The Goaltending
Arturs Irbe thankfully got some rest during the season, appearing in only 51 games (versus 77 in 2000-01). His stats did take a small dip, though not enough to prevent the Hurricanes from returning to the postseason for the second consecutive year.
Barrasso got off to a slow start and while his play evened out, he was a bit inconsistent through his time with the Hurricanes. That time proved short-lived, as Barrasso was shipped off to Toronto shortly after Kevin Weekes was acquired.
Speaking of Weekes, he didn’t see much action after his late-season arrival, though his numbers in the limited time he did see were impressive.