Can you believe this?

Well, with the loss to the Islanders in overtime on Friday night, the Canes have now gone a staggering fourteen games without a win. That's right, fourteen, count 'em.

Hard to believe, isn't it...particularly when you realize that much of the team that went to the conference finals last year is back.

Jim Rutherford (JR) surely must be scratching his head right now. His thinking in the off-season was clear. Sign all of the free agents form last year's team and add a few key pieces to take the team to the next level. He inked Jussi Jokinen, a revelation in the play-offs, Chad Larose, who had a break-out season and strong play-off, and Erik Cole, who had a point-a-game run after rejoining the Canes from the Oilers at the trade deadline, all to long-term contracts. He added newcomer forwards, Stephane Yelle, and Chris Kotsopoulos, seemingly both upgrades to our fourth line. He then added solid defensive defensemen Aaron Ward, another returnee to the Canes, and Andrew Alberts, a mobile D with size. The thought being that the biggest reason we failed against Pittsburgh was our lack of toughness on the D. Pittsburgh's shutdown pair of Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi were instrumental in the Pens win. So, why not try a similar approach. After all, our guys were totally ineffective against the Pens' Malkin and Crosby.

But in doing so, he let some key offensive guys go, Frantisek Kaberle, Dennis Seidenberg, and Anton Babchuk. Seidenberg was a horse on the D, averaging well over twenty minutes a game most nights, and all Babchuk did was score sixteen goals, eighth best in the league for a defenseman. You are probably thinking, “how could a few changes on the D make such a difference?” Ward and Alberts aren't that bad are they? Heck, every game we watched the Bruins play, Ward played great alongside his partner, Zdeno Chara. And, all reports were that Alberts had a solid turnaround season with the Flyers.

But here's the problem. This team was built by Pater Laviolette. His style was to push offence from the D. The forwards were small by comparison to other teams, but fast and aggressive. With the defence adding significantly to the offence, the system worked. Sure, they needed a course correction when Paul Maurice took over the reins, but that was only a minor tweak. The D really drove the offence. Now, that dimension is no longer there and the team is struggling.

Add to this, the loss of Ray Whitney, Eric Staal, and Cam Ward, for extended periods, and you're in a world of hurt. No wonder the Canes are struggling.

I guess it's easy to look back and second guess JR's moves this past summer. I promoted a number of different moves on my blog, which may have helped. I wanted Babchuk and Seidenberg back. I also considered Alberts, who was a low-cost depth signing, so that made sense. On the other hand, Aaron Ward just didn't make sense. Too old and too slow. I wanted a running mate for Staal, but that was outside of our budget range. So then, I was looking at Manny Molhotra to take the third line center spot, we got Stephane Yelle, recently put on waivers. I suggested Maxim Afinogenov. We didn't sign any offensive forwards. He signed with Atlanta for peanuts and has looked great. (17 points in 17 games!) Ok, what's done is done. We can't change that.

So, what should JR do? He can't fire Paul Maurice again. That would be too weird. Plus, I don't think that will change much. I still have faith in our coaching staff. Ron Francis, Tommy Rowe, Tom Barasso, and Kevin McCarthy are a solid group for sure. So what can he do, then? Trades of any significance are almost impossible under the current economic conditions. He has virtually no cap room, so that makes it even tougher. So, his hands are tied.

He made a good move in signing Manny Legace as a short-term replacement for the injured Cam Ward. Unfortunately, Michael Leighton has just not shown the ability to step in on a regular basis. Of course, success in the NHL starts with good goaltending, so the lack of consistent play from our goalies has been a key contributor to our troubles. A combination of a healthy Cam Ward when he returns, and Manny Legace should fix that.

Now, what to do on the D. I think they have taken a step in the right direction with the recent recall of Bryan Rodney. He is a definite improvement and is adding that offensive dimension, we so desperately need. It's a good time to audition more of the young talent in the system. Brett Carson looked ready last year and he would bring size, mobility, and more offence to the D. Probably want to leave Wisconsin phenom, Jamie McBain, in Albany for now, but he may be a consideration later in the year. And, on the front side, Brandon Sutter has been a great addition, thus far, and Zach Boychuk looked good in his short tour earlier this month.

Players like Aaron Ward, Stephane Yelle, Scott Walker, and Rod Brind'Amour, would be great play-off guys but they aren't what we need right now. Perhaps we will be able to move some of them, along with a Ray Whitney or Joe Corvo, at trade deadline time. I think the oft-rumored Whitney to Montreal for the Kostitsyn brothers deal would be a step in the right direction, but I doubt it will happen. We need to give the younger players the opportunity to get their feet wet in the bigs. So, here's the line-up I would like to see on the Canes when Staal and Ward return, barring any deals.

Ruuutu-Staal-Cole

Whitney-Cullen-Larose

Samsonov-Sutter-Jokinen

Kotsopoulos-Brind'Amour-Walker

Gleason-Corvo

Pitkanen -Carson

Alberts-Rodney

Ward-Legace

It is only a matter of time before the Canes win a game. And, who knows, with some renewed confidence, they may even start to compete again. But the reality is, with the team twelve points out of eighth place already, the Canes are unlikely to make the play-offs this year, and need to start looking at the future.

Looks like it is going to be a long season.

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