Hurricanes News

"Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos is expected to travel to Raleigh to meet with coach Peter Laviolette next week in a face-to-face meeting that may determine Laviolette's future with the team. Karmanos said almost two weeks ago that he wanted to let the emotions of the season "cool off" before making any decisions going forward. "I want an opportunity to talk to the coach and with [general manager] Jimmy [Rutherford], and talk about what kind of moves we might want to make with the playing team and all that kind of stuff," Karmanos said on April 28."

"Forward Matt Gellatly, a junior at Enloe High School and a Raleigh native, has become the first player in the Carolina Hurricanes' junior system to be selected in the prestigious Ontario Hockey League draft. The 17-year-old Gellatly, a 5-foot-10, 180-pounder, was picked by the Saginaw (Mich.) Spirit in the 2008 OHL Priority Selection. He was the 16th and final pick by the Spirit during the May 3 draft. Gellatly was selected in the 15th round, 286th overall. The Canadian junior leagues historically have groomed many of the NHL's best prospects."

"Having completed a hands-on restructuring of the sales force of Compuware, the software company he helped found, Karmanos said he's going to try to do the same with his hockey team."

"While Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford continues to digest his team's season before making any big decisions, veteran defenseman Glen Wesley is doing the same. Wesley, 39, said Monday he hasn't decided whether to retire after 1,457 NHL games or return for another season with the Hurricanes."

"Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford hasn't made a decision on the future of coach Peter Laviolette. "Everything's the same as it's been," said Rutherford, who was in Detroit last week to meet with Canes owner Peter Karmanos. Rutherford said he'll soon start working on signing the Canes' restricted free agents -- like Tim Gleason."

"Carolina Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour, who had reconstructive surgery Feb. 15 for ligament damage in his left knee, was back on the ice Monday. He participated in drills with teammates who were working out at the RecZone in preparation for next month's International Ice Hockey Federation's World Championship. Brind'Amour won't play in the World Championships, but the Canes will be well-represented."

"Opting to stay with the team that rejuvenated his NHL career, forward Sergei Samsonov agreed Wednesday to a three-year contact with the Hurricanes. The 10-year veteran will be paid $2.3 million in 2008-09, $2.5 million in 2009-10 and $2.8 million in 2010-11."

"As another day ticked by Monday without a decision from Jacques Martin about his future, some NHL sources believed Martin was buying time while investigating the possibility of finding a coaching job outside Florida... It has been speculated that Waddell's first choice would be Peter Laviolette, if the Carolina coach is dismissed after failing to lead the Hurricanes to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons."

"An informal newsobserver.com poll has found overwhelming support for Carolina Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette. Ninety-two percent of the 754 who voted during the weekend said he should be retained. Only 8 percent said general manager Jim Rutherford -- who has said he would evaluate the coach's performance -- should fire Laviolette."

"Not only did the Hurricanes suffer the embarrassment of missing the playoffs two years in a row after winning the Stanley Cup, they cost themselves at least $2 million and potentially $20 million or more in playoff revenue and season-ticket sales."

"In his state-of-the-team news conference Thursday afternoon, Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford made it clear he had not yet seriously considered whether to make a coaching change. But Peter Laviolette's future is clearly on the agenda, and one way or another, it figures to be a busy summer after the Canes missed the playoffs for the second straight season. "I have enough information now to digest over the next couple of weeks and see what changes I may consider making," Rutherford said."

"Left on the NHL's scrap heap in January, Sergei Samsonov resurrected his NHL career in three months with the Carolina Hurricanes. An unrestricted free agent, he said Tuesday he'd like to extend that relationship."

"They gathered as a group for one last time Sunday, hours after their season officially ended, and spent 30 seconds staring at the floor with the same thought. Two points short of a playoff spot after losing two potential clinching games, the Carolina Hurricanes were left wondering what might have been. And now, that's all they have left."

"So how exactly did the Carolina Hurricanes lead the Southeast Division for all but 16 days this season and not make the playoffs?"

