Carolina Hurricanes: Ghosts of Goaltenders Past

Any Carolina Hurricanes goaltending discussion is usually dominated by familiar names.  While that’s fun, I’m going to take you on a deep-dive of keepers who have donned the eye over the years.

Before the dust had settled on the move from Hartford, Carolina Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford pulled the trigger on a notable trade.  Coming in for the debut season in Greensboro was rugged winger Gary Roberts and goaltender Trevor Kidd; heading out was center Andrew Cassels and goalie prospect (and future Conn Smythe winner) Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

Kidd, a 1990 1st round pick of the Calgary Flames (taken nine spots ahead of Martin Brodeur.  Ouch.) and Sean Burke, who had moved south with the Whalers, were the goaltending tandem heading into the 1997-98 season.  By season’s end, Burke would be gone (more on that later), and the Hurricanes found themselves in what would become a familiar position of playing musical goalies.

Through the Hurricanes’ two-plus decades in North Carolina, there have been arguably four netminders who are closely tied to the success that the team has experienced: Arturs Irbe, Kevin Weekes, Martin Gerber, and Cam Ward.  The 2018-2019 season added the names Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney to that lore.

But this list isn’t about those guys.  Instead, we’re going to take a look at a list of goalies who you may have forgotten ever played for the sightless eye.  Some were on the downside of solid careers when they joined the Hurricanes, others were reclamation projects that failed to pan out.  Rounding things out are the journeymen, those who plied their craft in numerous cities and various leagues.

Without further ado:

Tom Barrasso

Tom Barrasso is unquestionably the most decorated goalie on this list.  The Massachusetts native was a can’t-miss prospect when he was drafted 5th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1983 draft.  Barrasso came into the NHL straight out of high school and promptly won the Calder and Vezina trophies.

After that auspicious start, Barrasso found his way to Pittsburgh where he led the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cup victories in 1991 and 1992 (though Frank Pietrangelo played strong in relief of an injured Barrasso in 91).  Wrist and shoulder injuries derailed Barrasso’s career and he was dealt to the Ottawa Senators in 2000, playing in all of 7 games.

The injury bug reappeared, costing Barrasso all of the 2000-2001 season.  In July of 2001, the 36-year-old Barrasso signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes to bolster their depth in net.

“We are excited to get an elite goalie like Tom.  This will strengthen our goaltending. He is a proven veteran with a wealth of experience that will certainly benefit our organization.” -Jim Rutherford

While no longer an elite goalie, Barrasso did post the best stats of his career since being traded out of Pittsburgh:

Four days before the 2002 trade deadline, Barrasso was moved to Toronto for a 4th round pick (Kevin Nastiuk, 126th overall).  After finishing the season with the Maple Leafs, Barrasso played in six games for the St. Louis Blues during the 2002-03 season before signing an honorary contract that allowed him to retire as a Pittsburgh Penguin.

After retiring, Barrasso joined the Carolina Hurricanes as a goaltending coach for 2 seasons and then as an assistant coach for 2 more.  Barrasso has also served in various coaching roles in the KHL and in Europe.

Reflections: Barrasso was near the end of his storied career when he arrived in Raleigh.  While his season with the Hurricanes wasn’t bad, Rutherford made the right call in moving him to Toronto as the duo of Irbe and Weekes carried the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Final.

Then again, Barrasso made a name for himself as a clutch playoff performer.  Maybe he could have helped the Hurricanes overcome a stacked Red Wings team.  Nah, probably not.  Barrasso didn’t see any playoff action in Toronto, who the Hurricanes knocked out in the Eastern Conference Final.

Patrick DesRochers

A former 1st round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes (14th overall in 1998), Patrick DesRochers falls squarely into the category of “bust”.  Leading up to the draft, DesRochers was widely believed to be a franchise goalie.

In the immortal words of Dave Mustaine, hindsight is always 20/20.

After going 1-5 over parts of two season with the Coyotes, DesRochers was traded to the Hurricanes in exchange for goaltender Jean-Marc Pelletier (originally acquired in the trade that brought Rod Brind’Amour to Carolina) on New Year’s Eve, 2002.

