5 Players The Hurricanes Regret Moving On From
#5 Eric Staal
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Eric Staal? He was finished here. It was time for him to go. His career looked done. Washed. Yeah, I get it. But despite all that, in hindsight, do the Hurricanes regret moving on from their former Captain?
It’s a real tough sell. Staal, after having knee surgery due to a devastating injury at the World Championships in 2013, was in consistent decline with the team. His production plummeted to just 10 goals and 33 points in 63 games with the Canes in 2015-16, and they made the choice to ship him off to New York, due to his impending UFA status.
He fared no better in New York, (horribly, actually) with 6 points in 20 games and went pointless in 5 playoff games. The Hurricanes’ haul for Staal looked slim at the trade deadline (Aleksi Saarela and two 2nd round picks) but turned out to be a steal for the team; one of those picks was traded for Teuvo Teravainen.
Staal, looking like a shell of his former self, secured a 3-year contract in Minnesota, where he’s undergone a complete resurgence in his career. He exploded with 28 goals and 65 points in 2016-17, followed by a 42-goal year in 2017-18, which was good enough for 4th in the NHL (the last Hurricane to score 42+ goals was Staal himself in 2005-06).
This past season, his production dipped to 22 goals and 52 points, but he was 2nd in both categories on a sub-par Minnesota Wild team. Despite his phenomenal production, he actually re-signed for less money than his original deal – a 3.25 AAV for 2 years. Superb value for a top-6 center.
The Hurricanes knew what they were doing when they traded Staal. I would probably bet against saying they regret it – it was a necessary step for the franchise. However, the thought of a 1-2-3 punch of Sebastian Aho, Eric Staal and Jordan Staal down the middle is salivating to say the least.
#4 Anton Khudobin
The only goaltender on this list, Anton Khudobin is a guy who, undeservedly, kind of flew under the radar a bit as a Hurricane. After watching the horrendous goaltending trio of Cam Ward, Dan Ellis and Justin Peters in the lockout-shortened 2013 season, the Hurricanes knew they needed a change. So, the following summer in free agency, they went out and found Anton Khudobin.
Khudobin was unproven, coming off his only NHL season, where he had a .920sv% and a 9-4-1 record for the Bruins. He signed a 1-year contract worth 800,000 with the Hurricanes. That contract would go on to have maybe the best value of any contract in team history.
Khudobin was an absolute wall in his first year with the team, going 19-14-1 with a 2.30 GAA and a .926sv%, winning the NHL’s Player of the Month award in January with a 10-4-0 record alongside a .927sv%, and single-handedly willed the Carolina Hurricanes into the playoff picture. Despite his great success, head coach Kirk Muller refused to give Khudobin the reigns, and inexplicably kept Justin Peters and Cam Ward in the rotation.
The Hurricanes, though, rewarded him with a 2-year extension for 4.5 million total. From there, it was downhill. Khudobin lost his confidence, and followed up his terrific year with a brutal 8-17-6 record and a .900sv% in the 2014-15 season, looking like a shell of the goalie he was the previous year. Following his rough season, he was shipped off to Anaheim for (the legendary) James Wisnewski, and the Hurricanes replaced him with Eddie Lack.
Since then, Khudobin has rediscovered his form. He signed a 2-year deal worth 5 million with the Dallas Stars last summer, and had a phenomenal .923sv% in 41 games the past year, and formed a stellar 1-2 punch with Ben Bishop.
So here we are, left to wonder what could have been. Khudobin arguably had the most successful individual regular season by any goaltender in Hurricanes history in that 2013-14 season, and unfortunately, was never awarded a fair opportunity to build on it.
#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.
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.
#2 Andrew Ladd
The #4 overall pick by the Carolina Hurricanes back in the 2004 NHL draft, Andrew Ladd has put together a pretty solid NHL career. However, it wasn’t until after leaving the Hurricanes when he finally made his mark.
Although he won the Stanley Cup with the Canes in 2006, he wasn’t a main component on the team; nevertheless, the rookie Ladd put up a respectable 5 points in 17 games during the Cup run. He stuck around for 2 more seasons, but could never really find his groove, scoring just 39 points in 108 games.
At the trade deadline in 2008, the Hurricanes shipped Ladd off to Chicago in exchange for equally underwhelming Tuomo Ruutu, who would have a decent 6-year run with the Hurricanes. Ladd, however, really blossomed afterwards. He was a steady and effective forward for the Blackhawks, playing in the middle-6 of their lineup and was a key component in their playoff success, winning a Cup with Chicago in 2010.
Unfortunately, he became a cap casualty and was traded to Atlanta. He quickly became the heart and soul of the lost Thrashers franchise, and was named Captain just months after being traded there. He would remain as Captain after the team moved to Winnipeg, and held that position until 2016 when he was back to Chicago as an impending UFA.
Despite never having real playoff success as the Jets’ Captain (0 playoff wins), Ladd was signed to a 7-year, 38.5 million dollar by the New York Islanders in the summer of 2016, and he’s been a shell of himself since. Now at age 33, his best days are surely behind him, but he’s had a very respectable career thus far.
With 4 years left on his deal, who knows what the future holds. Considering his 248 career goals and 537 points, as well as his unquestionable leadership abilities, he’s surely a guy the Hurricanes wish they’d kept around.
#1 Elias Lindholm
It’s tough to regret letting a guy go when, in turn, you get a guy who’s a perfect fit for your team, as the Hurricanes did with Dougie Hamilton, but unfortunately, Elias Lindholm fits the bill.
Despite never quite amounting to his potential after being drafted 5th overall in 2013 by the Carolina Hurricanes, Lindholm was a guy that many felt hadn’t really broken out with the team yet. He was given top-6 minutes frequently, but never really with a player that could capitalize on his playing style.
With the Hurricanes, Lindholm was frequently deployed with Jeff Skinner, who produces a ton of offense mostly on his own, and centers Jordan Staal and Victor Rask. Lindholm’s noticeably high hockey IQ and vision was always a step ahead of his teammates, who couldn’t keep up to Lindholm’s high paced playmaking ability.
To the shock of no one, after being dealt to Calgary and planted alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan on the Flames’ top line , Lindholm had his breakout year. He set new career highs in goals (27), assists (51), points (78) and a +30 rating. He even averaged over 2 minutes per game in short-handed ice time.
On top of that, the Flames signed Lindholm to a 6-year deal with a 4.85 AAV, so they now have a 24-year old stud entering his prime at a bargain rate. The Hurricanes and Lindholm were reportedly just under 1 million AAV apart on a deal, which prompted the team to move him.
Despite all that, there’s no saying that Lindholm would’ve broken out in Carolina. He was never deployed at center (the position he was drafted to play), and was inconsistent during his 5-year Hurricanes tenure. But, considering his sky-high upside and undervalued contract, the Hurricanes surely feel they should’ve made a better effort to keep him.
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So, that’s 5 guys the Hurricanes probably regret moving on from. CC readers, who would you add or remove from this list?