Carolina Hurricanes: 2022-23 Year in Review & Team Awards

The end of the 2022 postseason left a sour taste in the mouths of the fans after the Canes lost in Game 7 to the New York Rangers at home. They'd failed to win any games on the road and the lone home game they dropped ended their season. It left the fans wanting more from their team and the front office. General Manager Don Waddell answered the call by making two huge trades, acquiring Max Pacioretty from the Vegas Golden Knights and Brent Burns from the San Jose Sharks. It also meant some big names exiting with Tony DeAngelo being traded away and both Vincent Trocheck and Nino Niederreiter signing elsewhere. There was also plenty to look forward to in the upcoming season. The franchise was celebrating its 25th season in North Carolina and the long-awaited Stadium Series game was the highlight of the schedule. The product on the ice would live up to the hype. Here's a look back at the season that was. 

Season in Review

Regular Season

It may not have felt like it at times but this was another historic season for the franchise. After 54 wins last season, the Canes followed it up with 52, tying the 2005-06 team for the second-most in franchise history. It also marked the first time the franchise has recorded consecutive 50-win seasons. Their 113 points placed them in sole possession of second in franchise history. They also set new marks for the longest win streak (11 games) and point streak (14 games) with long runs at the end of 2022. All of this culminated in a third straight division title as the Canes fought off the New Jersey Devils by one point in a battle that lasted the entire season. They finished only behind the Boston Bruins in points, albeit by 22 points. After winning the Jennings Trophy last season for allowing the fewest goals in the league in 2021-22, the Canes finished second this season, allowing 210 goals, or just over 2.5 per game. A lot of the success can be attributed to their penalty kill, which also finished second in the league at 84.4%. The offense was in the middle of the pack, finishing 15th with 262 goals. The power play struggled at times, converting on 19.8% of its attempts, 20th in the league. 

Postseason

With the Canes winning the division, they would be matched up with the first Wild Card team, the New York Islanders. The two games in Raleigh to open the series were tight with the Canes winning 2-1 in Game 1 and 4-3 in overtime in Game 2 with some heroics by Jesper Fast. The Game 2 win made Rod Brind'Amour the franchise's all-time leader in postseason wins as a head coach with his 26th win. The Canes would lose Game 3 5-1 despite the score sitting at 1-1 until the Islanders scored four times in just over two minutes. The Canes responded in a big way in Game 4, winning 5-2 to snap an eight-game road losing streak in the postseason. Sebastian Aho scored his 20th-career postseason goal in the win, making him the franchise's all-time leader. The Canes were unable to finish the series at home in Game 5, losing 3-2. However, they would get it done on the road in Game 6 as Aho tied the game in the third period and Paul Stastny surprised Ilya Sorokin from a sharp angle to win 2-1 in overtime and send the Canes to the second round. 

The New Jersey Devils would be the Canes' opponent in the second round as the two franchises met for the fifth time in the postseason. Games 1 and 2 at home were dominated by the Canes. They outscored the Devils 11-2, winning 5-1 and 6-1 to take a 2-0 series lead. New Jersey paid the Canes back in Game 3 by putting up eight goals in an 8-4 victory. Three of the Canes' four goals came short-handed, highlighted by a penalty shot by Jordan Martinook. Game 4 would once again be a blowout as Carolina scored five times in the second period to chase Vitek Vanecek en route to a 6-1 victory. Unlike the New York series, the Canes would close out the series at home in the toughest game of the series. The two teams were tied 2-2 after 60 minutes and after New Jersey took a penalty in overtime, Fast would once again play the hero, redirecting a shot from Jesperi Kotkaniemi into the net, sending the Canes to their fifth Eastern Conference Final. 

