First a huge kudos for Gamespot.com for getting an early trailer for Star Wars:The Old Republic MMO from E3.

Second I want to say what I have been saying on other forums and blogs and here.. I AM REAL TIRED OF BIOWARE and the way they are releasing info. Sometimes TOO much info can be a bad thing. How is that? Well for starters we all want this game NOW, we want it to be good. They keep releasing more and more info and less and less release info. Ok enough already we get it, we will love the game, now stop with the constant info releases and just get the game out.

Don’t get me wrong when the game is less then a month away feel free to shoot any and all info our way. I’ll even settle for once a month a new release of info, but for now let’s relax so we don’t over-kill the buzz we have for the game.

On this video though, I will give them a pass b/c it’s one of the biggest gaming conventions of the year and sure they are very smart to make a big splash. But I can still bitch that I want it now hehe.

So here we go! Enjoy the Video I know I did…

If this was to be foretold at the beginning of 2011, I am sure it would have been a surprise. But with Phoenix staying put, the owners for the Atlanta Thrashers being a bunch of pansies, oh not to mentions Man of many hats and one of the worst NHL team officials Don Waddell STILL being allowed to run the team, they were destined for the crapper and now are the ones moving to Winnipeg not the Coyotes. Granted I will admit one huge factor in this is the complete inability of the city to support the team at all. They have had attendance issues for most of the 11 years in existence. However, you must have some more winning seasons and win at LEAST one stinking game in the playoffs to help this out. The whole franchise now goes down as utter failures both on the ice and in the city. Ultimately in my mind it falls on Waddell’s shoulders the most.

Sure the team had some big names over the years, Dany Heatley, Kovalchuk, Hossa, K. Lehtonen, but they NEVER had more then 2 guys on the whole team with some star power or the ability to win games. You can’t win games, you can’t build any tradition or hope, you can’t attract more free agents, and then NO FANS. When you get NO FANS, you get run out of town financially. So we say a big adieu to the city of Atlanta and move on to another failure of an NHL city in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg has already failed once (yes I know Atlanta failed once before the Thrashers in the NHL, which makes this even more comical), with the old Winnipeg Jets who ironically enough moved to Phoenix to become the Coyotes. So why do we think it will succeed this time? Secretly I think the NHL and Commish Gary Bettman know there is very little chance this stay in Winnipeg will end in a success either. I think it’s more likely they had ZERO options at this point and had to take the only avenue available to them and go with it. None of the other potential cities had a building in place that would be available to play as soon as this next season. So back to lose-a-peg the Thrashers go. Or should I say back to being the Winnipeg Jets they go. This isn’t set in stone either. With the previous ownership group owning the “Thrasher” name it’s unlikely the team can be called the Winnipeg Thrashers (or Manitoba Thrashers) but in my research I couldn’t find anything about the copyright of the Winnipeg Jets name at all. So there is always the other option of them having to find a brand new name for the team in this short time. It should be an interesting next 30 days as the board of governors will approve this sale around draft time the end of this month, and then we get the start of Free Agency one month from today. A ton of info will be exploding out to us in this time so while it will be crazy, it’s still my favorite time of the year when you also include the Stanley Cup finals which start tonight as well.

So what does this mean for the league? Well other then seeing what the team will be named and the new logos/jersies going on, we will undoubtably have a shakeup in the divisional makeup. For anyone who doesn’t know, and if you are a typical American like me, you didn’t grow up knowing jack squat about Canadian geography, Winnipeg is just north of the boarder from where Minnesota and North Dakota meet. So naturally this means the team cannot stay in the Southeastern Division. Not only that, I would venture that they obviously need to be traded over to the Western conference entirely. The most obvious trade (if I was a betting man) would be to send them to the Central Division and bring the one team who has always been out of place in the western conference over to us here in the east…. WELCOME to the Nashville Predators to the Eastern Conference and the SE Division.

So what does this mean for the Carolina Hurricanes. Nothing good that’s for sure. Gone is the Thrashers who the Canes typically owned when playing head to head. Arriving is a very strong Preds team who has won 40+ games every season for the last 6 years. They are a very well coached team who can win games and play a disciplined brand of hockey. When you add this to a division which already has the Capitals, and Lightning, it puts the Canes back to being a bottom feeder. I certainly hope this wakes up the Canes front office to get a move on and get some good players in here and build a winner, because if not too many seasons of being 2nd to last or last in this division and I might be writing this post talking about the Canes moving to Kansas City or somewhere. And I CERTAINLY never want to make that post.

