Yesterday I wrote the "What went wrong for the Canes in 2014-15" at the summary level focusing in on 2 key causes. You can find that HERE.
Despite the disappointing season overall, I want to also note the positives. And yes there were some.
1) Victor Rask. At an individual level, I am torn as to which of 2 developments rate highest. Victor Rask is 1 of them. He was not expected to be ready to compete for an NHL roster spot this season, but was strong in training camp and seized the opportunity when Jordan Staal was felled by injury leaving an opening at center. While there is still significant room for improvement, Rask looked like an NHLer.
He very much reminds me of Josef Vasicek's rise to the NHL. Neither was anywhere to be found entering training camp on the depth chart of players expected to compete for roster slots. Both won their spot but looking surprisingly mature with the often challenging defensive assignments of an NHL center. And both also looked surprisingly comfortable making the jump to a much higher level.
The key going forward for Rask is to continue to improve. As much as 2014-15 was a big step for him, right now he is basically a capable 3rd-line center who even for that role is light on offense which actually makes him more like a great 4th-line center on a deep team. His 33 points are not bad, but when you consider that he had a pretty good helping of power play time, you would want more like 45-50 points out of his slot. But the point is not to nitpick stats. He just turned 22 years old, has 1 pretty good NHL season under his belt and has enough natural ability to use 2014-15 as a foundation for building more not a ceiling.
2) Justin Faulk's offensive outburst. Especially when you consider his age, Justin Faulk is underrated across the league due to lack of attention for a non-playoff team. But I think even most Canes fans who think the world of Justin Faulk would have far undershot any prediction for his scoring for 2014-15. He managed 49 points on a team that finished 27th offensively in the NHL. That is a big number anyway and even bigger if you make some kind of adjustment for the caliber of the offense that he played in.
Right now, only 3 things stand in the way of Faulk pushing into the Norris Trophy talk. Unfortunately 2 of those are outside of his control. First is a partner. He and Hainsey looked okay down the stretch, but ideal would be if the Canes added someone to play with Faulk. Second is at least a somewhat better Canes team. And the last is consistency. Canes fans who were desperate for something positive during the down 2014-15 season were quick to latch onto Faulk's rise offensively. And it was a great thing. And he had stretches where he looked like an elite top pairing defender. But mixed in were some stretches where he struggled defensively. He had a real rough start to the season which (along with a number of other factors) played a part in the Canes 0-6-2 start. And he had a couple other games and even short stretches where he as bad. When you net it out, it is about night in, night out consistency. He has shown that he can play at an elite level and not just for a game but for extended stretches. The next step is for him to be just a bit more steady and minus the rough outings even on lesser nights. What is maybe most impressive is that after calling Rask young and with time to develop at 22, it seems even more astounding the Faulk is almost exactly 1 year older. Impressive!
3) Steve Smith. So if you ask around Raleigh, everyone knows who Justin Faulk and Canes fans even of the casual variety should know who Victor Rask is by now, but my 3rd positive is a name that virtually no one from the casual fan base would recognize. It is assistant coach Steve Smith. Working behind the scenes and out of the spotlight, he really had a phenomenal 1st year behind the bench. At the point where Ron Francis traded away 3 key players (Sekera, Gleason, Tlusty), the penalty kill that Smith was coaching was #1 in the league. He was also responsible for a blue line unit that greatly outperformed expectations and the amount of money invested in them. The team finished 18th in the league in goals against and would have been a few notches higher if not auditioning AHLers in the holes left by the Gleason and Sekera trades. Smith had a rising Justin Faulk and Andrej Sekera, but past that I would make the argument that he coached up Gleason and Liles significantly from the previous season and also got the most from the rest of his crew. With Sekera gone to trade, his challenge could be even greater next year if Francis does not find a way to add another top 4 ideally to pair with Faulk.
4) The penalty kill and special teams overall. It is a shame that the work at the trade deadline cost the Canes a chance to compete for best overall penalty killing. They were #1 at the deadline and playing very well. It would have been a consolation prize compared to making the playoffs but a nice one nonetheless. The ascent was not as great, but finishing 15th overall on the power play was also an improvement.
A short list of honorable mentions could also include:
--Andrej Nestrasil. I think he could grow to become the new Jiri Tlusty. With some finishing ability and enough 2-way acumen, he seems to fit okay on any kind of line with any kind of line mates. He was a nice pickup for nothing and makes the Canes a bit deeper at forward.
--The 4th line. Once the injury clouds cleared and they were finally united, they were real good. The run that they put together in January/February was probably as good as any by a Canes 4th line in its history.
--Elias Lindholm. My hope is that his ceiling continues to be much higher, but he made positive strides in 2014-15.
--Cam Ward. He finally bounced back to closer to the middle of the range for NHL goalies. 2014-15 was as strong of a statement as you could ever find that it is very risky to pay a goalie $6.8M because to justify it they need to be a Vezina finalist. (Dubnyk, Hammond, Talbot, Mrazek, Lack and yesterday out of absolutely nowhere Darling are all cheap backups. And while not reaching the Vezina level, Cam Ward did rise up in 2014-15 and play much better.
The most glaring exception from my list of positives is Bill Peters. First, to be clear, I like him as a coach so far, and I see positive signs that the team is headed in the right direction. But at the end of the day, the jury is still out. The team finished significantly worse in terms of points and proximity to a playoff spot. So while I am optimistic, I am holding judgment until I see results.
What say you Canes fans? Did I miss any positives amidst a season that was disappointing overall? Who puts Bill Peters as a positive?
Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63
Go Canes!