"Winning wasn't the problem for the Carolina Hurricanes, as it turns out. They missed the playoffs because they didn't lose well enough."

"Peter Laviolette coached the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006, but after missing the playoffs the next two seasons, he may find his job status up for review this spring. "It's too early to deal with any issues that size, until the emotions try to settle down a little bit from the disappointment of not being in the playoffs as we should be," Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said Monday."

"The Carolina Hurricanes' sudden plunge out of the NHL playoff picture was bad news for the team and good news for Team Canada. Eric Staal confirmed Monday that he will play for Canada in the IIHF World Championships, which begin next month in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Quebec City, Quebec. Staal played for Canada's gold-medal winning team last year."

"The Washington Capitals eliminated the Hurricanes on Saturday with a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers, claiming the Southeast Division title and knocking the Canes out of the playoffs."

"The Canes gave away a house, a car and the jerseys off their backs. They may have given away the division title as well with a 4-3 loss to the Panthers on Friday -- Florida's first win at the RBC Center since December 2002, in arguably the only game of the 16 since that really mattered."

"Instead -- despite an unlikely 46-17 shots advantage -- the Hurricanes lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to the Florida Panthers on Fan Appreciation Night. "

"Believe it or not, the Panthers are playing a role in deciding the Southeast Division championship Saturday night in Washington. The Panthers' improbable 4-3 victory against Carolina on Friday night gives Washington the chance to claim the divisional title with a win Saturday against Florida. It also would knock Carolina out of the playoffs."

"Which is why after beating the Hurricanes 4-3 at RBC Center, a team that won't be going to the playoffs celebrated while the sound of Bryan Adams singing "those were the best days of our lives" blasted through the speakers in the dressing room."

"Coming out of the All-Star break, with 30 games left on the schedule, Carolina Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette made an honest, critical assessment of his team's playing chances."

"Barbara Leonard walked out of Friday night's Carolina Hurricanes game with a brand-new, $340,000 house in Wake Forest. No charge. Thanks for your support."

"So now it all comes down to this: One game, one night, with the Southeast Division title on the line. For the Carolina Hurricanes, a win tonight over the Florida Panthers will clinch their fourth division title in the past nine seasons. A loss, and their playoff fate is out of their hands. It's that simple."

"When an irresistible force meets a movable object, things don't often work out too well for the object. Tampa Bay was just that Wednesday, a minor barrier on Carolina's route to another Southeast Division title as the Hurricanes steamrolled the Lightning 5-2 at RBC Center."

"The Florida Panthers have not won in their past 15 games here. If you believe in psychic power, they will finally beat the Hurricanes tonight at RBC Center. Mary Beth Wrenn, a professional psychic in Charlotte, N.C. since 1987, envisions it happening. "I do feel the spell will be broken," Wrenn said by telephone Thursday. "

"The Hurricanes, who have the seventh best home record in the NHL (24-12-4), have won 13 of their past 16 at home. ... Carolina has won 18 of the past 23 games against Florida (18-4-1)."

"Sometimes, it all goes right. For the Carolina Hurricanes, it couldn't have happened at a better time. With their playoff fate on the line, the Canes scored on their first shot, got a hat trick from Chad LaRose and used a preposterously favorable bounce to put the game away on their way to a critical 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday."

"Chad LaRose couldn't have picked a much better time for the most impressive game of his NHL career. The Carolina Hurricanes' diminutive centerman collected his first career hat trick, getting the game-winner in the second period and adding a backhanded goal on a breakaway from Erik Cole at 18:21 of the third, leading his team to a much-needed 6-2 rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning. "

"When an irresistible force meets a movable object, things don't often work out too well for the object. Tampa Bay was just that Wednesday, a minor barrier on Carolina's route to another Southeast Division title as the Hurricanes steamrolled the Lightning 5-2 at RBC Center."

