Carolina Hurricanes: Top three netminders in Canes history

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 16: Curtis McElhinney #35 of the Carolina Hurricanes tends goal against the Boston Bruins during the third period in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on May 16, 2019 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 16: Curtis McElhinney #35 of the Carolina Hurricanes tends goal against the Boston Bruins during the third period in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on May 16, 2019 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
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RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 16: Curtis McElhinney #35 of the Carolina Hurricanes tends goal against the Boston Bruins during the third period in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on May 16, 2019, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 16: Curtis McElhinney #35 of the Carolina Hurricanes tends goal against the Boston Bruins during the third period in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on May 16, 2019, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

In the history of the organization, the Carolina Hurricanes problem area has been between the pipes. With the rare netminders performing well, they usually don’t stay in Carolina for very long. That said, it got me thinking, who are the best goaltenders in Carolina Hurricanes franchise history?

Let’s set out some criteria first. They can’t have played like two games and had two shutouts. So, I’m going to only include netminders that have played a minimum of 50 games. This means no David Ayres, as much as I wanted to include him. It also means no Jorge Alves, who I also would have liked to include, but I just cannot justify doing it.

Out of all the goaltenders to ever play for the Carolina Hurricanes, only ten have played more than 50 games for the team, so as you can see, I have a great deal of choice in this. I was going to include playoff success in that, but only 8 goaltenders have ever played a playoff game for Carolina, and 4 of them were in the last three years.

I will be using a combination of goals-against average, save percentage, and their record in Carolina to judge this. It’s not a daunting task seeing as there haven’t been thousands of goaltenders in Carolina that have dominated and really made themselves Vezina candidates. Carolina’s netminders traditionally are not the best.

So, of the goalies that do well in Carolina, who ranks among the best? It’s a unique debate, and there are many candidates for these places. Only picking three is the hard part, but I had to draw the limit somewhere and three seemed as good as anywhere. I think I’ve rambled on enough, so let’s jump into this. The top three goalies in Carolina Hurricanes franchise history.

I would like to give an honorable mention to Martin Gerber who hasn’t made the list. Part of the tandem that won the 2005-06 Stanley Cup, Gerber will always be appreciated around North Carolina and will have his name etched on the cup for a long time. He doesn’t make the list because I’m only doing three and there are four realistic options.

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – JANUARY 28: Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes looks on during the second period of their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at PNC Arena on January 28, 2021, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – JANUARY 28: Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes looks on during the second period of their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at PNC Arena on January 28, 2021, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Petr Mrazek

I’m surprising myself by actively putting Petr Mrazek on this list for the best Carolina Hurricanes netminder ever. Yet, here I am. While you can certainly argue that this might be the benefit of playing behind a far better Canes team than some of the other goaltenders that have taken to the ice for Carolina have done, but that doesn’t take away from Mrazek’s achievements.

Carolina’s recently departed netminder recorded a .911 save percentage and a 2.48 goals-against average. With 10 shutouts in 92 games, the stats Mrazek put up in Raleigh will not go and capture headlines, but they are better than people will admit for the Czech netminder. Not earth-shattering, but good enough numbers to make the list.

His 50-32-10 record is where he makes his mark on this list. This record has overseen the first time in the history of the team that they have made back-to-back-to-back playoff appearances. Mrazek backstopped the team to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2018-19, despite dealing with an injury he sustained in the 2nd round against the New York Islanders.

Mrazek was also the wall behind the broken and battered Hurricanes defense that beat the New York Rangers team in the 2020 NHL qualifying round during the bubble playoffs in Toronto. While this in itself is not an outstanding accomplishment as the Canes brought two new defensemen in at the trade deadline, but it still needed to be done.

Petr was also beloved by everyone. He gave an interview after the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils, and the Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens. It’s so well known across the Hurricanes fanbase. Every one can imagine Mrazek sitting on the bench and screaming “We’re in, we’re in!” In case you can’t, don’t worry, I’ve got a video for you.

If you just search Mrazek’s highlight reel, it’s an incredible success. He’s made some special saves. He didn’t let in too many shots that he should have saved either. There’s some you’re thinking “maybe he could have had it”, that’s fair. However, you’re never looking at a shot from the other side of the read line going through his glove and into the net like with goalies before him.

From diving stick saves in Colorado, to the diving poke check against the Florida Panthers in overtime to send the Canes the other way in collecting two points from south Florida, Mrazek played his part. He was good on the puck, good in the paint, and surprisingly good on his stomach, sprawled out across the ice, usually attacking the shooter with his stick in some shape or form.

Mrazek was calming in his personality, but he is not a traditional goaltender. He can make a simple glove save so much more complex than it needs to be. He is a great person, and he’s going to be loved in Toronto. I didn’t mean to start this with a review of a player who’s just departed but that’s how it’s worked out. Let’s move on to goalie number two.

TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 20: Arturs Irbe #1 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during NHL game action on February 20, 1999, at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 20: Arturs Irbe #1 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during NHL game action on February 20, 1999, at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images) /

Arturs Irbe

Moving onto Carolina’s iconic number 1, Arturs Irbe. It’s been a long time since the Latvian played, but that doesn’t take away from what he did in Raleigh. From the big moments on the ice, to how approachable he was off the ice, Irbe was beloved across Caniac nation. For a newly relocated team, Irbe provided stability in the most important of positions.