In the conference finals, they would face the surprising Florida Panthers, who'd knocked off two of the best teams in the Atlantic Division to make it this far. Game 1 can only be described as a marathon as the game began on Thursday night and didn't finish until just before 2 am on Friday morning. Unfortunately, it was Florida that won the 4OT affair as Matthew Tkachuk scored just before the end of the seventh period to hand Florida a 3-2 victory. Overtime would be needed again in Game 2 and it was Tkachuk that won it, only this time he needed just over a minute to get it done as Florida swept the two games in Raleigh. Game 3 in Sunrise was all about Sergei Bobrovsky. He stopped all 32 shots he faced and while Frederik Andersen was good, he wasn't perfect as Florida won 1-0. Game 4 saw more offense than we'd seen the entire series and despite a late-tying goal from Fast in the third period, Tkachuk would score on the power play with 4.9 seconds left as the Panthers completed the sweep and sent the Canes packing. 

The Team

Forwards

The offense this season was led by a few familiar names but there was one big surprise that really took the entire fanbase by storm. Martin Necas came out of the gates on fire with three points in the season opener and it parlayed into 28 points in the first 25 games. Necas finished the season with the same number of goals he'd scored in the last two seasons combined (28), the second-most on the team. He led the team in points with 71, marking the first time since the 2016-17 team that Sebastian Aho didn't lead the team in points, and tied Burns with 43 assists to lead the team. Speaking of Aho, he wasn't far behind Necas, scoring 67 points in 75 games. Aho did lead the team in goals with 36, the only player to score 30 or more goals this season. He also led the team with three hat tricks, tied for the second-most in the league. Andrei Svechnikov was another player that started the season on fire. Within the first month of the season, Svechnikov recorded 11 goals, including his first two regular-season hat tricks. By the end of 2022, he's scored 19 goals in 36 games and would later be named to his first All-Star Game. He did on a long 19-game goalless drought to begin 2023 but he still found a way to record 14 assists. The team was dealt a major blow on March 11 when it was revealed that Svechnikov had torn his ACL and would miss the rest of the season and the postseason. In total, he'd score 23 goals and 55 points in 67 games before his injury. 

This season also featured a group of players that made major strides in different ways. Near the top of the list was Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The start of the season wasn't ideal for Kotkaniemi as he scored just three goals and seven points in his first 31 games. In late December, something seemed to click for Kotkaniemi. He'd score 31 points in the final 51 games, including the first outdoor goal in franchise history and a five-point performance against Tampa in early March. This would help him set new career highs in goals (18), assists (25), and points (43). Seth Jarvis is another player that took major steps forward, even if he didn't best his totals from last season. There were times this season when it looked like Jarvis had hit a wall. Still, he put up near-identical numbers to his rookie season with 14 goals and 39 points, while also recording his first hat trick against the Canadiens before the Stadium Series Game. He may have done it in his late 20s but this was easily Stefan Noesen's best season at the age of 29. It was his first full season since he was with the Devils in 2017-18 and he tied his career high in goals (13) and set a new high in points (36). He did some serious damage on the power play, finishing tied for second on the team with seven power-play goals. Noesen was effective no matter where he was placed in the lineup, seeing time on practically all four lines. 

The only line to stick together for most of the season was centered by the captain Jordan Staal. Entering the final year of his long extension, Staal led by example in the locker room and on the ice. He was a two-way threat, facing each team's most lethal line every night and putting up another 17-goal campaign. While he wasn't a finalist for the Selke, Staal should still finish pretty high in the voting. On one side of Staal was Jesper Fast. After spending most of last season on the same line as Staal, Fast knew exactly what he was getting into and he delivered. Fast struggled at times to find the back of the net during the regular season, just scoring ten goals but his 19 assists were just one shy of his career-high. He's another guy that I want to see get some Selke recognition. The final man of the trio was Jordan Martinook and he took some serious heat from everyone at the beginning of the season. In a move that was more about the money movement than anything, Martinook was put on waivers at the beginning of the season, though the Canes never had any intention of moving him. He responded by scoring 13 goals and setting new highs in assists (21) and points (34). Martinook was also one of the best forecheckers on the team, seemingly destroying everyone along the boards to get the puck. 

