It could be decision time for the Hurricanes.
Time to decide on the coaching staff. Time to decide on players. Time to decide if a trade or some trades need to be made.
The Canes' 4-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, in a mostly listless effort Wednesday, was their sixth in the last seven games. At 6-10-3, the Canes are skidding and their season is quickly coming undone.
"We didn't play really," captain Eric Staal said of the loss. "We didn't show up, we didn't play and we got what we deserved."
Aked if there's increasing concern about the season, Staal replied, "No question there's concern. If we keep losing we're not going to be in the mix for the playoffs, so we've got to figure this out and get back to winning some games. Because if you keep losing, you'll be out of the picture before you know it and the season will be wasted."
What's the answer? Changing coaches is always a quick fix, and especially in the NHL. Coach Paul Maurice, who is in the final year of his contract, has been fired by the Canes before.
If general manager Jim Rutherford wanted to make a quick change behind the bench, assistant coach Dave Lewis is a former NHL head coach. Ron Francis has served as associate head coach. Jeff Daniels has done a good job as head coach of the Charlotte Checkers. Rutherford has options. Another would be sticking with Maurice.
But the Canes' problems run deep, regardless of who's coaching. They're one of the NHL's worst teams in goals against. They have a number of players who either aren't scoring goals or can't score goals. They have players who aren't producing and pulling their weight.
"We've got to sort of figure it out," second-year forward Jeff Skinner said. "It's on us. We can't be sort of hoping and looking for help outside our locker room. We've got to figure it out and the sooner the better."
'There's obviously not one sort of quick fix or hopefully we would have had it by now. I think it's a combination of things. Obviously the confidence isn't there right now and that's a big part of the game. And you just have to work for it. You can't hope for something. We have to work for our bounces to get out of this."
Hard work is always a must, of course. But the Canes may need to shake up the lineup to get out of the doldrums.
When the Canes held on to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, forward Tuomo Ruutu said they needed to remember how hard they had to play to win. Apparently it was forgotten quickly. Maurice has said the Canes need to play at full-tilt to win, and he's right.
The Canes were down 2-0 after the first period Wednesday, managing just four shots. It was 4-0, Habs, after two and the Montreal shooting edge was 33-12.
The schedule has not helped. It has not been easy. But Maurice certainly has to take some the blame. In trying to beat the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, he asked his best forwards to play big minutes. The fourth-line guys made cameo appearances.
Then, after the Montreal game, Maurice said, "You've got to skate. We were so slow, right from the start. It doesn't matter who you play if you can't skate.
"I can give you a list of excuses but nobody wants to hear them. We were just so slow we couldn't do anything. It starts with the one-on-one battles but we didn't even get to them, let alone win them."
The Canes aren't winning much of anything now, which means change probably will come sooner rather than later.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at
Comments
Should have kept Lavi
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 22:42 — T7777777All I gotta say is we should have kept Lavi we let him go way too quick we still had him we wouldn't be in the situation we are in now and look what he's done with the flyers already
Can't fire until you have a new one on the line
Sat, 11/19/2011 - 10:11 — NCCaniac42Ok all you armchair GM's out there, WHO are you going to replace Mo with? You DO NOT fire your head coach without having his replacement already in place. Remember when Mo was fired the first time - Lavy was already in town and ready to go. AND when Lavy was given the heave ho - Mo was back in town. I know that Jeff Daniels has been suggested - a promotion from the Checkers but I think we need some fresh blood
I did a quick internet search and found 15 coaches fired (sure I missed a couple) in the last couple of years. All but 5 are already employed or have other things going on. Here is your list in no particular order of available NHL coaches and their LAST NHL gig.
Now I am sure that Mr. Rutherford has this list sitting on his desk along with a few other names.. question is - do they want to come here and fix this struggling team?
Screaming 'MO MUST GO AGAIN' might make you feel better, but it isn't consturctive if you don't have a replacement already on the hook.
