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

[Svechhammer]

I love this.... Point out that the goaltending situation sucks and the immediate reply is "what would you do to fix it, either tell us or shut up"

Nah, not sitting around for that BS. Its not our job to fix this. And unless your name is Doug Waddell and you are currently employed by Tom Dundon to work in the Carolina Hurricanes organization, its not your job to fix it, either. You can see that a situation has reached crisis point without needing to come with a researched plan to fix it. Its not unreasonable at all to be sitting here now looking at the roster, especially at the goaltending spot, and have the opinion we royally f***ed up without a solution in hand.

 

[GoldiFox]

No, it would cost an asset.

And that sounds exactly like what they did.





"Bring in a goaltender!"

*does research, brings in a 26-year-old guy with decent career numbers for cheap*

"Okay but not that one actually just bring back the same guys and maybe give some Euro kid an unwinnable camp invite"

So you are saying that Mrazek isn’t good enough to be worth spending a 4th round pick to try and save last season (and potentially avoid an impending catastrophic 2018-19). However he is good enough to be our new starting goaltender and save this season?

Or perhaps the Canes just didn’t think Mrazek was worth acquiring last year? And now that all their clear options have slipped away they were left scraping the bottom of the UFA barrel and praying it works out for the best?

 

[What the Faulk]

I love this.... Point out that the goaltending situation sucks and the immediate reply is "what would you do to fix it, either tell us or shut up"

Nah, not sitting around for that BS. Its not our job to fix this. And unless your name is Doug Waddell and you are currently employed by Tom Dundon to work in the Carolina Hurricanes organization, its not your job to fix it, either. You can see that a situation has reached crisis point without needing to come with a researched plan to fix it. Its not unreasonable at all to be sitting here now looking at the roster, especially at the goaltending spot, and have the opinion we royally ****ed up without a solution in hand.

This team lacks a superstar center. It's Waddell's job to go get one. But he didn't, because there's a limited supply of viable options. You can't just snap your fingers and have one appear and then get mad when one doesn't. You have to get creative. Move a winger over. Bring in a guy and hope he fits in really well here and maybe puts up numbers like he did at the beginning of his career. They took a shot and people are whining because he didn't get the guy THEY wanted. So it's a valid question to ask. If you don't like what they did, what would you do differently?

 

[Chrispy]

I decided to scan the rosters this morning for teams with 3 waiver-eligible NHL goalies under contract. Here are some potential 3rd goalies who will have to go through waivers after camp (or have 3 goalies rostered):

Anton Forsberg (0.75M), CHI
Jack Campbell (0.675M, 2 years) or Peter Budaj (1.025M), LAK
Michael Hutchinson (1.3M) or James Reimer (3.4M, 3 years), FLA
Eddie Lack (0.65M), NJD

Forsberg was part of the Panarin trade last year and at 25 is probably the best gamble of the bunch that could be exposed after training camp.

 

[MinJaBen]

If you don't like what they did, what would you do differently?

I'd have offered my second 1st in 2016 for Andersen. I'd have made my Grubauer offer stronger.

 

[What the Faulk]

So saying that Mrazek isn’t good enough to be worth spending a 4th round pick to try and save last season (and potentially avoid an impending catastrophic 2018-19). However he is good enough to be our new starting goaltender and save this season.

They were 5 points out of a playoff spot with three teams between them and 8th with one of them having played three fewer games. At that point, they're on life support anyway. They probably didn't do any research into looking for a goaltender so the point is moot.

 

[Svechhammer]

This team lacks a superstar center. It's Waddell's job to go get one. But he didn't, because there's a limited supply of viable options. You can't just snap your fingers and have one appear and then get mad when one doesn't. You have to get creative. Move a winger over. Bring in a guy and hope he fits in really well here and maybe puts up numbers like he did at the beginning of his career. They took a shot and people are whining because he didn't get the guy THEY wanted. So it's a valid question to ask. If you don't like what they did, what would you do differently?

