Ben Case: Time to Start Selling-Someone Else Can Have Caps in the First Round Last night’s 5-0 loss against the Capitals was eerily similar to when they faced them on January 23rd in a 6-1 loss. The Canes came out hard for the first ten minutes and did a good job of establishing the tone. Holtby was able to shut down the Canes and kept it tied early despite a few decent shots. The tides quickly changed when Ovechkin found the back of the net on the powerplay with just over nine minutes remaining.

Oh yeah! 4 pts out of a wildcard spot with 2 games in hand (on Philly) in February..

Time to sell.. genius.

(frank) you fans.

As much as I would love to see playoff hockey in Carolina, the Canes have been uncompetitive when facing playoff caliber opponents. Their road woes are serious. Yes, statistically they are in good position but their play against quality opponents does not give much hope that they will be anything but a first round exit. As Ben has said it would probably serve the long range plan better by missing the playoffs and getting a higher draft pick. I'm supportive of GM Francis patient approach to building the franchise.

As much as I would love to see playoff hockey in Carolina, the Canes have been uncompetitive when facing playoff caliber opponents. Their road woes are serious. Yes, statistically they are in good position but their play against quality opponents does not give much hope that they will be anything but a first round exit. As Ben has said it would probably serve the long range plan better by missing the playoffs and getting a higher draft pick. I'm supportive of GM Francis patient approach to building the franchise.
- Barbecued Hockey

Aren't the Canes on life support?

Would tanking even be an option?

People don't seem to understand that you can't just tank one or two years and you'll be like the Leafs in the upswing.. they have to keep moving forward and hope they get better. There's a young foundation to build upon.

Aren't the Canes on life support?

Would tanking even be an option?

People don't seem to understand that you can't just tank one or two years and you'll be like the Leafs in the upswing.. they have to keep moving forward and hope they get better. There's a young foundation to build upon.
- Arctic_AARDVARK

Attendance is low but the loyal fan base I believe to be encouraged with the direction of the team overall. If this were the Rutherford regime I believe there would be much more angst amongst the fans, but most seem to have patience for the direction. Ron Francis is taking the team. The organization has survived without the bandwagon fans for several years. Next year may be the year those fans come back.

Attendance is low but the loyal fan base I believe to be encouraged with the direction of the team overall. If this were the Rutherford regime I believe there would be much more angst amongst the fans, but most seem to have patience for the direction. Ron Francis is taking the team. The organization has survived without the bandwagon fans for several years. Next year may be the year those fans come back.
- Barbecued Hockey

Well, best of luck..

In a small southern market, teams need to be good to survive.. The Canes are always a mystery.

Yet how many quality coaches and players will the Caps burn through and still not make a 2nd round playoff? Don't think Justin Williams is the answer at his age.

This is the tweener year for the RF rebuild as it is year 3 of a 5 year plan.

No way I buy a rental nor an older player for this team, but I would consider moving any older UFA canes player that there is no plan to resign. Let the young kids move up, & play.

I would also consider any moves to help a cap strapped team...ie moves like the TT trade...we will take an older overpaid player with a younger prospect or pick to give you cap relief. Then let that team over pay for a rental or whatever.

Canes fans need to be patience!!! RF has this team pointed in the right direction. He has the Canes prospect pool the deepest, & most skilled it has ever been. He has the money to keep all the young players here on this team...in a few years hopefully the Canes will be on a streak of consecutive playoff seasons, which may or may not begin this season...this fan is ok with that!

There is a fairly large difference between making good long term decisions for your team and tanking. Nothing wrong with deciding to be sellers because it make sense but looking specifically to lose get a better draft pick is fairly lame. Some folks are fine with it, so opinions vary...

Why do people drink this koolaid BS - you have to win once before you can repeat! Do any of you PATIENT PEOPLE realize how many years it's been since the CANES were in the playoffs?
Hoping that a few more draft picks will make this team good...REALLY? Getting a bunch of semi-high draft picks every year doesn't make a good team! At least one STAR, AND A DECENT GOALIE ADDITION WOULD GO A LONG WAY...but IS RF trying to do that?
Spending no money... means getting no return.......

