Canes sign Legace
As expected, the Hurricanes have signed a goaltender and it is veteran Manny Legace.
Legace, who has 177 NHL victories, was playing for the Chicigo Wolves (AHL) after a preseason tryout with the Atlanta Thrashers.
Legace was signed to a one-year, two-way contract that pays him $500,000 on the NHL level and $105,000 on the AHL level.
"It's too good of a team to be struggling," Legace said today after his first practice. "You look at the team, you look at the way they played last year, it's just bounces. You see some highlights and just weird stuff is happening.
"But if they keep working as hard as they did out there today, it's going to turn. That's all it takes is hard work ... to make your own luck again."
With Cam Ward out at least three of four weeks, Canes coach Paul Maurice said he pleased to be able to add a veteran such as Legace, rather than say calling up Justin Peters from Albany (AHL), but he didn't proclaim Legace the No. 1 guy ahead of Michael Leighton.
"He's a proven winner," Maurice said. "He's stopped a lot of pucks and is a veteran guy. We just thought it would be a difficult situation to bring a goalie out of the minor leagues from our system -- we didn't necessarily want to put him through that.
"It's always a competition. You are going to see him play. We'll make decisions on what games those are going to be. ... We've got a lot of hockey here in the next month or so before we expect Cam's return. There's going to be enough net for both guys, but clearly if either one of them gets on any kind of roll we'll run 'em."
Legace, 36, has a career NHL record of 177-92-36, with a goals-against average of 2.38, a save percentage of .912 and 23 shutouts in 337 games played with Los Angeles, Detroit and St. Louis. His best NHL season came in 2005-06, with Detroit, when he posted a record of 37-8-0, ranking third in the NHL in goals-against average (2.19), fifth in wins (37) and tied for second in shutouts (7).
Another interesting fact: Legace was drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the eighth round (188th overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.
About the blogger
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is in his second season as the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at chip.alexander@newsobserver.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @ice_chip.
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Manny Legace time will tell.....BUT
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 21:40 — ColoradoCanesFanTime will tell if Manny Legace will work out. He was a solid netminder when he was playing. I am a bit disappointed that we did not bring up Justin Peters. I still think we should start REALLY rebuilding this team, our younger players have a lot of promise.
There are a few of our current players that need to really thi...nk about hanging it up.
I think they should do this on their own. However we all know that will not happen.
A younger team is not a bad thing at all. Just look at Colorado Aves. One of the youngest teams in the league and they JUST lost their first home game. They will be a team that will go VERY far in the playoffs if not be in the Stanley Cup.
Old and Slow
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 20:31 — LouHello everyone, I have stayed away from this blog for some time now, and wow - how things have changed in say 5 months! I recall reading some observation post, during the offseason, about how our team became older and slower; instead of better! I wish I could remember who posted that but he was 100% right! The current problem we have is a TEAM problem. It is not one individual play or players not making positive contributions. It is that we are out-played, out-skated, out-hustled, and out-performed by every NHL team we face and will continue to face throughout the year. We are near a fourth of the season over and the sad reality is the our beloved Canes did not improve over the off season. They are a group that is complacent and are only limiting themselves by not playing a 60 minute game. The one game I actually recall our Canes playing 60 minutes was the Pittsburg game and they looked very similar to the playoff teams of the past. Keyword; past! Every game since that Pitts game has been a struggle and no individual player is at fault. Afterall, it is a team game and it's a team problem. Until these well paid athletes start taking a good hard look in the mirror and start appreciating the luxury they do have will they be successful. I am a hockey fan, a Caniac, and pretty miserable watching them fold each time out. But...like I said, until they work together we will continue to see them lose. No matter what goalie is in the pipe. Good luck, Manny! Start cursing at your team defense when they let you down.
One Word
Tue, 11/10/2009 - 07:25 — NetMinderI have one word for you, Lou — "coaching."
Yo Lou !!
Tue, 11/10/2009 - 05:24 — esteban19491. Welcome Back as it is great to see you posting again.
2. i wonder how Corvo,Wallin,Ward & Gleason would take getting dressed down by Manny?
3. Trust me the old age factor has been debated and passed back and forth like a live skunk in a crowded room before...But you do bring some fresh insights.
Thanks Lou...take care...C- ya later !!
Go Canes !!
hello
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 18:39 — jejohn8and welcome to Raleigh, Manny
enjoy your stay.
Go Canes!!!