Which brings me to my hypothetical question for you to ponder. Had the Canes not made it to the Finals in 2002, and further not WON the Stanley Cup in 2006, could this not be the constant talk right now here in Carolina too?

Think about it this way. B/c of those 2 events in the Canes history, this market is now amazingly solid in it’s backing of the Canes. It’s clearly CANES COUNTRY. Everywhere you go around here you see Canes plates, Canes shirts, Canes stickers, and Canes Flags. That’s even in the middle of the summer too! Yes, I have no doubt hockey in NC is here to stay, I am just grateful every day that they had that success and built that base so now I have a team to complain about on a regular basis to friends and to you guys here on the blog.

Good luck to the Winnipeg XXX’s and Good Luck to the Canes to respond to this move. Should as always, be an exciting summer for the NHL (and my Canes!)

–GJ

No Strings Attached (2011– 108 mins) A. Kutcher, N. Portman

“No Strings Attached” is a straightforward and simple rom-com from fabled comedic director/producer Ivan Reitman. It’s been quite a while since he directed anything decent but I am glad to say he’s back on track with this one. What we have here are two people Emma (Portman) and Adam (Kutcher) who date and decide the best course of action is a purely physical relationship with as the title says, “No Strings Attached”. Naturally after a while, neither one of them want to keep it that way and develop feelings for each other and yet they don’t exactly want to admit it. Pretty straight forward concept and real funny execution.

Kutcher as always is likable and funny in his role. Portman is both extremely hot and also funny in hers. Those two alone make for a great movie but the supporting cast including Lake Bell, Kevin Kline, Ludacris, Greta Gerwig and Jake M. Jonhson, are excellent and extremely funny. The only thing that was a bit goofy was Kevin Kline’s role as Adam’s father but it doesn’t take long for his part to grow on you for the rest of the movie. A great movie and a good ode to the Reitman flicks of old.

Verdict–> A great rental that everyone who likes comedies should grab. A perfect date night movie… Kutcher is funny, and chicks dig him and wow does Portman look good in this movie as well. I give it a real high recommendation… in the GJ top ten for this year already.

Blue Valentine (2010– 112 mins) Michelle Williams, Ryan Gosling

Blue Valentine is a polarizing movie. Most people either LOVE it or HATE it. Some people started the hate b/c of the explicit sex scenes in the movie. Myself? I hate it for the missing story points which lead to large plot holes and more questions then answers. There are some redeeming qualities to the movie and I think it has the beginnings of an excellent movie but it would have needed some extra story to make it what it could have been… what it SHOULD have been. But another spoilerific rant on that after the plot…

BV is about a married couple, Dean (Gosling) and Cindy (Williams) who are going through a rough patch and on the verge of a possible divorce. The movie is told in a series of then and now shots. The flashback then showing us the how they met and how passionate their relationship was. The now being how dysfunctional their relationship has become and how at any second it might just shatter into nothing.

Spoilerific Rant to follow— IF you don’t want anything spoiled then please skip to my “Verdict” section where I give you the final thoughts with no spoilers.

I don’t mind the back and forth of the flashbacks, and I don’t mind the sexual content involved in the film. I even don’t mind the complete downer of an ending of the film. I have more of a problem that there is a whole middle section of the marriage missing. Why does she not love him any more? Why is she so disgusted to look at him? There are some slight hints sure at the end but nothing is revealed to show us definitive proof one way or another. He has a shitty job and has a beer in the am, but there is no doubt he truly loves his wife and daughter. I generally don’t mind some things in a movie being left to your own imagination as a viewer. However, this is a fairly large deal. There is no hints or evidence to the matter and it just simply bothers me. Why does it bother me so much? I think it’s b/c the whole movie revolves around the bright light which is their passion and how it fizzles out, just like the metaphor of the fireworks at the end of the movie (Excellent job with that as well). But blind fizzle doesn’t work for me. I want reasoning, not just hey she doesn’t love him get over it. If it wasn’t for this hole, I think I would have thought it was a decent movie if still not a great one. Something like this is a disappointment to me as well, b/c you could have dedicated one small scene of the 2 characters speaking together to explain it all away and get back to the issue at hand. OR, explain it away while they are fighting and breaking up at the end as well. Just poor plot points which could have easily been included but were missed and thus killed the movie.

