Rewind: The Carolina Hurricanes and the Season that Wasn’t

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With the departures of Ron Francis and Arturs Irbe, the Carolina Hurricanes were in a state of flux.  Future cornerstones Eric Staal and Cam Ward were in the fold but, with a lockout looming, more change was on the way.  For sanity’s sake, we’ll take a look at these moves chronologically.

Two days after Irbe was traded to Columbus, Rutherford acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from Anaheim in exchange for defenseman Tomas Malec and a 3rd round pick in the 2004 draft.

A late-bloomer, Gerber had spent 2 seasons with the Mighty Ducks, posting impressive stats while backing up former Hartford 1st rounder J.S. Giguere.  At 29, Gerber was ready to prove his worth as a starter, though he would have to wait a year to get the chance.

The two other most notable moves from 2004 were free-agent signings, with Rutherford picking up defenseman Frank Kaberle in July and center Matt Cullen in August.  In what would become a trend for the Hurricanes during this period, neither move garnered headlines though both players would be big pieces for the team moving forward.

Little happened until the end of July 2005.  Then, one day before the 2005 draft, the Hurricanes sent a 3rd round pick to the Calgary Flames for rugged rearguard Mike Commodore.  Squeezed out of an NHL spot due to Calgary’s defensive depth, Commodore would prove to be a valuable asset for his new team.

Then came the draft itself.  In what was billed as “The Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes”, the Hurricanes, who had been in the running to draft the phenom, ended up with the 3rd overall pick.  With that selection, Rutherford took Hurricanes’ legend Jack Johnson.  Johnson, the 3rd ranked North American skater, played as many games with the Hurricanes as 7 of the other 8 players that Carolina selected: Zero.

The first day of the draft also drove another nail into the coffin of the old guard for the Hurricanes when winger Jeff O’Neill was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in return for a 4th round pick in 2006.  The departure of O’Neill, who had accumulated 359 points (176g, 183a) with the Hurricanes, left Glen Wesley as the only remaining player who had taken the ice for the Whalers before their relocation.

August 2005 was an enormous month for the Carolina Hurricanes.  Three free agents were added, two of which played huge roles for the team.  On August 2, Cory Stillman was added from Tampa Bay.

Stillman, who was fresh off of an 80 point season with the Lightning, saw his stock dip slightly after posting only 7 points in 21 playoff games as Tampa brought home their first Stanley Cup.  At the time of the signing, Stillman had averaged .67 points per game through 645 games.

Two days later, Rutherford added offensive defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky.  Through 615 games, Tverdovsky had picked up 74 goals and 290 points, including 3 seasons of 10 or more goals and an equal number of 50+ point campaigns.

Three days after that, Carolina’s GM snagged playmaking winger Ray Whitney.  Whitney, who was coming off of a disappointing season with the Detroit Red Wings, had averaged .76 points per game through 700 NHL games.  A gifted passer who possessed great on-ice vision and a high hockey I.Q., Whitney would be counted on to help drive the new-look Hurricanes’ offense.

There were a number of other moves (including the brief departure/reacquisition of Craig Adams) but these are the key moves that set the revamped Carolina Hurricanes in motion.  Also, Adams was a big part of the Hurricanes’ chemistry and I won’t downplay that.  I am simply not including his movement because he didn’t actually suit up for another NHL team during this time.

Now that we’ve covered the big moves, let’s take a look at how some of the players spent the lockout.