Confirmed with Link: Petr Mrazek signed 1 year, 1.5M

[Canes]

For all the worst tandem in the league talk, while that may wind up being true, the Islanders, Sabres, Senators, Blues, and Canucks are pretty awful themselves.

Just goes to show how small the amount of good starting goalies is around the league.

It's a lot like QBs in the NFL except drafting goalies in the NHL is even more of a crapshoot.

 

[cptjeff]

Just goes to show how small the amount of good starting goalies is around the league.

It's a lot like QBs in the NFL except drafting goalies in the NHL is even more of a crapshoot.

Can Cam Newton play goalie?

 

[My Special Purpose]

After this post, I'm done talking about our goaltending. Anybody who doesn't get it, will never get it.

Here are the top 100 goalies last season by salary. How many of them -- without no-trade protection -- would make us "comfortable" that our goalie situation was "solved" to the point that we can forget about it for a few years? I count seven. Quick isn't going anywhere, and who wants to take a stab at what it would take to trade for Vasilevskiy, Murray, Hellebuyck, or Gibson? And Jones's extension with no-trade protection just kicked in on July 1. That leaves Varlamov. One guy. In all the world. And he's 30-years-old, injury-prone and is getting sued by his ex-girlfriend after a criminal domestic abuse case was dismissed. But yeah, Waddell failed.

The older veterans with maybe a few seasons left (Lundqvist, Rinne, Fleury, Luongo) all have full control of where they go. Even the young-ish veteran who could be on the way out (Schneider) has a full no-trade clause.

I'm not sure how anyone can look at this list, realize that we only have one spot to fill since Ron Francis tied our hands with the ridiculous four-year contract for Scott Darling, and not understand that there was no solution available to this point this offseason. Maybe Varlamov and/or Schneider come available later this summer or in training camp. And if so, the Hamilton deal has convinced me that we'll be involved. But as of now, we simply could *not* afford to tie up the *other* goalie spot with another multi-year contract for a guy who *still* doesn't solve our problem.

Literally the *worst* thing that could possibly happen to the Hurricanes this summer would have been to tie up another three years and $10 million on *another* goalie who gives us below-average goaltending. The Mrazek signing -- a talented guy who's had success and was willing to sign for one year -- is actually brilliant when looked at through the prism that is the current reality of the NHL goalie market.