Verdict–> Blue Valentine is a downer plain and simple. There is a lot not to like for a lot of people, such as explicit sex confusing time lines/flashbacks, and HUGE plot/story holes. It’s not so much holes for art’s sake but more a poor decsion by the writer IMHO. There will be people who like artsy type movies and love to be depressed or watch downer movies. THOSE people will love it. If you like any of the GeekJock picks and like my taste RUN AWAY NOW. IF you have to try it out for yourself then don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Casino Jack (2010– 108 mins) K. Spacey, B. Pepper, J. Lovitz

Casino Jack is the high rise and low crash and burn story of  Jack Abramoff, a (former) hot shot government lobbyist. Jack is one of the quick talkers who works all the angles. He’s got his hands in everyone’s pocket playing the congress game. Getting different interests to give him money to influence politicians to speak out on special interests and to vote certain ways. His right hand man and main lackey is Michael Scanlon (Pepper), a man equally adept at lieing to his potential clients as he is to his friends and lovers. When they dabble in off shore casino’s and mob lie ties they start to raise everyone’s suspicions and come under fire from the authorities.

It’s not so much what happens as bookends in the story, b/c we all know Abramoff was quite the swindler and got his ass nailed to the wall by the feds some years ago, it’s the inner workings of the dealings and how he played everyone that makes for the interesting moments of the movie. Spacey plays him as a quick talking business man almost as a twin brother to Alec Baldwin’s character in “Glengarry Glen Ross”. He’s quick witted, has an answer for everything and not afraid to piss people off to become alpha dog. And Spacey does this in impressive manner. He embraces the role and runs with it. Unfortunately as slimy as Barry Pepper tries to be he’s just not quite up to the task of being on the same level as Spacey here. He lacks that certain gusto to the part that Spacey brings naturally. Also up to the part is Jon Lovitz, who is a fougazzy businessman whom Abramoff needs to help him get the owner of the off shore cruise casino business to let them invest in it and funnel money through. It’s a fairly familiar role for Lovitz but since it’s been a while since we have seen him do it, it’s still great to see him and it doesn’t get old. However, there is something about the movie that does get old. The first half of the movie is excellent. The inner workings of the lobbyist racket/scam and how capitol hill apparently runs is immensely interesting and fun to watch. However when the meat of the down fall starts to happen, something just seems to fall stale. The dialog goes south and the whole movie starts to fall apart. Even so I still enjoyed the movie and thought it was an interesting watch even if it might not be for everyone. It kinda makes me want to watch the documentary on Abramoff by Alex Gibney to see how it really went down and what was true in the movie.

Verdict–> Despite the bit of a drag in the last 1/3 of the movie it’s a good watch and an interesting story/look into government workings (if even more as a satirical view). This might not be a flick women will enjoy so much but still I enjoyed it. Some funny lines, and good speeches in it as well. I recommend this if you see it at the box if government satires are interesting to you. If not you might want to stay away. Might be better as a double feature with just about anything else.

Little Fockers (2010– 98 mins) B. Stiller, R. Dr Niro

In “Meet The Parents” all Gaylord (Greg) Focker wants to do is win over the parents of his future wife and to be loved by all. There are multiple misunderstandings leading to tons of embarassment humor and non trust by Jack Burns until he realizes he is wrong and Focker is the happy hero in the end. In “Meet The Fockers” all Greg wants to do is win over the parents of his future wife,introduce them to his parents, and to be loved by all. There are multiple misunderstandings leading to tons of embarrassment humor and non trust by Jack Burns until he realizes he is wrong and Focker is the happy hero in the end. So what do you think “Little Fockers” will be? Yes of course it’s more of the same. Jack is having some minor hear problems and wants to appoint a successor to lead the all powerful Burns family. All Greg wants to do is to have a birthday party for his twins and to make crazy father in-law Jack happy. There are multiple misunderstandings leading to tons of embarrassment humor and non trust by Jack Burns until he realizes he is wrong and Focker is the happy hero in the end.

