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Rewind: Revisiting the 2001-2002 Carolina Hurricanes

By Jeb Bohn

30 Nov 2001: Center Rod Brind''Amour #17 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates on the ice during the NHL game against the Washington Capitals at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. The Capitals defeated the Hurricanes 6-2. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright 2001 NHLI Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger /NHLI/Getty Images
30 Nov 2001: Center Rod Brind''Amour #17 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates on the ice during the NHL game against the Washington Capitals at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. The Capitals defeated the Hurricanes 6-2. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright 2001 NHLI Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger /NHLI/Getty Images /
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Defenseman Bret Hedican of the Carolina Hurricanes
TORONTO – MAY 28: Bret Hedican #6 of the Carolina Hurricanes prepares for the face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second period of game six of the Eastern Conference finals at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario on May 28, 2002. The Hurricanes won 2-1 in overtime. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images/NHLI) /

The In-Season Trades

There were a number of moves completed during the season, but we’re going to focus on the two biggest.  The first came on January 16, 2002:

While he did manage 67 points in 118 games with the Hurricanes, Sandis Ozolinsh never really meshed well with the team.  Byron Ritchie, a former 7th round pick, only saw action in 33 games over 3 seasons with the Hurricanes, picking up 2 points.

Kevyn Adams and Bret Hedican were outstanding pickups for Carolina.  While neither possessed the raw talent of Ozolinsh, both fit in incredibly well with Paul Maurice‘s system.  Adams brought sound defensive play and tenacity on the forecheck while the slick-skating Hedican ensured that puck movement from the blueline wouldn’t fall off with the departure of Ozolinsh.

Tomas Malec would only see action in 41 games over 2 seasons with the Hurricanes, putting up 2 assists.

On March 5, a trade was made that didn’t have an enormous impact during the regular season but the player that Rutherford acquired came up huge in the playoffs:

This trade didn’t exactly set the hockey world on fire when it happened.  Barrasso, while not sterling, closely matched his stats from his previous season in Ottawa.  Kevin Weekes provided youth and potential to counter the veteran’s inconsistency.  He saw limited action during the regular season but, as I alluded to, he came alive in the postseason (more on that later).

Dingman had, in very limited action, delivered on the physicality that he was brought in for but was ultimately deemed unnecessary to the Hurricanes moving forward.  Shane Willis, on the other hand, added a layer of sadness to the deal.

Coming off of a 20 goal, 44 point effort in 2000-01, Willis was leveled by New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens during the first round of the 2001 playoffs.  As a result of the ugly collision, Willis suffered a concussion.

As it turned out, that was just the beginning of trouble for the talented, young winger.  Back issues kept Willis out of the first three games of the 2001-02 season.  Once he was again in the lineup, he struggled to find the offensive touch that he had carried the previous year.  The worst, sadly, was yet to come.

Early in a match against the San Jose Sharks on November 9, 2001, Willis took an elbow to the head from San Jose defenseman Bryan Marchment.  Marchment was suspended for six games and Willis was left with a split lip and his second concussion in seven months.  While the argument could be made that Stevens’ hit was clean, Marchment’s play was absolute garbage.  The fact that it derailed Willis’ once-promising career makes it look even worse in hindsight.

Anyway, now that my blood pressure is up, let’s take a look at the offense.

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