The Carolina Hurricanes loss on New Year's Eve officially marked the 41-game halfway point of the 2006-07 season. So that of course prompts the midseason review and all of the other stuff that comes with it.

So first question - Where are we? I would argue that the Canes are about where they should be. Optimists and demanding manager types alike would ask for a lot more than 5th in the East and 2nd in the Southeast Division. The 92-point pace screams 7 or 8 seed which is not that great either. And the 'want more' assessment is fair in some respects. But maybe I am just too much the realist. The Canes faced a large number of obstacles coming out of the gate this season.

-The Stanley Cup hangover. Much is made of this - maybe even too much. But there is something to it. Coach Laviolette described it like this at a press conference for out-of-town media awhile back. (Paraphrased) 'You spend 6-8 weeks playing hockey at the highest physical level possible. The games also have importance at the highest level possible. No matter who you are, the games 3 months later in October just are not the same.'

-Useless preseason for the blueline. The preseason was more or less useless for the blueline. The team was trying to replace Ward and Kaberle (2nd pairing from Cup run) and integrate a few new guys (Babchuk with bigger role and Gleason). Problem is that the only guys who saw regular ice time were Commodore and Babchuk due to a rash of injuries.

-Minus key players permanently and for a long time. The Canes lost Cullen, Ward and Gerber from the 05-06 team and Weight and Recchi from the playoff team. And then they lost Stillman and Kaberle for about all of the first half of the season. They also started the season with a few guys less than 100% (Hedican for sure, probably Wesley and Wallin) playing anyway because they were the healthiest we had.

-Difficult schedule. The majority of the Canes helping of back-to-back games this season came in the 1st half. This will even out over the course of the season to our scheduling benefit but the first half was tough.

So is the 92-point pace, a 5-8 seed in the playoffs and 2nd in the Southeast something we should be happy with? No way. But that is not ultimately where we end up if we can find the next gear and get things going. We are within striking distance of Atlanta which gets us a division title and at least a 3 seed in the playoffs which is not a bad place to start. Sneaking into the 2 slot, avoiding Buffalo until the East finals and getting at least 2 rounds of home ice would be quite fine by me.

And I predicted a couple weeks back that January would be the time the Canes would stake a claim to this spot. I am standing by this prediction.

So through 41 games what about the players? Let me take a shot at the forward corps today and save the others for another day. Overall, I think the forwards have been decent. They have scored enough in spite of missing a couple key offensive players in Stillman (and Kaberle whose playmaking helps the up front guys).

Amidst a decent but not fabulous start, a number of players have played very well which is saying something given the tough comparisons to many career years or leaps forward last season.

For those who have already had enough of my longwindedness for 1 day, here is the short version of my player comments for forwards.
Ladd can make this team better if he decides he wants to be more than a role player. Cole and Staal are fine in terms of production, but get mostly failing grades in terms of night-in, night-out consistency. Williams, BrindAmour, Walker and Whitney have been the big producers helping us get by pretty well (in terms of scoring) without Stillman, Kaberle and Cullen. The depth guys have been mostly okay in their roles.

Head of the class:

Williams: His 38-goal pace is more than you could have asked from him after big leap just to reach 31 last season. He had a bit of a scoring drought playing off wing with Staal and Walker otherwise he might have a couple more.

Whitney: He is 1 guy who had what might have been a bit of a frustrating 05-06 personally (all wiped away by that cup thing of course). He was very productive in 05-06 on a per minute played basis, but with the groin injury that never really went away, he missed games and was often limited to powerplay a specialist role because of health reasons. His 32-goal and almost 90-point pace through 41 games is exactly what was needed to fill a gap left with Stillman's injury.

BrindAmour: Personally, I would have expected and been happy with a little bit less from BrindAmour this season. He took a huge step up last year after a couple years where he looked like he was headed to the land of older, role-playing checking line centers like Michael Peca. But his production while still holding down all the defense and detail responsibilities has been nothing short of astonishing this season.

