‘He knows what he wants’: Duke’s Joey Baker eager to show he’s more than ..."/> ‘He knows what he wants’: Duke’s Joey Baker eager to show he’s more than ..."/>
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Old North Banter Daily Links 6/6: Scott Darling, Justin Faulk, Joey Baker

By Christian Candeloro

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 12: Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins skates against Justin Faulk #27 of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on May 12, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins defeated the Hurricanes 6-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 12: Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins skates against Justin Faulk #27 of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on May 12, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins defeated the Hurricanes 6-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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‘He knows what he wants’: Duke’s Joey Baker eager to show he’s more than truncated freshman season

"With soon to be three NBA Draft lottery picks from his class, Baker understands why he was every bit the forgotten freshman. But it’s also why he hasn’t lost his sense of self. Baker believes he’s still very much the same player from Fayetteville (N.C.) Christian who was ranked in the top 20 in the Class of 2019 before he forged his way into Duke a year early. “Through the media, definitely it could be interpreted as me being left out just cause those guys were doing crazy things,” Baker says. “I was originally redshirting and then, after that came off, didn’t play a ton, so they got the hype that they deserved and people kind of forgot about me.”When Baker reclassified into the 2018 class, he was fully intending to sit out the season. He was just 17 when he arrived on campus last summer and didn’t turn 18 until classes had started. But he’s also a competitor who, the more he practiced, the more he wanted to play. He continually told members of the coaching staff that he’d be ready if they needed him, never really thinking they would take him up on the offer as the season got deep into ACC play. When Williamson got injured on Feb. 20 and coach Mike Krzyzewski tapped Baker to help spark the Blue Devils’ shaky outside shooting, he didn’t think of it as a difficult decision at all. Baker handled it like he handled reclassifying and most all his basketball decisions — by betting on himself."

Duke had same pretty massive names on the roster, so it can be easy to forget about Baker. Baker appeared in only four games, averaged 0.8 points in 4.5 minutes per game. Still, Baker has massive talent, as he was ranked above major contributors such as Kentucky guard Tyler Herro (37) and Michigan’s Ignas Brazdeikis (40). Duke’s roster is full of unknown’s in 2019-20 and Baker will have a massive chance to jump into the fold

NHL Trade Board: Top 20 players who could move this summer

"5. Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes – Yes, the Hurricanes’ season was wildly successful. And yes, Carolina is looking to build off that success and not blow anything up. There’s still an internal appetite to add high-end skill into the forward group and moving one of its defensemen – Faulk, Dougie Hamilton or Brett Pesce – is still the best path to get there. The Hurricanes would love to find a match with the Maple Leafs for one of their young forwards, as has been speculated for a long time. But if there’s a deal to be made outside of Toronto, Carolina is open to it, too."

It seems like a yearly thing that Faulk’s name appears in the rumor mill. Faulk was second in the team in scoring, racking up 35, all while not missing a game all season. Still, the emergence of Pesce and Jaccob Slavin in the playoffs shows that the Hurricanes are stacked with defensive talent.

The Hurricanes will face a numbers crunch at the defensive position and the Bruins series showed them that they are still far from being a true cup contender. Trading Faulk wouldn’t be a terrible move to continue to remake the offense. If it sounds shocking, then I would point back to the Noah Hanifan, Elias Lindholm trade that seemed shocking at the time but paid off majorly for the Hurricanes.

2019 NHL buyout rankings: 25 candidates and the financial ramifications of moving on

"1. Scott Darling, Carolina HurricanesDarling made 57 saves on 60 shots against in the preseason, good for a .950 save percentage. He started the regular season 2-2-1 with a .913 save percentage. Early on, he looked a lot like the player that Carolina had gambled on as its starting goalie.Then it all went away. Injury, poor play, a demotion to the minors followed by more poor play, and then a leave of absence all worked to derail Darling’s second consecutive season with the Canes. He has two years left on his contract, but at this point, Carolina would be hard-pressed to rely on him as anything more than a No. 3 goalie.He’s replaceable for less money than the $1.18-million annually the Hurricanes would free up with a buyout."

Darling has been an absolute disaster in a Hurricanes uniform and in my opinion, the Canes can’t rely on the other two goaltenders on the roster to be the long term solution either. Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney were fantastic this season, but Mrazek is a career journeyman and McElhinney is 36 years old.

The Canes need to shore up the goaltending spot and continue to bring in talent. Ridding themselves of Darling should be the first step.

The Carolina Panthers have signed free agent cornerback Javien Elliott to a 1-year deal and waived guard Brendan Mahon

"Elliott was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2016 NFL Draft and was stashed on their practice squad during the 2016 season. In 2017 and 2018, he appeared in 30 games for the Bucs and tallied 38 tackles and one interception (against the Panthers, of course)."

This is something! Right? Man we need football to start again.

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