CAROLINA HURRICANES
Tumbling from the penthouse to the gutter tends to dispel illusions. The Eastern Conference Champions of 2002 were the Worst Team In The NHL in 2003, finishing last and ranking near the bottom in every meaningful statistical category. They started out okay, faded by Christmas and tanked altogether when players started getting hurt.
To its credit, management did not duck the ugly truth. Rather than blame injuries or fire the coach, the Hurricanes regrouped, adopting a new plan for a new season. The plan revolves around a gamble, a turnover and a reboot.
The reboot is at forward, where a team boasting Rod Brind’Amour, Ron Francis and Jeff O’Neill can surely find a few more goals, though it's crucial that Brind’Amour and Erik Cole resume last year's pre-injury pace. Everyone loves the new draft prize, Eric Staal, but 18-year-old centers usually have minimal impact. More immediate help will come from Radim Vrbata, a scoring hotshot acquired in March. Otherwise, they take a deep breath and hope for good health.
The turnover is on defense. No more talk of patience and development: In with the veterans! Carolina will have the most experienced blue line in the Southeast Division this year, as “projects” like David Tanabe and Nick Tselios fade away.
The gamble is in net, where mercurial veteran Arturs Irbe has likely made his final exit. So Carolina casts its lot with Kevin Weekes. He's played over 40 games just twice in a six-year career, and has never posted a winning record.
Trouble: Weekes was very good last year, but not very durable. If he gets hurt, the job falls to Patrick DesRochers, with 11 NHL games on his resume.
On the Spot: Francis is 40, soon to be number four on the NHL all-time scoring list, and likely in his last year. O'Neill is 26 and easily the team's best player. It's time for him to take over.
The Forecast: It’s third-place-or-nothing for the Hurricanes. If all unfolds as planned, they can challenge Tampa Bay for the division lead, which means a top-three finish in the conference. Anything less means a struggle for the last playoff spot.
The Call: 9th in the Eastern Conference.
Who's in:
Defenseman Danny Markov (trade from Phoenix)
Defenseman Glen Wesley (free agent from Toronto)
Defenseman Bob Boughner (trade from Calgary)
Center Marty Murray (trade from Philadelphia)
Right winger Joey Tetarenko (free agent from Ottawa)
Who’s Out:
Defenseman Nikos Tselios (free agent to Phoenix)
Defenseman David Tanabe (trade to Phoenix)
Left winger Jan Hlavac (free agent to New York Rangers)
2002-03 Regular Season Numbers:
Payroll:
$39,198,787, 16th overall
(Hockey News, November 15/02. Bonuses not included.)
- Record: 22-43-11-6 for 61 points.
- At home: 12-17-9-3.
- On the road: 10-26-2-3.
- Finish: 30th overall, 15th in the Eastern Conference, 5th in Southeast Division.
- Goals for: 171 (2.09 per game), 30th overall.
- Goals against: 240 (2.93 per game), 27th overall.
- Goal differential: Minus-69, 30th overall.
- Power play: 13.8 percent, 27th overall.
- Penalty kill: 81.6 percent, 25th overall.
Goaltending:
- Kevin Weekes, 51-14-24-9, 2.55 GAA, .912 SV PCT, 5 SO.
- Arturs Irbe, 34-7-24-2, 3.18 GAA, .877 SV PCT, 0 SO.
- Patrick DesRochers, 6-1-4-0, 3.62 GAA, .887 SV PCT, 0 SO.
Leaders:
- Scoring: Right winger Jeff O’Neill, 82-30-31-61.
- Power play points: Jeff O’Neill, 82-11-15-26.
- Game-winning goals: Jeff O’Neill, 7.
- Ice time: Defenseman Sean Hill, 24:20 per game.
- Plus/minus: Right winger Pavel Brendl, plus-5.