Walker: He has slowed a bit of late, but he provided much-needed offense when the team was struggling early. If he chips in the 25 goals that he is headed towards that will be plenty. He plays both sides of the puck, plays physical and never hurts you on the ice even in the games he does not score. That is the same recipe for success that we see from many of the other core guys (most notably BrindAmour, Cole, Williams).

Larose: He has not managed to find himself in a role where he can score much (no powerplay time, limited minutes, many minutes on penalty kill), but he has been successful at the role carved out for him and that is all you can ask. From the role player types (KAdams, CAdams, Letowski, Ladd so far), I think Larose easily wins the "role player of the 1st half" award.

Passing:

Belanger: If you compare him to Cullen who was 3rd line center last season, he seems significantly short in terms of offensive production. But much of this is a function of role. Belanger sees minimal powerplay time (unlike Cullen) and due to injuries and lack of scoring depth has spent most of the season with grinders (CAdams, Larose, Ladd, etc.) on his wings (unlike Cullen who was paired with Whitney most of the season). Belanger was very productive early with Walker until he moved up. I am hopeful that his production will again match the players he is paired with if he gets a chance with a couple goal-capable wingers.

Cole: I am not as down on Cole (or Staal see below) as others. The biggest rap on both has been horrible inconsistency. Both seem to the bus together nightly, and they seem to either have a great night where they are rewarded with production or they seem to be invisible (or worse picking up frustration penalties). Overall, Cole's roughly point a game pace is enough production. But his "playing like 1 of the best power forwards in the game" rate of only about 1/2 leaves a lot to be desired. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt with a passing grade because of overall production, but if I weight consistency a little higher, he falls lower.

CAdams: I almost put him in head of the class. CAdams is a stretch to ever reach 20 goals or 50 points, but he does his thing and brings value to the team in the process. He is very consistent in bring a physical edge, hard skating and checking and a jump in energy regardless of line, game situation, etc. That is exactly what you want from a 3rd/4th line depth player.

Letowski: Like CAdams, he has been decent when you consider his role. But I think he (Ladd being the other) are 2 guys who could make this team better and deeper if they could seize the LW spot next to BrindAmour and enable someone like Whitney to move to a 3rd line that is at least 2nd line quality in terms of production.

Need to get the grades up:

Staal: I am actually not as down on Staal as some. Going into the season, I would have been happy with about 85-90 points. He is tracking below that, but this target is within reach. My biggest disappointment is his inability to become more consistent on a night-in, night-out basis. The true elite of the NHL (think Thornton at center) are noticeable in about every game even when they have the occasional frustrating night where they do not get on the score sheet. Staal just has too many games where he is a non-factor despite the fact that his streaky production is producing enough on average.

Ladd: I love the fact that the Canes have youth who seem to be very well centered, Ladd included. They want what is best for the team and are not at all the selfish types. But I think Ladd is the 1 case where he needs to become a little bit selfish and want more than the role player spot he has right now. He makes this team better and way deeper offensively if he can win/earn the LW spot next to BrindAmour that seems to be a decent fit for his style of play. It is time for Andrew Ladd to stop being content "just helping however he can" and decide that after about 60 NHL games (plus playoff games too) that he is done getting his feet wet and ready to assert himself as the top 6 forward he was drafted to be and is capable of being.

KAdams: Kevyn had some tough times early when the team was struggling. I think the couple weeks off to fully heal his wrist could be a blessing in disguise. He gets the chance to reset mentally and physically. He has been a valuable and contributing role player in a Hurricanes uniform for 5-6 years now. I respect the heck out of him for that. He needs to get back to that the 2nd half of this season.

Okay Canes fans, I think I just wore the paint off a couple keys on the keyboard. Your turn...Tell me where/why I am wrong, where you agree, etc.

Go Canes!

Join the Discussion: » Comments » Post New Comment

» Maple Leafs and Hurricanes: Comparison in rebuilding strategies

» Snarly Hurricanes vs. Flyers match up set for Saturday

» Canes treading water - Will they eventually drown or swim?

» Solid first half of week tees 'make up' time at home for the weekend

» Hurricanes at Red Wings -- Canes look claw even for road trip