7. 2007-08
The 2007-08 campaign was a very important step for the Canes on the way to the ECF appearance in 2009. Carolina went through some big transitions including the second best season in Eric Staal’s career statistically with 82 points.
Carolina won 43 games and once again finished in 9th place. Peter Laviolette and Paul Maurice almost trademarked the 9th place finish in the Eastern Conference between 2007 and 2012. Another big transition starting in this season was Laviolette himself.
It was the last full season with Laviolette as head coach in Raleigh. He would then take the Philadelphia Flyers and Nashville Predators to the Stanley Cup Finals over the next decade. It’s very likely that the Canes should have never let go of Laviolette.
Marking the 10th season in franchise history, hopes were high on this campaign. Especially after a rough follow-up in 2006-07 to when the Canes won the Stanley Cup, fans hoped that there would be some redemption efforts put on the ice.