1. Henrik Lundqvist New York Rangers NMC 36
2. Sergei Bobrovsky Columbus Blue Jackets NMC 29
3. Pekka Rinne Nashville Predators M-NTC, NMC 35
4. Tuukka Rask Boston Bruins M-NTC 31
5. Carey Price Montreal Canadiens NMC 30
6. Braden Holtby Washington Capitals M-NTC 28
7. Corey Crawford Chicago Blackhawks M-NTC, NMC 33
8. Cory Schneider New Jersey Devils NTC 32
9. Kari Lehtonen M-NTC 34
10. Semyon Varlamov Colorado Avalanche 30
11. Jonathan Quick Los Angeles Kings 32
12. Marc-André Fleury Vegas Golden Knights M-NTC, NMC 33
13. Mike Smith Calgary Flames M-NTC 36
14. Roberto Luongo Florida Panthers M-NTC 39
15. Jimmy Howard Detroit Red Wings M-NTC 34
16. Frederik Andersen Toronto Maple Leafs M-NTC 28
17. Ben Bishop Dallas Stars NMC 31
18. Jaroslav Halák Boston Bruins 33
19. Jake Allen St. Louis Blues 27
20. Devan Dubnyk Minnesota Wild M-NTC 32
21. Craig Anderson Ottawa Senators 37
22. Cam Talbot Edmonton Oilers NMC 30
23. Scott Darling Carolina Hurricanes M-NTC 29
24. Steve Mason 30
25. Robin Lehner 26
26. Petr Mrázek Carolina Hurricanes 26
27. Matt Murray Pittsburgh Penguins 24
28. Jacob Markström Vancouver Canucks 28
29. Andrei Vasilevskiy Tampa Bay Lightning 23
30. James Reimer Florida Panthers 30
31. Thomas Greiss New York Islanders 32
32. Cam Ward Chicago Blackhawks M-NTC 34
33. Martin Jones San Jose Sharks 28
34. Jonathan Bernier Detroit Red Wings 29
35. Brian Elliott Philadelphia Flyers 33
36. Eddie Läck New Jersey Devils 30
37. Michal Neuvirth Philadelphia Flyers 30
38. Chad Johnson St. Louis Blues 32
39. Anders Nilsson Vancouver Canucks 28
40. Mike Condon Ottawa Senators 28
41. John Gibson Anaheim Ducks 24
42. Connor Hellebuyck Winnipeg Jets 25
43. Ryan Miller Anaheim Ducks M-NTC 37
44. Philipp Grubauer Colorado Avalanche 26
45. Andrew Hammond Minnesota Wild 30
46. Ondrej Pavelec 30
47. Keith Kinkaid New Jersey Devils 28
48. Anton Khudobin Dallas Stars 32
49. Michael Hutchinson Florida Panthers 28
50. Carter Hutton Buffalo Sabres 32
51. Al Montoya Edmonton Oilers 33
52. Louis Domingue Tampa Bay Lightning 26
53. Peter Budaj Los Angeles Kings 35
54. Antti Raanta Arizona Coyotes 29
55. Calvin Pickard Toronto Maple Leafs 26
56. Eamon McAdam New York Islanders 23
57. Kasimir Kaskisuo Toronto Maple Leafs 24
58. Thatcher Demko Vancouver Canucks 22
59. Chris Nell New York Rangers 23
60. Hunter Miska Arizona Coyotes 22
61. Matiss Kivlenieks Columbus Blue Jackets 21
62. Cal Petersen Los Angeles Kings 23
63. Jeff Zatkoff 31
64. Joonas Korpisalo Columbus Blue Jackets 24
65. Alex Lyon Philadelphia Flyers 25
66. Curtis McElhinney Toronto Maple Leafs 35
67. Ville Husso St. Louis Blues 23
68. Angus Redmond Anaheim Ducks 22
69. Marcus Högberg Ottawa Senators 23
70. Mason McDonald Calgary Flames 22
71. Shane Starrett Edmonton Oilers 23
72. Alex Nedeljkovic Carolina Hurricanes 22
73. Linus Söderström New York Islanders 21
74. Alexandar Georgiev New York Rangers 22
75. Evan Fitzpatrick St. Louis Blues 20
76. Filip Gustavsson Ottawa Senators 20
77. Brandon Halverson New York Rangers 22
78. Collin Delia Chicago Blackhawks 24
79. Déreck Baribeau Minnesota Wild 19
80. Carter Hart Philadelphia Flyers 19
81. Tyler Parsons Calgary Flames 20
82. Connor Ingram Tampa Bay Lightning 21
83. Jonas Johansson Buffalo Sabres 22
84. Dylan Wells Edmonton Oilers 20
85. Laurent Brossoit Winnipeg Jets 25
86. Anton Forsberg Chicago Blackhawks 25
87. Jeremy Smith 29
88. Linus Ullmark Buffalo Sabres 24
89. Harri Säteri Detroit Red Wings 28
90. Cole Kehler Los Angeles Kings 20
91. Callum Booth Carolina Hurricanes 21
92. Chris Driedger 24
93. Spencer Martin Colorado Avalanche 23
94. Daniel Vladar Boston Bruins 20
95. Josef Korenar San Jose Sharks 20
96. Adin Hill Arizona Coyotes 22
97. Samuel Montembeault Florida Panthers 21
98. Anthony Stolarz Philadelphia Flyers 24
99. Jon Gillies Calgary Flames 24
100. David Rittich Calgary Flames 25

 

[The Faulker 27]

Can Cam Newton play goalie?

I would finally buy season tickets.

 

[FlyingSquirrels]

After this post, I'm done talking about our goaltending. Anybody who doesn't get it, will never get it.

Here are the top 100 goalies last season by salary. How many of them -- without no-trade protection -- would make us "comfortable" that our goalie situation was "solved" to the point that we can forget about it for a few years? I count seven. Quick isn't going anywhere, and who wants to take a stab at what it would take to trade for Vasilevskiy, Murray, Hellebuyck, or Gibson? And Jones's extension with no-trade protection just kicked in on July 1. That leaves Varlamov. One guy. In all the world. And he's 30-years-old, injury-prone and is getting sued by his ex-girlfriend after a criminal domestic abuse case was dismissed. But yeah, Waddell failed.

The older veterans with maybe a few seasons left (Lundqvist, Rinne, Fleury, Luongo) all have full control of where they go. Even the young-ish veteran who could be on the way out (Schneider) has a full no-trade clause.

