The first captain for Carolina was also in the first duo of Canes selected for the All-Star Game, alongside Irbe, during the 1998-99 season. The former star center Keith Primeau’s tenure in North Carolina is largely a forgotten portion of his career.
However, Primeau had two of his best four point totals of his 15 season career. Most hockey fans now remember Primeau as a key member of some of the skilled and deep Philadelphia Flyers teams in the early 2000s with scorers like Simon Gagne, Jeremy Roenick, John LeClair, and Mark Recchi.
Primeau was a natural leader wherever he went, also guiding Carolina to its first playoff appearance, while playing in Greensboro, in 1999. That set off a stretch of three playoff appearances in four seasons, also the best run so far for the organization.
Losing Primeau entering the 2000s did not hurt the Canes too much. Francis was a seamless replacement as a captain. And, it’s great that Primeau went on to have a largely successful career with the Flyers. He retired at 34, after two All-Star Game appearances (the other in 2004).