Time for honesty
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 19:00 — louis12580from all concerned. This team, as currently assembled, is not that talented. Some of that is Jim's doing, much of it is from P.K. There has been the built in excuse of still looking for local investors to inject some cash into the team. That has been accomplished, for the most part. Right now the organization is at the crossroads, on and off the ice. On ice, it's incumbent on ownership to invest wisely in some higher talent. Not necessarily spending foolishly on players, but bringing in a higher talent level. If they decide not to, the play the youngsters (who we are told are supposed to be that good) and bite the bullet. Off ice, the fans will still come if there's a concerted effort my ownership and management to do what I just listed. If they fail to do so, then season ticket holders will abandon the ship in a hurry. I enjoy the game too much to be one of those who bails out on the team, but it's getting hardere to be that way.
Blah, Blah, Blah,
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 15:02 — B11656Jim Rutherford: Blah Blah Blah, Blah Blah, Blah Blah Blah Blah, Blah Blah Blah.
Mo: Blah Blah. Blah Blah Blah Blah. Blah Blah Blah.
Peter Karmanos: Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!
Jim Rutherford: Blah, Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, Blah!!!!
Mo: Wah Wah Wah? Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!, Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!! Naaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!
That is hilarious.
Fri, 11/18/2011 - 10:56 — gmwannabeeThat is hilarious.
Paging Skyliner...
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 14:44 — mokimanoSkyliner...let's hear it from you firsthand...give us your analysis of the game last night and the current state of the Canes? We want to hear from you directly what you thought of that beauty last night? Still looking good for playoffs? Any comments on where the team is at? I am being serious...let's hear it firsthand as a Canes fan that supports the current structure of coaching and management. No mud slinging, hockey talk, whats your take today?
Rutherford and Karmanos
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 12:23 — CanarseThis is 100% on team management. They brought back Maurice, listened to him and brought in some of his players from Toronto. How is that working out? Kaberle, Tlusty, Brent, Ponikorovsky and Harrison. I would grade them F, D, C+, F and C+ in respective order. Pretty bad. Management kept LaRose at a large enough salary such that they warrant him playing as a top 6 forward. In response to giving up the most shots in the league last season management also re-signed Pitkanen, who in reality is our #1 defenseman, and is currently -10. Management drafted Boychuck, Dalpe, and Bowman whom they have touted for years. None have developed enough to warrant anything more than 4th line duty in management's own eyes. It's all on management.
So, don't be surprised when Rutherford makes no changes. The change that needs to be made is Rutherford himself. He's created this nightmare and he doesn't seem to want to admit it. I'm sorry to see that Karmanos' friendship with him won't allow him to be objective and show him the door.
Nothing Happening
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 12:00 — schelle92So basically if nothing happens today and he waits through the weekend, nothing will happen until at least Tuesday (because they play on Monday, definitely no coaching changes on game day). Then they play Wednesday and there is a holiday so probably nothing happening then either. So when does JR plan to wake up and smell the burnt coffee? In February when it's too late to salvage what has so far been an utterly miserable season? The time for wait-and-see has past! Moe should have been on a short leash at the beginning of the season and off his leash into someone else's kennel already.
JR
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 11:48 — ptuckerSo I just see the updated Tweets from Chip that say that JR says no coaching changes or player trades today. He plans on reassigning players to CLT and calling up other players from CLT. I ssume those players will get as little ice time as the one's who've been here already. I have defended JR as a shrewd GM whose has mostly done a lot with little to work with, but after the horrendous mgmt of the offseason, and now his failure to react with a major shakeup (of some sort), it seems clear that maybe he is losing touch with the reality of the situation. This is the most disturbing development of the season so far in my opinion.
If not now, when
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 11:16 — angrymikeIt's way past time for JR to do what those of us who follow this team regularly have been asking him to do since last season ended the way it did. Try to win and stop blowing smoke about pride and community up my ass. You can't bring back a coach who has not taken a team to the playoffs in a decade and suggest that winning is a priority. You can't make the moves he made in the offseason knowing how 12 felt about 26 and how fragile his confidence seems to be most days anyway. You can't sign and fail to sign the defensemen you have in the last 12 month. How about making winning a priority?
