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Will the Hurricanes make it back to the Cup Final?


IceMan

the Hurricanes  

10 members have voted

  1. 1. Will the Canes make it back to the Cup Final?

    • yes
      0
    • No
      10
    • undecided
      0
  2. 2. How far into the playoffs will the Canes go?

    • First Rd
      3
    • division final
      3
    • conference final
      0
    • They wont make the Playoffs
      4


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agreed 100%.No leadership.no real depth

I like Cam Ward but i fear he will either turn into Jim Carey or Andrew Raycroft .

John Grahame is not an NHL backup in the new NHL.

villavelocity

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Will the 'Canes make it back to the Cup final this season?

All due respect to the Hurricanes and their win last season, I don't see them getting back to the finals this year. While the Canes were strong during all of 05-06, I just don't think they're the kind of team that provides a perenial contender. With the departure of veterans like Aaron Ward, Doug Weight, Mark Recchi, Matt Cullen, Oleg Tverdovsky and Martin Gerber, who started for much of the regular season, they might be lacking in chemistry and leadership early on.

While the season is long and they'll have plenty of time to right the ship, I don't think that their off-season aquisitions of Isbister, Tanabe, Belanger and Gleason are the kind that will provide a great impact when the post-season arrives. More than likely they'll make an early exit after making the playoffs as the fourth or fifth seed.

Of course, in my opinion, ideal circumstances would see the Sabres win the President's Trophy and the Prince of Wales, before taking the Stanley Cup as well. :D

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

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All due respect to the Hurricanes and their win last season, I don't see them getting back to the finals this year. While the Canes were strong during all of 05-06, I just don't think they're the kind of team that provides a perenial contender. With the departure of veterans like Aaron Ward, Doug Weight, Mark Recchi, Matt Cullen, Oleg Tverdovsky and Martin Gerber, who started for much of the regular season, they might be lacking in chemistry and leadership early on.

While the season is long and they'll have plenty of time to right the ship, I don't think that their off-season aquisitions of Isbister, Tanabe, Belanger and Gleason are the kind that will provide a great impact when the post-season arrives. More than likely they'll make an early exit after making the playoffs as the fourth or fifth seed.

Of course, in my opinion, ideal circumstances would see the Sabres win the President's Trophy and the Prince of Wales, before taking the Stanley Cup as well. :D

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I'm praying to the higher powers that the Sabres streak ends at a very bad time, like the Devils during last years playoff's :-)

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I'm praying to the higher powers that the Sabres streak ends at a very bad time, like the Devils during last years playoff's :-)

Well - I'd love to see them win it all and they've been my favorite team for years, but truth be told, I'm just a fan of quality hockey. I'm hoping for a great season, start to finish, and an even better post season. I just want to watch the game and be thrilled by the exciting play and the atmosphere of the world's greatest sport. So - should their streak end in the playoffs and they don't get a crack at the cup, I just hope whoever does plays some really exciting hockey and makes for an entertaining final. There are few teams in the league I really don't like, so if the Sabres aren't in it, I'm happy to watch and root for most other clubs.

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The Canes are killing the Lightning right now. Not just out scoring them, but playing really, really well. Looks like they're out of their rut.

4-0 with time left in the second. Ward looks tight too.

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Canes are so-so right now, they have the offense but the goalies are shaky. They won't succeed unless they keep their roster healthy, there are a lot of guys who are injury prone on the team.

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Canes are so-so right now, they have the offense but the goalies are shaky. They won't succeed unless they keep their roster healthy, there are a lot of guys who are injury prone on the team.

The biggest problem I see is goaltending. Not every goalie in the NHL is a 70+ game goalie and I'm not sure if Cam Ward is one of them. I guess he could turn out to be, but he doesn't strike me as one, just yet. With that said, I don't think John Grahame can win games in the new NHL. Carolina would probably be better off with Nastiuk in net, but even than they'd be rolling with two young goalies and that could still present problems. I guess we'll see how things play out.

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As a couple others have stated, the Hurricanes had an amazing run last year but with the age of some of their leaders, it would be hard pressed to say that they will be in the Cup Final again this year. They did not build to be a team to win in a couple years or even build for an extended run. Not only that but Ward had an amazing playoff run that would be very difficult to duplicate.

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Their team was built around rentals and 1 year contracts - just enough to bring them to the cup. Thats all.

Thats pretty much how I felt about it too. Now I hear they are looking at Bondra and Allison after getting off to a rocky start. Would be the same kind of move by management. Odd way to try and recycle a champion if you ask me.

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Cam Ward was a random show of talent. He was put in as Gerber's replacement after a few shaky games and he looked okay. I guess they just ran with him a bit, and he proved to be just enough.

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Exactly, built off rentals and 1 years. Plus Ward isn't even proven, still a flash in the pan in my opinion.

Ward has all of the potential to be an all-star goalie some day, but I'm amazed that the Canes think they can defend the cup with one goalie. In the new NHL you need two studs, as we've discussed in the 'best backup goalie' thread. Moreover, Ward is not a 70+ game goalie at this point while some guys like Luongo, Kipprussoff, etc. are. What are they going to do for the 30 games Ward doesn't play? Do they think John Grahame is capable of winning 30 games? I don't think anyone is that naive, and if you don't think your backup goalie can win in every game that he gets the start than he shouldn't have the roster spot. John Grahame will surprise me if he wins 50% of his starts.

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No way the Canes are back in the finals this year. Right now they are suffering the typical Stanley Cup hangover, going here and there with the cup when the off season is short already in the NHL and if you make it to the finals, it's even shorter.

They lost some good quality players in the off season and we'll have to see if Ward can get back to his playoff form from last year, but I think they will make it in the playoffs, but not by much.

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