The Carolina Hurricanes have officially clinched the first spot in the Eastern Conference Finals, sweeping the New York Islanders in their second-round matchup. Their path to this point has been, to say the least, an interesting one. From shipping off former 1st round picks Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin in the offseason, to the beginning of the Storm-Surge and the “bunch of jerks” narrative, Carolina has done virtually everything right in their path to success.
Let’s start in the past offseason. Carolina made a bevy of roster moves, most notably trading former 5th overall picks Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm to Calgary for Dougie Hamilton, Michael Ferland, and prospect Adam Fox. They also sent their star forward Jeff Skinner to the Buffalo Sabres for prospect Cliff Pu, as well as a second, third, and sixth-round picks. The consensus around the hockey community was that Carolina did not receive equal value for Skinner, but their roster overhaul had begun.
In this shuffling, the Canes let stalwart goaltender Cam Ward walk in free agency, opting to sign Petr Mrazek to a one-year deal after he had been traded to and virtually run-out of Philadelphia within a few months the season prior. The gamble paid off, as Mrazek was able to find his stride with the Canes in tandem with Curtis McElhinney, posting a 2.39 GAA and .914 save percentage with four shutouts, compared to his sub-.900 save percentage and 3.22 GAA with the Flyers.
They brought in players like defenseman Calvin de Haan as well, who signed a four-year deal to fill out the top-4 defense that already was solid, complimenting their right-shot heavy corps with a much needed left-shot presence on the blue line. In the draft, the Hurricanes selected Andrei Svechnikov, a then-18-year-old Russian-born winger who added to the scoring threat presented by Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. By all intents and purposes, this was supposed to be a rebuild, or at least a retooling, not a run at the Cup.
To fill the coaching vacancy left by the resigning of Bill Peters who also went to Calgary, the Hurricanes brought in fan-favorite Rod Brind’Amour who was the captain of the Hurricanes when they last won the Stanley Cup. Brind’Amour’s brutally honest and at times fiery personality has helped the Hurricanes to get the best out of their players on the ice.
The turning point for the Hurricanes, however, wasn’t something that happened in the offseason. Sure, they made all the right moves, but that didn’t necessarily translate to this improbable run that Carolina is in the midst of. That turning point came on Oct. 5 vs. the New York Rangers; the day the Storm-Surge was born.
The first Storm-Surge was the start of something bigger in Carolina. It took on a life of its own within weeks, evolving from a collective jump into the boards to celebrate a victory to props, celebrity guests, and much more. The Surge got fans invested in the team on the ice, wanting to see them win to see what they were going to do next. This translated to fans showing up to games again, solving the Hurricanes’ issues with drawing a crowd. Now that the playoffs are here, they have put the Surge to rest, but the fans are already invested in the team.
When people didn’t like the Surge, like Don Cherry who coined them a “bunch of jerks,” the Canes embraced that narrative. The next surge after Cherry’s comments, they had shirts brandished with his quote on them that they gave away to fans in the crowd. They used the ire of part of the hockey community to fuel their fire and propel the team further along in their improbable run.
I would be remiss to not mention the Jan. 17 trade that saw Carolina acquire forward Nino Niederreiter from the Minnesota Wild for winger Victor Rask in a one-for-one swap. Niederreiter has more than worked out for the Canes, registering 30 points in 36 games with the team. Rask, on the other hand, had a measly three points in 23 games for his new club. Again, Carolina manages to just simply do everything right.
Fast forward to the postseason, the wild-card Canes were matched up with the defending-champion Washington Capitals. Their series went the distance, seeing the home team winning each game until the Canes shocked the Capitals in a double-overtime thriller in Washington. Despite losing rookie Andrei Svechnikov to a concussion from a fight with Alex Ovechkin in Game 3, the Hurricanes were able to weather the storm and grind out a series win.
Carrying that momentum, the Hurricanes went into Brooklyn and won the first two games by 1 goal margins. The two were evenly matched throughout the entire series, even after an injury to Petr Mrazek in game 2, which made Games 3 and 4’s results even more surprising. Two 5-2 victories on home ice sealed a date with the winner of Boston and Columbus for the Hurricanes. The moment that dashed the Islanders chances was a giveaway by Robin Lehner behind his net, leading to the game-winning goal for Justin Williams in the third period of game 3. From that moment on, Carolina did not let their foot off of the gas and finished it in 4. McElhinney, who played in relief for Mrazek, made all of the saves he needed to and was good enough to put the Canes in a position to win each night.
Can the Hurricanes go all the way? Can Brind’Amour guide his team to another Stanley Cup? There’s something that just feels special about these Hurricanes. It’s not quantifiable, but the team has a swagger and confidence that makes them play a step above that has carried them this far into the postseason. Regardless, whoever meets the surging Carolina Hurricanes in the conference finals will certainly be tasked with playing one of the most captivating stories in all of sports with the support of the Caniacs fully behind them. These “bunch of jerks” aren’t planning on going anywhere anytime soon whether you like it or not.