They completely embarrassed themselves in front of the entire nation of Canada last evening. Nothing good could be said about anyone. Every player, every coach, the GM, and owner, everyone is partly responsible. JR and Mo much more than the others and JR isn't going anywhere. So what's it gonna be JR? Admit you were wrong, cut your losses and try to make the playoffs consistantly or continue to damage your franchises' current stablity and long term value by preaching pride and community while nurturing mediocrity.
Get Your Facts Straight
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 11:18 — richardfocI too am a 'Mo Must Go' person but let's give credit where credit is due. Maurice has in fact taken the Canes deep into the playoffs twice in the last decade. I'm not saying that means we should keep him but if you are going slam somebody at least be correct.
my facts
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 12:20 — angrymikewere wrong if qualifying for the playoffs 3 times in 11 years is being comitted to winning. Its pretty simple really if were not going to be rah rah fan boys about this: If this GM is as good as some say then where is the proof? Why does he retain an coach with a sub-.500 winning pct. Either the person buying the groceries is buying crappy food or the cook is a terrible cook. But the meal sucks.
A disgrace
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 10:33 — gmwannabeeSeems like every year this time we are in the same boat. How is it JR can be loyal to Maurice but expects fans to be loyal to the team when we pay good money to see games here? It is time the new owners lobby for a coach that can have some autonomy with player moves. It is time for a coach who can see something different with the talent and manage them correctly. I would bring in a veteran player with command presence on the ice and off and name him Captain asap. Staal plays better with out having to try to be a leader.
Cam Ward would have a vezina behind most defenses in this league. He should sue the team for non support.
This is all on Karmanos and
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 10:04 — RonMexicoThis is all on Karmanos and Rutherford. It is time for Maurice to go but he never should have been brought back in the first place. With the exception of George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin, the management of most sports teams don't rehire someone they have already fired once before. That is what you get though when you have a "family" organization like the Canes where the GM has immunity from making questionable decisions such as signing Tomas Kaberle to a three year deal when no one else was rushing to sign him or using money that could have been better spent elsewhere on keeping Chad LaRose around because he's a good presence in practices (he must really be earning that money if he can keep their spirits up after performances like last night).
Karmanos has his Cup, is winding down in his business career and has a growing family. Is anyone surprised he would be tightening the purse strings at this stage of his life? I'm not even sure he really wants to own the team anymore but I guess he has to keep Jason Karmanos, Rutherford and family friend "Baghdad Bob", I mean Tripp, all employed somehow. This organization has settled into what appears to be a long term residency in the bottom rungs of the NHL for years to come and they don't seem to mind one bit.
Bagdad Bob - LOL
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 10:53 — floydm11"I'm not even sure he really wants to own the team anymore but I guess he has to keep Jason Karmanos, Rutherford and family friend "Baghdad Bob", I mean Tripp, all employed somehow."
That's one of the funniest things I've read in a long time! I actually rather enjoy Tripp on the broadcasts, but will readily admit that he is quite over optimistic at times.
Not black and white
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 10:38 — lewpulsSigning players is not a black and white science, it's an art. Yes, it looks like Kabs was a mistake, but JR took a chance that he could afford (as opposed to a chance he couldn't afford in Cole's case).
There is nothing wrong with family business, unless taken to an extreme. It is a refreshing take on sports, and probably gets us signing (like Pits) that we otherwise couldn't get with our budget.
Do you remember how surprising it was that a major league team came to an area as small in population as RDCH? We suffer for that population, because that means low revenue, and that means low budget.
Mo isn't suitable for a low budget team that has to bring players up from the minors. He should Go. Now. But don't throw everyone under the bus with him.
(I like Tripp. He might not go down well with anyone else, but he and J Forslund are an excellent and refreshing team, there's no team I'd rather listen to for home broadcasting (as opposed to neutral, which Tripp wouldn't excel at).)
Tripp
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 11:09 — NCBuff_CaniacI, too, like Tripp. He's not great, but having heard some other teams' color guys, by comparison, he is easily better than many, if not most. John Forslund is one of the best, period.
