Carolina Hurricanes: 2021-22 Year in Review and Awards

The end of the shortened 2020-21 season was a bitter one with the Canes winning the Central Division before losing in the second round in five games to the eventual champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning. They had a lot of decisions to make in the offseason and it resulted in a very different team hitting the ice on Opening Night for the 2021-22 season. Some major pieces were gone like Dougie Hamilton, Petr Mrazek, and James Reimer. New to Raleigh were controversial defenseman Tony DeAngelo and the new goalie duo of Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, as well as some depth guys in Brendan Smith, Ian Cole, and Ethan Bear on defense. While the roster looked pretty set at the beginning of the season, one rookie made some shockwaves as he made the roster as one of the healthy extras. What would follow was a season of extreme highs and some relative lows and it was one of the most fun to date. 

Season in Review

The Team

With a final record of 54-20-8 and 116 points, this was the best regular season in franchise history as they surpassed the 2005-06 team's previous marks for wins (52) and points (112). While the .707 points percentage falls just short of last season's .714 in 56 games, I think it's safe to say this was better from top to bottom. The other big franchise mark that was broken was the team's 88.5% on the penalty kill, easily the best in the league. They almost broke the franchise's record for most consecutive kills, falling just short of the previous mark. They started the season a perfect 9-0-0, a franchise-record to start the season, including winning all eight games in October. The nine-game win streak would be the longest of the season, though they'd also finish the season on a six-game streak with a couple of four and five-game streaks sprinkled throughout the season. To enhance those long streaks, they only lost three or more games twice all season, with four in a row being their longest of the season. All of the hard work paid off at the end of the season as they won the Metropolitan Divison for the first time and won a division for the fifth time since relocation. It's the first time they've ever won the division in consecutive seasons. Their 116 points were second-most in the Eastern Conference and third-most in the league, behind only Florida and Colorado. 

This season's postseason run will be remembered for the extreme duality of the team's performance at home and on the road. Their effort in the regular season earned them a date with the Boston Bruins in the first round, the third time these teams have met in the postseason in the last four seasons. The Canes were unstoppable at home against Boston. They earned multi-goal wins in Games 1, 2, and 5 and outplayed the Bruins in every aspect of the game. On the road, the Canes disappeared in Games 3, 4, and 6. The penalty kill was non-existent and the offense couldn't get anything past the goalie. The series came down to a Game 7 in Raleigh, the sixth in franchise history. The hero would be deadline acquisition Max Domi, scoring twice and adding an assist as the Canes won 3-2 to remain perfect at home and advance to the second round. 

The story of the second round was eerily similar to the first. The series with the New York Rangers was tighter on the scoreboard, but it followed a similar pattern. The Canes won the first three games at home, which featured an overtime win in Game 1 and a shutout win in Game 2. The same problems from the series with Boston reared their ugly heads in New York. The Rangers dominated the Canes at Madison Square Garden, winning all three games to force another Game 7 in Raleigh. This time around, the Canes' fate would change. The Rangers, led by Vezina finalist Igor Shesterkin, dominated the Canes for 60 minutes to hand the team their first Game 7 loss since relocation and their first loss of the postseason on home ice to send them packing for the summer. It was a frustrating way to end the season after all the good that happened. 

Forwards

The majority of the work fell in the hands of the usual suspects for the Canes. The trio of Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, and Andrei Svechnikov, fresh off his eight-year contract in the offseason, led the play for the Canes all season. Aho led the team in goals (37) and points (81) for the fifth-straight season. He had 20 multi-point games, highlighted by a six-game multi-point streak in December where he scored 14 points during that stretch. Svechnikov celebrated his new contract by setting a new career-high in goals, cracking 30 for the first time, assists (39), and points (69). Teravainen led the team in assists with 43, the fourth time in his last five seasons. His 65 points were the second-most in his career. The trio also played well on the power play. Teravainen was tied-for-ninth in the league with 31 points, while Aho and Svechnikov cracked 20 points each, with 28 and 22 points respectively.

