A Carolina Hurricanes blog with occasional news about the rest of the NHL.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Williams injured

On Wednesday, the Hurricanes got some horrible news. Justin Williams has torn his right Achilles tendon and will miss four to six months. According to the News and Observer, Williams suffered the injury in an off-ice workout and should miss the majority of the season.

Williams, the first line right winger, missed the final 45 games of last season. 43 of those were due to a blown ACL. Since joining the Hurricanes, Williams has been nearly a point-a-night producer and will be sorely missed, just as he was down the stretch in 2007-08.

This is indeed horrible news. RBH had Williams projected at 73 (36/37) points this season, second most on the team.

Jim Rutherford stressed the fact that although this is terrible, the entire season won’t be lost:
“It’s certainly a setback for us. We were looking forward to Justin having a big year. This doesn’t mean he won’t be a part of it. He can come back for the most important part of it.”

He also stressed that the Hurricanes have some depth and will be able to fill the void. Just not as well.

Patrick Eaves will be handed an excellent chance to earn his mettle. Suddenly, the injury-prone youngster who arrived in a blockbuster trade last February, will be on the team’s top line. RBH had Eaves projected at 32 (16/16) points as a second line right wing. The other good that comes out of this is that Ryan Bayda, who has worked his tail off, will be guaranteed a spot on the big team.

The other thing that arises from this situation is that it almost guarantees Jeff O’Neill a job. After a disastrous year on and off the ice just before the lockout, plus the tragic death of his brother, O’Neill was traded to Toronto, and few people were sad to see him go. Although he didn’t return to his 40-goal form, he started to show promise with the Leafs. He spent last season out of hockey entirely, but continued to skate and work out. This summer, the Hurricanes all-time leading goal scorer (176 goals) was offered a tryout contract. All indicators are that he’s been looking good.

I’ve been hyper-critical of O’Neill in the past. He looked terrible in his final year here, and the DUI (two of them) didn’t help. But I’ve also been able to look at Jeff O’Neill vis-a-vis the summer of 2008 in a completely objective manner. He’s been working hard, and he means business. He’s gotten married and has a kid on the way. That makes a man change quite a bit. This isn’t the old Jeff O’Neill. Before I knew about Williams’ injury, I commented to a friend just today that I would be the first guy to tip my hat to O’Neill if he makes the team. That looks like an inevitability now.

The lines will have to be shuffled, and O’Neill is huge because he can play any forward position. Camp hasn’t even opened yet, but here’s how I imagine opening night:

Ray Whitney / Eric Staal / Patrick Eaves
Sergei Samsonov / Rod Brind’Amour / Scott Walker
Tuomo Ruutu / Matt Cullen / Jeff O’Neill
Chad LaRose / Brandon Sutter / Ryan Bayda

So, Caniacs who still have those dusty old 92 sweaters might want to pull them out of the closet.

8 comments:

Jennifer Hammer said...

Just to be devil's advocate here, and my complete bias, but another scenario could be Drayson Bowman having a great camp and earning that spot. Just sayin'
:)

nope said...

I went to the dinner the other night for group leaders and Assist. Head Coach McCarthy said ONeill would be a center this year. I know the injury changes things, but still...

Black Dog said...

When he played for the Leafs he lived in my neighbourhood. Was out with my kids one Sunday morning and I mistook O'Neill for a hobo. True story.

Hope he's off the sauce.

Anonymous said...

無料 出会い 競馬予想 無料 競馬予想 競馬予想 無料 競馬予想 無料 競馬予想 無料 近視 手術 メル友 出会い 出会い 出会い 出会い メル友 メル友 人妻 メル友 ギャンブル依存症 AV女優 無料 出会い 出逢い 掲示板 出会い系 無料 出会い 人妻 出会い 人妻 出会い セフレ 人妻 出会い セックスフレンド メル友 出会い SM 愛人 不倫 セフレ 無料 出会い 出会い系 無料 無料 出会い 富士山 写真 富士山 メル友 無臭性動画 カリビアムコム 一本堂 出会い 人妻 セックスフレンド ハメ撮り エッチな0930 メル友 無料 出会い 無料 出会い セフレ セフレ セフレ セックスフレンド セックスフレンド セックスフレンド 人妻 出会い 人妻 出会い 人妻 出会い 出会い系 出会い系 出会い系 カリビアンカム カリビアンカム

Anonymous said...

I went to the dinner the other night for group leaders and Assist. Head Coach McCarthy said ONeill would be a center this year. I know the injury changes things, but still...

Get More Details

India Pictures said...

you’ve got great elements there and I do like how you encourage the readers to take the time to think.

Essay Writer said...

Great articles Nice postings i really appreciate on your hard workings. Well!! keep going on and try more best as you can really impressive post that you have been done here..

colon cleanse said...

it's good to see this information in your post, i was looking the same but there was not any proper resource, thanx now i have the link which i was looking for my research.

disclaimer

Red And Black Hockey is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Carolina Hurricanes Hockey Club, the National Hockey League or any of its other member clubs. The opinions expressed herein are entirely those of RBH. Any comments made are the opinion of the commenter, and not necessarily that of RBH.
Whenever possible, RBH uses its own photography. Any incidental use of copyrighted material including photography, logos or other brand markings will not interfere with the owner's profits.