I don’t want to say it’s bad, but it’s been done before… TWICE. It wasn’t old in the second movie tho. In fact, the added presence of Dustin Hoffman and Babs Streisand (both excellent in it) was a welcome addition and made the movie that much funnier. The problem is this whole 3rd installment is more of the same and became old/stale too. They Jump the shark a bit here and everyone even the elder Fockers seem to be sleepwalking through this payday. I am hoping they bury this series where it stands and don’t make any more to tarnish the legacy of the 2 excellent and funny beginning movies. Sure it’s got some funny parts and who doesn’t love looking at Jessica Alba for a while, so I cannot say it’s BAD or don’t watch it. I just wouldn’t drop everything to see it ASAP. On a side note, not only can I not believe how it made 30 million on it’s first weekend AND right at 150$million total, but how in the hell did they manage to spend 100$, yes that’s 100(!) million on this movie. Did they just overpay the hell out of all the stars here? B/c they didn’t sink very much into a script/story that’s for sure.

Verdict–> A mildly funny movie which is just an extension of the first 2 movies and more of the same jokes. It’s not a bad option if everything is out of stock at the red box and want to see something. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it right away. Another so so recommendation of a movie which is not “bad” and not “good” at the same time.

The Green Hornet (2011–119 mins) S. Rogen, J. Chou, C. Diaz

Before I get into the plot and my thoughts on The Green Hornet I want to remind the world of something… This The Green Hornet, NOT Batman, NOT Superman, and NOT Ironman. It’s not a story that is meant to be a blockbuster or a serious one. The thing people try to do to pass judgement on pseudo superhero movies like The Green Hornet is to look for it to be something it’s not. This is a light hearted comedy take on super heroes. It’s more of a step up from the super hero TV show it was based off of. Don’t be mistaken tho, it’s not slapstick at all, it’s just got a lighter comedy air about it. When you get into the right mind frame and stop looking for perfection and start looking to be entertained you will enjoy The Green Hornet.

Seth Rogan plays Britt Reid, the son of a now dead Newspaper billionaire who realizes that he is going nowhere in life fast. With the help of his father’s former assistant Kato (Chou) and his new secretary Lenore (Diaz) he becomes The Green Hornet to fight crime and make a difference. Since money isn’t much of an object Britt is almost a Batman-esque crime fighter with great gadgets and cool cars. The difference is, that instead of beating up the badies himself he has a hand to hand combat savant in Kato. Kato not only is decent comic relief, and an ass-kicking machine, his whole presence is a slap in the face of the super hero genre and thus a sort of inside  joke unto itself. Don’t get me wrong they try to show Reid beating up some baddies as well, but make no mistake he’s just the figure head of the organization, but they make his ascendance to kick assery part of the story as well.

I gotta say the chemistry here between Rogen and Chou is great and I always love what Diaz brings to any movie when she’s being sexy and funny. If done right this could very well be the beginning of a few decent movies, or if not give us at least ONE more good Hornet movie. Hero movie sequels tend to be easier in that the 2nd and on you don’t need to fool with the whole origin/back story so there is more time for the good stuff.

Verdict–> The Green Hornet is another in a long line of movies that you simply cannot listen to the general public. It’s a good entertaining movie that you will get a good laugh out of and will likely enjoy. Don’t take it serious as it’s not that type of serious hero movie. Instead it’s an escape from serious drama and a fun romp with some chases, good lines, and fun fights. I give it a nice high recommendation!

