Carolina Hurricanes Fan Favorites: Arturs Irbe

The Carolina Hurricanes’ inaugural season was hindered by inconsistent goaltending.  In the late summer of 1998, they signed a netminder who had already become a folk hero in one market.

Five goalies saw action for the Carolina Hurricanes during their first season in North Carolina.  Former Calgary Flames first-round pick Trevor Kidd fared the best, putting up 21 wins along with a respectable goals-against average (2.17) and save percentage (.922).

Of the four other goalies, three gave up an average of 3 goals per game; none had a save percentage above .900.  As solid as Kidd was, he wouldn’t be enough.  The search for help in goal stretched on until mid-September when Arturs Irbe was signed as a free agent.

Irbe had spent 5 seasons with the San Jose Sharks, molding himself into a reliable goaltender and an icon for the fledgling expansion team.  The highlight of his time in Silicon Valley came in the 1994 Stanley Cup Playoffs when the diminutive goalie led San Jose to a seven-game upset of the Detroit Red Wings.  Detroit—the West’s top-seeded team—was a Cup contender and heavily favored to oust the third-year Sharks.

Prior to the 1996-97 season, Irbe signed with the Dallas Stars to back up veteran started Andy Moog.  With his time in Texas failing to impress, Irbe found himself without a team in the summer of 1997.  The Vancouver Canucks came calling, bringing him on board as part of their rotation.  Irbe did okay, improving his save percentage, though it wasn’t enough to entice Vancouver into bringing him back.

So after two middling seasons, the 31-year-old found himself once again without a team.

That is until Carolina Hurricanes’ GM Jim Rutherford came calling.

Archie

Irbe quickly came in and supplanted Kidd as the team’s starter, seeing action in 62 games during the 1998-99 season.  This marked the most games played for the Latvian goalie in 5 years and he made the most of it.  His 27 wins marked the second-highest total of his career at that point while he set career-best numbers in goals-against average (2.22), save percentage (.923), and shutouts (6).

Irbe was selected for the 1999 NHL All-Star Game, serving as one of the three goalies for the ‘World’ team.  While his team lost the game, Irbe became the first goaltender in All-Star history to record a point, earning an assist on a second period tally by Teemu Selanne.

His performance helped the Hurricanes win their division, earning them their first postseason appearance and cementing Irbe’s position as the team’s number one goaltender.  A six-game opening-round loss dampened the mood, but the team was poised to move forward with their Latvian savior in net.

The team’s first season in Raleigh saw Irbe appear in 75 games, the highest total in his career at that point.  The workhorse put up 34 wins—another career-best—though his goals against (2.42) and save percentage (.906) took a dip.  The Hurricanes dropped two points in the standings, enough to keep them out of the playoffs.

The 2000-01 season saw Irbe set a new high water mark in games played (77) and wins (37) while matching his career-high in shutouts (6).  The Hurricanes returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, ultimately suffering another six-game, first-round loss.

The Carolina Hurricanes had yet to advance past the opening round of the playoffs, though Irbe had been a constant for them in net while setting career and franchise records.  As the team prepared to embark on what would be their most successful season to date, Irbe’s play was about to begin a troubling trajectory.

A passing conversation with Lord Stanley

Following Kidd’s expansion draft departure in the summer of 1999, Irbe was backed up by a revolving door of goalies.  None had played particularly well in limited action and you can argue that this led to Irbe’s heavy workload (or vice-versa).

Prior to the 2001-02 season, Rutherford sought out a stabilizing, veteran presence to split time in the crease.  He found his man in two-time Stanley Cup winner Tom Barrasso.  As a result, Irbe appeared in “just” 51 games for the Hurricanes, posting a 20-19-11 record.  While still respectable, his goal against (2.54) continued to creep up while his save percentage (.902) inched downward.

The goaltending situation became even more crowded when 26-year-old Kevin Weekes was brought in from the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Ten days later, Barrasso was shipped off to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 4th round pick.

As the season wound down, the Hurricanes once again claimed the Southeast Division title and prepared for their third playoff appearance in the four years since Irbe’s arrival.

Carolina dispatched New Jersey, Montreal, and Toronto in six games each, with both Irbe and Weekes supplying the necessary heroics.  For his part, Irbe put up the best playoff performance of his career, posting a 10-8 record, 1.67 goals-against average, .938 save percentage, and one shutout.

The Hurricanes ultimately fell to a star-studded Red Wings team in the championship round, though the 02 playoff run was arguably Irbe’s peak with Carolina.

Cracks in “The Wall”

The 2002-03 season got off to a very rocky start for Irbe, who dropped his first 3 games while allowing a total of 10 goals.  Even worse, he lost 14 out of his final 15 appearances.  Yes, the Hurricanes were a dumpster fire adrift in a sea of sewage, but Irbe seemed to have lost the magic touch that he had shown over the previous 4 seasons.

Appearing in just 34 games—his lowest total since joining the Hurricanes—Irbe posted a nightmarish 7-24-2 record along with a 3.18 goals-against average and a save percentage of .877.  More than that, Irbe had ceded the starter’s job to Weekes.  I love Kevin Weekes as much as the next guy but this stung as it marked the end of an era.  The listless Hurricanes limped through the season, following an appearance in the Cup Finals by finishing well out of the playoff picture.

Any hope of a resurgence was snuffed out when Irbe was assigned to Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL in October of 2003.  The Latvian goaltender played well in the minors, even earning a berth in the ECHL All-Star Game.  Rumors swirled that Rutherford was seeking to trade his 36-year-old goalie, murmurs that died down due to a no-trade clause in Irbe’s contract.

Irbe did manage 10 appearances in what would be his final NHL season.  It was a bittersweet sendoff for the man affectionately known as ‘Archie’ as he posted a 5-2-1 record along with a much improved 2.45 goals-against average.

Two and a half months after the Hurricanes’ final game of the year, Irbe was shipped off to Columbus for future considerations.