While they didn't put up the same numbers as the above trio, there was a line that became a mainstay. The line of Nino Niederreiter, Jordan Staal, and Jesper Fast was always put against the top lines of their opponents while they were together. From a scoring standpoint, Niederreiter led the way for the line, scoring 24 goals and 44 points. It's his second-straight 20-goal season with the Canes, finishing third on the team. This season for the captain was a tough one. After a stellar start to the season, with six points in the first seven games, Staal went 35 games without scoring a goal and only added seven assists. From February 10 onward, there seemed to be a switch flipped. He scored 15 times in the final 36 games, including a hat trick on April 10 against Anaheim. It was his first hat trick with the team and his first regular-season hat trick in 4,898 days, a new NHL record. Fast finished with the fewest point on the line, but his impact was felt every night, His 14 goals and 34 points set new career-highs, while this was his third season with 20 assists. He was also the only forward to play in all 82 games. 

The second line saw many different iterations this season. Vincent Trocheck was always seen as the second-line center, but his wingers were all over the place. Trocheck was tied for fourth on the team with 51 points while finishing fifth with 21 goals. He played every game except for the finale, missing the game as a healthy scratch. He didn't put together many flashy games, but he always felt pretty consistent. Though he bounced between the second and fourth lines, Martin Necas saw his fair amount of time in the top-six. Necas has admitted that he felt that this season was a step back for him. While his 40 points are the second-most in his career, his per-game numbers are considerably lower and his shooting percentage took a dive. He was prone to long stretches without goals throughout the season. On the opposite side of the spectrum, rookie Seth Jarvis took the fanbase by storm. The likable now-20-year-old faced his fair share of difficulties in his first season, especially an 18-game goalless drought and sitting for a couple of games, but he had some serious highlights. While it might not feel like it, Jarvis' numbers are historically good among rookies in franchise history since relocation. His 40 points are tied for fourth, and his 17 goals and 23 assists are fifth-most. He ended the season on a seven-game point streak, then scored the team's first goal of the postseason. Not bad for a kid that wasn't supposed to make the roster out of camp.

The Canes already had a solid core of forwards coming into the season. The Canes' qualifying offer and signing of Jesperi Kotkaniemi from the Montreal Canadiens for $6.1 million was one of the most intriguing stories of the offseason. Montreal fans were especially upset and scrutinized every small thing that he did or didn't do this season. It all came to a head early in the season when Carolina faced Montreal above the border. On that night, as he was bombarded with boos, he deflected a shot into the net to pick up his first goal as a Hurricane. He spent most of the season on the bottom line, yet he scored 12 times to set a new career-high and signed a massive contract that will keep him in Carolina for the foreseeable future. Outside of signing Kotkaniemi, bringing in Derek Stepan to play on the fourth line was the extent of what the Canes did in the offseason to sure up their forward depth. He was in and out of the lineup a lot, so he never really got his feet under him too much. He only had 19 points in 58 games. Another guy that signed in the offseason was someone that is very familiar with the team and that's the sparkplug Jordan Martinook. He faced some injury troubles this season, playing 59 games and only scoring 15 points. Steven Lorentz was another guy that played a lot of fourth-line minutes. He saw much more consistent time in the lineup, playing in 67 games, and setting new highs in goals (8) and points (13). The Canes only made one notable move at the trade deadline this season, acquiring Max Domi from the Columbus Blue Jackets. He only contributed seven points in 19 games with the team, though he'd contribute six points in the postseason with a hero-like performance in Game 7 against Boston. 

Five forwards saw some time during the COVID times or when there was an injury. Josh Leivo played the most games of this group, getting into seven games, scoring a goal, and adding two assists. Along with Leivo, Jack Drury, Andrew Poturalski, Stefan Noesen, and CJ Smith all played during the two games in mid-December on December 16 at home against Detroit and December 18 at home against Los Angeles, with Smith playing only in the latter. Outside of these games being remembered for the team being short-handed, Drury scored his first two goals in his career and Poturalski secured his first two points with assists on the power play. Noesen and Smith failed to find the scoresheet, playing less than ten minutes each per game. 

