but i would ask you to consider this point concerning Rosie...he did have 19 goals last year right ? And i am not sure of his total point were but just using his goals only...out of 82 games...with just 19 goals that works out to: 4.315789474 games per goal on "average"...again not saying you aint right in your evaluation of his lack luster scoring because you are. but i also see that many of the oposition has seen him enough and have handcuffed him as it were. He is young and healthy enough to keep up with the likes of Sutter & Boychuk. So like you The canes need to shake it off, go out and play like their having fun & With clear minds...enjoy tonites game or try to like i am...later...

Go Canes !!

I think Hitchcock is being diplomatic. The Hurricanes' lack of success thus far this season is easy to figure out; but the reasons why all those factors came together for a nightmare season is a more complex answer. The blueprint for failure of the Hurricane season is as follows:
1. Ineffective power play: 0-16 on the PP over the last four games. It would be a challenge to put the team's worst players out of the ice and still not get a score in sixteen power plays.
2. A dysfunctional team: Half the team or so is buying into the systems put in place by Maurice and Francis and about half the team is making 80% effort to follow the system. I suspect it is the Laviolette leftover syndrome, i.e., "why can't we play the wide open game we played under Laviolette"? The newer players brought in who had no long history with Laviolette play as if they believe in the system whereas some of the older veterans appear to be disbelievers.
3. Lack of overall team speed: Prior to bringing up Sutter and Boychuk, the team lacked blazing speed at the forwards. The forwards were quick and that made them appear faster than they were; but there is simply no replacement for speed. For a defense, speed kills. Speed makes a defender back off of loose pucks and opens up passing and shooting lanes. It is no surprise that Sutter and Boychuk got great scoring chances last night. The Hurricanes still could use a game-changer forward, but the lack of team speed influenced much of the team's failure. The lack of team speed came to light over the playoffs and opposing teams continued to exploit the lack of team speed.
4. Injuries: Every NHL team has its injuries, but the timing of the Hurricanes' injuries was extremely unfortunate. Pitkanen is a key to the team's success and he needed the preseason games especially because the team had a short preseason.
5. LaRose hitting the wall. LaRose had a banner year last year with 19 goals. This year he has no goals and 2 assists. He is a great young man; but he is in a dismal slump.
6. Brind'Amour hitting the wall. Brind'Amour is a nightmare scenario for the coach. His pedigree gives him a degree of untouchability; but his lack of speed and lack of acceleration are deadly for the team. Additionally, Brind'Amour never was a truly physical player, and lacked offensive gracefulness. There is no kind way to say it: his time has come and the fans know it, the opposing teams know it; and I suspect if one were to get Maurice, Francis, and Rutherford to take a lie detector test, they know it. At minimum Brind'Amour ought to go to the fourth line and try not to lose the game during his nine minutes or so on the ice.
7. The lack of a jumbo skilled power forward. I don't know of an NHL team other than the Hurricanes that simply does not have a Jordan Staalish forward in the mix. It's vastly easier to crash the net and generate screens on the goalie with a wide-body forward. When the Penguins annihilated the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals, they exploited the absence/injuries to Cole and Ruutu. It was obvious the Hurricanes didn't have the strength and size at forward and on defense to contend with Malkin and Jordan and Crosby. What was equally obvious was that the Hurricanes would falter against teams that screened Ward and had a powerful inside game. Game after game this season, opposing teams crash the net and pound in close shots and rebounds.
8. A defense lacking continuity: Again there is no kind way to say it: Wallin is one of the masters of disaster. It is not necessarily his fault. There is nobody fast with which to pair him, so Wallin's strengths are nullified and his weaknesses magnified. The skill sets he has are buried in this system and all that remains is a slow-footed, clumsy skater, with bad hands and who consistently makes poor choices with the puck. If there were a quick-thinking, fast, and aggressive puck moving defenseman as his partner, Wallin's weaknesses would not be so deadly. As it is, opposing teams rush him and befuddle him. It's like having Babchuk minus the 100 mph shot on the backend.
What Hitchcock is saying is this: Within the framework of the Maurice/Francis system, there are changes that could be made this year to vastly improve the team's performance. The problems are not systemic per se, they are the result of personnel decisions. If Hitchcock were put under a polygraph and told to fix the Hurricanes, I believe he would say:
1. Continue to play Sutter and Boychuk, including on the power play, and continue to give them top nine minutes.
2. Healthy scratch Wallin; and bring up one of the younger more agile defensemen from Albany;
3. Scratch Brind'Amour for a few games for "health maintenance purposes" and bring him back on the fourth line with limited minutes; and leave him out of the final minutes of a close game.
4. Instruct Samsonov to shoot first, shoot second, and shoot third until further orders.
5. Move LaRose to the fourth line.
6. Search the waiver wire for a wide-bodied, large, underachieving, but skilled, power forward who loves to bullrush the net.
7. Tell the team to relax, have fun, and play as if they have nothing to lose. Stop fretting over losing and go wide open throttle. Stop worrying about the score and the standings. It's a game, not brain-surgery. Adopt a take no prisoners philosophy and leave it all on the rink.