Now, for those who don’t remember, the 2002-03 season was a dumpster fire for the Hurricanes.  Arturs Irbe (7-24-2, 3.18 GAA) and Kevin Weekes (14-24-9, 2.50 GAA) were getting no support, and the Hurricanes finished the year dead last in the NHL with 171 goals for.

Sounds like an ideal situation for a young and struggling goalie, eh?

In the end, DesRochers only played in two games with the Hurricanes.  The first, a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, saw the goalie turn aside 32 shots.  Not bad, though the Sabres weren’t exactly a powerhouse.

The second was a 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in which DesRochers surrendered three goals in the 3rd period.

That was it for DesRochers in the NHL.  He bounced around the minors before playing in Europe for 7 seasons.  After retiring, he served as the goaltending coach for his former OHL team, the Sarnia Sting.

Reflections: DesRochers had good size (6’3″, 209 lbs) but was hounded by inconsistency after turning pro.

Eric Fichaud

Eric Fichaud (drafted 16th overall by Toronto in 1994) was traded before he played a single game on NHL ice.  Ten months after he was drafted, the Maple Leafs sent Fichaud to the New York Islanders where he spent three unremarkable seasons before landing in Nashville.  He went 0-6 with the Predators, posting a sub .900 save percentage.

In the summer of 1999, Fichaud was on the move yet again, dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes for a 4th round pick.  I would say that it was a drastic overpayment, but the player that Nashville took with that pick (Yevgeny Pavlov) never played a game in the NHL.

While Fichaud pitched a shutout in a 4-0 win against the Islanders, his short tenure with the Hurricanes had more lows than highs.  The best example of this was a 6-0 thumping at the hands of the team that had drafted him, a game where Fichaud surrendered 6 goals on 26 shots (that’s a .769 SV% for those of you keeping score).

Fichaud was placed on waivers in early 2000 and grabbed by the Montreal Canadiens, for no other reason than him being French Canadian.  He spent the remainder of his career playing in the AHL and QNAHL while managing to squeeze in a stint in Germany.  He did manage to get into 2 games with Montreal, but they were even worse than what he managed with the Hurricanes.

Reflections: While it’s always fun to play fast and loose with history, it’s worth noting a few players that were taken in 1994 long after Fichaud (and yes, I realize that none of these guys were a given to reach the levels that they did):

• Jose Theodore (44th overall)
• Patrik Elias (51st overall)
• Chris Drury (72nd overall)
• Milan Hejduk (87th overall)
• Tim Thomas (217th overall)
• Evgeni Nabokov (219th overall)
• Tomas Vokoun (226th overall)
• Steve Sullivan (233rd overall)

Mark Fitzpatrick

An original member of the Florida Panthers, Mark Fitzpatrick signed with the Carolina Hurricanes in August of 1999.  Starting the season with the Cincinnati Cyclones in the IHL, Fitzpatrick was recalled after Eric Fichaud was claimed on waivers by Montreal.

In what would be the veteran’s last taste of NHL hockey, Fitzpatrick made three appearances, none of which were incredibly positive.  Of those appearances, only one was as a starter, a 5-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators in which he stopped 40 of 45 shots.  In his final game, a 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins, Fitzpatrick played all of 1:09, facing no shots.

Following his time with the Hurricanes, Fitzpatrick spent one season with the IHL’s Detroit Vipers before retiring.

Reflections: There’s not much to say about Fitzpatrick’s time with the Hurricanes however I’ll always remember him as John Vanbiesbrouck‘s backup on the Panthers and their unexpected run to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals.

Mike Fountain

A former 2nd round pick of the Vancouver Canucks, Mike Fountain played in three games for the Carolina Hurricanes after signing as a free agent in August of 1997.  In a season that saw the Hurricanes use five goalies, Fountain arguably performed the worst in his small sample:

Fountain spent the entirety of the following season in the AHL before signing with the Ottawa Senators in the summer of 1999.  He appeared in two games over two seasons in Ottawa, spending the majority of his time in the IHL.

After the conclusion of his NHL career, Fountain spent seven seasons playing in both Russia and Germany, augmented by a brief stint with the Motor City Mechanics of the USHL.  He spent part of his post-playing career as the goaltending coach of the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL.

