BRODEUR BRING EXPERIENCE, CHAMPIONSHIP TO CAROLINA
Carolina
The Hurricanes once again rattled some cages and made an unexpected deal for one of the league's top netminders. Martin Brodeur, 34, comes to the Canes after an impressive playoff run with the St. Louis Blues. The Canes, who have built arguably one of the best defense corps in the league, will be looking at Brodeur solidifying their defensive side of things while players like Jokinen, Heatley, Gionta, Shanahan and last years leading scorer Jeff Friesen put their stamp on things offensively.
"We are going into this season with a lot of confidence and the best club that has ever been put on the ice in Carolina," said Joel Quenneville. "We have all the pieces here ot make a big run at a championship and we have done so without mortgaging any of our future. I think right now, this club is as good as any in the league."
The Canes are coming off of a first round loss to the New York Rangers, a club who put aside the future and made sure they were ready to make some noise in that year. While the playoffs did not go as well as planned, the idea that the team made the necessary adjustments was something the Canes were not able to do as well.
"We never really felt like we were in control of our own destiny last season," said Quenneville. "We have had to answer these questions several times. Why did we not make a deal to better ourselves? Why did we deal Tucker and Stillman so close to the playoffs? Why did we not bring in that extra scorer? The truth is, we never felt that the team we had was capable of beating the Isles, Panthers or Rangers. Mortgaging the future for a slim chance was not in our best interest, so we sold off some of our guns for assets and in turn flopped those assets for what we have now. In our opinion, we made the moves when they needed to be made and hopefully the result of that will be seen in the standings."
The Canes have retooled almost all positions. The Canes have brought in a new top center (Jokinen) and new top left winger (Heatley). The club has also added veteran Brendan Shananan, who should provide that needed spark in the dressing room. The defence has been completely revamped by adding veteran gunner Janne Niinimaa, defensive rock Phillipe Boucher and rookie sensation Dion Phaneuf. The final piece appears to be Martin Brodeur, another veteran presence.
"This is our time to shine. If it does not work out, I will not be accused of not giving it our best shot."
The Hurricanes once again rattled some cages and made an unexpected deal for one of the league's top netminders. Martin Brodeur, 34, comes to the Canes after an impressive playoff run with the St. Louis Blues. The Canes, who have built arguably one of the best defense corps in the league, will be looking at Brodeur solidifying their defensive side of things while players like Jokinen, Heatley, Gionta, Shanahan and last years leading scorer Jeff Friesen put their stamp on things offensively.
"We are going into this season with a lot of confidence and the best club that has ever been put on the ice in Carolina," said Joel Quenneville. "We have all the pieces here ot make a big run at a championship and we have done so without mortgaging any of our future. I think right now, this club is as good as any in the league."The Canes are coming off of a first round loss to the New York Rangers, a club who put aside the future and made sure they were ready to make some noise in that year. While the playoffs did not go as well as planned, the idea that the team made the necessary adjustments was something the Canes were not able to do as well.
"We never really felt like we were in control of our own destiny last season," said Quenneville. "We have had to answer these questions several times. Why did we not make a deal to better ourselves? Why did we deal Tucker and Stillman so close to the playoffs? Why did we not bring in that extra scorer? The truth is, we never felt that the team we had was capable of beating the Isles, Panthers or Rangers. Mortgaging the future for a slim chance was not in our best interest, so we sold off some of our guns for assets and in turn flopped those assets for what we have now. In our opinion, we made the moves when they needed to be made and hopefully the result of that will be seen in the standings."
The Canes have retooled almost all positions. The Canes have brought in a new top center (Jokinen) and new top left winger (Heatley). The club has also added veteran Brendan Shananan, who should provide that needed spark in the dressing room. The defence has been completely revamped by adding veteran gunner Janne Niinimaa, defensive rock Phillipe Boucher and rookie sensation Dion Phaneuf. The final piece appears to be Martin Brodeur, another veteran presence.
"This is our time to shine. If it does not work out, I will not be accused of not giving it our best shot."
posted by Lohaus at 10:32 AM
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