It’s almost Canes hockey season again!

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The new Fun Sarah often thinks about the old Boring Sarah and wonders if that Sarah ever really existed. Chumbacassino has over a hundred casino-style games, so join today and play for free for your chance to redeem some serious prizes. Victoria, one month, actually four weeks from today, the Carolina Hurricanes will host Vladimir Tarasenko and the Ottawa Senators at PNC Arena as we open up the NHL season. Two weeks from yesterday, the preseason begins. That means Tripp Tracy, analyst for the Carolina Hurricanes on TV and on radio, has to get back to work. He has to come back to town. We miss you very much, Tripp. How are you?

AG, we were just talking offline here in the next day or two. My dog's getting some training in Ohio and very excited to pick him up in the early stages of my drive back to Raleigh. And, you know, I've said it before, I usually don't have a lot of, as my mom, who I've been taking care of all summer, would say Irish in me. You know, usually that would require a couple of drinks and years gone by before I retired. But I get sentimental hearing your voice because, I mean, I think about our first introduction back in Greensboro and all these years later, and even the Stanley Cup season where the expectation, maybe internally, coming out of a year lost to a work stoppage was there. But I don't know, and it's such an exciting thing with all these consecutive playoff appearances, that the expectation has ever been higher.

And it does make me somewhat sentimental thinking about the friendship that I've had with you for a quarter of a century and how excited I am about this roster that, you know, the game isn't played on paper but full compliments to Don Waddell and his staff because I think they've improved their hockey club on paper and that must delight the huge Caniac faithful. There's no question there that this is a better looking team than it, certainly than the one that ended the season. Most of that was due to injury, but they should be a better team even than the one that started the season. Vegas certainly thinks so. The Carolina Hurricanes are at just eight to one, the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup. They have been among the favorites. There is something different though than when you are the favorite, even ahead of Toronto. It is because, you know, it's, hey, I'm just about to leave Detroit and, you know, I've always been an unconditional Lions fan and the Lions are in the earlier portion of the curve because, you know, the Hurricanes have been a regular season premier team winning at least a playoff round now for several years, you know, and with that expectation comes increased pressure and responsibility. But you and I both have observed that this team and the tutelage of Rod Brind'Amour, that they've been fully capable and they relish that pressure relevant and expectation.

And I was just speaking to one of the public relations gurus, Michael Brown, when I was headed to the gym this morning. And I'm not there yet, but I hear that it has been the earliest mass arrival that the players have had in a long, long time, perhaps ever. And I bring that up like your friend, because the biggest percentage, if not virtually all of the team that showed up early, that record was in 2005. And we know what that led to in June of 2006. So that's very encouraging for me to hear that news that virtually the entire team has bought in.

They've been there for a period of time because until it doesn't, history has a tendency to repeat itself. And I have always pointed to the fact that the biggest attendance early in August by the vast percentage of the team was before they won the Stanley Cup. Two areas of the team we'll deal with.

There's a thousand things we could talk about, but time is short. Talk me through, A, how you see the goalies playing out, and B, if Pyotr Kuchetkov doesn't win the starting job out of training camp, do you think they find a place for him to play in the minors? Okay, so I'm going to start with a cultural decision, and I haven't spoken to Don or Rod about it, but my own observation, did I think that they were going to bring back Freddy, Auntie, and obviously Pyotr beginning his one-term deal? I didn't. But I'll tell you what, I applaud it.

I applaud it because I think it shows the massive cultural change. Kuchetkov gives you some patience with him, but more importantly, it sends a message that he's going to have to crash through the door to be a full-time National Hockey League goaltender for the Hurricanes this year. Now, again, with relying on history, and you hope it doesn't come to pass from this standpoint this year, the House is something that you need to protect against, in particular with regards to Freddy and Auntie. So, you know, by having three goaltenders that are all very trustworthy, National Hockey League goaltenders, we know the incredible run that Kuchetkov had joined where he was as good of a goaltender. He's not the best goaltender in hockey for the majority of November and into December. But I love the fact that, you know, Freddy and Auntie are the incumbents. Kuchetkov has got to come in and he's got to earn it.

I'm here in Detroit. You know, when Detroit had all their years of excellence with multiple Stanley Cups, we all spoke about and admired the culture. That players didn't graduate from the American Hockey League to the National Hockey League until they were ready to grab the moment and do so consistently, not let the moment grab them. You can't do that unless you have a really good, let's not kid ourselves, elite NHL roster, which the Hurricanes have.

So I think culturally it doesn't do anything except enthuse me. If you get through training camp in the preseason healthy, then, you know, Don will have to and Kuchetkov doesn't crash through the door and these all are all TBD situations. Then he'll have to find a spot. I'm guessing that Don probably already has a spot in mind, but based on performance and health, I think the Hurricanes have really done a deliberate, thoughtful job here on a bunch of different levels of handling the goal setting position. All right. Final final question for you, Tripp Tracy. And it's about your brother, Andrei Svetchnikov rehabbing a torn ACL that he suffered with basically with 20 games to go in the regular season in the game.