Defenseman

The defense coming into the season featured the same three big names from last season in Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, and Brady Skjei. The loss of Hamilton in the offseason meant there'd be a huge void and the third pairing needed to be filled. The front office needed to bring in some serious manpower to complete the team. They brought in Ethan Bear in a trade with Edmonton and signed guys like Brendan Smith and Ian Cole to provide a bit of an edge and experience to the team. The most talked-about move was the signing of Tony DeAngelo, whose checkered past in the juniors and falling out with the Rangers was well-documented. It caused a major stir around the hockey community. At the end of the day, things worked well for the team on all fronts. DeAngelo led the group in goals (10), assists (41), and points (51), with his assists and points becoming new franchise records for defensemen, and controlled the quarterback on the power play. He spent most of the season paired with Slavin and the two were a reliable duo. An injury in late February derailed his season a little bit, finishing with just 11 points in the team's final 21 games, but he and Slavin made history as the first pair of defensemen to record 30 or more assists in a season since relocation. Slavin was nominated for the Lady Byng again after winning it last season, taking only ten penalty minutes while playing every night against the opponents' toughest lines. He set new career-highs in assists (38) and points (42) and saw some time on the second power play while finishing in the top five in short-handed time on ice per game.

The one constant pairing on the blueline was that of Pesce and Skjei, playing together in 70 of the 82 games. Things started slow for Skjei. He recorded just one goal and seven points in his first 30 games but turned it around once the calendar switched to 2022. He started the New Year with his only two-goal game of the season on New Year's Day, then a three-point game against Calgary six days later. In total, he finished with 39 points, 32 of which came in the new year. It matched the career-high that he set in his rookie year, while his nine goals are a new high. He was also the only defenseman to play in all 82 games. This was the season where Pesce seemed like he was getting more love from the rest of the league. He'll likely never get the same love that Slavin gets defensively while being just as good. He finished with 28 points, one shy of his career-high, and tied his previous high with seven goals. 

Cole was a solid guy to have on the third pairing, playing in 75 games. He was the only player on the team with 100+ blocks and 100+ hits this season, leading the defense in hits with 110. With as physical as his game is, racking up points never felt like something we'd see, though 19 points is a lot more than I'd expected, not to mention the overtime winner he scored in Game 1 of the New York series. There was a revolving door for the sixth spot on defense between Smith and Bear. Bear played more than Smith did in the regular season, while Smith played every game in the postseason. I'd set high expectations for Bear at the beginning of the season and while I don't think he ever quite got to that point, I think contracting COVID had a lot to do with it. He finished with just 14 points, but five goals are tied with his career-high. I only really saw Smith as a hitting machine. He laid 73 hits in 45 games and scored four times in the regular season, including a game-winning goal in the third period for his first as a Hurricane in mid-November. In the postseason, he went on a three-game point streak in the New York series, highlighted by a short-handed goal to open the scoring in Game 2. 

Three other defensemen joined the fun from Chicago this season. Jalen Chatfield was very impressive in his small sample size with the team. He played 16 games and picked up three assists, impressing the front office enough to earn a two-year extension mid-season. Maxime Lajoie and Joey Keane played five games and one game, respectively, not finding the scoresheet. 

Goalies

The situation between the pipes was a point of concern for the team for the millionth season in a row. After the trio of Nedeljkovic, Mrazek, and Reimer held the position down last season, the Canes brought in a new duo of Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta to take control. Both were talked about more for their history with injuries and it caused many to be concerned. It didn't take long for the doubters to be proven wrong. Andersen assumed the role of the starter and was amazing right out of the gate. He opened the season on an eight-game win streak and earned the honor of being the league's third star for October after allowing just nine goals in seven games. He didn't hold that pace all season, but he was phenomenal nonetheless. His 2.17 goals-against average was second in the league. His 92.2 save percentage was third in the league. His 35 wins were seventh-most in the league. He should've been a Vezina finalist and likely would have if he hadn't gotten hurt at the end of the season and missed the entire postseason. Raanta's season is going to be more defined by his postseason performance, but he quietly had a strong season as the backup. He finished with a 15-5-4 recording, earning points in 19 of his 24 decisions. The duo would combine to allow the fewest goals in the league and earn the franchise's first Jennings Trophy. 

