Trade deadline is almost up and Canes lose to the Knights

It was a late night last night. I appreciate the Vegas Golden Knights starting this game at 10.22 Eastern Time. And Eddie Olchik, who you heard in the open there, explained to us that it's just in case the first game runs long, we don't want to run into the second game.

So I get it. And to be perfectly honest, the TNT studio crew I think is very good. Liam McHugh is excellent. Paul Bissonnette is very good. They have replaced Rick Tackett, who went on to coach the Vancouver Canucks, with Henrik Lundqvist, former Ranger goaltender.

Anson Carter is also good. And my wife just happens to be a big Henrik Lundqvist fan. And so I come inside, for people who don't know, almost all road games I do from my house. And I have a screened in porch on the back that just actually has fairly good acoustics. And it's a comfortable place to do it. Plus the inside of the house is kind of echoey. So I come inside from doing an extended pregame show.

And I catch the end of TNT's studio show. And could you be more handsome than Henrik Lundqvist? There's no possible way.

It's not possible. And my wife is just, she's just staring. She's not listening to what Henrik is saying. Staring at Henrik Lundqvist.

Like a cat with a shiny object. My gosh. I walk in the house like, well, I'm done. There goes my night. There goes my, I guess I just concentrate on the game now.

So anyway, hurricane's lost. We'll talk about that. We got a lot of things to do. There's been a couple of trades already.

One overnight, one this morning. A big contract signing as well today. The Boston Bruins are, I mean, you can't define going all in any better than the Boston Bruins have done it. There is also, there's some college football stuff to get to. We have even more proof that Joe Montana is the goat.

We'll explain what I mean by that in a second. Kevin Durant played his first game with the Phoenix Suns. We got a lot of stuff to do. Gary Parrish of CBS is going to be with us. We're going to talk NBA with our friend Brendan Whitted.

And Ken Danico, a three-time Stanley Cup champ, is going to be with us from the Devils, also now with NHL Network. So we got a lot of stuff. It's Thursday. ACC basketball on the weekend with a lot of ramifications, including a scenario which could see the big four schools in North Carolina go five, six, seven, and eight. Which, I don't know, that doesn't sound good to me, but they'll all be showing up for the first time on Wednesday. So there's that.

All right, Victoria, let's go. By the way, place your bets was a whopping success yesterday. And I'm going to make this wager. I am saying that I am minus 240 to not off during the show today. Oh, okay.

Minus 240. Did it have a draw in it yesterday? Was there a draw? No, there was no draw. There was no draw. I did not do an actual who win.

Oh, I did. I did a FA Cup match with Sheffield United over Tottenham at plus 450. Sheffield plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier. Tottenham, of course, is a fraud in the top four of the Premier League.

And Tottenham went to Sheffield United and lost 1-0. Oh, nice. There you go.

It was a good one. I got texts from people last night saying, hey, nice calling Sheffield. Yeah. I'm like, you know what?

It's easy to pick against Tottenham. All right, so let's get started with the Hurricanes last night, shall we? And in a couple of minutes, you'll hear from head coach Rod Brindamore.

And we're going to play along with the head coach in just a second. First, Hurricanes lose 3-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights. This was unlike what happened against Anaheim on Saturday.

I thought this was a just result. Carolina wasn't as good as Vegas. Vegas is the best team in the West.

They are very good. They're one of the few Western Conference teams that actually keeps the goal out of the puck, out of their own net. They are a top 10 defensive team in the NHL. So this is not a surprise that Carolina might have trouble scoring goals. Carolina didn't even generate a ton of scoring chances in this game.

High danger chances, I believe Carolina was at eight for the game. For almost the entirety of the second period, they had none. Uncharacteristic of them, I just didn't think Carolina played particularly well. They got off to a good start in terms of possession and chances.

And then for probably the next, oh, little bit more than 30 minutes, I thought it was all Vegas. Yet Carolina had a chance to get out of the second period 1-1, didn't do it. Late goal by Jack Eichel made it 2-1. Hurricanes did tie the score on the back stretch of the third period.

