[Cobra Mgr]

Thought I'd look back at some posts I made in the pre-season & the 1st month.

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

And personally, looking @ my Canes............Can they pick up a goalie before the trade deadline?.......WIll Pyton Kocehtkov ever turn the corner?........What can Nikishin become?.........Can Ehlers produce the same as he did in Vancouver?.......Will the Canes also be in the market for a center if the Stankoven move doesn't work out?........

Last year @ this time, I was just hoping that Carolina wouldn't drop too far. THey ended up exceeding expectations by making the ECF, despite getting almost swept again by Florida. Now w/Ehlers, Nikishin & Miller, I'm expecting them to do the same, minimum. But the goalie & 2nd line center situations are still unresolved after multiple problem seasons.

First, I think the Canes met my expectations. But I didn't expect them to arrive at them by the route they took. Pytor Kochetkov never took over the goalie position. After another up & down year in & out w/injuries, he finally decided to have surgery & was done by midseason (Good news is he has been skating with the team & was even assigned to the Wolves in the AHL. If rehab goes well, he give Coach Rod another option in goal.)

Ehlers proved worthy of the price from the start even though he wasn't getting on the score sheet early. He stayed healthy all season & finished 2nd only to Aho in points on the team, despite not skating w/Carolina's "first 2" lines. His insertion into the power play made it one of the most potent units in the league. They started out converting just 2 of their 1st 29 PP opportunities. They finished 5th in the league, converting 58 of 212 (27.4%).

Nikishin showed the previews were spot on. He became the player every one wanted in midseason trade talked. Thankfully Carolina was smarter than that. He led the team w/a +18 rating, collected 33 points and spent time helping QB the PP. He showed durability, playing 81 games. And sitting only @ the end of the year. That was important, cause the Canes other 5 defensemen were in and out of the lineup all season.

Miller was a solid addition. 2nd among Cane defensemen in assists. Provided a nice physical presence to go w/his skating ability.

Stankoven solidified his hold of the #2 C position as the season ended despite his size. He put 21 pucks into the goal. And collected 11 points in his final 8 skates.

The following as after the game opener...........

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Ghost had 2 helpers, which I think is important. Carolina has traditionally have good defensemen, but none would be confused for Paul Coffey. Ghost is the best candidate to reach 50 assists this year, which would be so helpful for the offense & PP.

Lastly, on the radio yesterday, it was said Andrei Svechnikov needed to become the Canes best player. I disagree. It needs to be Pytor Kochetkov. Last year, the Canes finished 10th in GA, 1st in the PK. That was w/goal tending that finished 24 in save percentage. Imagine how hard it would be to score vs Carolina if they had a top 10 goalie? Florida outscored Carolina 21-10 in their series last year. If the Canes had stopped 90% (top 10 level) of Florida's shots, the Panthers would have scored 9.

Anderson is to fragile to expect him to get in the net 45 or more times in a season. And too old to think he can be the #1 for the next 7 seasons. Canes hopes & moves for the future change drastically is Pytor becomes the main man in the net. Time for Pytor, and Svech for that matter, to grow up as leaders of this team.

I mentioned Pytor's situation. Anderssen was a disaster the 1st half of the season. In his 1st 22 games in goal, Carolina managed only 19 points. It got so bad, he only got one game in goal in February. Since March, he has helped Carolina to 16 points in 12 starts. Last 4 starts, his sv% is over 90%. But this is the 1st time in his career his sv% has been lower than 90% for the whole season. And his GAA went above 3 for the 1st time.

Ghost unfortunately had nagging injuries hold him to 55 games. But he had 50 points in those games. His 37 assists were good for 4th on the team. He was also 4th in rating (+11) When he has been available, the PP cooks.

This was after the Canes 1st loss.......

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

On the opposite end of the Ehlers spectrum is Svechnikov. We have to begin to ask, what is wrong w/Andrei? He has zero points in 5 skates. We keep waiting for the light bulb to stay on. But it continues to flicker. For maybe 25 games, he looks like a bonafide all-star. For about 10-20, he looks like he should be in the AHL. The rest, you don't see him. He's either injured or just not making an impact. I wanted the Canes to use him as trade bait this off season while the rest of the league still felt he could be something. But I imagine those that see him that way are dwindling. He might be a piece they could move at the trade deadline when the Canes are shopping for a 2nd line C or improvement in goal.

Ehlers was instrumental in Andrei Svechnikov having his best year as a pro. He matched or set career highs in goals, assists & points while making fewer of the dumb penalties he'd become known for. He also managed to stay healthy for a change, playing his most game since his rookie year. In fact, the only games he missed were the ones Rod say him down after Carolina had clinched just about everything. Nikolaj's passes to Svech in the slot led to a team high 12 goals on the PP.

Can't have summary on the season w/o highlighting Brandon Bussi. When the the front office acquired him once the preseason ended, nobody knew who Bussi was. He was basically an emergency goalie while Pytor was still hurt. He was only being asked to gives Frederik a blow & keep the team a float when inserted. No one was thinking he would start the most games in the crease this year.

He ended the year w/31 wins, a GAA below 2.5. When the goalie situation was in disarray, it was Brandon who kept the turmoil from affecting the W/L record. He showed a little burnout after the Olympic break, but seemed to be back to his standards from the winter last couple games.

This is Rod Brind'Amor's best team since he took over. Every move the front office made hit. From trades & free agent signings, they all worked. Added on to a team that made the ECF, with their nemesis Florida Panthers out of the way, you have to conclude this is their best chance to win the Cup.

In previous seasons, the Canes roadblock to reaching the final has been not enough consistent offense & average goaltending.

In 2026, the offense has never been better. Seven Canes had 20 goals or more. Each of the top 3 lines has solid scoring on it. I didn't even mention Olympian Jaccob Slavin, or leading goal scorer Seth Jarvis. That's how deep this team is. The defensemen have the right mix of playmakers & defensive stalwarts. The depth is illustrated in the fact the team picked up 7 points in their last 4 games despite resting 5 or more players each game.

The question remains the goaltending. I think Brind'Amour is more comfortable w/Andersen. I say he shouldn't be married to either. I see no problem continuing to alternate. Frederik has had numerous chances to up his game in the playoffs only to consistently let in at least one we all want them to have back. He should not be wounded seeing someone else getting their shot. Bussi to me seems to have more focus when he feels there is something to prove. I think that was part of the reason for his slump in March. Once he saw Frederik was getting into "favoured" status, he picked it back up again.

Thing is, neither one has shown they should be treated like a Brodeur or Roy. They may just not have it in them to play an entire series. But breaks in between w/regular assignments might be the way to go. Either way, Carolina is going to go as far as these 2 can ride.