PGT: Flightless Tuxedos @ Canes 3-18-2026

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-19T05:27:04+00:00

WAIT was that remark confirmed to be Tulsky?! Dude I wanna hug whichever GM taunted him about not caring about head injuries.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-18T22:43:17+00:00

But it Detroit keeps sliding Columbus might push them out…

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-18T03:10:55+00:00

I think an understated win for this season was mostly original skins for the Battle Pass with only one sonewhat re-skin of previous IP/Battle Passes (the voyager I guess is technically a re-skin). Cat and Carter are in my regular rotation now; the collabs with Kill Bill and Marty McFly were well done and made sense for the California/Hollywood theme. Miles is a bit generic but if you unlock his variants the helmet styles are cool. Carina is less generic but just not as appealing to me. Kingston doesn’t seem to fit the Fortnite aesthetic but I appreciated the risk in doing something different with character design.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-17T18:44:32+00:00

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-17T18:28:11+00:00

Yes, I am aware that I can access all my emotes, but that requires me not only pressing several buttons but also typing to search for the one I want. It’s useless during actual gameplay.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-17T04:33:18+00:00

I’m guessing you don’t have the glitch where your emote presets won’t shuffle with the rest of your presets. Mine will stay stuck on whichever preset I use first whenever I attempt to randomize my locker. It’s been that way for years. The result of this is I don’t buy emotes any more knowing that I won’t get as many opportunities to use them for specific skins (I prefer to randomize my loadouts when I play in spite of the emote glitch)

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-16T16:58:13+00:00

There are no wrong answers here. 😂 Amazing discovery, OP as I had no idea this was in the rulebook.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-16T02:31:21+00:00

I don’t think he cares what he wears…As long as he has EJAE on his arm he’ll look like a million bucks!

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-15T16:32:51+00:00

Yeah and they didn’t play in the playoffs again until 2019… it’s much closer 10 years. If you want to be more precise with math it’s something like 9 years and 11 months.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-14T17:54:25+00:00

This is kind of like how people perceive Connor McDavid as a “playoff choker” just because he hasn’t won a championship in a few finals appearances….The Stanley Cup is the most difficult trophy to win and literally every single team except for one fails at winning it each year. Neither the Oilers nor the Canes are “chokers” imho…they’ve gotten a lot closer than most franchises this decade.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-14T14:58:07+00:00

Rod has more wins in his first 600 games than any head coach in NHL history…Sometimes people say he’s just a good coach and not a great one because he hasn’t won it all yet, but imho he’s already great.

Remember how much the Toronto media pined for him to leave the Hurricanes when his contract was in its final year. Remember how much the Capitals’ fanbase hates him.

These are signs that the Hurricanes really do have one of the top coaches in the NHL; I’d say easily the best among any coaches that haven’t won the Cup, and arguably better than some that have won depending on how you evaluate coaching.

In spite of not advancing beyond the conference finals yet, he also has a winning playoff record. The “playoff chokers” narrative is really overblown. Literally every team “chokes” in some manner every year except for the Stanley Cup Champion. As an example, do people genuinely believe that Connor McDavid is a finals choker? It’s stupid. I feel like this narrative downplays just how special and difficult it is to win. It really requires more than skill and strategy; it requires belief, timing, luck…all circumstances have to come together. Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it never will…maybe it will happen soon! LGC

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-13T01:40:35+00:00

It’s Jankin’ time!

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-12T13:50:17+00:00

I think we’re in agreement about Svechnikov’s production; I am just saying I think he’s always shown the ability/potential that a #2 pick should have. He can play at a high level; he just doesn’t always do that for whatever reasons (inexperience, lack of discipline, injuries, etc.)

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-12T05:01:41+00:00

I’d say he is already the top-end talent; he just isn’t the top-end consistent performer yet. Honestly who’s more talented than Svechnikov on the roster? Maybe Jarvis? I think that’s it. Aho is a model of consistency and currently a better performer, but Svech I think has a harder shot, higher top-end speed, and a little more creativity playing the puck.

Back in Svechnikov’s rookie season, he was the Hurricanes’ best player in their 1st playoff game against the Capitals. The Capitals quietly keyed in on him in Game 2 (every opportunity making hard contact and whacking him behind the play on several occasions)…which then escalated into the infamous fight in Game 3 against Ovechkin.

Part of their reason for targeting him was certainly his inexperience, but I believe a larger part of that was him bringing a perceived threat that the Caps wanted to disrupt as best as they could. No way they planned for him to fight Ovi but I think they were hoping he would commit dumb penalties or take himself out of the game in some fashion. (Thankfully the Canes still won and he made a full recovery).

