Ranking All Eight Carolina Hurricanes Team Captains

The Carolina Hurricanes are currently in the midst of their 22nd season. Jordan Staal is serving as the 8th captain in team history. Where does he rank among the 7 other Hurricanes to wear the captain C on their jerseys?

The Carolina Hurricanes are playing their 22nd season in North Carolina. Over the course of the decades, they have had 8 men wear the captain C. Jordan Staalis in his first full season as team captain.

Now being the team captain comes with a lot of responsibilities. You have to set a good example for you team and be a leader on the ice as well as off of it.  Back up the coach on game strategies and help maintain order in the locker room. You also are held accountable for what the team is doing on the ice for better or worse.

In this list, I am only looking at the CAROLINA HURRICANES captains. Not Hartford Whalers captains. That is a potential list for another article. I am also not including alternate captains in the list as again, that is a potential list for article.

Though I am taking into consideration time served as alternate captain for the Carolina Hurricanes.I am also looking at time served as captain, success of the team during the seasons under their leadership.

Now of course as always with these kinds or lists. These are just my option and are in no way shape or form a definitive list. It’s just for fun. Now with that out of the way, lets get into the list.

8: Justin Faulk

Longtime Hurricane Justin Faulk split the captain position with current  team captain Jordan Staal  over the course of the 2017-2018 season. Which in my opinion hurt the team not having just one captain.

Justin Faulk, though sometimes inconsistent on the ice, was always a good presence within the Hurricanes organization. He was, and still is, big into giving back to the community and doing charity work. He also takes his time with fans and is always polite. All of which are good qualities that one looks for in a team captain.

I feel that if he were given the chance at being the sole captain, he could have placed much higher on this list. From all accounts he was a good presence in locker room. Lets hope that he can truly show his leadership qualities with the St. Louis Blues over the next several years. He brings a lot to the table given the opportunity.

Now a trip back to the inaugural season in Greensboro.

6: Keith Primeau

Keith Primeau would replace the previously mentioned Kevin Dineen as team captain for the 1998-1999 season. Primeau’s lone season as captain was his final with the Hurricanes. And it was his potentially his best. He totaled 62 points which is down slightly from his 63 the previous season. But he upped his goal total from 26 to 30.

He also led the Hurricanes to their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs where they took on the Boston Bruins. Eventually loosing 4 games to 2.

But after the teams first trip to the playoffs, came his infamous contract dispute with the Hurricanes that caused him to miss the majority of the 1999-2000 season before being traded to Philadelphia for a 2000 second round draft pick, Jean-Marc Pelletier, and someone who we will talk about later.

It’s a shame that Primeau’s contract dispute and the trade that followed is what he’s best known for in Hurricanes history. Overall he played very well in his time with the Hurricanes. But a holdout that causes you to miss the majority of the season isn’t behavior becoming of a team captain in my personal opinion.

His teammate at the time, Gary Roberts openly criticized him for offers that he was rejecting the offers he was being presented. He told the Associated Press “He has hung his team out to dry.”

Now that the 90’s are out of the way, lets jump forward a bit to present day.

5: Jordan Staal

Jordan Staal is currently in his first full season as team captain. Having previously served as team co-captain along Justin Faulk in the 2017-2018 season. As well as serving as an alternate captain for every season since being acquired from the Penguins, where he also was an alternate captain.

Staal has been a staple of the Hurricanes organization since his arrival in 2012 and doesn’t appear to be going anywhere any time soon. He was a vital part in the success and deep playoff run of the 2018-2019 team.

Jordan could end up with his brother Eric in the upper echelons of Hurricanes lore one day. He definitely has the experience and skill on the ice. He’s even hoisted the Stanley Cup. He also carries himself and behaves the way a captain should off the ice. He’s built a strong connection with the fans over his many seasons with the Hurricanes.

But he is only in his first season as sole team captain. Given, he knows what it takes to be a captain. But now the responsibility rests solely on his shoulders. He has what it takes, but we’ll have to let the next few seasons play out to truly see where he ends up. That’s why I have him in the middle of the list.

Onto the innovator of the much loved Storm Surge.

4: Justin Williams

Justin Williams lone season as team captain in 2018-2019 was one to remember. It cemented his legacy in Raleigh and really started the debate on if he deserves a spot on the Mount Rushmore of Carolina Hurricanes.

Williams, along side fellow 2006 Stanley Cup Champion and first year head coach Rod Brind’Amour, guided a team that found themselves in 2nd to last place in the entire National Hockey League, all the way to a spot in the Wild Card Chaos Squad in the playoffs. Which in turn led to a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, where the team ultimately fell to the Boston Bruins.

