In Order to move Forward We Have to Let Go of The Past

The year 2006 was a great year for me. I became a father for the first time, I had a great job, and my beloved Carolina Hurricanes hoisted the Stanley Cup. Since the year 2006 many things in my life have changed. I no longer have that great job, and my son lives with his mother in Florida and I get him during the summer. The only thing that remains constant from the 2006 is the fact that the Carolina Hurricanes seem stuck in that year.
Hardly a game goes by where the 2006 cup run is not mentioned, and team personnel decisions seem to be motivated by  2006 too, as unprepared members of the 2006 Cup team are given positions within the organization. ( See Coach Brindamour). This cold hard truth can be further proven by the fact the last original member of the 2006 Stanley Cup Team just departed the team in July of this year a mere 12 years after the cup run. This departure was not before current team captain and 2006 cup team member Justin Williams returned to the fold in 2017. Meaning for the 13th consecutive season this teams mindset has been influenced by the ghosts of 2006.

The problem with this mindset is over the past 12 years the league has changed significantly from the young fast style of the Blackhawks to the heavier styles of Hockey of the Kings and Penguins. The team will never move on until they stop living in the past. I am in no way saying we should not be proud of that season but much like the fact I only celebrate my son's birth once a year on his birthday. It should not STILL be a focal point of the teams existence, and in many unpleasant ways it is, and continuing to ice teams while the organization is looking in the rearview mirror, instead of forward is unfair to players and fans.
Despite how much we would like to believe it Jaccob Slavin will never be Glenn Wesley and Sebastian Aho is Not Eric Staal,  but what they are is two dynamic young hockey players, and once the team decides to build around them instead of attempting to duplicate past successes I look for an upward trend in Canes Hockey. Thanks for reading and Redvolution

The Caniac Collector

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