Why do people drink this koolaid BS - you have to win once before you can repeat! Do any of you PATIENT PEOPLE realize how many years it's been since the CANES were in the playoffs?
Hoping that a few more draft picks will make this team good...REALLY? Getting a bunch of semi-high draft picks every year doesn't make a good team! At least one STAR, AND A DECENT GOALIE ADDITION WOULD GO A LONG WAY...but IS RF trying to do that?
Spending no money... means getting no return.......
- randycane

I love your passion which I share but I feel that the opportunity to grow the fan base is better served by a string of years where the Canes are not just making the playoffs but are serious contenders. I don't believe that it would be good to sacrifice the development of young talent to bring in trade deadline acquisitions for an inevitable first round exit. Would I love it if the Canes make the playoffs this year? Yes!!! but not at the expense of damaging what I believe to be a solid team for years to come. The only addition I would like to see for a playoff shot this year is in goaltending since our development through the system seems to be further down the road than the other talent the organization has at other positions.

Aren't the Canes on life support?

Would tanking even be an option?

People don't seem to understand that you can't just tank one or two years and you'll be like the Leafs in the upswing.. they have to keep moving forward and hope they get better. There's a young foundation to build upon.
- Arctic_AARDVARK

I think people hear that Karmanos is willing to sell and believe that it means he is desperate. The fact is that he is merely listening. The Canes were valued by Forbes in November '16 at $230M and were only $160M in 2010. Historically, the Canes have a value change increase of around 8% a year since 1999 based on Forbes. According to Forbes, he only paid $48M to purchase them...I'd say he's doing just fine.

The other aspect about relocation that no-one talks about is that an expansion franchise cost $500M. Essentially, Karmanos won't even consider an offer that isn't on par with that cost. In fact, almost two weeks ago this came out

"When asked about the Forbes list, Karmanos questioned the validity of that calculation. “Two years ago they said the Islanders were worth $240 million”, Karmanos laughed, “yet, they sold for somewhere between $490-$520 million.”

This is the best article I have seen: [url] http://www.wralsportsfan....-the-hurricanes/16481894/

If I was a potential owner and I knew that it was going to be around $500M regardless of buying an existing or expansion franchise, I would want an expansion. You are able to decide which players you want and have much more control over the salaries and players. When you buy an existing one, you are buying someone else's bad decisions/good decisions, etc.

As for the market and potential: Raleigh leads the US in metropolitan growth and is projected to do so until 2025. It has three of the nations highest education ratios per capita too with Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. In addition, they have the highest PHD's per person in the US. Raleigh is one of the leading medical, agricultural and engineering spots in the US and is growing at a rapid pace.

The point is, there are jobs, high proportions of educated individuals and money that are coming in and will continue to do so at rates higher than almost anywhere in the US. I actually wrote an article in November talking about the market and why I'm not concerned about relocation, feel free to check it out: http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=80770

As for tanking, I'm not suggesting that they intentionally tank. They haven't been trying to tank all year, yet are only 3 points from 3rd worst in the NHL. I just don't think this is the year to invest in going to the playoffs-if the Canes make a move that is big, it needs to be about future, not short-term is my point.

By selling some of the veterans (Hainsey, Stalberg, Murphy, Tennyson, McClement), the Canes are able to call up some younger talent and evaluate them (Zykov, Fleury, Mckeown, etc.). The youngsters are given the "sink or swim" test. If they exceed expectations and make the playoffs, that's great. If not, no harm and everyone was able to grow by getting some NHL experience and learning what it's like to be in a playoff race.

I also think that the Canes are in a better position to make moves at the NHL draft this summer-they have 5 picks in the top 90. Right now, the Canes are focused on how do we make this franchise a contender for years on years-not just the occasional "feel good" 8th seed playoff birth.

