Each week this season we revisited the week’s events and selected the best Carolina Hurricanes player over that period. The biggest difference between those selections and this one is we use a points system and we rank the top 5.
To find the Cane of the Year we awarded each player two points for every time they were ‘Cane of the Week’ and one point for every time they were an ‘Honorable Mention’. Eligible players must have ended the season on the Hurricanes roster. Here are your top five Hurricanes from this past season.
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Jeff Skinner – 13 points
After 82 games it is clear that the best Hurricane of 2015-2016 was Jeff Skinner. He led the team in goals and points, and edged out Jordan Staal by a solid six votes to take home the extremely prestigious prize of being #1 on THIS list.
Skinner finishing first makes a lot of sense. Week in and week out he was the Canes best forward. Like the rest of the team Skinner was a bit snake bitten in the first couple months, but once he turned the corner in December the Canes followed him.
As they tend to do his goals came in bunches, with one stretch in particular being quite impressive. In three mid-December games the 23 year old scored two hat tricks and tallied an assist for seven points.
What stood out the most for Skinner was his finish to the season. When Eric Staal jetted off to New York Skinner took control of the offense, registering 16 points in 19 games. That’s a pace of nearly 70 points over the course of a full season which would be a career high for Skinner.
If the Canes can add a dynamic offensive piece this off-season to compliment the former rookie of the year the other teams better watch out…Skinner might have an electrifying season.
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Jordan Staal – 7 points
Moving down the list, Jordan Staal finishing 2nd in the rankings is fitting. He started slow, but once December came Staal became a different player. Along with Andrej Nestrasil and Joakim Nordstrom, Staal was a dominant two way forward. If the season started on the first of December you might very well be looking at the Selke trophy winner.
The final month of the season saw his production dip, and the loss of Nestrasil on his wing was surely a major factor to that decline. Even with the brutal start to his season, and the weak finish, Staal put together arguably his best season in a Canes uniform. From December to the trade deadline there were few forwards more dominant over that stretch of time.
Cam Ward – 6 points
Surprisingly Cam Ward finished 3rd on this list, likely the result of how points are awarded for this competition rather than his overall performance this season. He did have his moments though. Early in the season against Colorado Cam Ward made a miracle save on Matt Duchene to keep the game scoreless, helping the team win later in overtime.
He improved as the season went on, and at the very least Ward ended the season as a 1A goalie option over Eddie Lack. It will be interesting to see if he gets re-signed this summer.
Jaccob Slavin – 5 points
Jaccob Slavin claims the number four spot outright despite only playing in 63 games. If there was an award for surprise of the season, Slavin would be a shoe-in. He spent the previous year playing at Colorado College and wasn’t on many Caniacs radar to make a large impact in the NHL this year.
To everyone’s disbelief he was not only an impactful rookie, but he was the Hurricanes best D-man down the stretch with Justin Faulk injured. It will be very interesting to see if Slavin can sustain his level of play come next year and avoid the sophomore slump. Either way this past season was a marvel. Noah Hanifin got the early attention, but Slavin gets the higher ranking in April.
Other Notable Players – 4 points
In fifth we have a four way tie between Nordstrom, Nestrasil, Hanifin, and Victor Rask.
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Both Nordstrom and Nestrasil were pleasant surprises flanking Jordan Staal. Noah Hanifin lived up to his hype, being one of only three players from the 2015 draft making an immediate jump into the NHL. The other two were Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid, which is decent company by any standards.
Finally Victor Rask had a great sophomore season, reaching 20 goals and close to 30 assists. Rask didn’t score any higher on this list because he is so darn consistent. Rather than having flashy weeks he quietly goes about his business and always plays excellent hockey.
The big name missing from the list is of course Justin Faulk. He finished with 3 points overall, and that’s probably due to him missing an extended period of time with injury. It’s also because Faulk was at his best when Carolina was at their worst this season.
Faulk helped to steady the ship, but once the ship got going he seemed to lose the recognition he deserved for getting it going in the first place. For all his success this season it unfortunately got lost underneath other story lines. Faulk had a great season, but just not in regards to this criteria.
Next: The Carolina Hurricanes Should Draft Logan Brown
Who was your top five best Hurricane this season? What should Carolina do this off-season or on draft day? Let us know in the comments section below or on Twitter and Facebook.