But another mistake gave away a golden opportunity, and it was a goal. And we're going to get into some things about the Hurricanes and my feeling about where they are in a second. In terms of the standings, one point ahead of the Devils. Carolina's got a game in hand, meaning they have one more game to play. Seven points ahead of the Rangers, two games in hand, but games remaining with both. Carolina has not been hugely successful against the Rangers. They've been much better against the Devils, not perfect against the Devils. But again, keep in mind the Rangers have added two significant pieces to their lineup. Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko.

Tarasenko had three points last night, including the game-winning goal in overtime. The Devils added Timo Meyer and didn't really lose anything of significance of this year's team. Devils got better. Rangers got better. It remains to be seen, and I'm not criticizing here, it remains to be seen because Carolina did make two additions if Carolina got better. Now, let me address what Carolina did in the last couple of days in terms of the trade deadline. I think it was Tuesday they added Iese Pouljou-Yarvi. I think I said that right.

It's fancy. So, as I've said before, here's a kid, he's 24 years old, he's 6'4", better than 200 pounds, defensive-minded, puck possession guy who fits their style but has had minimal goal-scoring success in the NHL. Minimal. In fact, after a couple of years of having no success, he went back to Finland to play. No kidding. He went back to Finland to play. He returned and had some success. 14 goals, 15 goals, not bad, not awful, but not necessarily fourth overall pick in the draft quality. And Edmonton was kind of done.

He was never going to meet their standards. They're trying to win two, and they were trying to get some cap space and Carolina provided them with the cap space. Carolina traded them a mid-at-best level prospect who is still playing in Finland, who's not coming over. And they took Pouljou-Yarvi and his $3 million salary, and they're going to kick the tires on that. And again, he's a big body, played with Sebastian Ajo in the World Juniors in 2016.

Finland won the gold medal there. So there is familiarity and there is a history of success, at least playing with Ajo. Is he going to play with Ajo here?

I doubt it. But that doesn't mean that he can't contribute something that Carolina needs. Carolina needs size.

He's that. Carolina needs, well, he's a good defender, right? And Carolina needs more guys who can create offense.

And even if he doesn't score, his history says that he is good in puck possession. Again, it kind of fits the data-driven mindset of the Hurricanes. Do I think the deal moves the needle for Carolina?

No, I don't. And to me, this is more about next year, even though he needs to be signed to a contract, and maybe the year after, than I think it's about this year. Could I be wrong? Yeah, I could be wrong, but we will find out eventually. We'll either find out that they were right about him or that they weren't, and he won't be, he won't be an impact player.

The other move they made is a little bit more easy to digest. Shane Gostesbear, who about five years ago, with the Philadelphia Flyers, coming off a 60-point season. He was awesome. He got a big contract for the time with Philadelphia. It was multi-years, I think it was five years, four and a half million dollars a year as a young guy, and power play specialist at 33 power play points that one year.

But it went the other way almost immediately after signing that contract. Flyers had given up on him. They dumped him at his salary in Arizona, and Carolina got him from Arizona for a third-round pick three years from now.

Was it four years? Four drafts from now. It's in the 26 draft. It's not even in the 23 draft, 24 draft, 24.

It's four drafts from now. So they gave up nothing for Shane Gostesbear, but he's a power play guy. Carolina needs help in the power play.

So this is a pretty good deal in terms of what they sent out and what the potential return is. I've said this before about Carolina's power play. If they can get their power play operating at about 22% in the postseason, that will be okay as long as they are not getting abused by the other team's power play.

You don't have to win the special teams battle, but you can't lose it. Speaking of power plays, last night for the second time in four games, Carolina got zero. Zero power plays. Eleven times in the last 17 games, the Hurricanes have gotten two or fewer power plays. Before we hear from Rod Brind'Amour on that particular topic, Las Vegas, forgot who they played for a second, Las Vegas only got one power play. So it ain't like we were, you know, zero for the Hurricanes and eight for the Vegas Golden Knights. It was one to nil on the power play chart.

Now here's Rod Brind'Amour on, again, the second time in the last four games getting nothing. It's five years over. I'm not complaining. Just check the facts. Check the facts. Since we've been doing this, I mean, at some point it's got to even out. That's what they tell me.

