Bull Durham jokes – Faxes from Uncle Dale

This is the Q&A with @Section328 from last Thursday, because four days in an NHL season pass with the impact of a fart in the wind.

A new coach, seemingly a new system, a new celebration, very shiny metrics and yet still outside the playoff spots at the moment. What’s changed with the Canes from Bill Peters to Rod The Bod?

Everything outside of the results. The team feels looser, more open, and less likely to give up on a game when they get down. This team’s amount of give-a0shit is measurably higher than any BP team.

Andrei Svechnikov has come right into the team from the draft. First impressions?

He looks good, and also looks like a rookie. One shift he’ll win a battle along the boards and get a great scoring chance. Two shifts later he’ll either turn the puck over or get goaded into a penalty by some wily veteran. Still seems like the sky’s the limit for him.

Dougie Hamilton and Michael Ferland were the return for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm. How have they fit in?

Really, REALLY well. Raleigh has several museums which has helped Dougie feel at home and Ferland has helped round out the top line more than we would have hoped for. Hamilton started the season a little slow, and for some reason he hasn’t gotten much power at time, but the last 5-6 games, he’s made a lot of impressive plays and is starting to let his shot fly. Ferland has brought a physical element, with a good amount of skill, that this team hasn’t had in years.

The Canes were rumored to be shopping Justin Faulk this summer, including to the Hawks. Is he now going to stay or might he be deadline fodder and why wouldn’t the Canes want to keep him?

When the team announced they were keeping a letter on the front of his sweater, much trade talk moved from Faulk to Pesce, another RHD. He seems to have a weight off his shoulders now that he’s not a co-captain (and thankfully the team doesn’t have that crap this year) so we think he’s more likely to stay than go.

Is William Nylander coming to town?

There’s the big question. When the Canes started strong, we saw no reason to make a big move. Now, that’s changed. It’s hard to read Kyle Dubas, and they’ve said they don’t want to trade him, but there’s been a LOT of smoke lately between Raleigh and Toronto. For now, we’re still thinking it doesn’t happen, but we wouldn’t bet too much money on it