The Lethbridge Hurricanes host the Regina Pats tonight for their only game of the weekend.
The Canes and Pats have played 3 times this season, with Regina holding a 2-1 edge in wins in those games. This will be the final meeting. The two clubs hooked up back on February 4th in Regina and the Canes pulled out a 3-2 victory despite being out shot 47-13. This game marks the end of a five game home stand for Lethbridge. They don't play again after tonight until next Wednesday (Feb. 22) when they travel to Saskatoon for a date with the Blades. They'll be back home next Friday (Feb. 24) to host the Kelowna Rockets. The Canes have just a dozen games left after tonight's game with the Pats.
Right now, Regina sits in 7th spot in the Eastern Conference, 3 points ahead of Brandon and 3 points back of both Calgary and Saskatoon. Depending on how the rest of the regular season plays out, the Pats could climb as high as 3rd or 4th place to not making the post-season all together. They do however have an 11 point spread between themselves and the 9th place Red Deer Rebels, so I don't think Regina will be on the outside looking in this season when it comes to the playoffs.
Tonight is also Cancer Awareness Night at the ENMAX Centre. The Canes have teamed up with the Canadian Cancer Society - Relay for Life will all the proceeds from the event going towards cancer research.
With this also being the Alberta Family Day long-weekend, the Hurricanes will honour the families and billet families of the players this evening. They'll also host them for a brunch on Sunday and then Sunday afternoon at 2:30 a FREE event for fans at the ENMAX Centre as the team is hosting a skills competition.
Game time tonight is 7:00 (MST). The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.
Thanks,
Pat
The views expressed on this blog are those of the moderator and contributors and are not endorsed by 94.1 CJOC or the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
I see that Austin Fyten played a game on Feb 11 with Vancouver, then not again since.
ReplyDeletePat, can you confirm that the Hurricanes simply delisted Fyten, and hence received nothing (conditional or otherwise) in return?
Two days prior to the trade deadline, every team had to declare their roster and have a minimum of 3 overage players. At the time, with Fyten the Canes technically had 4-20's, although he wasn't active so in order to comply with the rule, they had to delist Fyten, making him a "free agent". The next day, Braes was traded to Moose Jaw and Vancouver decided to list Fyten since they had an open 20 year old spot. The Giants picked up Fyten before the trade of Braes. Had no team pick Fyten up, the Hurricanes could have and likely would've re-listed him. Hopefully that explains things for you. So no, the Hurricanes did not receive anything in return.
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad. He's made a huge impact for the Giants and has really helped that team turn things around. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes won't have one of their leaders for the stretch drive because they foolishly let Fyten go without compensation. I think they could have got at least a player and a pick for Fyten.
ReplyDeleteFoolish???
ReplyDeletePreston was caught between a rock and a hard place. At the time of overage deadline, it looked like Fyten would not play again until April at the earliest. The Hurricanes were not going to be playing in April. Also at the time of the overage deadline, the Hurricanes had 4 overages.....Fyten, Braes, Ketlo and Sutter. At the time of the overage deadline (48 hours before the trading deadline) Preston was forced to release one, and since there was no deal for Braes in place, and with Fyten's health in question, Fyten was the odd man out. Had the Braes deal been made before the overage deadline, we would not be talking about a "foolish" deal. Preston's hands were tied, and no matter who he released at the overage deadline, he was not going to get anything for that player. Consider this as well, Vancouver only listed Fyten after they had moved one of their 3 overages which left them a spot. This was well after the trading deadline had come and gone. How much complaining would you be doing if......Preston had gambled on Fyten...and let Sutter or Kelto go? When according to all medical reports Fyten was not going to play until April. Can you imagine the compaints then? Give the guy a break...there was no way he was going to get anything for Fyten.
Hindsight is 20/20! If Preston had a crystal ball, then things may have been done differently. Preston is not the first GM forced to let a 4th overage go, only to have another team pick him up. Good on Fyten at least he has an opportunity for a playoff run, he would not have had that here.
I also don't think releasing Fyten was a bad move. People have to remember where the Canes are in the standings and where their future lies. It's NOT in the 20 year olds. Sure, it would've been nice to have Fyten for the full season as I think that could've, should've, might've made the Canes a contender for a playoff spot. But, since the team is now completely out of the playoff picture, there was no sense in keeping him.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he'll be able to salvage something from his season with the Giants and leave enough of an impression with the scouts to sign as a free agent with an NHL team for a look-see because that was really bad luck to rip his knee up so early. I'd like to see him do well and make an impression with the Giants.