I'm not sure how anyone can look at this list, realize that we only have one spot to fill since Ron Francis tied our hands with the ridiculous four-year contract for Scott Darling, and not understand that there was no solution available to this point this offseason. Maybe Varlamov and/or Schneider come available later this summer or in training camp. And if so, the Hamilton deal has convinced me that we'll be involved. But as of now, we simply could *not* afford to tie up the *other* goalie spot with another multi-year contract for a guy who *still* doesn't solve our problem.

Literally the *worst* thing that could possibly happen to the Hurricanes this summer would have been to tie up another three years and $10 million on *another* goalie who gives us below-average goaltending. The Mrazek signing -- a talented guy who's had success and was willing to sign for one year -- is actually brilliant when looked at through the prism that is the current reality of the NHL goalie market.

1. Henrik Lundqvist New York Rangers NMC 36
2. Sergei Bobrovsky Columbus Blue Jackets NMC 29
3. Pekka Rinne Nashville Predators M-NTC, NMC 35
4. Tuukka Rask Boston Bruins M-NTC 31
5. Carey Price Montreal Canadiens NMC 30
6. Braden Holtby Washington Capitals M-NTC 28
7. Corey Crawford Chicago Blackhawks M-NTC, NMC 33
8. Cory Schneider New Jersey Devils NTC 32
9. Kari Lehtonen M-NTC 34
10. Semyon Varlamov Colorado Avalanche 30
11. Jonathan Quick Los Angeles Kings 32
12. Marc-André Fleury Vegas Golden Knights M-NTC, NMC 33
13. Mike Smith Calgary Flames M-NTC 36
14. Roberto Luongo Florida Panthers M-NTC 39
15. Jimmy Howard Detroit Red Wings M-NTC 34
16. Frederik Andersen Toronto Maple Leafs M-NTC 28
17. Ben Bishop Dallas Stars NMC 31
18. Jaroslav Halák Boston Bruins 33
19. Jake Allen St. Louis Blues 27
20. Devan Dubnyk Minnesota Wild M-NTC 32
21. Craig Anderson Ottawa Senators 37
22. Cam Talbot Edmonton Oilers NMC 30
23. Scott Darling Carolina Hurricanes M-NTC 29
24. Steve Mason 30
25. Robin Lehner 26
26. Petr Mrázek Carolina Hurricanes 26
27. Matt Murray Pittsburgh Penguins 24
28. Jacob Markström Vancouver Canucks 28
29. Andrei Vasilevskiy Tampa Bay Lightning 23
30. James Reimer Florida Panthers 30
31. Thomas Greiss New York Islanders 32
32. Cam Ward Chicago Blackhawks M-NTC 34
33. Martin Jones San Jose Sharks 28
34. Jonathan Bernier Detroit Red Wings 29
35. Brian Elliott Philadelphia Flyers 33
36. Eddie Läck New Jersey Devils 30
37. Michal Neuvirth Philadelphia Flyers 30
38. Chad Johnson St. Louis Blues 32
39. Anders Nilsson Vancouver Canucks 28
40. Mike Condon Ottawa Senators 28
41. John Gibson Anaheim Ducks 24
42. Connor Hellebuyck Winnipeg Jets 25
43. Ryan Miller Anaheim Ducks M-NTC 37
44. Philipp Grubauer Colorado Avalanche 26
45. Andrew Hammond Minnesota Wild 30
46. Ondrej Pavelec 30
47. Keith Kinkaid New Jersey Devils 28
48. Anton Khudobin Dallas Stars 32
49. Michael Hutchinson Florida Panthers 28
50. Carter Hutton Buffalo Sabres 32
51. Al Montoya Edmonton Oilers 33
52. Louis Domingue Tampa Bay Lightning 26
53. Peter Budaj Los Angeles Kings 35
54. Antti Raanta Arizona Coyotes 29
55. Calvin Pickard Toronto Maple Leafs 26
56. Eamon McAdam New York Islanders 23
57. Kasimir Kaskisuo Toronto Maple Leafs 24
58. Thatcher Demko Vancouver Canucks 22
59. Chris Nell New York Rangers 23
60. Hunter Miska Arizona Coyotes 22
61. Matiss Kivlenieks Columbus Blue Jackets 21
62. Cal Petersen Los Angeles Kings 23
63. Jeff Zatkoff 31
64. Joonas Korpisalo Columbus Blue Jackets 24
65. Alex Lyon Philadelphia Flyers 25
66. Curtis McElhinney Toronto Maple Leafs 35
67. Ville Husso St. Louis Blues 23
68. Angus Redmond Anaheim Ducks 22
69. Marcus Högberg Ottawa Senators 23
70. Mason McDonald Calgary Flames 22
71. Shane Starrett Edmonton Oilers 23
72. Alex Nedeljkovic Carolina Hurricanes 22
73. Linus Söderström New York Islanders 21
74. Alexandar Georgiev New York Rangers 22
75. Evan Fitzpatrick St. Louis Blues 20
76. Filip Gustavsson Ottawa Senators 20
77. Brandon Halverson New York Rangers 22
78. Collin Delia Chicago Blackhawks 24
79. Déreck Baribeau Minnesota Wild 19
80. Carter Hart Philadelphia Flyers 19
81. Tyler Parsons Calgary Flames 20
82. Connor Ingram Tampa Bay Lightning 21
83. Jonas Johansson Buffalo Sabres 22
84. Dylan Wells Edmonton Oilers 20
85. Laurent Brossoit Winnipeg Jets 25
86. Anton Forsberg Chicago Blackhawks 25
87. Jeremy Smith 29
88. Linus Ullmark Buffalo Sabres 24
89. Harri Säteri Detroit Red Wings 28
90. Cole Kehler Los Angeles Kings 20
91. Callum Booth Carolina Hurricanes 21
92. Chris Driedger 24
93. Spencer Martin Colorado Avalanche 23
94. Daniel Vladar Boston Bruins 20
95. Josef Korenar San Jose Sharks 20
96. Adin Hill Arizona Coyotes 22
97. Samuel Montembeault Florida Panthers 21
98. Anthony Stolarz Philadelphia Flyers 24
99. Jon Gillies Calgary Flames 24
100. David Rittich Calgary Flames 25