That's what they tell me. But it's a little bit concerning because you got a game like this, a tight game, you know, there was a couple there for sure. But anyway, that's not about this game. That's not about this game. This game was us just giving their best player a little too much and that's can't do that. All right.

Yeah. Let's separate this game from anything else. This game, the Golden Knights were better. And I actually, I didn't see anything glaring. I know Thabo Terevanen took either a stick or an elbow to the face and they didn't call it.

Rod Brind'Amour was mad. And that was probably something they should have called, but they didn't see it. But they did call it.

It's hard to complain about it at this point. All right. But check the facts.

So we did. Here's what's interesting. For the most part, Rod is correct.

For the most part, but it's not across the board. This year, Rod's wrong. If you want it to even out, well, it's pretty doggone even this year.

Here are the facts. We could also break it down by game. This year, Carolina is 13th in the National Hockey League in power play opportunities for 13th. Middle of the pack. They are 20th in power play opportunities against.

But the truth is, is that it's right around the average. The numbers are pretty close. They're only a minus seven. Now, maybe that number should be higher because Carolina's the best player in the game. Maybe that number should be higher because Carolina is the better team.

I don't know. But they're only a minus seven. It's pretty even. Seven out of a 59 game season so far.

Not bad. The average number of power plays drawn or awarded is 189 this year in the NHL. Carolina's received 191. A little bit more than the average.

They have conceded 198. Obviously, that's also more than the average. But I think that's, I'll call that even. I'll call that a wash, right? Broken down by game this year.

How about this? And it's more glaring over the last stretch. Again, 11 out of the last 17 games, two or fewer power plays. So Carolina has played 59 games. In 22 of those games, they have gotten fewer power plays than the other team. 22 of the 59. In 15 of those games, they have gotten the same number of power plays as the other team. And in 22 of those games, they have gotten more power plays than the other team. So in other words, on a game by game basis, it's dead even. Yeah. I know how perception is, right?

I get it. But this year, the facts don't really back him up. However, in past years, they do. Last year, Carolina won the Metropolitan Division. They had the third best record in the NHL. They were minus 44 last year in power play opportunities.

Minus 44. They received the 20th most. They conceded the second most in the league.

That is a terrible breakdown. And last year definitely feeds into the narrative that Carolina got the short end of the officiating. Average number of power plays per team last year was 287. Carolina received 232. I'm sorry, it was 237. Carolina received 232. So just below average. But they conceded 276.

Way above the average. Almost a half a penalty power play per game more. Almost, right? 2021, they were minus 12 as well. Again, another division-winning team. They were minus 12. The year before, the year that was shortened by the pandemic and ultimately finished in the bubble. They were minus 37. The facts this year do not back Rod Brind'Amour up.

But for the most part, in the three previous, they do. If we take it on a whole, I would say we still have some ways to go to even out. But in a given season, I kind of call this year pretty even. In 2019, the first year they made the playoffs, the upstart Carolina Hurricanes, they were plus 8. That was the year Carolina got more power plays. Not by a lot. I would just call that even over an 82-game schedule. But for the most part, Rod Brind'Amour is correct.

Just not in this calendar year. And here's one more thing about last night. Carolina at five on five. Best team in the league. In terms of generating shots and chances and limiting shots and chances. Best team in the league.

Not even close. So last night should have played into their advantage. And they lost anyway. So kind of as somebody who is paid to look at this and be as objective as possible, I think last night, and Rod admitted this anyway, last night they didn't play well. Last night was a game that they should have had in their back pocket. The way it was played.

But they did not. Couple of other things that happened in the NHL. Todd Bertuzzi, Tyler Bertuzzi. Todd Bertuzzi is Tyler's dad.

And was a nasty player, but a good one. Tyler Bertuzzi traded to Boston for a 20-24 first round pick. It's top 10 protected, but Boston ain't going to be picking in the top 10. So that pick is going to go to Detroit. They also get a 20-25 fourth round pick and Detroit is retaining half of the salary. So Boston already added Dimitri Orlov and Garnett Hathaway also adds Tyler Bertuzzi. David Pasternak with the Bruins also signed a 90 million dollar contract extension over eight years. It's 11.2 million per season. He is bonkers good.