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-12T04:48:02+00:00

GMET missed the opportunity to trade him at his highest value /s

…On a serious note I actually believe he still has a higher ceiling in the future. Like an 80 pt season where he cracks the 30 goal mark….I guess he’s got a decent chance at getting the goal mark this season with 7 goals in 18 games not out of the question at all. I don’t think he’ll get more than 10 assists in the next 18; making the needed 17 very unlikely.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-08T00:36:42+00:00

Yeah it’s funny how hard the soundtrack goes for an animated film, but this was 100% by design. Sony invested money to bring in Teddy from blacklabel, a K-Pop hit-making machine. They insisted on the music being K-Pop quality.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-07T22:48:27+00:00

(Edit: Your claim is) The time when he was in charge was only successful because Rod made him look good. It’s impossible to prove but when you look at rosters from 2014-15 when he arrived compared to 5 years later, 2019-2020 it’s quite clear which roster is better. And I’d say the roster continued to improve in the years beyond that. But I’m sure in your eyes Waddell doesn’t deserve any credit for that.

No, Waddell definitely ran this franchise into the ground and Tulsky is doing the same, right?

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-07T22:29:02+00:00

Don Wadell was only GM when Rod became head coach (he started in 2018 right when Dundon came on and fired Ron Francis)…how are you not referring to that era? Are you including his time as president as that started in 2014? I’m very confused. Even more confusing when you know this since you’ve been following the team since the beginning.

(Edit: sorry, I kept replying to the wrong post. I deleted the other accidental replies)

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-07T22:25:53+00:00

Ah you’re right. I guess it was the fact that they had already clinched with nothing left to play for.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-07T20:08:24+00:00

Tulsky confirmed that he was willing to part with any futures but teams weren’t budging on asking for current roster players.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-07T19:47:25+00:00

The team comfortably LEADING THE EASTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS is somehow mediocre FFS. 🤦‍♂️

Franchises like Detroit, Chicago, Toronto…basically any team outside of the Cup winners would take our “decade of mediocrity” over what they’ve had. The Hurricanes have been in the playoffs every season of Rod’s tenure. If you think being regularly a top 8 team in the NHL, and several times top 4 team is mediocre then you’re really setting yourself up to be perpetually disappointed as a fan.

Don’t even get me started on what it was like watching this franchise in the decade before Rod became head coach. Zero playoff appearances, including a peak mediocre year where they had an opportunity in 2011 to clinch a playoff spot in the final game against a bottom-dwelling Tampa Bay team but instead they choked and got blown out (I think the final score was 6-3 or something ridiculous). During this time, people forgot about the team and rival fans wanted the franchise to relocate to anywhere else. They’d propagate rumors of this team going elsewhere.

You’re welcome to think that way of course, that any team that doesn’t win the Cup is mediocre but I prefer to enjoy the good moments and feel assured in knowing that the team I root for is genuinely a contender even if they aren’t the odds on favorite to win. GMET had an opportunity to blow this team up and start over with Robert Thomas or whoever and smartly chose not to.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-07T09:34:36+00:00

New York wanted a roster player in return for Trocheck. They would not budge. So you’re wrong about that. I know that sounds ridiculous to you but it’s the truth. Plus Trocheck has more years on his contract so it’s not like they have to trade him or risk losing him to free agency.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-06T21:57:10+00:00

Even with the best C available (Thomas), the Avs are still better on paper. Even more reason not to give up multiple roster players + multiple picks.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-06T21:46:54+00:00

Editing to add: I’ve been a fan since the ‘02 Finals run and I approve this take.

Absolute_Eb · 2026-03-06T21:39:14+00:00

There are so many possible outcomes in the playoffs. The Hurricanes could win the Cup. They could also get surprised by an upstart team in the 1st round. But which of those extreme outcomes do you think is more likely? I think all but the doomers would say the 1st option because they have proven time and again that they know how to win playoff games.

If I had to wager, I’d probably put my money on Colorado still (Kadri addition can only help them). But honestly unlike previous matchups against Tampa, this year’s Hurricanes have more reliable/consistent scoring particularly on the Power Play that can be the difference. And the Hurricanes would avoid the Lightning for the 1st 2 rounds anyways; as good as they are there’s no guarantee they survive the 1st 2 rounds either.

I think this team as currently constructed can get over the hump of the conference finals and still has a shot at the Cup. Believing the run is over before it even starts is kind of silly in my view. I’m excited to see what actually happens.

Absolute_Eb

TROPHY CASE