by Canes&Coffee | Aug 28, 2015 | Memory Lane
Matt invited me to guest-write the bio for Tuomo Ruutu. Actually, that isn’t quite true; I strong-armed him into letting me write it. Since the objective of the Canes and Coffee summer event is to have a little fun waxing nostalgic on Hurricanes history and...
by Canes&Coffee | Aug 28, 2015 | Memory Lane
A devastating injury ended Joni Pitkanen’s career far too early, but in his prime years with the Hurricanes he was an elite all-situation defenseman known for playing big minutes, smooth skating, and skilled puck movement. Drafted fourth overall by the Flyers in...
by Matt Karash | Aug 25, 2015 | Memory Lane
Following the 2004-05 season lost to the NHL lockout, the Carolina Hurricanes entered training camp with a bunch of new players on the radar. Literally half of the NHL level players had changed over between the two off seasons. And there were a few big name rookies...
by Matt Karash | Aug 23, 2015 | Memory Lane
Matt Cullen arrived as part of a diverse and talented batch of inexpensive free agent additions following the 2003-04 season and before the 2005-06 season. Cullen, like other Canes players, benefitted significantly from the rule and enforcement changes that opened the...
by Matt Karash | Aug 23, 2015 | Memory Lane
After a full season lost to the 2004-05 lockout, the NHL emerged with different rules on two completely different levels. First, the institution of a salary cap completely changed the financials for building teams and made for a chaotic summer of 2005. There were...
by Matt Karash | Aug 23, 2015 | Memory Lane
Mark Recchi was the second of two key 2005-06 Hurricanes acquisitions aimed specifically at winning the 2006 Stanley Cup. First, Canes general manager bid aggressively and early to win Doug Weight a full month before the trade deadline. Weight added veteran scoring...