"Marty St. Louis admitted there were times the past three or four weeks he had difficulty accepting how the Lightning's season will end. Out of the playoffs, games without meaning, the wing admitted his game "chipped down a little bit." "I'm trying to get it back," he added, "so I can finish with a good frame of mind." That wasn't easily found after Wednesday night's 6-2 loss to the Hurricanes at the RBC Center. "

"Matt Cullen had the best seat in the house Wednesday. Back in uniform after missing six games because of his latest episode of post-concussion symptoms, the Carolina Hurricanes center played only one shift in the third period of the 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Not because he couldn't. The Canes just didn't need him."

"The Washington Capitals scored twice in the first period on their way to a 4-1 win, their second over the Hurricanes in eight days, to pull into a virtual tie for the division lead with 90 points and two games to play."

"In a contest that featured all of the intensity of a playoff game, the Capitals seized control early last night and thumped the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1, to buoy their hopes of earning a spot in the playoffs."

"Buoyed by a pair of power-play goals and another stellar effort from goaltender Cristobal Huet, Washington throttled division-leading Carolina 4-1 in front of a raucous sellout crowd last night at Verizon Center for its fifth straight win — the team's first streak of that length in seven years — and ninth in 10 games."

"Justin Williams' triumphant return to the Carolina Hurricanes lasted less than a period. Williams was back in the lineup Tuesday after missing 43 games with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but he left the 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals with seven minutes to play in the first period after wrenching his back."

"The Capitals remained on the power play after Alex Ovechkin threw Eric Staal into the boards midway through the second period, and Alexander Semin scored to restore Washington's two-goal lead."

"This is the final set of back-to-back games for the Hurricanes this season. They're 6-9-2 in the second halves so far, including Saturday's 2-1 loss at the Lightning."

"For their most important game of the season, the Carolina Hurricanes may have two of their most important players back in the lineup. Justin Williams and Ray Whitney each practiced Monday morning and could be available for tonight's winner-take-almost-everything matchup at the Washington Capitals. Bret Hedican, who missed most of Friday's win and all of Saturday's loss, could return as well."

"Now, it gets interesting. While the Carolina Hurricanes were falling 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on one side of Florida on Saturday, the Washington Capitals were rolling to a 3-0 win over the Florida Panthers."

"With 0.7 seconds left on the clock by the time Ramo came back to the ice, glove in the air to showcase his work, the 21-year-old rookie goaltender secured Tampa Bay's 2-1 victory in a 38-save performance against Southeast division-leading Carolina, the Lightning's second win in the past three games, all with Ramo in net."

" Lightning coach John Tortorella didn't have to be baited or prompted. Asked after Saturday night's 2-1 victory at the St. Pete Times Forum how his team handled a pressure-packed third period in which it killed three penalties, Tortorella said of the Hurricanes..."

"The phone calls and text messages between Eric Staal and his younger brother Marc don't mention the possibility the two may meet in the first round of the playoffs."

"Barring a collapse by the Rangers, the Staals will become the first trio of brothers to compete in the playoffs since 1992 when the Brotens (Aaron, Neal and Paul) and the Sutters (Brent, Rich and Ron) did it."

"It's hard to argue that Sutter is the most famous name in hockey -- Gretzky, Lemieux and Orr would top the list, just to start -- but thanks to the six hockey-playing brothers, the Sutters are, without question, the game's first family."

"Dennis Seidenberg only came out of the Carolina Hurricanes' lineup because he missed a game to be with his pregnant fiancee. When he returned, the Canes were playing too well to make a change on their blue line."

"Eric Staal scored on the first of his career-high 12 shots on goal 42 seconds into the game and Jeff Hamilton added the first of five power-play goals six minutes later to send the Canes on their way to an 7-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers."

"They were crammed into the Thrashers penalty box. Five Thrashers in all — Tobias Enstrom, Boris Valabik, Jim Slater, Todd White and Brad Larsen watched from the penalty box as the Hurricanes pulled away in the second period of a 7-1 Carolina win."

"On one of his first shifts in seven weeks, Chad LaRose knocked the puck loose from an Atlanta Thrashers defenseman behind the net. And not just any defenseman -- 6-foot-7 Boris Valabik, who is nine inches taller and 60 pounds heavier than LaRose."