As for the rest of the regulars, Teuvo Teravainen didn't have the impact he usually would and injuries might have a lot to do with that. He missed just about a month early in the season and that paired with a slow start seemed to hurt his production for the season. He would rebound 12 goals and 37 points in 68 games but it was lightyears away from what we're used to seeing from him. The Canes added some veteran help in the offseason and Paul Stastny was a big part of that. He spent most of the season on the fourth line and while his production wasn't like in his prime, Stastny still put up a respectable nine goals and 22 points in 73 games. Derek Stepan was another veteran that was brought back to the team after spending last season with the Hurricanes. Stepan also played in 73 games, scoring five goals and 11 points on the fourth line. The final semi-regular player on the team was rookie Jack Drury. After making a few appearances last season, he spent 38 games in the lineup this season, recording eight points. He saw his role change throughout the season but he impressed both the head coach and most of the fanbase. 

To round out the forward group, Max Pacioretty was one of the most exciting offseason additions we've ever seen for the Canes. Unfortunately, Pacioretty tore his Achilles during a workout during the preseason, forcing him to miss most of the season. He made his team debut on January 5, then scored three goals in his next two games. The ride would be short-lived after he re-tore the same Achilles just five games into the season, forcing him to miss the rest of the season. Another addition in the offseason, Ondrej Kase only played one game, suffering a concussion in the season opener after playing just 11:02. The final forward was trade deadline acquisition Jesse Puljujarvi. Having played with Aho on the Finnish World Junior team that won gold, there was some hope that he'd make a big mark in this new venue. It didn't quite work that way as he recorded two assists in 17 games. 

Defensemen

The defensive pairs for the Canes didn't change much this season. At the top of the depth chart was Jaccob Slavin with his third different partner in three years. This season, he was paired with Brent Burns after he was acquired in the offseason. As has been the case in the last few seasons, Slavin dominated on the defensive end of the ice while Burns provided the offense. Burns paced the core in points with 61, the 12th-most in the league among defensemen and a new franchise record for defensemen. He also scored 18 goals, his most since scoring 29 in 2016-17 when he won the Norris Trophy and tied for the third-most in the league for defensemen. Slavin picked up a ton of respect around the league for how strong he continues to be on the defensive end when paired against some of the best forwards in the league. 27 points is a little less than what we've seen from him in most seasons but he's paid to get the job done in front of his own net. 

The other consistent pairing in the lineup was Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei. They played pretty much every game together and were one of the most reliable pairs in the league all season. He set a new career high in assists (25) and points (30) while averaging the second-most time on ice in his career (22:01). Skjei took a major step forward this season, mostly in the goal column. He tied Burns with 18 goals this season and there was a time when it felt like he wouldn't stop scoring. It's also the first season he's ever scored double-digit goals. He finished one point behind his career-high in points with 38 this season, trailing only Burns on the team. The final constant on the backend was Jalen Chatfield as he played his first full season in the league. He spent most of his season on the third pair and he was impressive. Chatfield scored his first NHL goal this season against the Penguins in late December and ended the season with six goals and 14 points in 78 games. 

Chatfield's partner on the third pair was a revolving door with four guys. For most of the season, Calvin de Haan was his partner, playing in 53 games. He finished the season with two goals and ten assists after joining the team following a PTO in the offseason. Dylan Coghlan spent some time on the third pair also, playing in 17 games after coming over in the Pacioretty trade. I was excited to see him play but he didn't quite pan out, recording just three assists and not providing any memorable moments in his short time in the lineup. Maxime Lajoie only got three games with the Hurricanes this season and he barely played, averaging 7:51 in those games. After the trade deadline, Shayne Gostisbehere took control of the spot next to Chatfield. He made an instant impact after the team acquired him, scoring in his team debut against his former team and recording three points in the next game. He finished with ten points in 23 games to close the season, proving an excellent addition to an already stellar defense. 

Goalies

The Canes used three goalies this season with each getting at least 23 starts and winning at least ten games. They're the 14th group in NHL history to have three goalies reach double digits in wins and they needed just 49 games to do it. 