Justin Williams had always been loved by the Hurricanes fan base. And his production on the ice and the way he treated them off the ice cemented that love and connection. He even paid to have the C sewn onto every single on of the Williams jerseys that were brought into The Eye on opening night that season.

The much loved, unless you’re an old fuddy duddy like Don Cherry, post home game win Storm Surge celebration was also the brain child of Williams. The celebrations took the entire hockey world by…storm.

Following the 2018-2019 season, Williams was an unrestricted free agent. Rather than resign with the Hurricanes for one last run, Williams elected to step away from hockey for a while. Which however is a tough pill to swallow, the Hurricanes fans accepted the decision and thanked him for what he’d done.

He was replaced by Jordan Staal as team captain this year. As of this writing, Williams still has not made a decision on if he’ll return to the Carolina Hurricanes or retire all together.

Now we’ve talked about one Staal captain, but what about the other?

3: Eric Staal

Eric Staal had big shoes to fill when he took over the captain position from Hurricanes legend Rod Brind’Amour in the 2009-2010 season . And over the course of his 6 full seasons as team captain he did a good job.

Staal tended to be a bright spot during a long dark period for the Hurricanes. He already had been with the Hurricanes since the 2003-2004 season when he was drafted 2nd overall in the 2003 NHL entry draft. So he had a deep connection with them when he became the leader of the team. Loved for his high level of play, versatility, and durability. That connection he had with the fans only grew over the years.

Towards the end of his long tenure with the Hurricanes, his production did however begin to slip. Beginning in the 2012-2013 season his numbers began to decline. And minus a brief increase in production in the 2013-2014 season, the slide continued. Eventually leading to him being traded to the New York Rangers two days before the trade deadline in the 2015-2016 season.

His time in the Big Apple wasn’t long though. As he found himself with the Minnesota Wild the next season. Where he has seemingly found his game again.

Though his production on the ice wasn’t what it once was at the end of his time in Raleigh, Eric Staal was still loved by the fans. And he his still loved by the Caniac Nation today. Some of which want to see him don the red and black again one day.

Now, a player who has his number hanging in the rafters of PNC Arena.

2: Ron Francis

Ron Francis took the place of Keith Primeau as captain of the Carolina Hurricanes following Primeau’s contract holdout. Francis had been a face of the Hartford Whalers through the 80’s and early 90’s. So his return to the organization was a welcomed one.

Finally winning 2 Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992 during his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Francis brought some real veteran leadership and experience to the Hurricanes when he returned in 1998. And in 1999 he was able to take the reigns.

His leadership and understanding of what it takes to win in the NHL greatly benefited the Carolina Hurricanes. With a season that saw him win the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, the 2001-2002 Carolina Hurricanes made their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Where the ultimately lost to the Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 1.

In 2004 Francis was traded to Toronto. He officially announced his retirement in 2005. Francis was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007. He also has a spot in the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. His number 10 was retired by the Hurricanes in 2006. And was in the Pittsburgh Penguins ring of honor.

He was named general manager of the Hurricanes in 2014. He remained in that position until his contract was terminated by new owner Tom Dundon in 2018. He has since been named the first general manager of the NHL’s expansion team in Seattle.

Now, the greatest Carolina Hurricane of all time.

1: Rod Brind’Amour

Duh.

Acquired in the trade that saw Primeau go to the Flyers in 2000. Rod Brind’Amour is without question the greatest Carolina Hurricane captain and player of all time.

Rod played the rest of his career with the Hurricanes. A career that saw three trips to the Stanley Cup Finals. Two of which were with the Hurricanes. One of which resulted in one of the most iconic photos in the history of the NHL.

Rod brought tremendous leadership to the Hurricanes throughout his time as team captain. On the ice he was one of the best. Off of the ice, Rod was, and still is, an intense and great leader. Setting a great an example for the team.

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The 2009-2010 season saw Brind’Amour pass the mantle to Eric Staal. Who has previously served as alternate captain. A position which Rod filled for the remainder of that season.

Rod retired on June 30th 2010. He was one of the last players that played in the 1980’s. After his retirement he was named the director of forward development. His number 17 was retired by the Hurricanes on February 18th, 2011 during a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The other team  where Rod built his career.

Later in 2011 he was named the assistant coach and development coach, as well as retaining his role in management. In 2018 he was appointed head coach and well, we all know how his first season as head coach went.

The Hurricanes have had some true legends wear the captain C. With many talented young players on the team now they seem to have no shortage of future leaders at the ready. Maybe one day we could see names like Jaccob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton, or Andrei Svechnikov on lists like this.

Question for CC readers: Who is your pick for the greatest Carolina Hurricane captain?