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Carolina Hurricanes: Ranking every season in the history of the franchise

By Andrew Miller

RALEIGH, NC - JUNE 19: Rod Brind'Amour #17 of the Carolina Hurricanes kisses the Stanley Cup after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in game seven of the 2006 NHL Stanley Cup Finals on June 19, 2006 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes defeated the Oilers 3-1 to win the Stanley Cup finals 4 games to 3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - JUNE 19: Rod Brind'Amour #17 of the Carolina Hurricanes kisses the Stanley Cup after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in game seven of the 2006 NHL Stanley Cup Finals on June 19, 2006 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes defeated the Oilers 3-1 to win the Stanley Cup finals 4 games to 3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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RALEIGH, NC – NOVEMBER 12: Defenseman Bret Hedican #6 of the Carolina Hurricanes is congratulated by teammates as he skates by the bench against the Phoenix Coyotes during the NHL game on November 12, 2002 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes won 3-2. (Photo by Craig Jones/Getty Images/NHLI)
RALEIGH, NC – NOVEMBER 12: Defenseman Bret Hedican #6 of the Carolina Hurricanes is congratulated by teammates as he skates by the bench against the Phoenix Coyotes during the NHL game on November 12, 2002 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes won 3-2. (Photo by Craig Jones/Getty Images/NHLI) /

19. 2002-03

The pick for worst season in franchise history for the Canes is pretty easy. In 2002-03, they finished with a 22-43-11-6 record, good for last place in the NHL. The shocking part about that season was that the Canes were coming off a Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

The aging stars of the Canes like Sami Kapanen, Ron Francis, and Jeff O’Neill started to have much less of an effect on Eastern Conference competition. Two of the Canes best players, Erik Cole and Rod Brind’Amour, also had some struggles staying on the ice as both players saw less than 55 games worth of action.

With an aging Arturs Irbe in goal, the Canes tried to start a transition of Kevin Weekes taking over between the pipes. Weekes had a solid season with a .912 save percentage and five shutouts. Yet, the offensive support was never there.

It would not take the Canes long to get out of a rut when they made an appearance in the Cup Finals again in 2006. However, there was a good lull between the 2002 and 2006 Stanley Cup appearances, especially with the 2004-05 lockout.

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