We all know this. If you follow the sport, you'll understand how good David Pasternak is. Dylan Larkin with Detroit also re-signed a contract extension. Eight years. I think it's 8.7 million dollars per. What's important there is that Sebastian Aho in two years is probably going to use those two as a range. And my guess is that Aho will fall into the nine, nine and a half range with the Hurricanes. Penguins also made a trade. They got Mikhail Grandland from Nashville.

I don't even know what they gave up. I just know they got Grandland, who's a nice player. Probably would have fit here very well if Carolina was interested because he's a Finn. We love Finns.

There's room in the sauna. I know that. But he also is, he's a good offensive player and can and actually can score around the net, which is what Carolina needs. But he goes to Pittsburgh. Did Carolina do enough deadline? Deadline ain't until tomorrow. So the full report on that, we have to hold until tomorrow. They have cap space. We'll see what they do. I'll say this again. I talked about it on the podcast last night. The Cane's Quarter podcast is available wherever you get your podcast.

By all means, follow it. Carolina, I think still needs a center that they can put in place of Jesperi Kokunyemi as well as he's played. I still think they need an upgrade there.

I'd like to see them get a little bit more grit. And I'll just say that I have my doubts and I had my doubts at the beginning of the season. Is the goaltending right now at the NHL level, is the goaltending good enough to win a Stanley Cup? I have my doubts. I have my doubts. That doesn't mean the answer is no.

I am just and I've never been 100% on board with this. I said it before the season started and I got some pushback from that, which is fine because I'm not always right. But I was worried about it, not because of health, but literally because I'm just not sure if those two guys are Stanley Cup caliber goaltending.

That's fair. Here's what I do think. I think the kid in the minor leagues has a higher end.

He's probably going to be way more inconsistent, but I think he has a higher end than the other two. And I said this before, I would not be surprised if we got to late April into May, if Piotr Kuchetkov didn't figure in to the entire mix. And I do believe when the playoffs start, he'll be here anyway. All right, so let's just set the hockey stuff aside for a second. We have no ACC basketball tonight. We have no ACC basketball tomorrow. There was a game last night in which Pittsburgh gave Notre Dame and coach Mike Bray a going away gift by losing. Pitt can still finish first in the ACC in spite of vomiting on their shoes last night.

I'm sorry, that's a terrible image. They can still finish first in the league. They have to win at Miami. The Miami Pitt winner is going to be number one in the league. The loser is almost definitely going to be number three in the league, Virginia, as long as they don't lose to Louisville at home and they're not going to. But Virginia will likely be the two seed. Clemson is almost definitely going to be the four. Duke can still be the four, but that means that Louisville would beat Virginia and that's not happening. So Duke's almost certainly going to be the five.

I don't think they can fall below five. State and Carolina are going to be six and seven based on the outcome of Duke Carolina. And it looks like Wake will play Syracuse two times in a row. They'll play Syracuse on Saturday and then they'll play Syracuse in the first game on Wednesday at the ACC tournament in Greensboro.

So that's where the ACC basketball picture lies. Honestly, Duke we know should have been better in terms of watching the games. We know that they should have at least had chances to win. There's no guarantee you win, by the way. There's no guarantee that Duke wins at Virginia Tech if they adjudicate that properly and there's no guarantee that Kyle Filipowski hits one free throw even at Virginia to give them the chance to win. He could have missed both. I'm not saying that they should have won, but we all know if we're being honest that those two sequences should have been adjudicated differently.

They were not for whatever reason. And we just move on. But Duke still has a chance to finish in the top four. But at number five, it gives them an opportunity to play a game and then I think there is something to be said for the advantage of having a game under your belt before the next one. And if it's Duke Clemson, that's not an easy matchup for Clemson because P.J. Hall is so good. But I give Duke especially the way they're playing, really good chances to win.

I think they're going to especially the way they're playing, really good chance to win that game. And that would be a nice, a good well, though, it's because it's on a neutral floor. It would be a good quad to win for Duke. So it's so silly. The whole thing is silly. I've been saying this. I think Carolina's in. I'm not worried about it. I think Carolina will be in the NCAA tournament.

Still have to fill out the bracket. And honestly, are we really going to take a five win team from the Big 12? I mean, we have to stop. We have to stop that.