Frederik Andersen started the season as the team's starter but after suffering an injury during a loss to Toronto in early November, he would miss 29 games. He'd return with a vengeance in January by going 9-1-0 in his next ten decisions with a .920 save percentage. He would keep this pace up until late March when he hit a rough patch. He went 2-4-1 in his final seven starts, sending him into the postseason as the backup. When he did get the net back in Game 6 of the first round, Andersen didn't let it go. He allowed one goal in the series-clinching game and in three of the first four games against New Jersey. He finished the postseason with a 5-3 record but a 1.89 GAA, the best in the league at the time of the Canes' elimination. In the regular season, Andersen led the team in starts with 33, even with his early injury. He went 21-11-1 in those starts while posting a .903 save percentage, a 2.48 GAA, and one shutout, each the worst of the three goalies. 

During Andersen's injury, Antti Raanta took control of the net for the Canes He responded by going on a franchise-record 17-game point streak of his own with a 15-0-2 record that spanned over four months. Raanta was a brick wall in the net when he was in the net for the Canes this season. His 2.23 GAA was the third-lowest in the league this season and his four shutouts were tied for fifth. Raanta gave the Canes a chance to win every game he played in, which helped make the decision to start him at the beginning of the New York series a no-brainer, even after he missed a month at the end of the season. Raanta went 19-3-3 this season, providing one of the best win percentages in franchise history. He played well in Games 1 through 5, winning three of them and putting the Canes in a position to advance. An illness would keep him out of the lineup for most of the New Jersey series and he'd make a spot start in the Florida series, losing in Game 2. 

Rounding out the trio was Pyotr Kochetkov. Whenever a goalie went down, Kochetkov got the call and he performed well. He was thrown right into the fire in his first start against the Oilers. He started the season 10-1-4, including a record-setting shutout streak for a rookie with back-to-back shutouts against New York and Detroit. He struggled after the Christmas break, losing his next four starts before being sent back to Chicago. Kochetkov would get the call-up once again with Raanta going down in early March and he returned with a 19-save shutout against the Flyers. In 23 starts this season, Kochetkov went 12-7-5 in the most action he's ever seen in the NHL. He also posted a 2.44 GAA, the eighth-best in the league for any goalie with 20+ starts. He also tied Raanta with four shutouts. He made one appearance in the postseason in relief of Andersen in Game 3 of the New Jersey series, allowing four goals in just under 40 minutes. 

Awards

Most Improved- Martin Necas over Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Stefan Noesen 

Some so many players could be in this spot but I'm taking the easy route and picking Necas. After failing to improve on his performance from the shortened 2020-21 season, many were calling for Necas to be traded when he only put up 40 points in 78 games last season. The turnaround we saw from him this season was nothing short of amazing. When he started hot, I wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep up the pace and was waiting for him to fall off. It didn't really happen until the very end of the season. Necas put together a 70-point campaign and it shocked me. He also had a knack for scoring in overtime, tying for the league lead with four overtime winners. The improvement he made this season was incredible and I'm hoping he'll be able to keep it going next season. 

Norris (Best Defenseman)- Brent Burns over Brady Skjei and Jaccob Slavin

This is another tough race because there are plenty of arguments to be made for all of these guys. We can belabor all of the points for both Skjei and Slavin but I'm sticking with Burns. There's something about someone coming in for their first season with the pedigree that he has at his age and completely taking a team by storm. He was instantly loved by this fanbase and his teammates and he backed it up with his performance on the ice. His 61 points were third on the team and are the most by a defenseman in team history. He also held with own playing next to Slavin on defense. While he's not going to be the shutdown defender Slavin is, Burns had some great moments. The defense drove the bus this season and Burns was sitting in the very front. 

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

All three goalies had their moments this season in the spotlight and at their best, they were nearly unbeatable. In the end, it's all about winning games and no goalie did that better this season than Raanta. While he finished two wins behind Andersen, Raanta only lost six games this season and just three of them were in regulation. His .820 point percentage is likely one of the best in team history. He was top three in GAA and top five in shutouts, earning the starting nod in the postseason. I think he was the team's most consistent goalie, as evidenced by his 17-game point streak. 

