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Carolina Hurricanes History: Top 5 Free Agent Busts

By Alex Ohari

SUNRISE, FL - APRIL 2: Alexander Semin #28 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center on April 2, 2015 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FL - APRIL 2: Alexander Semin #28 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center on April 2, 2015 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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#4 John Grahame

Let’s take a trip down memory lane with this one. Way back in 2006, with playoff MVP Cam Ward prepared to take the reigns of the Hurricanes crease, the team allowed Martin Gerber to head into free agency to rightfully find a starting role elsewhere. With that move, the Hurricanes needed a new backup.

That’s when John Grahame came into the picture. When Nikolai Khabibulin departed after the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004, Grahame took over the crease for them after the lockout in 2005-06 and was relatively successful, winning 29 games and securing the team a playoff berth.

During the playoffs, his play was poor and was criticized publicly by then-Lightning head coach John Tortorella, and the team allowed Grahame to become a free agent that offseason.

2003 Season: Player John Grahame of the Tampa Bay Lightning. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)
2003 Season: Player John Grahame of the Tampa Bay Lightning. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images) /

On the first day of free agency, the Hurricanes gave Grahame a 2-year deal worth $1.4M annually, which at that time was really good money for a backup goaltender. Unfortunately, Grahame never lived up to the contract.

In the first year of the deal he only won 10 of his 28 appearances, and had a paltry .897 save%. Somehow, he got even worse the following season, with a 4-6-1 record and an .875save% before he was waived in January 2008, replaced by Michael Leighton.

Carolina Hurricanes goalie John Grahame (47) lunges, but he can’t stop the game-winning shot by the Ottawa Senators’ Wade Redden (6) in the third period. The Senators defeated the Hurricanes, 4-2, at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, Tuesday, February 27, 2007. (Photo by Chris Seward/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT via Getty Images)
Carolina Hurricanes goalie John Grahame (47) lunges, but he can’t stop the game-winning shot by the Ottawa Senators’ Wade Redden (6) in the third period. The Senators defeated the Hurricanes, 4-2, at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, Tuesday, February 27, 2007. (Photo by Chris Seward/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT via Getty Images) /

Injuries would force Grahame into 2 more games for the Hurricanes that year, which would be the last 2 games he ever played in the NHL. Grahame would go on to play a few more years in the AHL and one over in Russia, before his playing career fizzled away.

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