Finally some GD sanity interjected into this board of insanity. Come off the ledge folks. It's not that bad.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

After this post, I'm done talking about our goaltending. Anybody who doesn't get it, will never get it.

Here are the top 100 goalies last season by salary. How many of them -- without no-trade protection -- would make us "comfortable" that our goalie situation was "solved" to the point that we can forget about it for a few years? I count seven. Quick isn't going anywhere, and who wants to take a stab at what it would take to trade for Vasilevskiy, Murray, Hellebuyck, or Gibson? And Jones's extension with no-trade protection just kicked in on July 1. That leaves Varlamov. One guy. In all the world. And he's 30-years-old, injury-prone and is getting sued by his ex-girlfriend after a criminal domestic abuse case was dismissed. But yeah, Waddell failed.

The older veterans with maybe a few seasons left (Lundqvist, Rinne, Fleury, Luongo) all have full control of where they go. Even the young-ish veteran who could be on the way out (Schneider) has a full no-trade clause.

I'm not sure how anyone can look at this list, realize that we only have one spot to fill since Ron Francis tied our hands with the ridiculous four-year contract for Scott Darling, and not understand that there was no solution available to this point this offseason. Maybe Varlamov and/or Schneider come available later this summer or in training camp. And if so, the Hamilton deal has convinced me that we'll be involved. But as of now, we simply could *not* afford to tie up the *other* goalie spot with another multi-year contract for a guy who *still* doesn't solve our problem.

Literally the *worst* thing that could possibly happen to the Hurricanes this summer would have been to tie up another three years and $10 million on *another* goalie who gives us below-average goaltending. The Mrazek signing -- a talented guy who's had success and was willing to sign for one year -- is actually brilliant when looked at through the prism that is the current reality of the NHL goalie market.

