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Erik Cole News & Rumors

Cole's departure opens door
July 2
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Particularly after Erik Cole's brief, unimpressive tenure with the Edmonton Oilers, the conventional wisdom around the NHL was that he was most at home in a Carolina Hurricanes uniform. Perhaps, though, that conventional wisdom was wrong. Perhaps he was most at home on the road in a Carolina Hurricanes uniform, as long as that road venue was Montreal's Bell née Molson Centre. Cole, who grew up in Oswego, N.Y., and went to school at Clarkson, across the border in upstate New York and not too far from Montreal, always saved his best for the Canadiens. He has 25 points in 28 regular-season games against the Habs, and another seven in that six-game playoff series in 2002. If he'd been able to"
Canadiens sign Cole to four-year $18 million contract
July 1
TSN.ca
 
"The Montreal Canadiens have signed Erik Cole to a four-year contract worth $18 million. Cole has spent the majority of his career with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team that drafted him in the third round, 71st overall of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. The six-foot-two winger originally played for the Hurricanes from 2001-2008 before being dealt to the Edmonton Oilers where he spent less than one season before being shipped back to Carolina. Cole had his best season offensive season with 61 points in the 2006-2007 season. He was also a member of the Hurricanes' 2005-2006 Stanley Cup winning team, a season where he scored a career-high 30 goals."
Hurricanes' unlikely duo of Corvo, Cole emerge as team leaders
February 22
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"From all appearances, it would seem Erik Cole and Joe Corvo have little in common. Cole is a power forward for the Carolina Hurricanes, while Corvo's a puck-moving defenseman. Cole's voice often can be heard in the locker room, while Corvo moves about the room quietly. Cole has one modest tattoo ("My kids' names," he said) while Corvo has much more ink. (Think Texas Rangers slugger and Raleigh native Josh Hamilton.) But as the two bonded as friends, Cole and Corvo also grew to share a common role as leaders of a young Hurricanes' team angling for a playoff berth. Given Corvo's low-key introduction to the team, though, that appeared an unlikely role for the new Hurricanes defenseman three"
Cole enjoying resurgence
November 8
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"On a weekend when everyone turned back their clocks an hour, Erik Cole of the Carolina Hurricanes appeared to turn it back a few years. Cole's 32nd birthday was Saturday. He celebrated it by playing like a guy who was 25 opposite a winger who's 18 against the Florida Panthers at the RBC Center. Cole hustled. He banged. The power forward was active defensively and blocked a couple of shots in the Canes' 3-2 victory. Early in the third period, Cole had a vintage move. He carried the puck down the right wing, easily wheeled around defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, circled the net and made a sharp centering pass to Jeff Skinner. "Kind of found my stick," as Skinner put it. Skinner, who had defenseman"
Cole, LaRose on IR
December 13
Raleigh News & Observer
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"The Carolina Hurricanes began the week with 13 healthy forwards, but that number is dwindling. The team said Friday that forwards Erik Cole and Chad LaRose would be placed on injured reserve. Cole is expected to miss two to three weeks with an upper-body injury and LaRose three to four weeks with a lower-body injury."
Cole, LaRose out with injuries
December 11
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Canes forward Erik Cole is expected to miss two to three weeks with an upper-body injury and forward Chad LaRose three to four weeks with a lower-body injury. Both will be placed on injured reserve, the team said. Forwards Patrick Dwyer and Jiri Tlusty will be on the ice for the Canes' morning skate today at the Verizon Center, and are eligible to play tonight against the Washington Capitals."
Thrashers rally to beat Hurricanes
November 28
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
 