Its valid to say we still have the same fundamental issues we've had for 3 seasons and the organization has miserably failed in addressing both Center depth and goaltending acumen. Demanding that someone either come with a solution or shut up is a bullshit tactic to silence anyone you're debating with. You can acknowledge that we screwed the pooch in the past, and have refused to dismount since without knowing the solution. Its not our job to solve this. If it was, we'd be the ones making 6 or 7 figures working in the front office.

 

[Unsustainable]

Just to be clear, are we praying to get Hughes, or are we praying for Hughes? Because if it is the latter, I'm going to pray a really good team pulls a goof and misses the playoffs and he gets drafted by them. I'd hate for him to waste his years away here like McDavid is doing in Edmonton on a team with an inept front office.

I’m praying for him to come here if we miss the playoffs.

 

[What the Faulk]

I'd have offered my second 1st in 2016 for Andersen. I'd have made my Grubauer offer stronger.

Andersen didn't want to sign here once. Trading a 1st for him was unlikely to be a smart idea. And define "stronger". Maybe the Caps didn't want to deal him within the division for anything short of an absurd overpayment. We know they had some resistance to several teams in the Metro. Getting mad about that one is probably a waste of time.

 

[What the Faulk]

Its valid to say we still have the same fundamental issues we've had for 3 seasons and the organization has miserably failed in addressing both Center depth and goaltending acumen. Demanding that someone either come with a solution or shut up is a bull**** tactic to silence anyone you're debating with. You can acknowledge that we screwed the pooch in the past, and have refused to dismount since without knowing the solution. Its not our job to solve this. If it was, we'd be the ones making 6 or 7 figures working in the front office.

Again, they made an attempt to fix this. You don't like it. Offer some solution. You can't just sit there and pout and say you hate it without offering up an alternative or something they could have done differently.

 

[DaveG]

I decided to scan the rosters this morning for teams with 3 waiver-eligible NHL goalies under contract. Here are some potential 3rd goalies who will have to go through waivers after camp (or have 3 goalies rostered):

Anton Forsberg (0.75M), CHI
Jack Campbell (0.675M, 2 years) or Peter Budaj (1.025M), LAK
Michael Hutchinson (1.3M) or James Reimer (3.4M, 3 years), FLA
Eddie Lack (0.65M), NJD

Forsberg was part of the Panarin trade last year and at 25 is probably the best gamble of the bunch that could be exposed after training camp.

I'd take either an Anton Forsberg or Michael Hutchinson quite easily.

 

[Svechhammer]

Again, they made an attempt to fix this. You don't like it. Offer some solution. You can't just sit there and pout and say you hate it without offering up an alternative or something they could have done differently.

sticking your **** in a blender and putting it on pulse and then saying "well we tried" is not a real legit attempt at fixing the problem.

Wow, I was expecting that to edit out...

 

[What the Faulk]

sticking your **** in a blender and putting it on pulse and then saying "well we tried" is not a real legit attempt at fixing the problem.

Wow, I was expecting that to edit out...

Petr Mrazek's career numbers are better than Cam Ward's but sure this is a reasonable thing to say.

 

[MinJaBen]

Andersen didn't want to sign here once. Trading a 1st for him was unlikely to be a smart idea.

Andersen didn't sign here because at the time he had an entrenched Ward and multiple promising backups between him and the crease. In 2016, we had new management, Ward's contract was up, and our backup situation had cratered. There is no rational reason to assume he wouldn't have signed here if we traded for him and offered him the same contract and opportunity that Toronto gave him. Players don't generally cut off their noses to spite their faces.

 

[GoldiFox]

They were 5 points out of a playoff spot with three teams between them and 8th with one of them having played three fewer games. At that point, they're on life support anyway. They probably didn't do any research into looking for a goaltender so the point is moot.

