In their 25th year of being an organization, the Carolina Hurricanes have yet again proven themselves to be one of the top teams in the NHL.
“This is a team living its best life now, and it’s an era of prosperity in which Carolina deserves to revel,” ESPN NHL reporter Kristen Shilton said.
With many news sources predicting early on they will be a Stanley Cup contender, the Hurricanes finished the season with a record of 52 wins, 21 losses and nine overtime losses. They finished first in the division for the third year in a row and second in the league.
“The Hurricanes started off pretty good, we were a really solid team,” CTE teacher Bobbie Robertson said.
For some first-time Carolina Hurricanes, they’re already making history, such as Brent Burns who now holds the franchise record for most points scored as a defenseman. The Hurricanes lost many key players this past off-season; three centers, Max Domi, Steven Lorentz, and Vincent Trocheck; right-wing, Nino Niederreiter; and two defensemen, Ethan Bear, and Tony DeAngelo.
The Hurricanes also added two defensemen, Brent Burns and Shayne Gostisbehere, left-wing Max Pacioretty, and right-wing Jesse Puljujarvi. Pyotr Kochetkov isn’t a trade but was on the Hurricane’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate team, the Chicago Wolves. He was pulled up to play in a couple of NHL games where he went 12-7-5 with four shutouts. There are some questions as to what General Manager, Don Waddel, will do with Unrestricted Free Agents (UFAs) whose contracts will expire after the 2022-2023 season ends.
Rod Brind’Amour, head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes since 2018, helped end their nine-year playoff drought and has since led the team to the playoffs every year. Brind’Amour was captain of the Carolina Hurricanes 2006 Stanley Cup Champion team. This was a special year for the Hurricanes. On Feb. 16 the Carolina Hurricanes held a Hall of Fame induction ceremony and inducted 2006 Stanley Cup Winner, Cam Ward. Ward marks the fourth person to be in the Hurricanes Hall of Fame, the other three being Rod Brind’Amour, Ron Francis and Glen Wesley who also have their numbers retired by the Hurricanes.
“There are so many other Hurricanes who have and will put their stamp on hockey in Carolina, and it’s important to recognize them,” Brind’Amour said.
The Hurricanes played their first-ever outdoor game on Feb. 18th held at Carter-Finley Stadium where they secured a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Prior to the game, on Feb. 17, Raleigh held a Fan Fest to promote the Stadium Series game and bring more people to the sport of hockey. On Feb. 20, the Hurricanes held the 10th annual Alumni Game that featured Rod Brind’Amour and Justin Williams as team captains, along with Bates Battaglia, Jesse Boulerice, Tim Brent, Erik Cole, Mike Commodore, Jeff Daniels, Tim Gleason, Sean Hill, Chad LaRose, Steve Rice, Aaron Ward, Cam Ward and Shane Willis.
Two season-ending injuries occurred involving Max Pacioretty and Andrei Svechnikov. Max Pacioretty, who missed the first half of the season due to a torn Achilles tendon, tore the same tendon just two weeks after his return causing him to be done for the season. Leftwing Andrei Svechnikov had 23 goals, 32 assists, and 55 points when he tore his ACL on March 11 during the game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Svechnikov had his first appearance at the 2023 NHL All-Star Games where he placed first for fastest skater. Many news sources are predicting the Hurricanes’ post-season will be tough without him.
“The injuries are in places we need to have covered in order to be a winning team,” junior Mason Powell said. “It makes the team switch up the lines too much causing them not to have a solid line chemistry”.
The Hurricanes were the second team in the league to clinch a playoff spot, after the Boston Bruins, on March 23. There are many predictions as to how far they will go and who they will play along the way. They received a home-ice advantage for the first round against the New York Islanders, who they beat four games to two. During the second round of the playoffs, they will play the New Jersey Devils, who knocked out the New York Rangers in game 7 of the first round. With the Boston Bruins being knocked out in the first round by the Florida Panthers, the Hurricanes will now receive home-ice advantage throughout the rest of the playoffs.
“Even though toward the end of the season they had a few important injuries, I still think we have a great team and could finish very strong in the finals,” Robertson said.