Irbe is only 5’8 and wasn’t the biggest of netminders. Yet, his larger-than-life performances for the Carolina Hurricanes organization have never gone unnoticed. Irbe found himself being a key part in the run to the Stanley Cup finals in 2002, accompanied by NHL insider Kevin Weekes. This tandem would see the Canes through the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Irbe’s time in Carolina was very successful, as I have alluded to. Playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in three seasons out of four from 1998-99 to 2001-02. Prior to the last three seasons, that was the closest this organization had been to sustained success in the team had seen since the relocation from Hartford in 1997.

While the Latvian netminder posted good but not great numbers with a career .906 save percentage and a 2.49 goals-against average. They’re not world-beating numbers, but they’re worthy of note considering the team was pretty horrible around him at the time. The defense he played behind in today’s NHL would have been eaten alive.

Irbe also had a few standout seasons during his time as a Carolina Hurricane. Most notably, his 1998-99 season in which he put up a .923 save percentage with a 2.22 goals-against average in 62 games and came 8th in voting for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best netminder. That season was the best single-season by a Carolina netminder for a long time.

With the netminder also having a standout run in the 2001-02 Stanley Cup playoffs putting up a .938 save percentage and a 1.67 goals-against average. Just incredible numbers from the Latvian. In 18 games his 10-8 record saw the team visit the Stanley Cup Finals, where a lot of the core pieces for the 2006 roster would get the experience they needed to capture the cup.

His 309 games are 2nd most in the history of the franchise, and he holds an all-time record of 130-122-20. Solid, but not spectacular. His 2002 heroics would be the last time in his career he would contend for the cup, hanging up the skates in 2004. Irbe was a stable goaltender in Carolina. Not out of this world, but a very respectable netminder for the Carolina Hurricanes nonetheless.

SAN JOSE, CA – DECEMBER 10: Cam Ward #30 of the Carolina Hurricanes defends the net against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on December 10, 2016, in San Jose, California. (Photo by Rocky W. Widner/NHL/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – DECEMBER 10: Cam Ward #30 of the Carolina Hurricanes defends the net against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on December 10, 2016, in San Jose, California. (Photo by Rocky W. Widner/NHL/Getty Images) /

Cam Ward

Was it really going to be anyone else? With the Carolina Hurricanes history, it was only ever going to be the 2006 Conn Smythe winner. Cam Ward is the best goaltender in Carolina Hurricanes history, and I could just leave it there and we could all move on with our lives couldn’t I? Ward is undeniably the best goaltender in Carolina Hurricanes history.

Ward holds the franchise record in wins, saves, shots faced, shutouts, and appearances among netminders. His 318 wins for Carolina is a record that won’t be touched for a long time. Those alone put him 30th all-time in wins among netminders in the NHL. His wins with Chicago included, he sits 25th all time. Not too shabby.

People will always look at the stats Ward put up at the end of his time in Carolina and say “He was part of the problem”. I would like to combat that by saying, he was playing behind a defense that wasn’t what it is now. There were good parts, but as a whole it was weak. Cam Ward probably dreams of playing behind a defense like this.

Ward twice finished 7th in Vezina voting, in 2008-09 and 2010-11. He was also the first goaltender in Canes history, and still only one of a few in NHL history, to win his first 6 consecutive playoff series, his first 4 consecutive games 7s, and just straight up 4 consecutive games 7s. That’s the kind of netminder Ward was when he was at his best.

When we talk here on Cardiac Cane about the 2008-09 Stanley Cup playoffs, we never talk about how Cam Ward dragged that team there kicking and screaming. That team had absolutely no right to be anywhere near the playoffs, and yet Ward dragged them to the Eastern Conference Finals. He’ll never get the respect he deserves, but he was still a fantastic netminder.

We’ve recently seen Wardo take to the ice again, although not in the same way he did prior to his retirement at the end of the 2018-19 season. He was seemingly touring the new facility in Wake Forest, but got lost in his equipment and ended up on the ice. Either that or he was just really bored and decided it was better than nothing to take a few shots.

https://twitter.com/Canes/status/1430200087448375309?s=20

Right, I’ve done enough talking. Let’s have some stats to speak for Ward. His 668 games are the most in Canes history, more than double that of Arturs Irbe. Ward’s 318 wins are 2.5 times more than Irbe’s who’s 2nd in that category. His 27 shutouts are 7 more than the Latvian. His 38346 minutes of ice time is just comically far ahead of any other goaltender in franchise history.

Ward might not have won the Vezina. He might not be a Hall of Famer. He’s probably not going to be a household name among newer fans. However, what Ward did both on and off the ice in Raleigh will forever live in the history of the Carolina Hurricanes. Everything he went through on the ice and in his home life, he handled everything with a tremendous amount of class.

If you do not know what I am referring to when I say what his family went through, I highly recommend going and researching his piece in The Players Tribune. He talks about what it is like raising his son who has hearing problems, and it’s incredibly heartwarming to the point where I could never do it justice.

In Ward’s rookie season he put up a .882. He would only go on to win the Conn Smythe with those comically bad stats and become the benchmark for Carolina Hurricanes goaltending from then until the time his records fall. He is the best goaltender to ever take to the ice wearing a Carolina jersey, and he might be the best for a long time to come.

Question for Cardiac Cane readers: Who do you think is the best netminder in Carolina Hurricanes history?

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