It’s a common sight across the league this week to see newly acquired players joining their new teams on the ice for the first time. What’s not as common is that newly acquired player being the franchise’s all-time wins leader.
But that was the case this morning at Bojangles’ Coliseum when John Muse stepped onto the ice for the Checkers’ practice, just in to the Queen City after a long trip from the Lone Star State.
After spending last season backing up Drew MacIntyre, Muse signed a deal with the Texas Stars during the offseason. The netminder split time in the Texas net to start the year, but was eventually pushed out of the picture by two young goalies on NHL contracts.
So when Monday’s trade deadline rolled around and the Checkers found themselves with a hole in net after MacIntyre’s departure to Rockford, they turned to a familiar face.
While it was short-lived, Muse views his time in Texas as a positive.
“It was a good experience,” said Muse. “They have a great group of guys down there. It’s a great organization and I had a lot of fun. But I think it’s a good thing for my career to come back here. I’m hoping to get some games and help the guys make the playoff push here.”
After spending almost the entirety of his AHL career with Charlotte, Muse is hoping that the alternate perspective he witnessed in Texas will help him bring something new to the Checkers this go-round.
“I think every season, regardless of where you’re playing, new things are going to happen and you take those experiences and use them to your advantage later on in your career,” said Muse. “I think going to Texas and seeing how they do things was a good eye-opener. Hopefully I’ll be able to bring some of that with me here.”
With this being his first year behind the bench for Charlotte, head coach Mark Morris doesn’t have much first-hand knowledge about Muse, but has done his research.
“My son and he worked out this past summer on the Cape [Cod],” said Morris. “I never met him before today, but my son had good things to say about him. I spoke with Paul Vincent, who ran that camp over the summer, and he had glowing comments about him. I know that management and the coaching staff here, they look at him as a guy that can win hockey games.
“He’s had some success here and he’s familiar with [assistant coach] Geordie Kinnear and what Geordie preaches on the back end,” said Morris. “I think that that has to give him some comfort because they speak the same language and he knows what the expectations are. He appears to be a hard-working, serious guy, someone who leads by his actions. That can be a positive for us.”
Joining the team now also provides Muse, who has now found his way onto the Checkers’ roster for five consecutive years, a shot at a playoff run, something he hasn’t been a part of since 2012-13. Though they are currently on the outside looking in, a hot run down the stretch here could push the Checkers into the postseason, and Muse is ready to try and help make that happen.
“I think anytime you have a chance to make the playoffs it’s exciting,” said Muse. “It gives you something more to play for in the last little bit of the season. The guys are excited to make a push for the playoffs and I think we’re ready to.”
With MacIntyre now in the Blackhawks organization, Muse joins up with Daniel Altshuller to form the Checkers’ tandem down the stretch. Altshuller is coming of his best performance in some time, a 27-save win over Manitoba, and will be looked at to pick up some more of the work load with the veteran gone.
“Performance is really important now,” said Morris. “We’re hopeful that [Altshuller] returns to the form that we saw him at when he showed up here. He played really well in his last outing and we’re hoping that he can continue to ride that high. We’re going to need it over this next stretch because we’re playing some great hockey teams. Knowing that there’s some sure-handedness back there, a guy who can make saves at appropriate times, that’s a big thing for our confidence.”