This is the tweener year for the RF rebuild as it is year 3 of a 5 year plan.

No way I buy a rental nor an older player for this team, but I would consider moving any older UFA canes player that there is no plan to resign. Let the young kids move up, & play.

I would also consider any moves to help a cap strapped team...ie moves like the TT trade...we will take an older overpaid player with a younger prospect or pick to give you cap relief. Then let that team over pay for a rental or whatever.

Canes fans need to be patience!!! RF has this team pointed in the right direction. He has the Canes prospect pool the deepest, & most skilled it has ever been. He has the money to keep all the young players here on this team...in a few years hopefully the Canes will be on a streak of consecutive playoff seasons, which may or may not begin this season...this fan is ok with that!
- rocheccw

Can't disagree with that logic. I imagine the Canes will make 1-2 good moves this summer around draft and FA market. They aren't too far away from being a solid NHL team, just need a bit more time to develop prospects and tweaks.

There is a fairly large difference between making good long term decisions for your team and tanking. Nothing wrong with deciding to be sellers because it make sense but looking specifically to lose get a better draft pick is fairly lame. Some folks are fine with it, so opinions vary...
- Queenie_5_hole

I personally do not like intentionally tanking either. I do like selling veterans and giving young guys the experience and chance to succeed. If they surprise everyone, that's great. If not, we got more assets and got a benchmark on what the true needs this summer are. The road woes and struggle against top teams has been very evident this year. Sometimes the best additions are by subtraction (IE Eric Staal to NYR)-I think this is a year that it applies to the Canes.

Why do people drink this koolaid BS - you have to win once before you can repeat! Do any of you PATIENT PEOPLE realize how many years it's been since the CANES were in the playoffs?
Hoping that a few more draft picks will make this team good...REALLY? Getting a bunch of semi-high draft picks every year doesn't make a good team! At least one STAR, AND A DECENT GOALIE ADDITION WOULD GO A LONG WAY...but IS RF trying to do that?
Spending no money... means getting no return.......
- randycane

I think he is fine with spending money as long as it contributes to sustained growth. Many people need instant gratification and the trade-off is often average results. I do agree that the Canes have needs and can improve on them.

I don't think that the draft will solve all of the Canes problems but it gives the Canes the assets required to make said "big" move when the opportunity comes.

In terms of learning to win, I also agree. However, we disagree on the mechanism in which to build the culture of winning. I think that bringing up our young prospects and giving them the chance to prove themselves is very valuable. It is a carrot approach-they've performed well and the Canes aren't in the best playoff position, so reward them with NHL experience and let them fight to win. Learning from some W's and L's now can be the difference in early wins next season.

I love your passion which I share but I feel that the opportunity to grow the fan base is better served by a string of years where the Canes are not just making the playoffs but are serious contenders. I don't believe that it would be good to sacrifice the development of young talent to bring in trade deadline acquisitions for an inevitable first round exit. Would I love it if the Canes make the playoffs this year? Yes!!! but not at the expense of damaging what I believe to be a solid team for years to come. The only addition I would like to see for a playoff shot this year is in goaltending since our development through the system seems to be further down the road than the other talent the organization has at other positions.
- Barbecued Hockey

I agree with the community building aspect. This area demands teams to be winners, not just "good enough." There is so much competition in this area with teams that are championship caliber that being average won't cut it. Sustained playoff appearances and success is what will make them relevant in this market, not just one here and there.

I would love to see them make a move on a goalie like Grubauer/Kuemper/Vasilevsky. I doubt Caps would ever consider moving Grubauer to any Metro team though. I wouldn't do Bishop bc he is now 31 and injury prone-we don't want to be next guy that hands him the big $. I wouldn't do MAF either, he is aging and it isn't definite how many "good" years he has left. A goalie that flies under the radar that I wrote about with The Hockey Writers is Saros, however, I doubt the Preds would even listen to moving him.