But that is my point. “They probably didn’t do any research into looking for a goaltender”. I totally agree with you that this seems like a prevalent theme with the Canes.

NHL teams should always be doing research on and looking for goaltenders. There are only so many great #1Gs out there and each one only plays for one team. If you ain’t first you’re last.

If nobody in the Canes organization said:

“Hey maybe we should bring in Mrazek for a short-term commitment/long-horizon type look because Ward is a UFA, Darling is terrible, and Ned/Booth are too young”

Then I think we have an answer for why the Canes are in their current position.

 

[Svechhammer]

Petr Mrazek's career numbers are better than Cam Ward's but sure this is a reasonable thing to say.

Mrazek's career high in games started in a season is 49. He's a career backup who was given the opportunity to prove himself as starter, and failed. Cam Ward, has been a 10 year starting goalie in the NHL, the majority of which he played 60+ games per season behind an atrocious defense.

Our 1-2 goaltending tandem this year are 2 players who only have 3 seasons combined between them in any given year where their total games started equals a full 82 games and both of them have proven themselves unable to shoulder the burden of being a starting goaltender in this league. But yeah, lets focus on those career stats while playing 30 games a season.

 

[Chrispy]

I'd take either an Anton Forsberg or Michael Hutchinson quite easily.

Does Florida bury Hutchinson or Reimer? All 3 are 1-way contracts anyway. But if Darling looks bad in camp, there are a couple options likely to be on waivers.

And given the current situation, I'd happily carry 3 goalies in Raleigh in hopes they can solve this issue. That removes the concern about Ned getting enough time in Charlotte.

Just checked the Blackhawks board, and there's apparently an athletic article indicating the Hawks may carry 3 goalies at the start of the season. Doesn't surprise me that much, Forsberg was part of the Panarin deal and still has value. And the Canes aren't the only team that might consider him an upgrade, as kev showed above.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Petr Mrazek's career numbers are better than Cam Ward's but sure this is a reasonable thing to say.

So did Khudobin, Lack and Darling.

Of course, you can look at that and say "Well, his numbers were good when Detroit was good." Once Detroit started to be more on Carolina's typical level of play, Mrazek's numbers take a drastic drop off.

So I guess we're hoping this isn't another Khudobin situation, where the team in front of him had a drastic effect on his numbers?

 

[geehaad]

Wow, a LOT of bitching and moaning about what Ron Francis did/didn't do and placing that blame on Waddell. Anger/frustration that I understand, but misplaced anger nonetheless. We know that Francis didn't use a collaborative approach, so what makes anyone think Waddell had anything to do with the makeup of the team prior to Francis being fired?

If you evaluate Waddell fairly, you see that his involvement began somewhere in the spring and since then, he has been merely a participatory voice in what's happened since. Blame doesn't rest solely on his shoulders. Dundon has a bunch of people weighing in on this stuff now, so it's more Dundon's fault than anyone else's.

 

[Moosetache]

I'd have offered my second 1st in 2016 for Andersen. I'd have made my Grubauer offer stronger.

Think that Andersen ship had sailed.....I agree with the Grubauer situation tho. Now there is no telling at what point Washington would have ok'd that trade. If Canes offered 2nd this year and 2nd next year would they have done it? who knows. Perhaps Washington just said, hey, we appreciate the offer, but no matter what it is we aren't dealing him within the division. In that case, what do you do??

Would you have been happier if they brought in Bernier at 3 mil a year? I think I would have been happier about our chances this year, but who knows what would have become of that situation. Goalies just drive me nuts, because you never really know what you are going to get out of them.

 

[Moosetache]

Mrazek's career high in games started in a season is 49. He's a career backup who was given the opportunity to prove himself as starter, and failed. Cam Ward, has been a 10 year starting goalie in the NHL, the majority of which he played 60+ games per season behind an atrocious defense.
.

