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

The NHL was embroiled in a labor dispute which led to a lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season.  That, however, didn’t stop Carolina Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford from making some key additions to his team.

This is the eighth installment in my Rewind series, taking a look at the Carolina Hurricanes of seasons past.  To check out my prior articles, click a season:

Obviously, this one is going to be a bit different.  For those of you who were too young or didn’t follow the NHL at the time, this one stung.  No, it wasn’t a subpar season or a heartbreaking end to a playoff run.  It was, quite simply, a total lack of NHL hockey and it was absolutely no fun.

Now, I’m not going to get into the politics and posturing of what led to a lockout that eventually devoured an entire season.  It happened, it stunk, life moved on.  Players played; some went overseas, some plied their skills in the AHL.

A younger me took advantage of his “speedy” new DSL connection by checking in repeatedly for any updates.  When things got to be too much, I popped in my Raising Canes DVD and relived the 2001-02 season.

Despite the lack of game action, there was still activity going on.  Moves were made, the full impact of which we wouldn’t learn for some time.  One move of particular note occurred on June 16, 2004, and marked the end of an era:

Arturs Irbe played in 309 games over 6 seasons for the Hurricanes.  During that time, Irbe provided a face and huge personality for the rechristened team and quickly became a fan-favorite.  By the time of the trade, Irbe had declined considerably and spent a stint in the ECHL.  It was a sad end for a player who had meant so much to the franchise and it marked a period of transition for the Hurricanes.

How much did ‘Archie’ mean to the Hurricanes?  Let’s take a quick look at some of his stats and where they place him in franchise history:

• Wins: 130 (2nd)
• Shots against: 7884 (3rd)
• Saves: 7145 (3rd)
• Save %: .906 (3rd)
• GAA: 2.49 (2nd)
• Shutouts: 20 (2nd)
• Minutes: 17,816 (2nd)

Irbe may have played for the Blue Jackets had the lockout not occurred.  As it turned out, he returned to Europe to finish his playing career.

Let’s take a look at some things that, unlike the 04-05 NHL season, actually happened.

The NHL Draft comes to Raleigh

The last official NHL event prior to the lockout was the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, held at the RBC Center on June 26-27.  I went to witness the first round and, while nowhere near as exciting as an actual game, it was quite interesting nonetheless.

Much of the excitement came from the hype surrounding the top-two ranked European skaters, Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin.  Not content to sit on his hands, Rutherford swung another deal with Columbus, sending the #8 and #59 picks away in return for the fourth overall selection.

With the pick, the Hurricanes took Calgary Hitmen winger Andrew Ladd, the #2 ranked North American skater in the draft.  Ladd would return to the Hitmen for the 2004-05 season, suiting up in 65 games.  He notched 19 goals and 45 points, a 30 point drop from the previous season.

In the second round, Rutherford grabbed goaltender Justin Peters from the OHL.  Outside of the first two rounds, the draft didn’t yield much for the Hurricanes.  There were, however, a number of players drafted in 04 who would later spend time with the Hurricanes, including Bryan Bickell (41st), Andrej Sekera (71st), Tim Brent (75th), Kris Versteeg (134th), and Anton Khudobin (206th).

While the draft taking place in Raleigh added excitement for fans, the picks wouldn’t hold the same weight for the Hurricanes as the preceding years when the franchise selected Cam Ward (2002) and Eric Staal (2003).

Now, let’s take a look at some of the moves that were made between the end of the 2003-04 season and the start of 2005-06.

Transactions

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.