Look. Tonight, Thursday Nov. 19th, 2009 is a big game as the Carolina Hurricanes battle the Toronto Maple Leafs for the worst team in the NHL. Both teams have 11 pts total. The Hurricanes have a 3-12 record. The Leafs have a 3-11 record. Obviously, the Hurricanes have the worse record.
But will the NHL world be happy with the Hurricanes earning the title “The Best of the Worst”? Toronto fans might not like losing a #1 stat.
Here are my reasons that Carolina should win the title of “The Best of the Worst”.
1) The Hurricanes have just recalled their SECOND goalie for tonight’s game. Yes. Our #1 and #2 goalies are injured. We now have a new goalie Manny Legace under contract. We have also called up Justin Peters from the Albany River Rats for a back-up goalie. Have you done the math? That is 4 freakin’ goalies on one team. (Note: Cam Ward was put on Long Team Injured Reserve today)
2) More Injuries! Eric Staal has been our franchise player. He’s been slow this year. He’s been injured and out of the line-up for a while. Staal is not expected back until December. Our #1 Goalie Cam Ward is out after being sliced by a skate. One of our better defensemen, Joni Pitkanen injured and out for at least another week. Bruiser Scott Walker will be out at least 2 weeks as well. The Carolina Hurricanes have been dealing with almost an injured player a game.
3) We tied a franchise record of losing 14 games IN A ROW. We have not won a single game on the road.
4)We lost to Toronto on Nov 6th to earn the title of Last Place once already.
Certainly we are the worst team, right?
Not necessarily. Our possible starting goalie Manny Legace looked sharp in the Canes previous game by going against 6 shootout snipers for Montreal.
Carolina Hurricane call up Brandon Sutter has been lighting the lamp on a regular basis and has pretty much cemented his spot on the roster. Many fans including me think the team needs to rebuild around this future NHL all-star. He is that good.
We have great offensive talent. Jussi Jokinen is stellar and now holds the only title of having the highest number of shootout goals in the NHL with 25. Tuomo Ruutu is hot again. Samsonov and Whitney are key veterans who continue to get points in assists.
We also play at home tonight and are on a 4 point streak.
So why do I want us to lose? Honestly, I don’t. I like our team and every player on it. I want us to get our act together and go on a 14 game winning streak. But with the way the Hurricanes have botched up this season, so early in the season, we need this title of Best of the Worst. If we are on the bottom AGAIN, just maybe the General Manager will make a big move, whether it be a trade of a big player, more waivers, or a firing of a coach. We need something to happen this week to send a message.
I’ll end with a bit of Hurricane History: The Carolina Hurricanes won the Cup in 2006. We went on a tear last year in the playoffs and took down giants like the NJ Devils and Boston Bruins. We shattered a lot of dreams in 2009 including our own as we were spanked against the Penguins in the Eastern Division Finals. We do cool things, and yet we don’t get much respect. For Example: we brought sexy cheerleaders to the sport of hockey. We even tailgate before hockey events. We Hurricanes Fans have a lot of fun, but losing is not very fun.