Skyline (2010–94 mins) E. Balfour, Scottie Thompson

It’s no big secret that I am a fan of Sci-Fi and Fantasy movies, games, and TV, so when I go to watch new ones in these genres I tend to give them a notch up immediately before even starting to watch. I hadn’t heard much about Skyline and it looked decent enough so I figured we would give it a try on a red box night. BAD MOVE. This movie is a complete pile of crap. Looking back on it there isn’t a whole lot of redeeming qualities about the movie. I can’t even do the usual “so and so was pretty good in it”. Nope. No one was particularly good here either. The movie starts off promising enough. We see the earth invaded by some aliens and they are apparently drawing people to their blue lights and taking them. It then gives us a REAL useless flashback 15 hours to show us the couple coming out to visit some good friends in LA who have made it big. There isn’t a reason for the flashback b/c the back story is crap too. All we need to know is these 2 are a couple and they aren’t from LA and they have good friends here. Easy enough they didn’t need to give us a flashback. On to some action. Once the invasion begins the movie begins to take on the suspenseful edge with most of the action (or lack there of) taking place in a high rise apartment, which is fine b/c it’s a decent building of suspense. Yet, even when we start to get action, it is all a garbled mess. Nothing ever takes shape to make sense, and it’s all a lot of screaming and running. They try to throw some hints to us for their plan to get to a supposed safe area “on the water”, but even that is forced b/c nothing ever comes of it. For the big deal they make about it trying to be the safe haven they just abandon it when some action starts up.

The action is clunky as well. The suspense we feel to see the action/aliens is quickly squashed by sometimes decent mostly awful effects. If this was a made for TV movie I would have given it a bit of a free pass. It would be something decent for SyFy, but for a major motion picture its complete crap. The ending ALSO is complete crap. I don’t know if they are trying to leave it up for a sequel or just want that open ending. My guess is the idea of a sequel but man I can’t think of any story that would take place after this movie that would redeem it at all. Seeing that it made 65 million at the box office world wide REALLY makes me want to get into writing b/c I know I can come up with something better then this pile of crap.

Verdict–> Nice and easy… Don’t give it a second thinking of if you will get it. DON’T. It’s a terrible waste of 90 mins and you won’t even like yourself after seeing it. Sometimes you see  a movie that doesn’t grab you and you think about it afterwards and find it wasn’t so bad after all… THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE TIMES… DO NOT bother to rent this even for 1$

Today as the Stanley Cup playoffs start to get to the nitty gritty, being down to the final four, I will finish the end of season grading for the Carolina Hurricanes forwards. This includes the new stud on the block Jeff Skinner, and the captain himself Eric Staal. But why wait let’s hop right in!

#59 Chad LaRose

Ever since LaRose put up a Chad high 31 points and 19 goals 2 years ago, as well as being a force in the playoffs, big things have been expected of him. The organization and media have been all about Chad’s come out party and each year has been “THE YEAR” for LaRose to do big things. Last year was an injury fest for him, and this year he officially fizzled for much of the year. Too much has been expected of him and he hasn’t been able to live up to what they hope for production wise. Most of the year Maurice tried to get him ice time with the top 2 lines and get some chemistry going with those guys, and at first glance it appeared to work. Chad netted 6 goals and 12 points in the first 24 games. Not great for a top 6 forward but then again not bad by LaRose’s standards. At one point he seemed to be picking up that spark the team needed. Yet, once the meaty part of the schedule came in Dec- Feb he started to disappear. Gone was the spark-plug that was the normal LaRose style, and he just faded into the scenery. It wasn’t til the end of the year, during the stretch run where we started to see Chad back on his familiar 3rd line spot that he became the LaRose of old. He menaced opposing teams with hard hitting ferocious play and was a real force in the last 2 months. Back was that spark-plug and it really gave the team a fighting chance to make the playoffs.

Grade– C I really want to give Chad higher b/c in many ways this season wasn’t his fault. He’s not a top 2 line player. He needs to stick to the 3rd or 4th line where he stands out and can be the player he is meant to be. A rough tumble guy who hits anything that moves and gets the crowd going and the occasional breakaway. He wasn’t very good most of the year but earned my praise late in the year for the superb hustle. I am sure seeing occasional time this year with Jeff Skinner helped his point totals, but even then they weren’t good enough to make me smile. Hopefully, some of that chemistry can lead to good things next year. However that brings me to….

Outlook–> The only bad thing about that occasional chemistry with Skinner, is that there is no way Skinner will be on the 3rd line much next year and as I keep saying, no way LaRose can be on the 1st or 2nd line regularly. If he can manage to slide up there when hes hot and contribute, or fill in on some injury time that’s all well and good. But, to be successful for this team he needs to stick on the 3rd/4th line. Of course all of this is a moot point if they don’t re-sign him as he is an unrestricted free agent this year. I suspect  they will have no problem re-signing him, b/c he wasn’t great this year so the market won’t be too high on him so if the Canes throw 1 to 1.5 million at him, he should stay home pretty easy.