I completely understand that this is factual information and a reasonable opinion.....my issue is, at what point is he no longer a "starting goalie" in your opinion? The guy is worn out, because we played him so much for so long. He is no longer a starter in my opinion, but a viable backup. I bet he is great playing 20-25 games, I really do. But if you potentially need someone to play 45-55 games because your other guy is a head case you cant do that to Cam anymore. He showed he was good when fresh last year and struggled once he was forced to play a lot.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Anyone think they are trying to sign Lehner to a 1 year deal as well and the open it up 100% to competition in camp for the two spots between Mrazek, Darling, Ned, and Lehner?

I don't think they are... But that's what I would do at this point

If they pull off something like that, I’ll shut up about it. At least that’s showing some initiative, shooting every shot to find a solution come hell or high water. At least it suggests an actual plan.

Again, they made an attempt to fix this. You don't like it. Offer some solution. You can't just sit there and pout and say you hate it without offering up an alternative or something they could have done differently.

Actually, this fanbase has earned the right to do exactly that. We are contending for the most thoroughly shat-upon group of fans in the league (thank god we’re still enjoying ourselves more than Arizona, Ottawa, and maybe the Islanders). “Be patient” is no longer an acceptable response. “There are no goalies on the table” isn’t acceptable either. We’ve swallowed those lines too many times in a row. We are absolutely justified in pushing back and demanding better.

We are basically at Cleveland Browns QB levels of organizational incompetence here. There is no way to get worse at what we’re doing. There is no downhill from here. Literally anything would be better than making the same obviously stupid mistakes over and over, while claiming we don’t know how to do it any other way.

 

[MinJaBen]

Canes offered 2nd this year and 2nd next year would they have done it? who knows. Perhaps Washington just said, hey, we appreciate the offer, but no matter what it is we aren't dealing him within the division. In that case, what do you do??

But they didn't. It has been leaked that we only offered our second and to take Orpik's contract. If it had been leaked that we offered our second this year, our second next year and Orpik, but Washington still said no, then I'd have no problem with losing him. But we didn't offer those things. We again were trying to be cheap to fill our most glaring need. This is my biggest issue with any of this.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Wow, a LOT of *****ing and moaning about what Ron Francis did/didn't do and placing that blame on Waddell. Anger/frustration that I understand, but misplaced anger nonetheless. We know that Francis didn't use a collaborative approach, so what makes anyone think Waddell had anything to do with the makeup of the team prior to Francis being fired?

If you evaluate Waddell fairly, you see that his involvement began somewhere in the spring and since then, he has been merely a participatory voice in what's happened since. Blame doesn't rest solely on his shoulders. Dundon has a bunch of people weighing in on this stuff now, so it's more Dundon's fault than anyone else's.

I mentioned it earlier in either this thread or the July 1st one, but I'm curious as to who is really pulling the strings.

Is Waddell simply acting like a puppet GM for Dundon when Francis wouldn't? Or did Waddell get in Dundon's ear early in the process and convince him that he knew better than Francis?

I know the original belief was Option A, but as time passes and Dundon makes more public comments, I'm actually leaning towards the latter. Seems like Dundon had the wool pulled over his eyes regarding a lot of things, not the least of which was how difficult it would be to make deals at the draft.

 

[Moosetache]

If they pull off something like that, I’ll shut up about it. At least that’s showing some initiative, shooting every shot to find a solution come hell or high water. At least it suggests an actual plan.

We are basically at Cleveland Browns QB levels of organizational incompetence here. There is no way to get worse at what we’re doing. There is no downhill from here. Literally anything would be better than making the same obviously stupid mistakes over and over, while claiming we don’t know how to do it any other way.

Yeah, I like the idea of signing Lehner as well.....but I have heard that guy is a total weirdo.

I hadn't thought of the Browns QB-Canes Goalie comparison, but its not far off. The difference being that at least the Browns tried to find new QB's....we just stuck with Brady Quinn for 10 years