Hart (Team MVP)- Sebastian Aho over Brent Burns and Martin Necas

I could try to pretend that Aho isn't the most important player on the ice when he's healthy but that would be a lie, though Slavin is a close second. Aho led the team in goals with 36 and while he finished second in points, he averaged the most points per game of any forward this season. There isn't a situation that he doesn't thrive in. He led the team with three short-handed goals and four points on the kill. He tied for second in power-play goals with seven. He also scored nine game-winning goals, tying a franchise record. At the pace he was going, Aho would've finished just shy of 40 goals. Aho is turning into a superstar and he's rewriting the franchise's history books one goal and one point at a time. 

Top Ten Games of the Season

10. Deep into the Night (5/18)

I strongly believe that there comes a point where making history trumps the result of a game. That's exactly where we were in Game 1 against the Panthers during the Eastern Conference Final. Now, history will remember this game as a loss for the Canes but that's not why this game is significant. They had scored twice on the power play, including in the third period as Stefan Noesen tied the game at 2-2. No one had won the game by the end of regulation and no one would score a goal for three overtimes either. The game officially became the longest game in franchise history and would become the sixth-longest in NHL history. The Canes did lose the game with seconds left in the fourth overtime but the road to the final goal was a very long one. 

9. Svechnikov Strikes Thrice...Twice (11/10)

Four games into the season, Andrei Svechnikov scored three goals in Edmonton for his first regular-season hat trick after picking one up in the postseason bubble in 2020. A few weeks later, Edmonton made the trip to Raleigh. The venue change didn't change anything as Svechnikov scored once in each period to capture his second hat trick against the Oilers this season. The game turned into a blowout as the Canes smoked the Oilers 7-2 at PNC Arena as six players recorded multi-point nights to embarrass Edmonton. 

8. The Win Streak Turns Ten (12/30)

Several times this season the team set new records and this might've been their most emphatic. A week after setting a new franchise record with points in 14 straight games, the Canes hosted the Florida Panthers with a chance to set a new record. No team in Hurricanes history had ever won ten games in a row until this night. The Canes dominated the Panthers for 60 minutes, scoring three goals on the power play, as Antti Raanta stopped all 19 shots he faced to earn a 4-0 victory. They broke a tie with a few other teams in franchise history to become the first team with a double-digit win streak. The streak would reach 11 games before being snapped by the Rangers. 

7. Kings of the Metro (4/13)

The Panthers were a big part of the team's history whether they know it or not. The Canes entered the season finale with a one-point lead on the Devils for the division crown, needing a win to clinch the division. The road was difficult and featured a lot of fight from the Panthers to stay in the game. The Canes led 2-0 after the first period but the Panthers scored twice early in the third to tie it up. The Canes struck back twice in 21 seconds and made it 5-2 late with an empty-net goal. Florida scored two more quick goals to make it 5-4 but Sebastian Aho would put the game away with another empty-net goal as the Canes won the division for the third straight season. It's a good thing they won too because the Devils also won their finale, meaning a loss of any kind would've cost the Canes the crown. 

6. Honoring a Star with a Hat Trick (2/16)

This Thursday night battle served as the kick-off for the weekend ahead as the Canes honored Cam Ward with his induction into the Canes Hall of Fame. Following a great pre-game ceremony, It didn't start well with Montreal scoring early but Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Seth Jarvis scored 2:33 apart late in the period to put the Canes ahead. The Canadiens scored the only goal of the second period, meaning we'd enter the third period in a 2-2 deadlock. The Canes came out of the intermission on fire, scoring three times in 2:55 to take a 5-2 lead with Sebastian Aho, Jarvis, and Jordan Staal getting the goals. The Canes would shut things down in the third period but the icing on the cake would come in the final seconds as Jarvis completed his first-career hat trick with a beautiful short-handed goal as the Canes cruised to a 6-2 win in the precursor to the Stadium Series. 