Manny
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 12:59 — Caniac47Looking forward to seeing what he can do between the pipes while we wait for Cam to get better. I still don't understand why Yelle is still playing here except for the fact that if we brought up one of the Rats, that player would get less playing time here than in Albany. I don't see Sutter going anywhere. Maybe when Staal is back, Sutter moves to Yelle's place? Who knows, at this point, anything is better than nothing. Glad PK decided to come down from the Motor City to help figure this out. I thought he was going to be more "Hands On" this season?
Goaltending wasn't a problem
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 12:30 — raleighcanesfanGoaltending wasn't a problem until Cam went down - then it became a huge problem. I expect the Canes to handle the goaltending duties like the Devils did when Brodeur went down last season. Weekes and Clemmensen shared the duties until Clemmensen took it over with better play. Granted there are still other problems.
Cam needed to step it up
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 12:41 — mumsybCam needed to step it up when we were up a few goals in several games this season and he wasn't able to..He's been outplayed by the other GT more than once. Plus, how is our backup going to come in out of the blue when he never got any starts? GT was part of the problem.
GT or Defense?
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 12:50 — raleighcanesfanI would assert that it was more of a defense problem than a GT problem. Goalies aren't going to stop them all, especially when you have guys swooping in around defensemen who are standing there like pylons.
Goal Tending is Not Our Problem
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:50 — WAStoutIt would not matter if we had the second coming of a brick wall in front of the net...we still can't score.
Mo keeps getting free passes every time someone gets hurt. His conservative system is what is killing us...
Rumor has it that PK is here for practice today. Hope he has a few choice words for his team (AND coach).
Lots of games starting Wednesday
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:43 — wxray1Cam goes down right before the Canes start one of their tough runs. Starting Wednesday, they have no multi-day breaks until December 1st. It is a game every other day, with a back to back thrown in at the end of the month.
They will need to play two goalies. We'll be seeing both guys.
After this dust settles, JR should have some idea of what to do when Cam gets ready to come back in hopefully mid December.
With Leights shaky, I just don't think JR felt that throwing Peters in the mix would do anything for a rookie. This is going to be a very tough run that requires full attention from both goalies.
Can Legace score?
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:27 — hellfishHey ,were not stopping or scoring right now and I don't care if we brought in Patrick Roy and Grant Fuhr we can't score ENOUGH. IF we gotta cut some vets to get some goals that's what we GOT TO DO. Seasoning players is a luxury when your winning ,but the way we lose games it's a matter of putting the puck in the NET. If Sutter/Bowman/Boychuk can come in here and be in the lineup BRING'em NOW because it CAN'T be worse than what we got now. There's only one way The Canes can go is up...Oh yeah! ,Jamie Mcbain can't play worse than Wallin is right now. Also the rumors of moving Corvo better not be true the 65pts that Babchuk and Seidenberg left with is hard to replace and Corvo is our only scoring threat other than Pitkanen on the blueline ,and a d-man like Wallin that takes penalty's and NEVER scores are a liabilty and the WORSE thing is Wallin has a NO-TRADE clause and a 1 way deal why? he's not Nick Lidstrom.
Look at the plus penalty minutes, points and plus-minus to date
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 12:50 — mumsybObviously, some "fans" do not care for # 7 and the fact that he has a no trade clause (not the first and not the last-most veteran d-men do not have 2-way contracts). He has 6 penalty minutes this season in 16 games--Pitkanen has 24 in 11 games, Alberts has 26 in 16 games, LaRose has 6 in 16 games, Gleason has 23 in 11 games (and fighting and being the only one sent to the box does not help our cause), and Kostopoul. has 25 in 16 games. BTW Gleason has 3 points as does Wallin, LaRose has 2 points, and Pitkanen has 5 points. Corvo and Pitkanen are both -10. Corvo is consistently the worst player on the ice for the position he plays. We better play Ottawa soon so Corvo can have a multiple point game. The forwards need to score; d-men scoring is a bonus.
