Seven more years of this?

The Carolina Hurricanes, the least valuable franchinse in the league, has a new owner. Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon is now the proud owner of a team that is averaging the lowest NHL attendance of any team this year.(averaging 11,863 fans through 12 home games in 2017-18) That is on par with last years results, and the team has been on a downward spiral for the past 4 to 5 years. The last time this team made the playoffs was 2008-09. They no longer have a "franchise" player and are truly one of the most boring teams to watch.

Now all these negatives factor would usually result in the team losing their franchise and given to another city. However, this is the Gary Bettman era of hockey, and that would never happen. Or would it? IF Seattle had their stadium built already, maybe they get the Hurricane's franchise? The Hurricanes had been one of the more succeptable team to be moving. There was a time I thought this team might move to Quebec City. It would have made perfect sense. Quebec City is a great hockey town, and they have one of the most modern stadiums in North America. Alas, that will not be happening, and Tom Dundon has been given a minimal of 7 years to turn to sorry state of a team around.

Now I have been focusing on the negatives, and their are ALOT, but there are some good things going on in Carolina. For one, they have a solid core on defense, This is their current starting defensive lineup

1st line

Jacob Slavin - Brett Pesce

Hayden Fleury - Justin Faulk

Noah Hanifin - Trevor Van Riemsdyk

That is pretty solid, and it is a young core, that will only get better. They do have a could forwards that are very good too. Jeff Skinner , Sebastian Aho, and Teuvo Teravainen all are players capable of putting up 50+ points per season.However, their talent runs dry after that. Goaltending is a problem as well, as Cam Ward is past his prime, and Scott Darling is not a true blue starter. Behind the bench, Bill Peters has not gotten it done. This is his 4th year behind the bench, and it is time for a change.

Then their is GM Ron Francis. As a player, there were not many better than Ron Francis. He was the ultimate setup-man. An all-star on all levels. However, since taking over as GM, he has really not done anything extraordinary for the team. The team is still at the bottom of the league and attendance. They are not able to bring new talent in, and no one wants to be traded to Carolina.

All these factors could turn into a VERY long 7 years for Dundon, not only for the fans, but for the league itself. It is very upsetting for me to see team like Carolina, continually getting life-line after life-line. History dictates that this team is not very good, and that they will continually be at the bottom of the barrell. So for that, I am bringing out grumpy cat to end my post...