1. Henrik Lundqvist New York Rangers NMC 36
2. Sergei Bobrovsky Columbus Blue Jackets NMC 29
3. Pekka Rinne Nashville Predators M-NTC, NMC 35
4. Tuukka Rask Boston Bruins M-NTC 31
5. Carey Price Montreal Canadiens NMC 30
6. Braden Holtby Washington Capitals M-NTC 28
7. Corey Crawford Chicago Blackhawks M-NTC, NMC 33
8. Cory Schneider New Jersey Devils NTC 32
9. Kari Lehtonen M-NTC 34
10. Semyon Varlamov Colorado Avalanche 30
11. Jonathan Quick Los Angeles Kings 32
12. Marc-André Fleury Vegas Golden Knights M-NTC, NMC 33
13. Mike Smith Calgary Flames M-NTC 36
14. Roberto Luongo Florida Panthers M-NTC 39
15. Jimmy Howard Detroit Red Wings M-NTC 34
16. Frederik Andersen Toronto Maple Leafs M-NTC 28
17. Ben Bishop Dallas Stars NMC 31
18. Jaroslav Halák Boston Bruins 33
19. Jake Allen St. Louis Blues 27
20. Devan Dubnyk Minnesota Wild M-NTC 32
21. Craig Anderson Ottawa Senators 37
22. Cam Talbot Edmonton Oilers NMC 30
23. Scott Darling Carolina Hurricanes M-NTC 29
24. Steve Mason 30
25. Robin Lehner 26
26. Petr Mrázek Carolina Hurricanes 26
27. Matt Murray Pittsburgh Penguins 24
28. Jacob Markström Vancouver Canucks 28
29. Andrei Vasilevskiy Tampa Bay Lightning 23
30. James Reimer Florida Panthers 30
31. Thomas Greiss New York Islanders 32
32. Cam Ward Chicago Blackhawks M-NTC 34
33. Martin Jones San Jose Sharks 28
34. Jonathan Bernier Detroit Red Wings 29
35. Brian Elliott Philadelphia Flyers 33
36. Eddie Läck New Jersey Devils 30
37. Michal Neuvirth Philadelphia Flyers 30
38. Chad Johnson St. Louis Blues 32
39. Anders Nilsson Vancouver Canucks 28
40. Mike Condon Ottawa Senators 28
41. John Gibson Anaheim Ducks 24
42. Connor Hellebuyck Winnipeg Jets 25
43. Ryan Miller Anaheim Ducks M-NTC 37
44. Philipp Grubauer Colorado Avalanche 26
45. Andrew Hammond Minnesota Wild 30
46. Ondrej Pavelec 30
47. Keith Kinkaid New Jersey Devils 28
48. Anton Khudobin Dallas Stars 32
49. Michael Hutchinson Florida Panthers 28
50. Carter Hutton Buffalo Sabres 32
51. Al Montoya Edmonton Oilers 33
52. Louis Domingue Tampa Bay Lightning 26
53. Peter Budaj Los Angeles Kings 35
54. Antti Raanta Arizona Coyotes 29
55. Calvin Pickard Toronto Maple Leafs 26
56. Eamon McAdam New York Islanders 23
57. Kasimir Kaskisuo Toronto Maple Leafs 24
58. Thatcher Demko Vancouver Canucks 22
59. Chris Nell New York Rangers 23
60. Hunter Miska Arizona Coyotes 22
61. Matiss Kivlenieks Columbus Blue Jackets 21
62. Cal Petersen Los Angeles Kings 23
63. Jeff Zatkoff 31
64. Joonas Korpisalo Columbus Blue Jackets 24
65. Alex Lyon Philadelphia Flyers 25
66. Curtis McElhinney Toronto Maple Leafs 35
67. Ville Husso St. Louis Blues 23
68. Angus Redmond Anaheim Ducks 22
69. Marcus Högberg Ottawa Senators 23
70. Mason McDonald Calgary Flames 22
71. Shane Starrett Edmonton Oilers 23
72. Alex Nedeljkovic Carolina Hurricanes 22
73. Linus Söderström New York Islanders 21
74. Alexandar Georgiev New York Rangers 22
75. Evan Fitzpatrick St. Louis Blues 20
76. Filip Gustavsson Ottawa Senators 20
77. Brandon Halverson New York Rangers 22
78. Collin Delia Chicago Blackhawks 24
79. Déreck Baribeau Minnesota Wild 19
80. Carter Hart Philadelphia Flyers 19
81. Tyler Parsons Calgary Flames 20
82. Connor Ingram Tampa Bay Lightning 21
83. Jonas Johansson Buffalo Sabres 22
84. Dylan Wells Edmonton Oilers 20
85. Laurent Brossoit Winnipeg Jets 25
86. Anton Forsberg Chicago Blackhawks 25
87. Jeremy Smith 29
88. Linus Ullmark Buffalo Sabres 24
89. Harri Säteri Detroit Red Wings 28
90. Cole Kehler Los Angeles Kings 20
91. Callum Booth Carolina Hurricanes 21
92. Chris Driedger 24
93. Spencer Martin Colorado Avalanche 23
94. Daniel Vladar Boston Bruins 20
95. Josef Korenar San Jose Sharks 20
96. Adin Hill Arizona Coyotes 22
97. Samuel Montembeault Florida Panthers 21
98. Anthony Stolarz Philadelphia Flyers 24
99. Jon Gillies Calgary Flames 24
100. David Rittich Calgary Flames 25

Hey look, Kev wrote a book!