Three more goalies made spot starts and appearances this season. Alex Lyon made two starts, one in November and one in January, earning three of a possible four points in his starts. He 27 saves in his team debut against the St. Louis Blues and dropped a 4-3 decision to the Florida Panthers in overtime. Shortly after Lyon's January start, Jack LaFontaine signed his entry-level contract with the team as the Canes went through a rough patch with the health of their normal tandem. His time was not as great, allowing two goals on three shots in his debut on January 13, then allowing seven goals in a loss to New Jersey in his first start before being sent down to Chicago. Arguably the best story of the season came with the debut of top prospect Pyotr Kochetkov. He'd only been playing in North America for a few months and was brought up after Andersen's injury in Colorado. The excitement was very hard to contain so when he was announced for his first start against New Jersey on April 23, the fanbase came unglued. Not only did he win that start, but he came into the game the following day after Raanta was forced out early and won that game before finishing off the division with a win over the Rangers to win three games in four days. He also won in the postseason and saw some action, though nothing will beat the ride we went on for four days in April. 

Awards

Calder (Best Rookie/Newcomer)- Seth Jarvis over Tony DeAngelo & Frederik Andersen

While the league usually gives the Calder to the best rookie, my Calder goes to the best player in their first season with the team. Ironically enough, my award goes to the only rookie that played a full season. No one expected Jarvis to hit the ground running the way that he did. The NHL rookie class was pretty stacked, so he wasn't going to get much love league-wide, but he is such an endearing person when you watch his interviews. He's even better on the ice. I highlighted just how good his rookie season was compared to the others in franchise history. He's a special player that is going to be fun to watch in the next few seasons. My two runner-ups were free agent signings that outperformed their contracts. DeAngelo's $1 million contract is looking good with his production, especially on the power play. Andersen bounced back and was phenomenal in the net before his season was shortened by injury. 

Norris (Best Defenseman)- Jaccob Slavin over Tony DeAngelo and Brady Skjei

Last season, I gave my Norris to Dougie Hamilton for his point production. As easy as it'd be to do again, I'm giving it to the best defender on the team and that is easily Jaccob Slavin. There's a lot to be said for his ability to play night in and night out against a team's most dangerous players and make it look so easy. While he wasn't putting the puck into the net at a torrid pace, he was setting up goals in bunches, finishing with 38 assists. He was as close to a strong two-way defenseman as there was for the Canes. DeAngelo's season has been well-documented, so I'll skip to Skjei. The turnaround he had in 2022 once the calendar changed, was amazing. It was the year of Brady Skjei. He and Pesce had their bumps throughout the season, but he was a reliable offensive option this season. I'd like to see him quarterbacking the second power play next season. 

Vezina (Best Goalie)- Frederik Andersen over Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov

This is only a two-horse race since Andersen and Raanta played almost all of the games. Between the two of them, it's clear who the frontrunner is. I said earlier that Andersen should've been a finalist for the Vezina and it's a shame he isn't. He probably should've finished second to Shesterkin and I'd hate to think that he wasn't because he got hurt at the end of the season. His tandem with Raanta was the best in the league, winning the Jennings Trophy. He exceeded the expectations set for him after he missed most of last season in Toronto with an injury. I hate that he was so close to returning from his injury only for the team to lose in the second round. Raanta was a great backup and stepped up big time in the postseason. The story of Kochetkov was a fun one at the end of the season as the team clinched the division with three huge wins in the final week of the season. 

Hart (Team MVP)- Sebastian Aho over Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen

On the surface, these are the top three point scorers on the team, so it might seem super obvious that they'd be in the top three of the MVP voting for the team. Ultimately, I think they are the three most important forwards on the team. Not having one of them going could be bad for the offense and the postseason is a good example. At the end of the day, Aho was one goal away from tying his career-high in goals and was the only player to play at over a point-per-game pace. He's going to hit 40 goals at some point soon. Svechnikov proved the Canes were right to lock him up long-term in the offseason, putting together the best offensive season of his career. Teravainen might be the best passer on the team by a longshot. His playmaking ability makes him a threat every time he's on the ice. 

My Ten Most Memorable Games of the Season

1. Making a Great First Impression (10/21)

Thy hype surrounding this game had less to do with the fact it was the Hurricanes against the Canadiens and was more about Jesperi Kotkaniemi against all of Montreal. The offer sheet drama of the offseason was a fun story since it isn't something that happens often, so the first meeting was going to be heated. Fortunately for all of us, we didn't have to wait very long. Kotkaniemi was going to be under a microscope the entire night and the Habs' faithful let him hear it every time he touched the puck. With the game 2-1 in favor of the Canes through two periods, About midway through the third, Brady Skjei let go a shot from the boards and it was deflected in by Kotkaniemi to score his first goal and point in Carolina. The Canes would win 4-1, but that was the only goal we cared about on that night as the Habs remained winless. 

