Karmanos not worried, not panicking

Watching the Hurricanes practice today was the man most concerned about the direction of the season -- owner Peter Karmanos Jr.

Karmanos said he was in town on business, not to drop by for a few words with the players or try to boost their morale. Like most in the organization, Karmanos said he did not have a clear answer for what's ailing this team or why it can't shake a winless streak that now has reached 12 games.

"I've never come close to having a losing streak like that," he said. "And this is a very good hockey team. I haven't given up on it. We have a great coaching staff.

"We just need to hang on tight because we're just as capable of winning 12 in a row, or more capable of winning 12 in a row as losing 12 in a row. Or, excuse me, a 12-game winless streak, which is different.

"We have an excellent hockey team. I'm not worried. I'm not panicked."

His thoughts on what's gone wrong in the 2-11-3 start?

"If I knew what it was, we could fix it," he said. "They're a team that won two very tough 7-game playoff series and then lost four straight to a team that I don't think was as good as the two teams we beat."

That would be the Pittsburgh Penguins, who swept the Canes in the Eastern Conference finals and then won the Stanley Cup.

"Something happened. I don't think anybody could really figure out why we lost to Pittsburgh," he said. "After the first game in Pittsburgh, I told Jimmy (Rutherford) that I thought we were better than they were and I felt better about that series than I did about the first two.

"The Boston team we beat was one heck of a good hockey team. New Jersey was really tough. So something happened, I don't know what it was, but it seems to have continued on through this season."

Could it be that the team's overall age is showing? The Canes are the oldest team in the league in terms of average age. Did the two rugged 7-game series take too much out of too many players, with a carryover effect this season?

"No, absolutely not," Karmanos said. "Pittsburgh has some veterans and they aren't suffering from their playoff run.

"Our key players are young. We're going to have to figure it out, but it's an interesting dynamic right now. We need support from the fans because I think the guys are working hard, I think they're talented. I think anything that could go wrong, has gone wrong."

Most would agree with that. The Canes have lost Erik Cole, Eric Staal and now Cam Ward to injuries.

There's also the matter of not scoring goals. That has been a season-long malady.

But Karmanos, again looking back to the Penguins playoff series, said the Canes, after a hot surge late in the season and in the playoffs, suddenly fell into the habit of finding ways to lose games rather than winning them. It's a nasty habit they have not shaken, he said.

"I think once it breaks, we'll see the team that went to the conference finals and the final four last season," he said.

Rutherford is attending the NHL's general managers meeting this week, but Karmanos said not to expect any trade or major transaction being conducted at the meetings. He still believes in the Canes' core group.

"We've got an excellent hockey team," he said. "Our defense is better than it was last year, I believe. We've got one of the best goaltenders in the league. Eric Staal is as good a young star as there is in the league, as far as I'm concerned. We've got balance on all our lines.

"It's not a matter of players. We just have to figure out what's going on. I don't know that it's a mental thing. I don't know what it is."