 

[tarheelhockey]

Finally some GD sanity interjected into this board of insanity. Come off the ledge folks. It's not that bad.

It is that bad. We haven’t acquired even a decent goalie since we drafted Cam Ward. We had the worst goaltending in the league last year and we will likely have the worst goaltending in the league for this year as well. It will likely cost us any chance at a playoff spot, for the 10th year in a row. It’s that bad.

“Yeah but there was nobody on the market”... I just don’t care anymore. Borrowing a philosophy from Tom Dundon, I’ve stopped caring about the finer background details why we continue to fail over and over again. Find a way to succeed. Blaze a path. Do the job.

Nobody on the market? That’s because nearly 30 other teams have figured it out while we ****ed up. Fix it.

Yesterday was Waddell’s 4-year anniversary with this organization. All 4 of those years, we have spent our offseason expecting to see an actual solution in net. Don celebrated the anniversary by handing us Darling/Mrazek and a lame-assed “there’s gonna be healthy competition in the crease!” bit of PR gibberish. Give me a break.

It’s been a decade and a half since we acquired a single solid goalie. That’s a gross organizational failure if anything could possibly be described as such. The front office is getting about 10% of the heat it deserves right now. They have massively ****ed this thing up and ought to be getting ripped to shreds by our don’t-care media.

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Hey look, Kev wrote a book!

Meh, his first one was much better. He’s just coasting now.

 

[My Special Purpose]

Nobody on the market? That’s because nearly 30 other teams have figured it out while we ****ed up. Fix it.

Yeah, like Buffalo, Ottawa, the Islanders, Chicago, Detroit, Edmonton, Montreal, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Vancouver. That's a third of the league with potentially worse goaltending than us.

Yesterday was Waddell’s 4-year anniversary with this organization. All 4 of those years, we have spent our offseason expecting to see an actual solution in net. Don celebrated the anniversary by handing us Darling/Mrazek and a lame-assed “there’s gonna be healthy competition in the crease!” bit of PR gibberish. Give me a break.

This is patently ridiculous. You just blamed Waddell for Ron Francis's mistakes.

 

[FlyingSquirrels]

It is that bad. We haven’t acquired even a decent goalie since we drafted Cam Ward. We had the worst goaltending in the league last year and we will likely have the worst goaltending in the league for this year as well. It will likely cost us any chance at a playoff spot, for the 10th year in a row. It’s that bad.

“Yeah but there was nobody on the market”... I just don’t care anymore. Borrowing a philosophy from Tom Dundon, I’ve stopped caring about the finer background details why we continue to fail over and over again. Find a way to succeed. Blaze a path. Do the job.

Nobody on the market? That’s because nearly 30 other teams have figured it out while we ****ed up. Fix it.

Yesterday was Waddell’s 4-year anniversary with this organization. All 4 of those years, we have spent our offseason expecting to see an actual solution in net. Don celebrated the anniversary by handing us Darling/Mrazek and a lame-assed “there’s gonna be healthy competition in the crease!” bit of PR gibberish. Give me a break.

It’s been a decade and a half since we acquired a single solid goalie. That’s a gross organizational failure if anything could possibly be described as such. The front office is getting about 10% of the heat it deserves right now. They have massively ****ed this thing up and ought to be getting ripped to shreds by our don’t-care media.

I hear ya...but are you really placing this at Waddell's feet? My question is: your anger towards the organization is directed at who? Dundon? Waddell? I'm not following you because this vitriol WOULD be justified if RF was still running the show. Expecting a guy on the job for like 2 months to fix this issue is just a bit unrealistic.

 

[My Special Purpose]

It’s been a decade and a half since we acquired a single solid goalie. That’s a gross organizational failure if anything could possibly be described as such. The front office is getting about 10% of the heat it deserves right now. They have massively ****ed this thing up and ought to be getting ripped to shreds by our don’t-care media.