What a Mess
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 09:47 — NCBuff_CaniacI am not a "Mo Must Go" guy. But as the commentators on TSN were saying last night (I am paraphrasing) the Canes defense is a mess. If I remember correctly they used the word "hapless" on a number of occasions. The Canes were out of position defensively and gave Cam no support. I'll expand on the TSN commentators' comments: The Canes are a mess. The defense was nowhere to be seen. The offense was anemic. Four shots on net in the first period, a whopping eight shots in the second. As others have stated the problems and the blame for what is going on is widespread.
I am grateful to PK and JR for bringing the Canes to NC and for having the foresight to have built a Cup winner, but something has to give. The Canes need to be a playoff team most years not every three or four years. They need to give me and the thousands of diehard Caniacs reason to continue spending their hard earned money buying tickets and paraphernalia and they need to give new Canes fans reasons to come buy up the numerous empty seats. They need to provide a quality product that consistently wins so that we don't have to experience scenes like during the Flyers game when the "loudest house in the NHL" was cheering loudly for the Flyers.
I have only been following hockey since the '02 Cup Run, so I will not presume to try to diagnose why what is wrong with the Canes is wrong with the Canes, but I think that at the minimum, Mo must go. JR, even though he just bought into the team and received a contract extension, should go. The team must shake things up and re-instill a winning attitude and re-energize the fan base. Look we don't have to win the Cup every year. We don't have to be at the top of the conference every year. (Both of those would be nice). We do need to be in the playoffs most years and have deep playoff runs some years.
More TSN Quotes
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 09:55 — Canarse"This is the worst defensive effort I've seen all year."
"It's hard to have offense when you never have the puck!"
"I'm looking for something positive from Carolina tonight, but I can't find anything."
TSN Quotes
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 11:37 — ptucker"With all due respect to the Canes, they give up an avg. of 33 shots/game, and I can't believe its not more"
"Listless"
"Lost"
It was just embarassing to be a Canes fan last night. The TSN broadcasters called it "like it is", and it stung, but every word was the truth. This team truly looks lost in almost every aspect of the game. This season appears to be completely lost, which is terrible. Good luck, JR. You've got a tough row to hoe!
shared blame
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 09:12 — DavidMeyerThere are many, many problems, and much blame to go around. Certainly, the players have not played their best.
However, Coach Mo is definitely part of the problem, and not part of the solution. He has no answers for our problems, and the locker room has apparently tuned him out. Time -- past time -- for him to be released.
Our problems are much bigger than that though, and this is where JR and PK deserve blame. We knew what our problems were last year (terrible PP, weak D, not enough skill players on offense), and we did not seriously address them during the off-season. This year we have the exact same problems.
PK deserves the ultimate blame, however, for having such tight purse strings that the Hurricanes cannot compete in the NHL. Shame on him for where we are. Another wasted season. As a loyal season ticket holder, I am -- again -- very disappointed and disheartened.
It's not just Mo
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 08:26 — Shutyour5holeI too feel we can do better than Mo as coach. However, consider that ownership and the GM have stated the goals last year and this as "hopefully making the playoffs"
Other owners/gm's goals are to win the Stanley Cup.
2 years ago, lose Ray Whitney and power play sinks to near bottom of the league-no playoffs.
This year, fail to keep Erik Cole and Eric Staal suffers not having a good winger.
While we can blame Mo all we want, lets not forget the stated "goal" of our ownership is to "hopefully" make the playoffs.
In sports as in many other aspects of life, you don't get what you don't pay for.
Sooner than Later...
Thu, 11/17/2011 - 09:42 — B11656I will believe it when I see it Management has had ample time to make an attempt to turn this season around. They chose not to do it. As far as I am concerned the season is done and Management can now suffer the consequences. Heads should roll. JR should not recuse himself from dismissal either but that won't happen. They need to close off the 200 and 300 sections and let people sit in the lower level. Save money on cleanup and You can make it look like a full house on TV. What a hapless bunch. It is kind of like praying for rain. Sooner or Later.