Sweet Tea, Barbecue, and Bodychecks

The dog days of summer are upon us. There is no news to speak of (because everyone is waiting on Mats Sundin to make up his freakin’ mind before they do anything else), the Hurricanes are still trying to move Alien Frankie, and Luke DeCock’s Monday Debate is a good one:

Name the All-Hurricanes team (as it would stand right now). The criteria used are that a player has to have played for the franchise post-1997 (which means that there’s no John Anderson, Mike Liut, Pat Verbeek, or Ulf Samuelsson).

Some comments are interesting, others are a little on the “WTF?” side (e.g. the anonymous commenter that thinks Sergei Samsonov belongs on the list even though he’s only been with the Hurricanes for like half a season)–but my favourite is from the woman who Just Doesn’t Get It:

My comments is.The yr that carolina hurricanes won stanley cup i had ball that yr because i went to 4 games that yr.
GO CANES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wilmigton,NC

That’s an exact quote, kids. I couldn’t make it up if I tried.

Anyway. After a little thought, I decided to come up with my own roster. My criteria were that the players had to have played after the move, had to have played at least one full season with the team, and had to have done something that directly impacted on franchise history post-1997. One-shots don’t make it (which means no Alien Frankie, even though he scored the Cup-winner in 2006).

The starting lineup:

C: (tie) Ron Francis and Rod Brind’amour — Ronnie came along at a time when the franchise was most vulnerable. When he signed with the Hurricanes shortly before the 1998-99 season, he gave the mightily struggling team instant credibility that (along with Kevin Dineen’s work behind the scenes) helped it survive the second Year of Transition. As the face of the team post-Transition, he helped lay the foundation for the Hurricanes’ continued growth in the Triangle by giving the team a deserved reputation for class and community involvement. The man who became the Warchief came to the Hurricanes in March of 2000 not even knowing how long he wanted to stay here, and just over a year later wound up scoring The Goal That Saved The Team’s Ass; an OT game-winner in Game 4 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals that wrecked what the Devils fans felt would be a sure sweep and set the stage for the Great Finals Run of 2002. After a couple of somewhat lackluster seasons and a lockout spent doing some serious soul-searching, Rod came back to assume the mantle of Warchief and lead the Hurricanes to their first Stanley Cup title in 2006.

LW: (tie) Jeff O’Neill and Erik Cole — The first 40-goal scorer post-move, Jeff O’Neill had a reputation the team’s “bad boy” and gained a permanent spot in franchise legend when he took a puck to the eye in Game 4 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals…and then went on to score the OT game-winner. His days with the franchise were numbered after a well-publicized explosion at the conclusion of an infamous Chairman Mo bag skate where Craig MacDonald collapsed and had to be helped off the ice by Nicky Wallin, and abruptly came to an end after he was arrested for DUI and public intoxication by the Raleigh PD during the lockout. He was rude, crude, and socially unacceptable, but it’s hard to argue with his placement on the list or his appeal to the fans. Cole thrilled fans from the moment he set foot on the ice with his patented bull-rush up the wing (glovetap to WufPirate for that description), and gained a permanent place in franchise lore as a member of the BBC Line (along with Bates Battaglia and Rod Brind’amour) in 2002. Habs fans still curse his name after seeing his glass-dive (after scoring the game-tying goal in the Miracle at Molson) in their nightmares. Colesy’s broken neck after being piledriven headfirst into the boards by Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik in 2006 became a rallying point for the fans and the team during the latter part of that season and the playoffs, culminating with his dramatic return to the ice for Games 6 and 7 of that year’s Stanley Cup Finals.

RW: Kevin Dineen — The Years of Transition were difficult for the Hurricanes; Sean Burke’s domestic issues, grumbling and general discontent from players about the commute from Raleigh to Greensboro for “home” games, and other off-ice things threatened to tear the team apart, but the Original Warchief kept everyone together even after his C was given to Keith Primeau. Without his tireless “behind the scenes” work the team may well have died in Greensboro despite Ron Francis.

D: Glen Wesley and Aaron Ward — Commitment to community and team as well as consistently solid play got Glen his spot on this list. Over the seasons since the move, Glen has been a constant. Even after he accepted a trade to Toronto in 2003, Glen made it clear that he was still a part of the community–after he was traded, his wife Barb wrote a heartfelt letter of thanks to the people of the Triangle that was published in the News and Observer. After the final buzzer sounded in 2006, the Hurricane that the fanbase was happiest for was Glen. More than any other Hurricane, the redhead from Red Deer was a shining example of how the Hurricanes were our neighbours…only with really cool jobs. Ward was one of the anchors of the Hurricanes’ “Defence By Committee” in 2006, and his smart (not to mention smartly physical) play made him a favourite with fans. Words fail me when trying to describe his play other than to say that it was consistently decent, and without him the Hurricanes may well have not made it all the way in 2006.

Aaaaaaand this brings us to the goalies.

G: Arturs Irbe and Cam Ward — “Archie” never seemed the same after 2002, falling from grace like a ten-ton weight dropped from the top of the Eiffel Tower. But he never stopped working, never stopped battling, and fans never stopped loving the hardest-working man in the NHL. The diminutive Latvian’s floppy acrobatic style of play was always exciting, even if that excitement sometimes took the form of fans shrieking “OH MY GOD, SOMEBODY PUT A LEASH ON THAT LATVIAN!” whenever he went on an expedition to the general vicinity of the faceoff circles or behind the net. Until the start of the 05-06 season, Cam was best known by Hurricanes fans for getting into a brawl during the lockout with the man who will be backing him up this season (Michael Leighton). After the 05-06 playoffs, he was better known as the franchise’s first Conn Smythe winner. Cam’s teammates credited his zen-like calm with giving them the confidence to go balls-out through the ‘06 playoffs, and it was that same composure and maturity that led to his being named the Hurricanes’ starting goaltender the following season.

There, my list.

1. mcache says:

   5 August, 2008 at 7:08 pm

   Great stuff as always, AQ. What – no room in the inn for Dave Karpa or Pat Lablonski?
2. The Acid Queen says:

   6 August, 2008 at 8:06 am

   Oh man, I can’t even believe you brought up Jablonski and Karpa. :p