It appears, according to the N&O, that JR is done tinkering for the moment. OK, so where does that leave the Canes right now? Here is a possible lineup that would keep scoring depth down to three lines; four if Hamilton and LaRose have some chemistry.
First Line: Eric Staal, Erik Cole, Cory Stillman
Second Line: Rod Brind'Amour, Andrew Ladd, Justin Williams
Third Line: Matt Cullen, Scott Walker, Ray Whitney
Fourth Line: Jeff Hamilton, Craig Adams, Chad LaRose
Top Six Defense: Bret Hedican, Glen Wesley, Niclas Wallin, Mike Commodore, Frantisek Kaberle, Tim Gleason
Utility/Extras: Trevor Letowski, Dennis Seidenberg, some prospect who has been playing well
Strengths: Scoring depth at forward, Shootouts (Cullen, Hamilton, and Whitney would be my first three), Faceoffs (Brind'Amour and Cullen)
Weaknesses: Depth on defense - I'm not confident in the ability of Hedican and/or Wesley to make it through this season intact. Who is behind them and ready to step up should they go down? Casey Borer? Brett Carson? Jamie McBain? I don't know enough about them to be confident that they'll be able to step up any time soon. Seidenberg is serviceable, but only just. Unless we kiss and make up with Babchuk, we're an injury or two away from a scary situation.
We could always re-sign Tanabe, who I really think played pretty well last year, despite numerous detractors. Sadly, that would make me feel a little bit better about the defense situation; and that's saying something in itself.
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I'm with you on signing Tanabe... I thought he did great all things considered. I mean, the only Canes game I attended last season, the finale against the Panthers, the guy scored two goals, and had an assist I believe on the OT GWG.
And I agree... I'm not confident in the rest of the older D-men being able to stay healthy. I am convinced Commodore is the future of the Canes D...
I would throw Erik Cole's name in for the one of 1st choices on shootouts. Whoever ends up being our sharpshooters - let's hope they are practicing their shootouts (including WardO & Crackers) because if we had won 1/2 of our shootout losses last year - we would have made the playoffs.
Exactly. Cole was good at shootouts two years ago, but last season he was less than spectacular - like everyone studied the film on him and was ready for his signature move. He needs something new to keep the goalies honest.
I'm surprised we kept Seidenberg over Tanabe, who had a pretty decent season. Is Seidenberg cheaper? I haven't checked.
Seidenberg makes $850K this year and has a cap hit of $800K. Tanabe is a UFA who cost $900K last year and would probably command $1M to $1.5M.
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