NEWSLETTER
This article is part of a series of top North Carolina athletes and teams. As we saw North Carolina sports betting launch in March, take a look at the top athletes across North Carolina college and professional sports.
The Carolina Hurricanes were formed in 1971 as the New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association before becoming the Hartford Whalers in 1979 when they joined the NHL. In 1997, the team relocated to Carolina.
The Carolina Hurricanes went on to win the Stanley Cup in 2006 before having a tough stretch until 2018-19 when the team reached the playoffs for the first time since 2008-09. Since the 2018 season, Carolina has been back among some of the NHL’s best teams. Who are some of the best players in franchise history? Let’s look at the seven best Carolina Hurricanes of all time.
7. Cam Ward – Goalie
Years in Carolina: 2005-2018
Cam Ward won the Conn Smythe Trophy as a rookie after a tremendous playoff run to help the Hurricanes win the 2006 Staley Cup. He was the first rookie goalie to win the Conn Smythe since 1987.
Ward then went on to spend 14 of his 15 seasons with the Carollina Hurricanes and holds every major goalie record in franchise history. He has over 300 career wins and recorded 18,259 saves in his career. He is top-30 all-time in both saves and wins in NHL history.
6. Blaine Stoughton – RW
Years in Carolina/Hartford: 1979-84
Blaine Stoughton spent five seasons with the Harford Whalesr at the end of his career but made the most of it playing 357 games which was the most for any team in his 11-year career. Stoughton scored an NHL-best 56 goals in the 1979-80 season. He added 44 assists for a 100-point season that year. Also, he went on to score at least 43 goals in the next three seasons.
Stoughton holds the top two places in franchise history of single-season goals (56, 52) and is one of five players to have a 100-point season for the Hurricanes/Whalers. He also owns the franchise record for career goals per game.
5. Kevin Dineen – RW
Years in Carolina/Hartford: (1984-92, 1996-99)
Kevin Dineen had stints with the Hartford Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes in a career that spanned 19 years. He played 708 games for Hartford/Carolina which is the most of any team he played for. Dineen is top five in franchise history in games played (5th), goals (3rd), assists (4th), and points (3rd).
He finished his career with 760 points and 544 of those came for the Hurricanes franchise with 250 goals and 294 assists. On the other side, he was first in penalty minutes with 1,439. Well, that could be a point of pride for some players.
4. Sebastian Aho – F
Years in Carolina: 2016-Present
Sebastian Aho has spent his entire career with the Carolina Hurricanes and will likely hold several franchise records by the time it’s all said and done. He turns 27 in July and he is already top five in franchise history in goals, assists, and points.
Aho has played almost 600 career games scoring 250+ goals and dishing out 300+ assists in a career that is far from over. He signed an 8-year contract extension that will keep him in Carolina into the 2030s which should give him plenty of time to climb the ranks in the record books. He could see himself as one of the top Carolina Hurricanes players when it’s all said and done.
3. Rod Brind’amour – C
Years in Carolina: 2000-10
Rod Brind’amour was the captain of the 2005-06 Stanley Cup Championship team and won back-to-back Frank J. Selke Trophies in 2006 and 2007 as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. Brind’amour had 473 points in Carolina and 1,184 points in his career.
He scored 12 goals in the 2006 playoffs and was one of the only players to be part of the deep playoff runs by the Hurricanes in 2002, 2006, and 2009. The Hurricanes lost in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2002, won it all in 2006, and lost in the Conference Finals in 2009.
2. Eric Staal – C
Years in Carolina: 2003-16
Eric Staal spent the first 12 years of his career with Carolina where he helped the Hurricanes win a Stanley Cup in 2006 during an All-Star season. Staal was extremely durable and reliable in his Hurricane days as he played 80+ games seven times and never played less than 70 besides the strike-shortened season in 2012-13.
Staal played 909 games in Carolina which is third all-time and he ranks second in goals, assists, and points in franchise history. Also, he had a 100-point season in 2005-06 after scoring 45 goals and dishing out 55 assists on his way to becoming the face of the franchise for the next decade.
During the Stanley Cup run in 2006, Staal had a team-high 28 points in the playoffs with 9 goals and 19 assists.
1. Ron Francis – C
Years in Carolina/Hartford: (1981-91, 1998-2004)
Ron Francis finds his name all over the top of the Hurricanes’ record books as he had stints with the Hartford Whalers in the 1980s and when he returned to the franchise from 1998 to 2004 as the team relocated to Carolina. He helped lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 2002 Stanley Cup appearance in which they lost to the Detroit Red Wings. Francis scored the game-winning goal in OT of game one of those finals.
The Carolina great ranks first in franchise history in games played, goals, assists, points, game-winning goals, and several other categories. He’s 2nd all-time in NHL history in assists with 1,249. Francis recorded 793 with the Hurricanes and Whalers.
In 2001-02 Francis claimed the third Lady Byng Memorial Trophy of his career and won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy that same season. Francis was a two-time Stanley Cup Champion as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. While it wasn’t with the Carolina Hurricanes, Francis was the first player to win the Frank J. Selke Trophy and Lady Byng Trophy in the same season. He captured that feat in 1995 with the Penguins.
In 2017-18, Francis was named as one of the 100 greatest players in NHL history.
