triangle.com | Home

I hate to say it, but the Canes have been better since the Stillman/Commodore trade. The energy that the guys from Albany brought with them has made it the most excitinig hockey I've seen them play in quite a while. Unfortunely, I don't think they have the scoring depth to make it all the way. I think they will make the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Though I think Rod Brind'Amour will be sorely missed he is only 1 player. I was disappointed to see Stillman traded since he has the best upside to fill in during Brind'Amour's absence. They need ot get something out of Eaves quickly or hit the "Rental" market and chase Joikinen or Hossa for a scoring threat. Only time will tell over the next 8 1/2 days before the trading deadline.

What I mean is that I think they'll make it despite not deserving to.  To be honest, not a single team in the Southeast Division deserves to make the playoffs.  The entire division is weak, meaning the Hurricanes get to play weak opponents more often than teams in the Atlantic or Northeast Divisions do.  And in spite of this, they're still not even in the top eight in the conference right now (they are tied with the Flyers and Sabres for 7th if you just look at points, but both of those teams have *two* games in hand on Carolina).  And of course, the rest of the division is even worse.  And therein lies the problem.  Even if the Hurricanes finished 11th in the conference (which they probably would if the schedule was totally balanced), they could still make the playoffs as long as the 12th through 15th teams were Washington, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Florida.

That being said, it's looking like the Hurricanes will in fact take the Southleast division, so they'll probably get to be the #3 seed despite finishing 8th or even 9th in the conference.