2. Lightning Strikes Twice in Overtime...Kind Of (11/9)

After a bitter end to the season at the hands of the Lightning in five games, it was going to be interesting to see the response. The added storyline was that they were playing they'd just lost their first game of the season to Florida three nights prior after not playing well on the penalty kill, something that was not good in the five-game series with the Lightning. The game itself was unremarkable through 60 minutes. Stamkos and Teravainen scored for their teams and the game was tied going into overtime. Brady Skjei thought he had the winner, beating Vasilevskiy clean until the Bolts reviewed it and it was determined to be offsides. Instead of dwelling on it, Martin Necas took it upon himself to finish it for real this time. The win was an excellent response to the series loss and the loss the game before to the Panthers. It would become a testament to this team's fight all season. 

3 & 4. The Carolina Wolves win Shorthanded (12/16 & 12/18)

This is going to be a twofer. It was around mid-December that a bunch of the guys on the team contracted COVID, forcing some games to be rescheduled. Before the team was shut down for 12 days, they had two games at home. What makes these special is how the team had to play through some unfavorable circumstances. In the first game against Detroit, they played with just ten forwards, two fewer than normal. The first period was wild, with the Canes and Red Wings alternating goals, but the moment of the night was the first-career goal of Jack Drury, picking up his rebound and beating Nedeljkovic over his shoulder. The Canes would go on to win the game 5-3. Two nights later, the team would play with 12 forwards, granted two more guys that'd been called up from the AHL. How would they respond? By playing an even better game against the Kings. Drury picked up his second goal and Poturalski got his second assist in as many games. Frederik Andersen would make 32 saves and the Canes would win 5-1. What stood out to me the most about these games was just how cohesive the team was, even with all the new faces. They played like they'd been together all season long. 

5. Starting the New Year Off Right (1/1)

There aren't words that I can use that would perfectly encapsulate just how bananas this game was. Neither team paced themselves when the calendar hit 2022. The Canes came out of the gate flat and leaving Antti Raanta to fend for himself. It didn't go well. He allowed three goals in the first period and was yanked in favor of Frederik Andersen. The second period didn't start much better. Columbus extended the lead to 4-0 and it felt like they needed to start the running clock. On the other end of the ice, Daniil Tarasov, playing in just his fourth game, was playing lights out for the Jackets. However, that fourth goal sparked something in the Canes. Steven Lorentz found a way to beat Tarasov to show there was some fight left. Brady Skjei would add another before the end of the period and now with the game 4-2, it felt like a comeback was possible. The third period was all Carolina. Skjei would add a second goal to bring the team within one early in the period. Then, in a span of 1:25, the Canes would get three more and finish Columbus off with an empty-net goal to finish their 7-4 win to start the new year with seven unanswered goals. It was a crazy ride that took me through every emotion possible. 

6. The Boston Massacre, Part 2 (2/10)

I could've included both wins in Boston but 23 days after the Canes decimated the Bruins 7-1 on the same night the organization honored Willie O'Ree, the Canes returned to Boston for their final meeting of the season. I expected a much better effort from the Bruins. I guess I expected a little too much. While the Canes managed just a single goal in the first period on the power play, they exploded for three in the second and two more in the third, including a between-the-legs goal for Sebastian Aho on the power play that was set up by two no-look passes from Teravainen and Svechnikov. To add to the fun, Jordan Staal snapped his 35-game goalless drought with the second tally in the third period. Frederik Andersen made 34 saves to shutout Boston for the second time this season and it closed out a season set where the Canes outscored Boston 16-1 in three games. It was one of the most dominant performances of the season. 

