Carolina Hurricanes: Revisiting Eddie Lack’s Tenure

After the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Nashville Predators in the first round of the 2021 NHL Playoffs, fans asked for a certain former goalie to come sound the siren for either Game 1 or Game 2 of the second round against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It is uncertain if he’ll sound the siren for either game, but fans really want Eddie Lack to come back to Raleigh. With the hope he returns, let’s look back at Eddie’s tenure with the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Carolina Hurricanes goal crease from 2006-2018 only had one constant presence: Cam Ward. Who the second goaltender would be in any given season was a complete mix with players like Anton Khudobin, who would go on to do much better things in his career, and then sometimes Justin Peters, who never really got a foothold on a NHL starter’s position but was a staple in the AHL for a long time. One of the more notable names in the long list is Eddie Lack, who was and still might be a fan favorite.

Eddie Lack went undrafted in 2009, being ranked as high as the 9th best international goaltender behind names like Mikko Koskinen, Robin Lehner and Antti Raanta. Lack would then have to wait a year before the Vancouver Canucks offered him a contract to play for their AHL affiliate at the time, the Manitoba Moose, where he make his AHL debut on October 9th, 2010. Lack would make 23 saves en route to a 5-2 win over the Rockford Ice Hogs.

Stuck behind both Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider, Eddie Lack wouldn’t suit up for a NHL game until November 16th, 2011 when Luongo had an injury. Lack didn’t play any further, and was subsequently sent back down to the AHL the next day. He wouldn’t see any more time in the NHL until the 2013-2014 season, where he would be named the Canucks’ backup. Eddie Lack would record his first NHL start and his first win on October 6, 2013.

Now, during the 2013-2014 NHL season, the Vancouver Canucks goalie situation would go through a lot of changes. Cory Schneider was traded to the New Jersey Devils before this season began, and then coach John Tortorella would cause a larger rift between the Canucks and Roberto Luongo when he started Eddie Lack over Luongo in the Heritage Classic, a year after Luongo was quoted as saying “My contract sucks,” in a press conference following the trade deadline.

Luongo would later be traded to the Florida Panthers for goaltending prospect Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Matthias, which gave Eddie Lack the starting job for the first time in his NHL career. Lack would share the crease with Markstrom and then Ryan Miller until 2015, where on June 27th 2015, Eddie Lack was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2015 3rd round pick and a 2016 7th round pick.