When do you give up on a team's chances?

November 5, 3:07 PMNHL ExaminerChris Morgan

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Staal and the Canes are struggling mightily. (Icon SMI)

When the NHL, or any sport for that matter, begins their season there are always teams that exceed or fail to meet expectations out of the gate. Some people jump to conclusions based on these early outcomes, and often they look foolish in the long run. Others, such as myself, wait until there is a reasonable enough sample size to make a decision. However, there is still a question that can be asked: Just when can you give up on a team?

This question is, mostly, directed at the Carolina Hurricanes. Sure, the Toronto Maple Leafs have also gotten off to a terrible start, but they weren't considered a good team by most. When I am talking about giving up on a team, I mean in regards to them not living up to expectations. People generally give up on terrible teams before the season even begins. I know, I'm a Detroit Lions fan.

The Hurricanes, however, went to the Conference Finals last season. They brought back almost the exact same team, including stud goaltender Cam Ward. Yet, through 14 games they are 2-9-3. They've only scored 28 goals while letting up 53. Eric Staal has five points on the season, and he's also injured right now (an injured star player? What a shock!). Things have started off really poorly for the Canes to be sure.

However, it is just a start. They have almost 70 games left on the season. That is a lot of time to turn things around. When it comes to the NHL, my general rule is this: I wait until game 20 to make any decisions about a team. Even then, my deductions are usually quite vague, unless a team is playing particularly great or particularly poorly. There is a real chance the Hurricanes will fall into that latter category, however.

That said, even if they are still terrible at the 20 game mark, I don't know if I'll be able to write them off just yet. I mean, this team was in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Can things really have fallen apart this bad? It's not like they had a fire sale. I'm hesitant to think this will continue, yet I'm also surprised it has even gotten this far.

Of course, there are six more games left for the Hurricanes to play until they hit game 20. That's 12 points on the table. By then, maybe things will look better. However, they also might not. Additionally, I throw it out to you, dear reader, how long do you wait until you alter your expectations for a team's season? And what do you make of the Carolina Hurricanes thus far?

Lastly, and unrelated, Puck Daddy released their latest decade in review list. This one features the top five best and top five worst jerseys of the last decade. Now, this is a list about jerseys that debuted in the last decade. Well, sort of. Their worst jersey of the decade is technically a throwback. It throws way back, however, so maybe that's why they counted it. Either way, I disagree with them on both their best and worst jersey of the decade. I'm doing this off the top of my head, but I think I'd say the best is the St. Louis Blues' current alternate jersey, and the worst in the Dallas Stars' old alternate jersey with the bull's head constellation. My memory of Pavel Datsyuk's fantastic deke on Marty Turco will always be tainted because of that jersey. However, if you want to talk non-alternate jerseys, the worst is probably the Atlanta Thrashers' get up. Big upset over the Buffalo Banana Slug. The best I'd say is the Phoenix Coyotes current jerseys. That's actually one of my favorite in all of the NHL. Anyway, check out the list if you want and make your own decisions.