#61 Cory Stillman

I completely called this trade happening to the Canes 24 hours before it happened. It was simply a no-brainer. The Panthers were trading away EVERYONE, and Stillman was on that list. His family still lived here in Raleigh and he fit exactly what the Canes needed. So with a nice small, easy deal Stillman found himself in the familiar red and white with the #61 intact. Stillman was good and did exactly what the team needed. He was a weapon on the PP and played hard nosed even strength. The perfect team guy and a great vet to have in the locker room, I am sure his presence is part of what helped the team go on the big run in the final 2 months of the season.

Grade– A- I am grading Cory solely on his time with the Canes. In the 21 games he spent on the team he notched 5 goals and 11 assists, with a +2 rating and 6 PP points. He wasn’t the flashiest guy on the ice but he still did his thing, was productive and hit some guys in the process. I only wish he was around all season, as the team really needed a sniper on the power play and Stillman can still bring it with the big slap shot.

Outlook–> I would love to say quickly re-sign him but I am not 100% sure he will play this year. He’s 38 years old and has has some slight nagging injuries the last 2 years. Yet, if he wants to play and will play for significantly less then what he made last year (3.5 mil! Wow), say if he would sign for 1-1.5 then sure I would love to see him play on the 2nd or 3rd line and be mainly a PP specialist. But, if I am a betting man I say he retires.

#53 Jeff Skinner

Do we really need to say much about Skinner? The kid was just amazing. He came out of the box flying netting 3 goals and 4 assists in his first 10 games and also winning the 2nd game of the season in a shoot out, all earning himself a permanent spot on the team and avoiding the trip to juniors or the minors. What he did from then on was become a national and league phenom. Skinner was the kid everyone was watching. Not just scoring goals, but hustling on every play, drawing a league high penalties drawn by a single player, and scoring highlight reel goals every time. He managed to get a spot on the all-star team and every time he touched the puck the whole arena went crazy hoping he would do something amazing or score. He continued that high ride all through the season to the end. He was nearly single handedly responsible for keeping the fans coming to the building all year to see what he will do next and for helping the team even be in contention for the playoffs. A great first round pick up last year in the draft and he should be a staple in the RBC center for the next 10-15 years.

Grade- A+++ You don’t have the year Skinner had an not be at the top of the class. Skinner notched 31 goals 32 assists and even was a +3. What I love going forward is that he only scored 6 of his 31 goals on the PP so the kid can bring it even strength. He’s going to win rookie of the year pretty easily as he was the most consistent rookie all year and he is also the youngest player in the league. As long as he keeps his hustle up and brings that smile he has to the rink every day I don’t think we will see a sophomore slump any time soon.

Outlook–> I already said he’s going to be a staple here in Raleigh for a long time. Now, it’s just a matter of if he can continue to thrill and thrive, and if the other teams don’t catch on too much to him and shut him down. If he can keep fighting through all the attention he will get on the ice he will be in great shape. The Canes would help him and their cause if they can grab a nice winger or tough center who can feed him the puck and keep some eye away from him. You can’t throw him as the only player on a line and say go for it kid! It’s now up to the front office to build a line around him so he can keep doing what we have grown to love to watch him do. It will be interesting to see how he handles his second year, b/c no doubt his film has been circulated around the league, to see how he responds will both be interesting and fun. But I am 100% in his corner, and should have my # 53 jersey soon!

#16 Brandon Sutter

This year Sutter was rewarded for his hustle and tough 2-way play with being named an alternate captain. The new shiny A on his jersey was perfectly fitting even for a 22 year old. He’s bar none the best defensive forward on the team, one of the best faceoff men on the team and works harder on the ice then almost anyone on the team. Sutter has been and continues to be one of my favorite players on this team to watch mainly due to playing in every situation well. He’s out there 5 on 5, shorthanded, power play, late in games when you need to win a faceoff, just everything. And he does them well.

