The Offense
Double oof. The Hurricanes were able to score one more goal than the year before but still finished last in the league in goals for. The biggest tell is that the highest point total on the team was 45 points. Now that’s not a knock against Josef Vasicek, but when a sub-50 point total is the high-water mark for your team, you’re in trouble.
Truth is, no one on the Hurricanes had a banner year offensively, aside from Big Joe. Despite playing in 78 games, Rod Brind’Amour barely surpassed his production from an injury-riddled 2002-03 that limited him to 48 games.
Shoulder surgery cost Jeff O’Neill the final 15 games of the season, though the winger was well off his pace from the year before. Defenseman Sean Hill continued to provide a threat from the point.
Another indicator of just how dire things were, the power play continued its free-fall, dropping 3% from its already abysmal 2002-03 level.
There’s not much good to say, so let’s take a look at leading scorers and league ranks:
Yeah. If it’s okay with you, I’m going to move right along.
Let’s take a look at the defense.