I think it was against the Golden Knights at PNC Arena. So where do we think? No, he is along his rehab trail. He's been skating and he's such a machine and a beast that it almost looked like he could play in May, which obviously he couldn't, but he was walking around. I didn't notice a limp.

He's got just got a giant smile on his face all the time. What do you anticipate in being ready to start the year? Hey Carolina Panthers fans, Chris Lee and Dennis Cox here. We're excited to offer you all the inside information on your team with the newest member of the capital broadcasting podcast network Panthers playbook twice a week. We'll keep you updated on your Carolina Panthers.

We're talking about locker room, insight, exclusive interviews, and of course, in-depth looks at all of the Panthers wins touchdown Carolina Panthers playbook download and subscribe today at wrelsportsfan.com or wherever you discover your favorite podcasts. Before Sarah discovered chumbacassino.com, she enjoyed chamomile tea and being in PJs by six. Let's go. The new fun Sarah often thinks about the old boring Sarah and wonders if that Sarah ever really existed. Chumbacassino has over a hundred casino style games.

So join today and play for free for your chance to redeem some serious prizes. I do. And again, it's a fluid situation. Um, but AG, it's an early validation and it's no surprise, you know, Andre well, um, that when he signed an unbelievably lucrative deal, uh, a couple of years ago, you know, and locking him in for eight years, it didn't change his persona. One I own, you know, he spent the vast majority of the summer, uh, digging in and training and maximizing his recovery. You'd expect nothing less from Andre. Uh, with that being said, of course, the team will rule on the side of caution, but simultaneously, I, I, I, unless there's a hiccup, unless there's an obstacle, unless there's a reason to err on the side of caution, I would expect him to be in the lineup against, uh, some of the in the lineup against Ottawa opening night.

And you and I have spoken, uh, uh, you know, on your terrific show many times here in the last few years about Sebastian Aho taking over this team, making it his team. And before that, you know, disastrous injury, even though the hurricanes made it to a conference final in such an inspirational fashion, losing Andre and of course, patch already. And you can make an argument, all the things that he does that the hurricanes didn't have a ton of upfront, that Andre was the one guy you didn't want to lose. He made the all star game.

He cares so much about everything. And even something small like that fastest skater competition, AIG, I want to see that same chronology from Andre this year that this is, and that's no disrespect to the other core players. And we just talked about Sebastian, that this is his team, that he is the man God willing stays healthy. Um, and he just, even though it was ended by injury in such a, uh, such a disappointing manner, he took such steps towards doing that and not to be discounted as that all star experience, because he knows he belongs with the game's great healthy. Now can he take yet another step and show, Hey, this is my team. I'm one of the best players in the national hockey league and my expectation would be that he would do so. I can't wait to watch him. I hope he's there on opening night, but it would be about eight months since the injury.

So it kind of falls within the parameters of rehab, even though it's, it's on the early side, but it is also Andre and Andre is at times not of this world. Uh, as a same, I would say about you trip, Tracy, a safe trip back for you and Frank. Uh, and we will, uh, we will get together again in a couple of weeks when you guys start broadcasting the preseason on, I believe is at the, uh, the 25th against one of the teams in Florida at PNC arena. Yeah. Massive gratitude to see, and all of our time spent together. I saw the press release last week that, you know, 25 years, um, and I've gotten to spend all those years with you.

And I don't take that lightly at them. Um, and I, I can't wait to hot stove before every game as we always do. All right, sir. Uh, see you at the arena in a little bit. You got it.

I have to make a quick correction. It's 26th, 26th and the 27th. The hurricanes are playing at PNC arena against, um, in one order or another Panthers and lightning. Then the 29th Friday is that split squad double header in Florida, uh, with half the team going to Florida, half team going to Tampa. I don't know who's going to coach it.

Uh, but I'm, I'm almost positive that there is no broadcast of it. And then the following week, it'll be a home and home with the Nashville predators to wrap up the preseason. And then we just sit around and twiddle our thumbs until the 11th of October.

Can't wait. Oh man. What we're it's it's here. Just feels like hockey. The off season has been forever, even though it hasn't been that long.

Yeah, I know. Like June, July, August, three months. As soon as the weather starts feeling crisp and not smothering. Oh, then it's hot. What is that?

Still waiting for that one. What is that happening? We've had a few nights of it, right? But otherwise in order for us to get anything like that during the day, uh, it has to be life-threatening.

You have to stand in a freezer or no, it just, we have to have a major catastrophe storm coming through. Right. Um, so yeah, no good. Judy was boring. Hello. Then Judy discovered chumbacassino.com.

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