While bloggers are on the subject of who needs to step up for the Hurricanes this year - IMHO, the man who the Canes need to see the most improvement from this season will be the one and only Tim Gleason.
Yes, Jack Johnson would have stayed at Michigan through his 4 years in order to keep from having to play in Raleigh. So, essentially, it was a good trade to send him to LA for Gleason and Be-lawn-jay. But considering how much potential the team gave up to get Tim - we really need to see him develop into the real-deal defenseman that he was so highly touted to be from his junior/minor league play.
What seems to have been already forgotten among Caniac Nation is the pairing of Gleason and Wallin that provided a rock of a defensive core for a few weeks. What happened there? Part of it was injury - but most of it was Gleasons inconsistency.
Sure, Tim looks like he is ready to kick your ass at any point (and he has/will) and having an enforcer around other than Scott Walker helps, but he's here to play D above all things. Look for him to re-paired with Nicky Wallin this year and sweet Jesus let's keep him healthy.