I agree with your assertion. I disagree with your solution. Waddell/Dundon have had four months to fix this. They literally deserve *no* heat for not fixing an issue that goes back to Mike Liut.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Are we speaking ill of the same Ron Francis who was done so dirty by terrible Tom Dundon?

 

[Joe McGrath]

I agree with your assertion. I disagree with your solution. Waddell/Dundon have had four months to fix this. They literally deserve *no* heat for not fixing an issue that goes back to Mike Liut.

Hey hey, Sean Burke was good.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Yeah, like Buffalo, Ottawa, the Islanders, Chicago, Detroit, Edmonton, Montreal, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Vancouver. That's a third of the league with potentially worse goaltending than us.

Uh, there are some VERY suspect names on that list. We’d be extremely happy to swap situations with almost any of those teams (e.g., I refuse to believe we would not scramble to take Carey Price if offered the chance). The very worst of them would be roughly even with us, in the sense that two teams can tie at zero.

This is patently ridiculous. You just blamed Waddell for Ron Francis's mistakes.

I’m responding to the idea that Waddell just walked through the door in May as a fresh-faced new GM facing new issues with no connection to the existing problem. He’s been part of the front office leadership team for 4 years.

Francis bears ultimate responsibility for his mistakes, sure. That doesn’t absolve Waddell for having no solution to these annual concerns, which were surely identified and discussed extensively as part of our very long, thorough search for Francis’ replacement. He had 4 years to engage in this process internally and formulate his own idea of a solution. Whatever he told Dundon he could do to fix our goalie issue, clearly it was judged to be a better option than any other available candidate could offer. What he actually delivered was an awkward attempt at Grubauer and then immediately signing the cheapest, shortest contract possible for a Darling-level garbage goalie. That’s pathetic. It absolutely is part of the continuity that this franchise has had of recycling absolutely anyone willing to work on Edwards Mill Rd., as long as their budgetary discretion outweighs their competitive urgency.

 

[Anton Babchuk]

Yesterday was Waddell’s 4-year anniversary with this organization. All 4 of those years, we have spent our offseason expecting to see an actual solution in net. Don celebrated the anniversary by handing us Darling/Mrazek and a lame-assed “there’s gonna be healthy competition in the crease!” bit of PR gibberish. Give me a break.

WTF is this post? Waddell wasn't even part of hockey operations until Francis got demoted. He was running the business side.

Seriously what's next....blaming Mike Sundheim? Michael Smith?

 

[Anton Babchuk]

I’m responding to the idea that Waddell just walked through the door in May as a fresh-faced new GM facing new issues with no connection to the existing problem. He’s been part of the front office leadership team for 4 years.

Francis bears ultimate responsibility for his mistakes, sure. That doesn’t absolve Waddell for having no solution to these annual concerns, which were surely identified and discussed extensively as part of our very long, thorough search for Francis’ replacement. He had 4 years to engage in this process internally and formulate his own idea of a solution. Whatever he told Dundon he could do to fix our goalie issue, clearly it was judged to be a better option than any other available candidate could offer. What he actually delivered was an awkward attempt at Grubauer and then immediately signing the cheapest, shortest contract possible for a Darling-level garbage goalie. That’s pathetic. It absolutely is part of the continuity that this franchise has had of recycling absolutely anyone willing to work on Edwards Mill Rd., as long as their budgetary discretion outweighs their competitive urgency.

Are you seriously unaware as to what Waddell's job was here prior to two months ago?

 

[tarheelhockey]

WTF is this post? Waddell wasn't even part of hockey operations until Francis got demoted. He was running the business side.

Oh come on. Waddell spent 12 years running hockey operations as the general manager of an NHL team. It’s hard to believe he spent 4 years jockeying with Francis for first dibs on the coffee maker, yet had absolutely no contact with, no input on, and no opinion on the hockey operations including our very desperate and high profile search for a goalie solution.

Someone coming in from outside the organization could be forgiven for shrugging and saying “I dunno, I just started thinking about this stuff in May”, but Waddell has been in a position where there’s no reason he shouldn’t have had a fully-formed plan in mind and hit the ground running with it months ago. To get to this point and have no apparent direction forward (other than signing the first guy who would bite on a cheap 1-year deal) is completely inexcusable. This isn’t a “that was the old regime, this is new blood and it takes time to get going” kind of situation.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Are you seriously unaware as to what Waddell's job was here prior to two months ago?