Grade– A- The only problem with Sutter on this team this year, is they never let him play with anyone at all. The team has no one else who can play shut down like he can. And having 1 good defensive forward late in the game just doesn’t work out. Occasionally you can put Ruutu and Jokinen in this boat but the team relies so much on those 2 on the 2nd line to score that they are not on the line with Sutter to help in the shut down capacity. This was another area I wanted to see the team address at the deadline, in getting a good defensive forward to help in late game situations. They simply lost too many games this season late in the 3rd and it cost them a shot at the playoffs. Instead the Canes traded away their only other real defensive first forward, Ryan Carter, in the Stillman deal. Which is fine b/c the team got Stillman, but they should have found a way to grab another defensive forward from someone else. The points for Sutter were also down a tad this year with only 14 goals and 15 assists. Yet, I am not worried about those totals at all. He was a team high +13 (8 higher then anyone else on the team) and also managed to score 3 GWG good enough for 3rd on the team. So he plays D well and makes his goals count. Good enough for me!

Outlook–> He’s a restricted free agent who I am sure will be back. Look for the Canes to try and lock him up long term or just get him signed for now and work on the long term details for an extension later. Again, the team needs to get 1 more good defensive forward and possibly a 2 way guy to throw with Sutter to help him out short handed and in late game situations. The kid just can’t stop the other team by himself! If they can then look for him to put up some better scoring numbers in the future as well. Don’t be surprised if we start to hear talks in the next few years about him being up for the Selke trophy (leagues top defensive forward). I think he’s got at least one of those in his future before it’s all said and done.

# 12 Eric Staal

Staal had quite the up and down season this year. At times he was the usual saviour, putting the team on his back and almost single handedly winning games. At other times you forgot he was even on the team. For instance, November saw Staal score 9 goals and 12 assists for 21 points and the Staal-Skinner show started and the team was on a roll. He was unstoppable, winning games (3 GWG!) and playing effective forward as well (+1 for the month). But then he goes into hibernation for the month of December.  Hard to believe the same player only managed 8 points and a -1 for the month. This up and down continued all year for Staal. And it seemed when he was good (Nov, Jan and mid March to April) so was the team. In wins Staal had 50 points (22G-28A) and a + 16, while in losses this year he only got 26 points (11-15)  and -26. It’s this inconsistency we need to see go away in the coming years if we are going to keep seeing Staal as the chosen one for the team.

Grade – B- First the raw stats. Staal had a great season and was roughly tied for 10th in scoring. He got back to the 30 goal plateau getting 33Goals and 43 assists as well as a very impressive 8 GWGS.  That being said there is a bit of a bad news side to this as well… He is my favorite player on the team, possibly in the whole league, and I wear his 12 proudly to games, but he needs to stop taking whole months off during the season. Sure he played 81 games but he cannot have weeks at a time where he sleep walks through games. We need to know he’s out there every game and need to feel his presence even if he’s not scoring. He’s going to be making 8 mil + the next 5 years, so now is the time to get back to the 40 goal scorer we all know he is and continue to improve on his growing assist total. A man of his ability should be a 90+ point man every season.

Outlook–> I am a little hard on Staal, for many reasons. He’s my favorite player, he’s done it before and he’s making a ton of cash. As I keep saying if the team can get that 1 or 2 more snipers on the team to take some pressure off Staal and Skinner then both will see 40 goal seasons in their future pretty easily. Look for Staal to continue to grow as a captain and lead by example. He’s gotten much better defensively as a whole, and we could see a good Staal/Sutter platooning late in games to shut down opponents. If he can get consistent production next year or any year, there is no reason he couldn’t be top 4-5 in the league in scoring and bring the team back to the latter rounds of the playoffs.

Next time in my final end of season Hurricane report will be the Goalies/coaches and my outlook for the whole team going forward.

Go CANES!

Before I post the video of Mikael Granlund’s amazing goal at the world tournament I want to pass along some devastating news.

This evening I saw the story about Derek Boogaard found dead in his home, at this time no mention of the cause of his death. He may have been a goon and he may have been on the hated Rangers, but he was always regarded as one of the nicest guys off the ice (as the majority of hockey players especially the enforcers are). My utmost condolances to his family friends, teammates and loved ones. I wish them the best in this time of grief.

Now onto the world tourney. Today Finland beat Russia en route to a finals match up with Sweeden. But that’s not the news… the real news is the circus goal by Mikael Granlund. We usually see these goals in high school hockey or by 9 year olds in between periods at NHL games, but here in a world tourney? Wow that’s balls for sure…. See for yourself.