Wallin and the Defense
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 13:54 — abramsdougMumsyb has valid points to consider with regard to Wallin. If one looks at Wallin's +/- and penalty minutes, there is no reason to single out Wallin. I have never heard anything but praise for Wallin as a person and as a teammate. Still, I am convinced that Wallin's skill sets do not fit well within the context of Maurice's/Francis' system and the other players around him. He is best-suited for a pairing with a creative, fast, puck-handling defenseman. He does not excel when required to bring the puck up the ice with speed and confidence. When fore-checking pressure is intense, it is hard for him, I think, to make accurate, split-second reads. In a different defensive system with the right pairing, Wallin would be a fine stay-at-home defenseman. Unfortunately, at least from my perspective, Wallin's lack of speed and quickness and his tendency to become flustered when pressured have contributed significantly the poor performance and poor record of the team thus far this season. As I see it, Wallin's style of play and his mental lapses have been part of the problem with the team, but are not the only problems. Other players also bear a fair share of responsibility for a record-setting terrible start for the Hurricanes.
What System?
Tue, 11/10/2009 - 07:59 — NetMinderAD hits the nail on the head. Wallin's skill set does not fit Mo's system. The question is, "What system?" It seems that few, if any, of the players on this team fit the system. In fact, I haven't seen "the system" this year — just a coach who looks like a deer caught in the headlights and a series of let's-try-this-let's-try-that line adjustments. Got to be coaching. Got to be Mo. This was a team picked to be in the top five in the East and a lock for the playoffs — if Mo has a system, it's not working.
Why not bring up Peters?
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:15 — ImpartiallyObservantI still haven't read anywhere exactly "why" Jimmy R. is so reluctant to call up Peters from Albany. What's the deal? Are young goalies so fragile they can't be tested, even for a few weeks? Wasn't Ward almost as young as Peters when he started getting his first big-league playing time?
I'd Guess
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 12:04 — nccanes_fanA) Leighton's going to be starting, you don't tell your regular backup that you're sorry, but you're bringing up the AHL guy and he's going to stay the backup. Why? If you ever need him again he's got NO confidence anymore.
B) You don't want to bring a rookie goalie up to just sit on the bench and watch when he can be getting game time in the AHL.
C) I think 3-4 weeks may be at the short end of Cam's recovery. Sounds like a fairly major injury.
D) And you don't really want to throw a rookie into the debacle that is our defensive scheme at the moment. You'd KILL his confidence putting him behind the team as they're playing right now.
Let's try to get everyone's injuries out of the way this season....Please?
Starter?
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 10:47 — FurbishLousewartSo who will our starter be? Leighton or Legace?
By the way, is that pronounced... "Legacy"?
you can never have too many veterans, right?
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 10:43 — drailWhat's the average age of the team now? All kidding aside, he has to be an upgrade over Leighton.
Average Age
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 22:57 — ColoradoCanesFanRight now, The average overall age of the team in 30.3 years old.
Our oldest 10 guys are an average age of 34.9 years. I’m not sure but we
have to have the oldest team in the league.
With that said S Walker is 36 and is one of only 3 players with a + on the
+/-.
Rod Brind'Amour on the other hand is our oldest player. For the second year
he is one of the worst players in the league with a +/- of -12 he is ranked 702
out of 703 players. The only bright spot for Rod is he is 19th in the faceoff circle.
He is/was a GREAT player and a great leader however it is time to hang them up
Brind’Amour.
As far as the team goes, of the LAST 10 players on the +/-
stats Carolina fills 5 of them. We are
the worst in the league with a +/- of -17.
We have the most undisciplined team in the league with 301
penalty minutes.
Our biggest problem is the coach. Our second problem is the
age of our players.
Not So Sure....
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:25 — nccanes_fanTaken from NHL.com:
"Legace began the 2009-10 season with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, posting a record of 2-2 with a 3.21 goals-against average."
3.21 in the AHL? Somehow I think he'll be sitting on the bench unless something bad happens with Leighton.
What a crazy year.
A Good Guess
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 10:22 — esteban1949Well like others...I too say...Welcome Manny...now we wait and see when he'll play and where...And looks like Chip is a pretty good guesser too !!!
Thanks Chip for the information...time to go check on the laundry ...
Go Canes !!
Good luck Manny, Welcome to
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 10:03 — Hockeydad92Good luck Manny, Welcome to the jungle...... or is that the shooting range?
FYI
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 09:57 — WAStoutI don't know Manny that well but I hope he uses this opportunity to the fullest.
I will assume our GA average may remain high...
WE need to score goals to keep up!!
Good luck Manny - SAVE US!!!!
Welcome, Manny Legace
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 09:37 — abramsdougWelcome, Manny Legace. I wonder if he will play Wednesday or Friday. I also wonder if Peters will be called up. Interesting times for the Carolina Hurricanes, its players, coaches, owners, management, and fans.