7. Washington Whitewash (3/28)

The Capitals seemed to have the Canes' number at every turn this season. This was the third meeting between the two teams in March and they'd already played a one-sided affair in D.C. on national television and blown a late lead at home before losing in overtime. With three losses to their division rivals, the Canes needed to finish hot in their final meeting of the season. On this night, they'd do exactly that. Martin Necas played his best game of the season, scoring twice, and adding an assist for a three-point night. Recent acquisition Max Domi contributed two assists, his first points with the team. Five players finished the night with multiple points, while 12 players found the scoresheet. It was also another great performance from Frederik Andersen allowing just one goal on 26 shots to lead the team to a 6-1 win. It helped to erase the bitter taste of the last few games against Washington, especially those two recent losses. 

8. The Captain's Scoring Touch (4/10)

With this being an April game against a non-conference opponent, this game didn't mean anything in the grand scheme of the season. Just for thinking that, this game decided to give us a crazy first period. The Canes scored the first two before Anaheim responded, then Martinook scored, only for Terry to respond. The game went into the first intermission 3-2 and neither team decided they wanted to change that in the second period, getting nothing through the goalies. With things looking like they would stay 3-2 forever, the Staal line came through as the captain, who'd scored in the first period, picked up his second of the night to add to the lead. With Staal now on hat trick watch, he gave the fans what they wanted. He buried the empty-net goal with just over a minute left to complete the hat trick, the first and only hat trick for the team this season. What I didn't realize was that he'd never done that with the Canes before. It'd been forever since he'd done it. He's now the proud owner of an NHL record for the longest time between regular season hat tricks in NHL history. It's a rare feat for a Hurricane to score a hat trick, so this made a meaningless game in April feel just a little bit important. 

9. The Comeback Kids (4/23)

I think this game could be in consideration for the best of the season, despite my not thinking it was the best of the month when I did my April review. The Canes were starting a three-game trip through New York and playing the first game of a back-to-back against two non-playoff teams. Even more exciting than that was this game being the NHL debut of rookie goalie Pyotr Kochetkov, who'd only been in North America for a few months after coming over from Russia. With a goalie going down, they needed someone to step up and Kochetkov was the man for the job. The problem was the offense didn't seem to show up. Despite his best efforts, the Canes were down 2-0 with 11:30 left. Shortly after the second goal, Kochetkov made a huge breakaway save on Adam Boqvist to keep the game 2-0 and it felt like the Canes had found their groove. Brady Skjei broke the shutout with a lucky shot that deflected in off a defender to push the Canes within one with 4:36 left. Then, as Kochetkov was heading to the bench, Nino Niederreiter buried a rebound to tie things with just under two minutes left. With the game going to overtime and the Canes fortunate enough to get a point, the comeback was completed by fellow rookie Seth Jarvis to earn two huge points as the Canes continued to push for the division title. It was a memorable one for Kochetkov to get his first career win. 

10. Exercising Their Postseason Demons (5/14)

The game of the postseason for the Canes had to be the series-deciding game with Boston. After years of frustration against the Bruins in the postseason, the Canes were looking to send Boston on an early vacation. Things were tense to start the game with a few penalties and no goals. Nothing was happening until Teuvo Teravainen took a pass from Max Domi and deposited it into the back of the net to open the scoring late in the first period. The lead was doubled in the second period with Domi picking up a puck behind the net and beating Swayman from a tough angle to pick up his second point of the game. Boston responded with a goal less than two minutes later, but it still didn't feel like they had much control. Just past the midway point of the period, Teravainen laid a perfect pass into the slot for Domi and he slapped it home for his second goal and third point of the night and the crowd was going nuts. The Canes went into defensive mode from there. Boston would score in the final minute of the third period, however, it wouldn't be enough as the Canes would prevail in Game 7 to finally finish off Boston. 

Final Thoughts

The season concluding before the Canes can hoist the Stanley Cup is never fun, but the journey they took this season was very fun. A lot of guys hit career highs and achieved personal milestones in their careers, too many to list. Sebastian Aho became the most prolific scorer in the postseason in franchise history. Everyone who got time in the lineup made an impact. It was the best regular season the franchise has ever had. We were treated to two Game 7s in the playoffs. We were spoiled to an unreal degree as a fanbase as we watched one of the best teams in the league for almost 100 games. It just means that the expectations are going to be even higher when they hit the ice for training camp next season. The core is still young, so the window to win a Cup is still wide open. There are plenty of decisions that'll need to be made in the offseason, but the Canes will be back next season and they'll be better than ever when Opening Night 2022 comes around.