Friday, May 11, 2007

CANES OFFSEASON BEGINS

Ottawa, ON

The Carolina Hurricanes go into this offseason with a little less stress than normal as most player are signed sealed and delivered. Manny Legace, the star goaltender of the Canes, has already verbally agreed to return to the team and finalizing the deal is all that stops the Canes from retaining the services of their starting netminder.

When asked if the club would add via free agency, the organizational reply was that the scenario of adding players was not likely and that they were quite content with the development of some of their younger players to fill holes.

What the Canes have to look forward to for next year, however, is a more confident Dany Heatley and newfound linemate in Simon Gagne. The duo, along with the speedy Tim Connolly, have developed a lot of chemistry over the past few weeks in the duration of the Toilet Bowl. Heatley and Connolly were said to be incompatible, but the emergence of the speedster Simon Gagne has opened the door to the possibility that maybe the line can have some success.

Heatley, who struggled throughout much of this year’s season, simply needs to be better on a consistent basis. He and youngster Rick Nash had been a competitive duo but the Canes in general were not. Moving Heatley off of the line with Nash allowed the Canes to find a bit more depth scoring and Nash, Michael Ryder, Shane Doan and Mike Fisher seemed to have picked up the slack.

“We needed a big year from some of these guys and they didn’t deliver,” said head coach Joel Quenneville. “The old adage that your best players need to be your best players, that is something that has always been true in hockey. Most nights, our best players were the hard nosed youngsters while our skilled players watched. I think they have seen now that we all need to step up. That’s the reality of playing hockey in CLUTCH.”

Gagne, the latest forward acquisition brought in from a successful stint in Calgary, was seen as a guy who might be able to turn the tide. He was not able to add much offense during his last few weeks of the regular season in Carolina, but his play in the playoffs have the club optimistic. Gagne has a natural scoring touch and his speed is second to none on the club.

The Hurricanes are also holding out hope that Marc Savard, the speedy Ottawa native, can increase his totals. His play after being acquired from Tampa Bay was given rave reviews and the Canes have felt he is a natural number 1 center. He and Connolly will likely have to be better than they were this past season to remain on the Hurricanes, but one thing is certain going into this year’s regular season, the Canes have a club that will not be bullied and hopefully, will not retaliate nearly as much as they had the past season.

A dismal season at that.

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