LetsGoCanes.com

The abbreviated 2013 Season is closing in on us; what, just a month ago looked like a trip to the playoffs has quickly turned into hope we get Seth Jones conversations. The Canes will play their final home season game tomorrow against the still injured Marc Staal's New York Rangers- and in an interesting move, the Canes have called up the youngest Staal, Jared to play in this game, sending Riley Nash & Tim Wallace to Charlotte to help the Checkers who will be in Oklahoma City to kick off the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

We should/could see an all Staal line tomorrow so in honor of that, a family photo.

Photo Credit Tumbler-

Check Here for all your Canes Updates including upcoming games for the 2013 Season:

2-26: Canes @ Washington Captials, Verizon Ctr.

2-28: Canes vs Penguins, PNC Arena

3-2: Canes vs Florida Panthers, PNC Arena

3-3: Canes @ Florida Panthers, Bank Atlantic Center

3-5: Canes vs Buffalo Sabres, PNC Arena

3-7 : Canes vs Montreal Canadiens, PNC Arena

3-9: Canes vs NJ Devils, PNC Arena

3-12: Canes @ Washington Captials, Verizon Ctr.

3-14: Canes vs Washington Capitals, PNC Arena

3:16: Canes  @ TB Lightning, Times Forum

UPCOMING FAN EVENTS (click for more)-Including Military Appreciation Night (3/9) & Cancer Awareness Night 3/19)

It's been a long time coming, and the day is finally here. The 113 day long lockout is over. 625 Regular season games, the Winter Classic and the NHL All Star game all lost in the process. A shortened season will commence pending ratification of the deal, and a revised schedule should go out in the coming day.

For your reading pleasure:

Puck Daddy - NHL Lockout Over

TSN. CA - Great Day for Hockey

NHL. com - NHL/NHLPA Agree to Framework of CBA

There are tons of blogs and articles on specifics of the deal, and "what next" as far as the games go, and scheduling. We'll be posting as it all comes in. Join us in the LGC Hurricanes Discussion Thread for more, and follow us on Twitter @lgc_com.

How happy are you that the lockout is over? Join the conversation!

We're now into the preseason and regular season games thru October 24th. This page will not update with what you'd normally see: Game previews, reviews, etc., until we see a new CBA in place. However, you can join the quite lively conversation on all things CBA/Lockout here in the CBA Negotiations thread with your fellow LGCers. We're also discussing what's happening in Charlotte with the Checkers, so join us and discuss.

Having experienced the 2004-05 lockout like so many of our board members, that we are experiencing this AGAIN, 7 years later, I have no words for what that makes me feel. I do, but honestly they're not fit to print on a message board.

Check in for updates or conversation, and follow us on Twitter.

Stay strong Caniacs!

These are literally the dog days of the NHL hockey fan's summer.

It's now August;  all the excitement of Free Agent Frenzy is now over, the Draft is in the rear view mirror and now is the time fans wait patiently for training camps to open. This summer there is a layer of uncertainty. The NHL Collective Bargaining agreement is about to expire and now the league and the players are in the midst of negotiations for a new one.

Join the conversation here on the 2012 CBA Thread. There is much to discuss, and much to catch up on if you're not following it too closely, but several good reads on what is happening with the league's proposal and the counter from the NHLPA, are musts on your reading lists:

From Sportsnet.ca: Cloaked in Compromise

USA Today's Kevin Allen

From Justin Bourne @ The Score: Backhand Shelf Blog

If you're on Twitter- some real good people to follow:

Aaron Ward the former Hurricane & SC Champ has become prolific on all things CBA is @aaronwardnhl

Michael Grange is Toronto based and typically covers the Leafs, he's @michaelgrange

James Mirtle @mirtle and Adam Proteau @proteautype are also excellent follows.

Stay tuned all- things have just started up with the CBA talks; here's hoping to a season that starts on time. Would be a shame for Coach Kirk to have a shortened training camp and for fans not to be able to see this new look Canes team on time.