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Carolina Hurricanes
Overall: 10
Southeast Division: 2
Since the
day in March '91 when Ron Francis
was traded from Hartford to Pittsburgh, the star-crossed
franchise has moved from Connecticut to North Carolina.
Changed its name from Whalers to Hurricanes. Altered its
colors from blue and green to red and black. Shuffled
through five coaches. And
kept just two players from that '91 roster. When Francis
returned to the club as a free agent this summer, he felt a
little like Dorothy.
Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Hartford
anymore. "Everything is different except our place in the
standings," says Francis of a team that has won just
one playoff series in 19 NHL seasons. "The final thing
we need to change is this team's identity by becoming a
contender for the Stanley
Cup."
Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice believes that Francis will
transform Carolina's center position from a weakness into a
strength in part because he will take some of the scoring
responsibility from Keith Primeau, who seems primed for a
breakout season.
Primeau, 26, was Canada's best player in the Olympics last
winter and returned to the NHL as a dominant two-way
threat, scoring 27 points
in his last 24 games. Carolina must generate more offense
after scoring the sixth-fewest goals in the league last
season. The Hurricanes need aging snipers Ray Sheppard,
Gary Roberts and Kevin
Dineen to have productive seasons. Carolina is
also counting on solid goaltending from Trevor Kidd, who
finished last season with a .922 save percentage, tied for
second in the NHL behind
Dominik
Hasek.
The Hurricanes shelled out
$21 million to Francis because they realize this is a pivotal
moment for a franchise that attracted a league-low 9,108
fans per game in its debut season in North Carolina and is
moving into a new arena in Raleigh next year. "It's no
secret that we need to
break the mold," Kidd says. "It's like this
franchise has had this huge weight on it, and it's up to
all of us to finally say, 'Enough
already.'" The team's six-year absence from the playoffs is the
longest current streak in the NHL, and if the Hurricanes
miss the postseason again, they should be downgraded to a
tropical
depression.
—By Tim Crothers
Fast Fact
This franchise, which hasn't qualified for the postseason
since 1991-92, has missed the playoffs in 57.9%
of its 19 seasons, the second-worst percentage among teams
that entered the NHL before
1991-92.
Keys To Success
- Goalie Trevor Kidd, who was spectacular in the last half of
1997-98, needs to play that way from the start of the season.
- Huge forward Keith Primeau (6'5", 220 pounds) has to be
salivating over the extra room behind the nets this year, because
it will allow him to make better use of his size.
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