Ben Case: G7: Situational Awareness, Goaltending/D Zone and the Blue Shirts

Very thorough analysis, and I don't find any major faults... my one big concern with this team is the lack of a shutdown goalie... Wards resigning was bizarre, bordering on stupid! In the real world, well ... who knows what that is, now?... anyway, most athletes who play major league sports...don't get a new contract when they can't play better than younger/ cheaper competitors!??
RF has ignored the biggest problem with this team, and has also failed to replace the holes left by Staal, Eric and Versteeg!
Results... predictably... Still Very bad Keepers... and rookies/ 2nd level vets trying to match-up against superstars... Fail!,,.....
I feel sorry for coach Peters... WTF... how does he make wine out of vinegar?

A few observations.

Special teams is definitely a positive thus far. Almost every entrance has been a controlled break in for unit 1. Looks like the PP will only get better.

Hanifin and Faulk are completely lost in the D-zone.

Slavin and Pesce are very good players, they need to have the top assignment.

Finally having a home game should help Peters out significantly utilizing last change for favorable match-ups.

Very impressed with stempniak thus far, smart and solid player.

Rask may be the canes best forward.

Aho's intelligence is through the roof.

Nordstrom has been very good on the kill.

When Nestrasil is back fully healthy. Do you want to see J Staals line go back to last year, or do you like aho staying on second line and possibly playing with J staal and nestrasil, bumping down nordstrom the 4th?

Very thorough analysis, and I don't find any major faults... my one big concern with this team is the lack of a shutdown goalie... Wards resigning was bizarre, bordering on stupid! In the real world, well ... who knows what that is, now?... anyway, most athletes who play major league sports...don't get a new contract when they can't play better than younger/ cheaper competitors!??
RF has ignored the biggest problem with this team, and has also failed to replace the holes left by Staal, Eric and Versteeg!
Results... predictably... Still Very bad Keepers... and rookies/ 2nd level vets trying to match-up against superstars... Fail!,,.....
I feel sorry for coach Peters... WTF... how does he make wine out of vinegar?
- randycane

The holes will get filled as the young guys get more confident-I think getting some home games will help significantly. I will be interested to see how this 2-game weekend goes and who steps up their play.

I definitely was surprised that the Canes took Bickell from the Hawks-I certainly thought whoever took him was going to take advantage of the Hawks cap issues more than what the Canes did. I saw it similarly to how the Stars got Sharp and a solid D prospect and sent Garbutt and Daley to the Hawks-Hawks then traded both and ended up with a guy who left for the KHL and Scuderi...talk about major ouch on the trade return for Sharp. Don't get me wrong, Teuvo is a solid player and was a good pick-up, however, the significance of losing Bickell's $4M hit off the books should've been a heavier price. I just don't see the point in taking him on the 4th line a $4M.

The Canes didn't have too many options to strengthen the crease without going the trade route. Ward benefited from the fact that this year free agent market had very slim pickings, as well as the trade value for goalies being unusually higher than typically (Yes, I'm talking about you Anderson...cost more than Cory Schneider did when NJD traded for him and Vancouver wound up with Horvat.) When looking at last 2 off-season markets, they are considerably smaller and weaker than the 2014 FA one. The few goalies who were around Wards level decided to leave the NHL and go to the KHL (or elsewhere) because they couldn't find work. If the market had of been better and there was a significant upgrade, I imagine they'd try to get involved in the action. I was looking at some Mock 2017 drafts, one has the Canes taking a goalie in the second round-that wouldn't shock me to see them go after a goalie early if one has a high enough ceiling.

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A few observations.

Special teams is definitely a positive thus far. Almost every entrance has been a controlled break in for unit 1. Looks like the PP will only get better.

Hanifin and Faulk are completely lost in the D-zone.

Slavin and Pesce are very good players, they need to have the top assignment.

Finally having a home game should help Peters out significantly utilizing last change for favorable match-ups.

Very impressed with stempniak thus far, smart and solid player.

Rask may be the canes best forward.

Aho's intelligence is through the roof.

Nordstrom has been very good on the kill.

When Nestrasil is back fully healthy. Do you want to see J Staals line go back to last year, or do you like aho staying on second line and possibly playing with J staal and nestrasil, bumping down nordstrom the 4th?
- StaalsnUrinals

I like Aho with Staal mainly because the more Aho is able to possess the puck, the more dangerous he will grow. He appears to have great vision and more of a playmaker game. I think Teuvo brings more of a scoring threat than either Nordstrom or Nestrasil, plus he is 2-3 years younger. Staal is great to pair him with because in terms of helping puck possession stats, he has the second best face-off percentage in the NHL for guys who have taken 100+ draws. In terms of getting chances in the O-zone off draws and then the flip-side, limiting chances when taking draws in the D-Zone, I think it is smart to keep them together.

I think it's a bit too early to have a preference on where some of the young guys end up falling. Unless a trio gets extremely hot, I see no problem with continuing to try a few different combos. Personally, I'd like to see the forwards be: 1st line as is, Teuvo-Stall-Aho, Nordstrom/Nestrasil-Lindholm-Di Giuseppe and Nordstrom/Nestrasil-McClement-Frk. Let Nordstrom and Nestrasil fight for ice-time, it will keep them hungry and hopefully productive.

I agree that it will be interesting to see how Peters does using last change tonight.