Reflections: Yet another “here today, gone tomorrow” goalie.  Also, I always thought his mask looked like it was designed in MS Paint.

Pat Jablonski

Another journeyman goalie who ended his career with the Carolina Hurricanes, Pat Jablonski entered the 1997-98 goaltending carousel in Greensboro.  Signed as a  free agent, Jablonski appeared in five games for the Hurricanes after spending time with St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Montreal, and Phoenix.

How did he fare?

Not great, though to be fair, any Hurricanes goalie not named Trevor Kidd didn’t have much to write home about that year.  Once his time with the Hurricanes was up, Jablonski spent a couple of years in the IHL before heading over to Sweden.

Reflections: The biggest memory that I have of Pat Jablonski is seeing a pair of his practice pads for sale in Cool Sports in Raleigh many, many moons ago.  I was too young and too poor to buy them.

Kirk McLean

Right off the bat, let me say that Kirk McLean is an institution in Vancouver.  Two decades after he last played for the Canucks, fans still fondly remember him for his part in leading them to Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.  McLean won 211 regular-season games in Vancouver and another 34 in the postseason.

Shortly following that spectacular run, McLean’s play began to drop off.  New Vancouver GM Mike Keenan shipped McLean and future playoff hero Martin Gelinas to the Hurricanes in exchange for Sean Burke, Geoff Sanderson, and Enrico Ciccone on January 3rd, 1998.

I remember sitting in the Greensboro Coliseum that night before a game against the Dallas Stars and hearing McLean and Gelinas announced as scratches and wondering what I had missed.  Bear in mind that this was before the age of the smartphone.

Like his counterparts on this list, McLean’s time with the Hurricanes was short-lived, appearing in only 8 games before he was sent to the Florida Panthers for Ray Sheppard.

McLean stayed with the Panthers through the 1998-99 season before signing with the New York Rangers for two years.  After retiring, McLean spent one season as the goaltending coach for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and later spent time as a goaltending consultant for the Colorado Avalanche.  He’s currently a member of the Canuck’s Alumni Squad.

Reflections: McLean has always struck me as a good guy and his part in helping the Canuck’s 1994 playoff run is the stuff of legend.  I hoped he’d stick around longer, especially with the goaltending circus that the Hurricanes were staging, though Ray Sheppard did have a pretty good season for Carolina in 1998-99.

Tyler Moss

Drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2nd round of the 1993 entry draft, Tyler Moss broke into the NHL after being traded to the Calgary Flames.  In Calgary, Moss saw action in 17 games over two years before signing with the Carolina Hurricanes in the summer of 2000.

With Arturs Irbe firmly entrenched as the starter, Moss saw action in only 12 games that season.  Any guesses as to how he fared?

If you guessed “not good”, you’re right:

Oof.

Moss spent the following season relegated to the AHL before signing with the Vancouver Canucks in 2002.  He would only see action in one game with the Canucks, spending the rest of his career in the AHL before heading to Russia for two seasons.

Reflections: Eh, not a lot to say.  Irbe was a workhorse and Moss’ body of work when he saw action didn’t warrant anything more than (reluctant) spot duty.  I did, however, like his mask, so there’s that.

Final Thoughts

I don’t know why I do these goaltending retrospectives, I feel like I get a fresh ulcer every time I do.  As a lifelong fan of the Carolina Hurricanes, you’d think I’d be immune to such things, but here we are.  Let this be a lesson to all newer fans: goaltending woes are nothing new to this franchise (check out my earlier article chronicling Cam Ward’s multitude of backups for more evidence).

Through trades and free agency, the Hurricanes tried their luck with declining veterans, journeymen, and reclamation projects, all to varying degrees of success.  Thankfully we had Irbe and Weekes in the midst of this or things would look much direr.

Here’s to the best for the Hurricanes current crop of tenders as we remember the woe and desperation of years gone by.

In closing, which goalie had you relegated to the darkest pits of mental purgatory?  Which one were you excited to see join the Hurricanes?  Who were you glad to see go?  Who bought Jablonski’s practice pads?