5. Barely Even a Rumble (3/5)

There were plenty of blowout games this season for the Canes. There wasn't a game that was a bigger blowout than this one. This afternoon matinee on national television in Raleigh against the Lightning was expected to be a close contest, especially with Andrei Vasilevskiy in the net for the Bolts. Man, we were way wrong about that. The Canes blanked Tampa 6-0 behind four power-play goals. Teuvo Teravainen recorded his second career hat trick. Jesperi Kotkaniemi had a career-high five points. Martin Necas added three assists. Shayne Gostisbehere recorded three points in his second game with the team. The defense held the Lightning without a shot for the entire second period. They dismantled Tampa Bay in every imaginable way. 

4. Swimming with the Sharks (1/27)

The other big constant with this team is that they were never truly out of a game. Even if they trailed in the final minutes, they were going to find a way to fight to the very end. On this night, it meant the Canes needed to come back from a 4-2 deficit with 1:52 remaining in the third period after the Sharks put the puck into the empty net. The comeback got off to a good start as Sebastian Aho needed just 15 seconds to pull within one goal with his second of the game. The Canes would pull the goalie in the final minute and with 12 seconds left, Martin Necas snapped a loose puck past James Reimer to ensure the game would go to overtime. In overtime, Necas would play the hero again as he scored on a 2-on-1 with Andrei Svechnikov 55 seconds into the extra frame to complete the comeback. 

3. Checkmate (1/31)

Two games later, the Canes would need to find that magic again. After allowing four goals to the Los Angeles Kings in the second period, the Canes trailed 4-1 with just 20 minutes to play. The good news is that it was more than enough time for Carolima to make a comeback. Paul Stastny started it less than 3:30 in to make it 4-2 and Jordan Staal made it a one-goal game with a little over half of a period left. The Canes would earn a power play a few minutes later and Teuvo Teravainen would need 21 seconds to tie it up. The game would require overtime and the Canes once again drew a penalty. On the man advantage, Sebastian Aho would play the hero as he snapped a shot past a diving Pheonix Copley to win 5-4 and complete another multi-goal comeback. 

2. No Brotherly Love Lost (3/18)

If not for a terrible start to the third period, this game probably wouldn't be in the top ten. The Canes led 3-2 after 40 minutes behind two goals from Sebastian Aho and Brady Skjei's 15th of the season. The Flyers scored twice in the first six minutes of the third period to take a 4-3 lead with the second goal coming courtesy of a terrible turnover behind the net by Frederik Andersen. Despite pushing and trying to tie it, things were looking very bleak for the Canes. They finally drew their first power play of the game with seven seconds left and if you're like me, you were thinking it was still way too late. The Canes seemed to disagree. They won the draw back and while Shayne Gostisbehere's drive was stopped, the Canes forced the puck back to the front of the net where Martin Necas was waiting to slide it home with 0.3 seconds left. Behind a chorus of boos from the faithful in Philadelphia, the game went to overtime. Bringing back fond memories of the 2020 postseason bubble, Aho completed his third hat trick of the season by dangling around Tony DeAngelo and snapping it top shelf for his 30th goal of the season to earn the win 28 seconds into overtime. 

1. Under the Lights in Raleigh (2/18)

No matter how well the game played out, this was going to be the best game of the season. The fans had been waiting for this game for three years after it was initially announced. COVID pushed it back a few years but the timing was perfect. Carter-Finlay Stadium was packed for a perfect night of hockey. It didn't hurt that the Canes dominated the Washington Capitals. Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored the opening goal of the game early in the first period and the Canes used that momentum to score three times in the second period. Paul Stastny put home a rebound, Martin Necas fired home a one-timer on the power play, and Teuvo Teravainen finished a 2-on-1 after Frederik Andersen sparked the odd-man rush. Behind three points from Necas, multi-point nights for Teravainen and Kotkaniemi, and 24 saves by Andersen, the Canes won their inaugural outdoor game 4-1 as we got to experience the first-ever outdoor surge. The city of Raleigh proved once and for all that this is a hockey market by hosting one of the league's premier events.