Spector on Ward and the Canes

Lyle Richardson has a piece on foxsports.com today about the Canes chances this season. Lyle puts a lot of the focus on Cam Ward. I agree to a point. Ward has yet to become the stopper he looked to be in the '06 Cup series. Ward faced the sixth most shots in the league last season, and gave up the third most goals. He barely held a .900 save percentage and his goals against average was worse than those of NHL luminaries like Fredrik Norrena and Mathieu Garon.

Yes, Ward is going to have to be the ball Danny, but I still think defense is just as big a question mark. JR made significant changes on the blueline, but I'm still concerned about the impact the departure of Wesley and Hedican will have on the Canes play in their defensive zone. Wesley always played a steady positional defensive game, and when he was healthy, Hedican's aggressiveness and speed helped cover mistakes and disrupt rushes.

We're all pretty sure Tim Gleason and Joe Corvo will do just fine in their roles, but until Anton Babchuk and Joni Pitkanen have some time working with their new partners and in the system, we won't know if this is the crew to take the Canes back to the playoffs. We also don't know what will become of Nic Wallin and Frankie K as we get closer to the season. I am willing to make this bold prediction: Nic will be slower and Frankie will be softer. Like most of you, I'd be OK if Frankie were moved for a puck, prospect or pick and Seidenberg or one of the Albany kids given a chance. For some reason, I keep checking on the status of UFA vets like Aaron Miller, Keith Carney and every body's favorite skating Ent, Marek Malik. Oh well, still plenty of time to tweak the roster before Camp Roddy becomes Camp Lavvy.