Four Carolina Hurricanes who were on the wrong side of the 2006 Finals
By Jeb Bohn
Sergei Samsonov and Jaroslav Spacek
Unlike the other entries on this list, Sergei Samsonov actually spent a significant amount of time with the Hurricanes. I recently did a piece on him, so I won’t go fully into his history here. The Oiler acquired Samsonov from the Boston Bruins at the 2006 trade deadline and he paid dividends immediately, posting 16 points (5g, 11a) in 19 games.
The Russian winger added 4 goals and 11 assists in the playoffs—including the first goal in Game 4—though it wasn’t enough to get the Oilers over the hump. He went on to spend time with Montreal and Chicago before being claimed off waivers by the Hurricanes in January of 2008.
Samsonov meshed with his new team right away, putting up 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) in 38 games after his arrival. He went on to play 249 games with Carolina, picking up 54 goals and 81 assists. He also played a solid role in the Hurricanes’ trip to the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals, notching 5 goals and 3 assists in 17 postseason games.
The Hurricanes made what they hoped would be a substantial move in the summer of 2011 when they signed free agent Tomas Kaberle. He was, after all, a defenseman who had put up 545 points in the NHL, so it was a no-brainer, right?
Well…
Kaberle appeared in just 29 games, picking up 9 assists before he was shipped off to Montreal in return for fellow defender (and former Oiler) Jaroslav Spacek. In the 2006 run, Spacek potted 14 points for Edmonton while logging a lot of ice time (second only to Chris Pronger).
He played well for the Hurricanes, picking up 5 goals and 7 assists in 34 games but, with a lockout in effect, Spacek announced his retirement in November of 2012 at the age of 38.