Sorry, I couldn't resist the awful pun, or the chance to talk some more about the Hurricanes. My prediction from the other day only half came true, and I admit that I was incorrect. Though Babchuk was not part of the deal, the Hurricanes did trade Patrick Eaves (and a fourth round pick in 2010) for a veteran defenseman. Here's the official statement! I did not imagine that it would be former Hurricane Aaron Ward, although maybe I should have. GM Jim Rutherford has a history of returning players to the fold that he's familiar with; Ron Francis for example, or more recently Erik Cole.
All that was fact, but since this is a blog it's totally cool for me to spout an opinion like I'm an informed source. So here I go, take it or leave it. I'm pretty psyched about this trade. Like I wrote before, Patrick Eaves is a good player who just wasn't working out in Carolina, it was best for him and for the team to part ways. Ward is exactly the type of player that Rutherford was coveting: big, physical, defensive-minded D-man who can play top-pairing minutes. Most recently he was paired with Boston's marquee defenseman, the gargantuan Zdeno Chara. Even brand new Carolina fans should be pretty familiar with those two guys from the second-round playoff matchup a few months ago, a series that the Canes won in seven games. Ward, and Huricane Scott Walker, made headlines all over the NHL world for an altercation in the dwindling minutes of Game 5 in which Walker's ungloved fist made some pretty solid contact with Ward's face. Some serious controversy ensued, one which I will attempt to shy away from. Peep these two videos of the incident, and decide for yourself:
Ah well, since I can say whatever I want, I'll just say that while Walker probably should have been suspended for it by the letter of the law, Ward was obviously roughing up Matt Cullen and Walker was just stepping in to put a stop to that. (I will also say that the vitriol being spewed by Boston fans in the comments section of YouTube is pretty hilarious.) What I wonder now is, what's the mood in the locker room going to be like now? Walker and Ward are just the most noteworthy examples, but with a few new faces wearing the Hurricane logo next year (Tom Kostopoulos, Andrew Alberts, now Ward) will the vibe be distorted or can they let bygones be bygones? My gut says that they probably will, being professionals and all, but check out some more fight videos, the combatants therein all being under contract with Carolina for 09-10:
Jeez Louise, pepper cheese. I'm loving the grit that these players bring to the team, but hopefully they won't also bring drama and dischord to the chemistry. Speaking of chemistry, here's how the lines are projected, according to hurricanes.nhl.com:
Whitney-Staal-Cole
Samsonov-Cullen-Ruutu
LaRose-Jokinen-Walker
Conboy-Brind'Amour-Kostopoulos
Gleason-Corvo
Pitkanen-Ward
Wallin-Alberts
I'm not sure why Gleason-Corvo is given ahead of Pitkanen-Ward, but other than that I have to say this looks like a pretty sick lineup. This is all subject to change over the course of the year or even during the course of a game, but as that stands I like it. Nice mix of physicality and finesse, all the way down.
I'm getting more and more pumped for this hockey season.
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