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5 Players The Hurricanes Regret Moving On From

By Alex Ohari

RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 06: Anton Khudobin #31 of the Carolina Hurricanes goes down in the crease to deflect a puck away during their NHL game against the Minnesota Wild at PNC Arena on March 6, 2015 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 06: Anton Khudobin #31 of the Carolina Hurricanes goes down in the crease to deflect a puck away during their NHL game against the Minnesota Wild at PNC Arena on March 6, 2015 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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#3 Justin Williams

Though the team ended up bringing him back, they surely ended up regretting letting Justin Williams go back in 2009. Back then, GM Jim Rutherford shipped off a struggling Williams (3 goals,10 points in 32 games) in a 3-way trade that ended up with the Hurricanes bringing fan-favorite Erik Cole back into the fold.

Despite scoring 15 points in 17 games during his return to the team, Cole vanished in the playoffs, and didn’t score a single goal in 18 games as the Hurricanes went to the Eastern Conference Final that spring. Cole would play another 122 games for the team, before leaving as a free agent.

Williams, on the other hand, had an illustrious run in Los Angeles. He won 2 Stanley Cups with the team, and earned himself the nickname “Mr. Game 7” in the process. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP for the Kings’ Cup win in 2014. After that, he had success with the Washington Capitals as well, scoring 100 points over 2 seasons as well as 16 points in 25 playoff games.

RALEIGH, NC – JUNE 01: Rod Brind’Amour #17 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates his game-winning goal with teammate Justin Williams #11 during the third period against the Buffalo Sabres in game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2006 NHL Playoffs on June 1, 2006 at RBC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes won the game 4-3 and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Edmonton Oilers. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC – JUNE 01: Rod Brind’Amour #17 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates his game-winning goal with teammate Justin Williams #11 during the third period against the Buffalo Sabres in game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2006 NHL Playoffs on June 1, 2006 at RBC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes won the game 4-3 and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Edmonton Oilers. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Luckily, the Hurricanes re-united with Williams, who’s since, obviously, become the team leader and Captain, and showed off his “Game 7” nickname to fans with an assist on Brock McGinn’s 2OT winning goal against the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of the first round of the 2019 playoffs in April.

Despite Williams returning, the Hurricanes were left with very little to show in return for a guy who’s had a huge impact on the NHL. Williams is now 38 and has had a marvelous career, but the Hurricanes would have greatly benefited from his presence during their 9-year playoff drought.

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