I am aware of the difference between Gale Force and the Carolina Hurricanes. I also find it completely implausible that Don Waddell, a veteran NHL GM, sat in his office for 4 years playing with spreadsheets and never really paid attention to what was going on with the hockey side of the house. I find that especially implausible during the Dundon era, in which virtually all of the leadership team except for Waddell was cleared out, Don being the only guy left standing and now in charge of hockey operations. That’s a decision that only makes sense if Waddell had established himself as credible within the organization and in possession of an actual plan for building out the team. Whether he had an on-paper role in hockey ops or not, his situation is not like that of someone who came out of left field to take the job. It’s completely fair game to expect him to have spent at least a good part of the past 4 years positioning himself to do this job effectively, given that he basically Cheney’d his way into it.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Tarheel Id like to know what your solution to the problem is. Blueline gave some earlier and they were total garbage so I’m interested in what you think they should have done?

 

[AeroFishOne]

I just can’t get on the train that Don Waddell was supposed to fix one of our number one problems over the last 13 years in a 4 month period when the market absolutely blows. He can’t eat a piece of coal and crap out a diamond. The options are not there and there’s a reason the only real goalie trade you saw was Gru.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Tarheel Id like to know what your solution to the problem is. Blueline gave some earlier and they were total garbage so I’m interested in what you think they should have done?

Acquire an average or better goalie at some point since 2012.

In Dundon-speak, any set of decisions that got us there would have been acceptable. The set of decisions that got us here, is not acceptable.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I just can’t get on the train that Don Waddell was supposed to fix one of our number one problems over the last 13 years in a 4 month period when the market absolutely blows. He can’t eat a piece of coal and crap out a diamond. The options are not there and there’s a reason the only real goalie trade you saw was Gru.

I swear to god, we have had this exact same conversation every single offseason since 2010.

There’s always some reason that the Carolina Hurricanes were obligated to sit still or overpaid for garbage while everyone else quietly drafted, signed, or traded for viable options. There’s never any good option out there for us, just for all the other teams that look at us and wonder why we’re so bad at this.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Acquire an average or better goalie at some point since 2012.

In Dundon-speak, any set of decisions that got us there would have been acceptable. The set of decisions that got us here, is not acceptable.

Ok more specifically, what did you want this new regime to do this year?

Darling was supposed to be the answer last year, but apparently Waddel should’ve known he was going to eat his signing bonus ?

 

[AeroFishOne]

I swear to god, we have had this exact same conversation every single offseason since 2010.

There’s always some reason that the Carolina Hurricanes were obligated to sit still or overpaid for garbage while everyone else quietly drafted, signed, or traded for viable options. There’s never any good option out there for us, just for all the other teams that look at us and wonder why we’re so bad at this.

Your right, we have had this conversation and it’s mostly due to JR and RF utter inability to draft goalies other than Cam. We dont have the luxury as a team to vastly overpay to attract free agents to a market that very few want to come too and if we did, the rest of the team would take a hit. We are not a big budget market and just because the owners are billionaires doesn’t mean they are just willing to throw money away when there is a strong possibility that the return on the investment is going to be non existent. I’m not saying that the owner should only be in the game to not lose money and think they should be willing to take some of a loss to make a better team which Dundon has said. I don’t want to debate whether the selection process of the GM and coach negated that in this thread though, I’ll give him more than a an off-season before I say he lied. If there was actual proven starter on the market this offseason, I absolutely say you overpay, but to overpay on an unproven goalie is foolish and has hit us more than once.

I refuse to put blame on a gm that’s been in his position for 4 months when’s there’s no shred of proof that he had final say in any hockey operations before he was put in charge especially when it seems that Dundon was especially considered about making sure not just one person has a voice.

I’m right there with you on your anger and want this to succeed and I normally tend to agree with things you say, but I can’t get on board with the Waddell thing. I do think we should have tried a couple goalie options in this draft and I’ll knock him on that.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Ok more specifically, what did you want this neectean to do this year?

Darling was supposed to be the answer last year, but apparently Waddel should’ve known he was going to eat his signing bonus ?

Be creative. Come up with a trade option. If that failed, come up with another trade option. Keep turning over stones until something shook loose that would actually improve this team.

Quite simply, anything better than what someone with no hockey experience could have done after 1 hour of google searching goalie UFAs.