Is Paul Maurice the issue? Hurricanes November 2011 Blog
The Hurricanes fanbase is among the most loyal in the NHL. But one of the most loyal men of the Canes is one of the most talked about and debated topics among the Caniacs lately is that of Hurricanes’ head coach Paul Maurice.
Maurice was the original head coach of the Hurricanes in 1997. In the eight-and-a-half seasons he coached the Hurricane (and two seasons with the Whalers) he led the Hurricanes to a 268-291-99-16 record, making the playoffs three times but losing all three times. He was fired in 2003 after a slow Hurricanes start again.
In 2008, five years after he was fired, he was brought back to the Hurricanes and brought back rejuvenation. His return sparked the team to make its first return to the playoffs since winning the Stanley Cup. The Cardiac Canes would surprise everybody in the playoffs beating the New Jersey Devils, and Boston Bruins on the road in game sevens in the playoffs before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Since the 2007-2008 season however it has been nothing but mediocrity in the books. Since then Maurice has been 80-72-24, including the worst start in Hurricanes/Whalers history in 2009-2010 when the Canes started off 2-12-4 in the first 18 games of the season.
In 2009-2010 the Hurricanes would start off the season slow again, but picked up enough pace to at one point land them a playoff spot. On the last game of the season however they would run out of juice losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning on the last game of the season, in the only loss of April for the Hurricanes landing them a 9th place finish in the Eastern Conference.
The Canes have brought back big names like Cory Stillman, Erik Cole, Aaron Ward in the past and signed several key free agents like Tomas Kaberle, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Brian Boucher to add depth to the team. But the results are still not showing.
Not to mention the several young talents such as Jeff Skinner, Anthony Stewart, Jamie McBain and Justin Faulk who have all the skills in the world and still have yet to hit their peak.
But it seems the team still has many flaws. The powerplay has struggled all season, currently in 21st. The penalty kill has struggled all season, improving in the last two games to bring them to 18th in the league. Our defense has struggled once again for Cam Ward and Brian Boucher currently tied for 27th in shots allowed per game. And the Canes are ranked 25th in faceoffs.
Now I know it easy to point the fingers at the players for not playing as well as they can. The Hurricanes captain Eric Staal has started off slow, with only three goals in the first twelve games of the season. However, the youngest ‘Cane former Calder Trophy winner Jeff Skinner leads the team in goals assists and points. The questions do however need answers.
Will Maurice lead this young team to the playoffs? Can the Hurricanes fix their defensive woes? Is it time for a new head coach / who can replace Maurice. Is it time for Ron Francis or Rod Brind’ Amour to take over the reigns, or do we bring in the Charlotte Checkers coach and former Hurricane player Jeff Daniels? So many questions and not enough answers.
New Hurricanes Ownership
It was announced earlier that the Carolina Hurricanes added ten new owners to the ownership partners formed with Hurricanes’ owner Peter Karmanos. 9 of the 10 owners infact are based around the North Carolina area. The biggest name out of the group however is Carolina Hurricanes General Manager Jim Rutherford. So the GM of the team is now also part owner. While Rutherford is one of the most respected General Managers in the NHL, you gotta think about the pressure on Rutherford now. He is now part owner, AND the General Manager of the team. If something goes wrong, does he have it in him to know when to let go?
However another side of me gives Rutherford all the respect in the world. He probably earned a bit of money when he was in the NHL for ten seasons or so. He also probably earned a pretty penny since becoming the President and General Manager of the Whalers (now Hurricanes) in 1994. So within that time, he has earned enough money in his career to now own part of a sports team. From playing in the NHL, to being a part owner of a team. That is literally living the dream right there.
Jussi Jokinen Injury
After the scary incident Tuesday night, it looks like Jussi Jokinen will only miss up to three to four weeks with his injury. However the good news is Coach Maurice stated in an interview Thursday morning that Jokinen is more “day-to-day” then “week-to-week” which is a good sign for the Hurricanes.
Jokinen is currently second on the Hurricanes in points and goals. In his place will be the young Drayson Bowman who was called up to the Hurricanes roster Thursday in his place. In 32 previous games Bowman has scored two goals for the Hurricanes however the 22 year old Bowman is off to the best start of his young career already reaching five goals in ten games for the Hurricanes affiliate Charlotte Checkers.
Maurice also stated that along with Bowman, Jiri Tlusty would be getting more time on the Hurricanes top forward lines. Tlusty’s previous career high in point total was 16 his rookie season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He is currently on pace to have 41 points, shattering his rookie mark. Tlusty however has been a bust so far with the Canes however playing time with Staal and Skinner could easily help him find his niche
In the words of Anthony Stewart:
You can follow Sterling Eby on Twitter @TheSterlo
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“The Canes have brought back big names like Cory Stillman, Erik Cole, Aaron Ward in the past and signed several key free agents like Tomas Kaberle, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Brian Boucher to add depth to the team. But the results are still not showing.” Stillman was one of the reasons the Canes made the push last year – results were obvious. Aaron Ward was past his prime when he came back and was the worst D man on the team. Kaberle has been here exactly what – 11 games? Too soon to tell with him – same with Poni and Boucher. Cole came back and had an immediate impact – so I really don’t understand your point at all.
Hopefully now that JR is part owner, he WILL know when to pull the plug because the team’s bottom line is now also his own. I give him credit for believing in the team enough to invest in it. I just wish the percent of ownership for these new owners was large enough to make a difference, but I don’t believe it is.
And as I stated on Facebook – believe me – we DO have fans that boo. Most recent example was last week’s Ottawa game where the boos were louder than the cheers – and I’m not exaggerating. That is – until we scored 2 goals to send it into OT.