When I lived in Raleigh, I got really into hockey and the team.  Some of that interest faded when I moved back toward Charlotte and the team was mired in mediocrity (which has continued).  I hope we can be a legitimate playoff contender.  

[The_Light_Brigade]

11 hours ago, lightsout said:

Bobrovsky? Dude is absolutely top 5. He is elite. And we put 3 on him in a winning effort. Greiss played out of his mind, happens. I don't think our issue is scoring against good goal tending. Our issue is going to ultimately be defensive errors. Our only weakness has been bad defensive turnovers/errors. 

I'll definitely give you Bobrovsky but our issue for the previous 8 years has been scoring goals.  We only scored 3 against him and to his credit that Aho goal was a hell of a pass to make it's way through.  We should have beaten the Islanders (2 posts and a crossbar).  We've lacked consistency in scoring goals for years so you'll excuse me if i'm tempering my expectations.  You're right on the back end.  We've left our goaltenders scrambling numerous times, Faulk can make 2 beautiful plays followed by 2 giveaways. It's so frustrating.   

[MillionDollarCam]

Power Rankings are out...

Canes are as high as 6 and as low as 11th.

[MillionDollarCam]

Best team in the Carolina’s!!!

If you want to watch a team that works hard regardless of the score then jump on the bandwagon!!!