"Rich Peverly scored the fourth of Atlanta's five third-period goals with 6:03 remaining to help the Thrashers rally for a 6-4 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and an assist, Evander Kane, Slava Kozlov, Marty Reasoner and Maxim Afinogenov also scored, and Tobias Enstrom had three assists for the Thrashers, 6-1-3 in their last 10 games. Ondrej Pavelec made 32 saves. Erik Cole had a goal and an assist, and Sergei Samsonov, Matt Cullen and Stephane Yelle also scored for the Hurricanes. Carolina had won three in a row at home before blowing a 4-1 third-period lead against the Thrashers. Manny Legace made 28 saves against the team that cut him"
Injured Cole back on ice
October 29
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Erik Cole was back on the ice Wednesday and skating with the Carolina Hurricanes, but the forward isn't sure when he'll be back in the lineup. Cole, who suffered a leg fracture Oct. 3, participated in the team's morning skate at the RBC Center before the game with the St. Louis Blues. He wore a yellow jersey, denoting his noncontact status, but he was skating and cutting and helping out on defense. "It was just a pregame skate, so we knew it wouldn't be anything too strenuous," Cole said. "I was on the ice beforehand, so it was to see if I could do some regular drills, the skating drills." Cole was injured in the Canes' second game of the season, against the Boston Bruins. With less than"
Canes' Cole out with broken leg
October 5
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"The Carolina Hurricanes have lost their first two games and now have lost a key player. Forward Erik Cole will be sidelined four to six weeks with a broken bone in his lower left leg, general manager Jim Rutherford said Sunday. Cole was injured Saturday in the final minutes of the Canes' 7-2 loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Cole had to be helped from the ice after a collision with the Bruins' Dennis Wideman along the boards. Wideman's attempted hip check was a hard but clean hit, his right leg smacking into Cole's left leg. It came with Boston leading by five goals. The Canes face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at the RBC Center. Rutherford and coach Paul Maurice said Tim"
Hurricanes lose Cole for 4-6 weeks with fractured leg
October 5
TSN.ca
 
"The Carolina Hurricanes will be without forward Erik Cole for four-to-six weeks after an MRI revealed a fracture in his lower left leg. Cole suffered the injury in the third period of Saturday's loss to the Bruins when he collided with Bruins' defenceman Dennis Wideman. The loss will be an additional blow to the 'Canes who have lost their first two games of the season."
Canes sign Cole
July 3
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Erik Cole's flirtation with free agency proved to be brief. Cole officially went on the NHL's open market as an unrestricted free agent at noon Wednesday. Less than four hours later, the power forward signed a new, two-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes that pays him $2.8 million next season and $3 million in the 2010-11 season. But while the Canes quickly were able to reach an agreement with Cole, general manager Jim Rutherford said Wednesday night that unrestricted free-agent forward Chad LaRose likely would sign with another team. Rutherford said he had been in discussions with LaRose's agent, Patrick Morris, throughout the day. At one point Wednesday afternoon, there was"
Canes signs Cole; LaRose probably gone
July 2
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Erik Cole's flirtation with free agency proved to be brief. Cole officially went on the NHL's open market as an unrestricted free agent at noon Wednesday. Less than four hours later, the power forward signed a new, two-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes that pays him $2.8 million next season and $3 million in the 2010-11 season. But while the Canes quickly were able to reach an agreement with Cole, general manager Jim Rutherford said Wednesday night that unrestricted free-agent forward Chad LaRose likely would sign with another team. Rutherford said he had been in discussions with LaRose's agent, Patrick Morris, throughout the day. At one point Wednesday afternoon, there was"
Hurricanes miss Staal's scoring prowess
May 25
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
 
"Visibly dejected and seemingly less optimistic following Game 3, Hurricanes center Eric Staal found some solace thinking back to Carolina's resiliency. The Hurricanes have been down and almost out before. They have bounced back in the past, giving Staal just a glimmer of hope that the 'Canes could get back into this Eastern Conference final, despite trailing the Penguins, 3-0, in the best-of-seven series. They'll face possible elimination for the fourth time this postseason Tuesday night in Game 4 at RBC Center. "If I was to pick a team to be in this spot to try and come back, this would be the one," said Staal, the older brother of Penguins' third-line center Jordan Staal. "We've done it"
Cole happy to be back on Carolina's roster
May 25
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 
"A 63-game detour. That's all Erik Cole's trade to Edmonton in July was. At the trade deadline in February, the big, hard-hitting winger returned home to Carolina, the team that drafted him and gave him a chance to get his name on the Stanley Cup in 2006. Cole's and the Hurricanes' chances of winning the title again this season appear extremely slim because of their 3-0 deficit against the Penguins in the Eastern Conference final going into Game 4 tomorrow night. He is glad to be back, though. "It's a group I enjoyed being a part of, and I can't say enough great things about the guys," Cole said. "It's great to be back." Two of Cole's four assists this postseason have come in this series,"