A day after losing forward Scott Walker to hand surgery, the Canes are back on the ice for practice.
The lines:
Tuomo Ruutu, Rod Brind'Amour, Sergei Samsonov.
Ray Whitney, Eric Staal, Patrick Eaves.
Ryan Bayda, Matt Cullen, Chad LaRose.
Dan LaCouture, Brandon Sutter, Wade Brookbank.
Forwards Joe Jensen and Trevor Gillies, and defenseman Tim Conboy have been sent to Albany.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at
Comments
I say we dont need to get
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 23:16 — CaniacG4 (not verified)I say we dont need to get anyone. We are already over-budget, lets use the Rats until our guys get healed. Otherwise we will have a surplus of forwards when Walker and Williams heal.
Ruutu
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 14:43 — remkin (not verified)Does this mean that Ruutu is practicing? If he ends up slow to return, then Boychuk will get a serious look in the top 9. I think Boychuk gets that look anyway. He has more upside than LaRose or Bayda. If he is as good as the Canes are saying, then he could function as the 9th forward.
With Walks Out
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 14:39 — Anonymous (not verified)I know tough to replace...but I think Cullen, Bayda, and LaRose will make an interesting line. Hopefully they won't just cycle the puck and actually be in attack mode...that's a pretty quick trio there.
Roster Moves
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 14:38 — JRs_FaultOpen questions:
What happens with Sutter (and Boychuck, if he heals up) when Game 10 comes around? My guess is Sutter sticks (I thought the last Nashville game was his best), Boychuck goes back to Jr. He didn't get a chance to show his stuff outside of practices and he's too small to make a successful jump this quickly.
What will JR do? He said in the wake of Walker's surgery announcement that he's looking at acquiring a Top 6 guy, acknowledging it won't be an easy deal to pull off. (Does Mark Parrish (not a Top 6 lock, but certainly capable of eating 3rd line minutes) make sense now?) I agree that JR will also be watching for some 1/2 price sales over the next couple of days on the re-entry wire.
'Canes will hope that Zach is ready for prime-time
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 14:36 — Anonymous (not verified)You can bet that the 'Canes are also hoping that Zach Boychuk will be ready for NHL-caliber play. It looks like they'll have to go a few games before he'd be cleared for contact. Once he is ready for games, you can bet that they'll have him up in a scoring line--- hoping that he'll help provide some of the offensive "pop" that we lose without Williams and Walker.
lines
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 14:32 — Anonymous (not verified)first line - really good
second line - really good
third line - mediocre. cullen needs help.
fourth line - unknown, looks slow. sutter (170 lbs) will take a beating. hope he is not traumatized by it.
defense pairings don't really matter. only got two good ones - gleason and corvo. others are unknown (pitkanen and babchuk), over the hill ( kaberle and wallin) or not trusted by the coaches (seidenberg and melichar)
trades
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 13:12 — Robert Gilday (not verified)While it's true that the teams overall scoring strength has been dealt a blow, trades are not necessary at this point. As we all saw last year, depth is vital both in forwards and d-men. Trading away a top 4 guy, and that's what most teams will ask for is only a band-aid approach. Walker will be back and then slide into a spot on the 3rd. line. I'm sure the front office will look to see who other teams release and if there's someone that interests them, they will make the appropriate decision.
no suprises here
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 12:50 — Anonymous (not verified)no suprises here
Sad to see Conboy go, but
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 12:13 — Anonymous (not verified)Sad to see Conboy go, but I'm sure he'll be back up sometime soon!
I like Eaves on Staal's
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 11:51 — Anonymous (not verified)I like Eaves on Staal's wing. He could easily pot 20-25 goals this season if he stays healthy!
Yep FuquayCaniac
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 11:35 — esteban1949It sure looks that way...And i am sure that Jensen, and Conboy are disappointed too...but at least they know that when it comes time they shall be the first recalled when needed...Personally i'd like to see some of the more experienced Rat players.....compete on a another type of Red/White scrimmage...but then again...why press out our luck ! No Whammies !!!
Go Canes,Rats & Chiefs !!
Not as solid as one would believe ...
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 11:25 — The Original Caniac (not verified)While the defense of this team has surely gotten better - do not believe for one second this team is as strong without Walker and Williams. While Bayda and LaRose are fast and are fan favorites, can anyone honestly believe a lot of scoring will come from this line. A trade for another forward is needed. We have D-men to deal - I say get a solid 3rd line winger to help Cullen out. This team is used to having a 20 goal winger on the 3rd line. That's not looking to good right now. Let's hope Cam and the D can hold on till Walker gets back. Or let's hope the top 2 lines score at will.
Looks like Brookbank will be
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 11:14 — FuquayCaniacLooks like Brookbank will be Carolina's tough guy.