1997–98 Carolina Hurricanes season

1997–98 Carolina Hurricanes
Division 6th Northeast
1997–98 record 33–41–8
Goals for 200
Goals against 219
Team information
General Manager Jim Rutherford
Coach Paul Maurice
Captain Kevin Dineen
Arena Greensboro Coliseum
Average attendance 9,086[1]
Team leaders
< 1996–97 1998–99>

The 1997–98 Carolina Hurricanes season was the 26th season in franchise history, their 19th as a member of the National Hockey League, and their first in North Carolina. Formerly the Hartford Whalers, the team would play in Greensboro while a new arena was being constructed in Raleigh. The club finished sub-.500 and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Offseason

In March 1997, Whalers owner Peter Karmanos announced that the team would move elsewhere after the 1996–97 season because of the team's inability to negotiate a satisfactory construction and lease package for a new arena to replace the Hartford Civic Center. In July, Karmanos announced that the Whalers would move to the Research Triangle area of North Carolina and the new Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, become the Carolina Hurricanes, and change their team colors to red and black. Due to the relatively short time frame for the move, Karmanos himself thought of and decided upon the new name for the club, rather than holding a contest as is sometimes done.

Unfortunately, the ESA would not be complete for two more years. The only arena in the Triangle with an ice plant was Dorton Arena in Raleigh, which only seated 5,100 people—too small even for temporary use. The Hurricanes decided to play home games in Greensboro, ninety minutes away from Raleigh, for their first two seasons after the move. This choice was disastrous for the franchise's attendance and reputation. With a capacity of over 21,000 people for hockey, the Greensboro Coliseum became the highest-capacity arena in the NHL, but Triangle-area fans proved unwilling to make the drive down I-40 to Greensboro, and fans from the Piedmont Triad mostly refused to support a lame-duck team that had displaced the longtime Greensboro/Carolina Monarchs minor-league franchise. Furthermore, only 29 out of 82 games were televised, and radio play-by-play coverage on WPTF was often pre-empted by North Carolina State Wolfpack basketball (for whose broadcasts WPTF was the flagship station), leaving these games totally unavailable to those who did not have a ticket. With by far the smallest season-ticket base in the NHL and attendance routinely well below the league average, Sports Illustrated ran a story titled "Natural Disaster,"[2] and ESPN anchors mocked the "Green Acres" of empty seats; in a 2006 interview, Karmanos admitted that "as it turns out, [Greensboro] was probably a mistake."[3]

Regular season

Final standings

Northeast Division
No. GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Pittsburgh Penguins 82 40 24 18 228 188 98
2 Boston Bruins 82 39 30 13 221 194 91
3 Buffalo Sabres 82 36 29 17 211 187 89
4 Montreal Canadiens 82 37 32 13 235 208 87
5 Ottawa Senators 82 34 33 15 193 200 83
6 Carolina Hurricanes 82 33 41 8 200 219 74
Eastern Conference[4]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 New Jersey Devils ATL 82 48 23 11 225 166 107
2 Pittsburgh Penguins NE 82 40 24 18 228 188 98
3 Philadelphia Flyers ATL 82 42 29 11 242 193 95
4 Washington Capitals ATL 82 40 30 12 219 202 92
5 Boston Bruins NE 82 39 30 13 221 194 91
6 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 36 29 17 211 187 89
7 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 37 32 13 235 208 87
8 Ottawa Senators NE 82 34 33 15 193 200 83
9 Carolina Hurricanes NE 82 33 41 8 200 219 74
10 New York Islanders ATL 82 30 41 11 212 225 71
11 New York Rangers ATL 82 25 39 18 197 231 68
12 Florida Panthers ATL 82 24 43 15 203 256 63
13 Tampa Bay Lightning ATL 82 17 55 10 151 269 44

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

October

Record for the month 3-8-3 (Home 2-2-2 Away 1-6-1)

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1LOctober 1, 19972–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 0–1–0
2LOctober 3, 19973–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 0–2–0
3LOctober 4, 19972–3 @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 0–3–0
4TOctober 7, 19973–3 OT Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 0–3–1
5WOctober 10, 19972–1 New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 1–3–1
6LOctober 11, 19971–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 1–4–1
7LOctober 13, 19971–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 1–5–1
8TOctober 15, 19973–3 OT Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 1–5–2
9LOctober 18, 19972–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 1–6–2
10LOctober 20, 19972–4 @ New York Rangers (1997–98) 1–7–2
11WOctober 22, 19974–3 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 2–7–2
12TOctober 24, 19973–3 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 2–7–3
13WOctober 26, 19973–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 3–7–3
14LOctober 31, 19972–3 OT Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 3–8–3

November

Record for the month 7-5-1 (Home 5-3-1 Away 2-2-0)

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
15WNovember 3, 19975–3 Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 4–8–3
16WNovember 5, 19973–1 Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 5–8–3
17LNovember 7, 19972–3 New York Islanders (1997–98) 5–9–3
18WNovember 9, 19974–1 Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 6–9–3
19WNovember 12, 19976–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 7–9–3
20WNovember 13, 19974–2 @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 8–9–3
21LNovember 16, 19971–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 8–10–3
22WNovember 19, 19972–1 Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 9–10–3
23LNovember 21, 19973–4 New York Rangers (1997–98) 9–11–3
24TNovember 23, 19973–3 OT Calgary Flames (1997–98) 9–11–4
25LNovember 26, 19972–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 9–12–4
26WNovember 28, 19972–0 Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 10–12–4
27LNovember 29, 19972–3 Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 10–13–4

December

Record for the month 5-8-1 (Home 5-3-1 Away 0-5-0)

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
28WDecember 1, 19973–1 Boston Bruins (1997–98) 11–13–4
29WDecember 3, 19975–3 New York Islanders (1997–98) 12–13–4
30TDecember 5, 19972–2 OT Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 12–13–5
31LDecember 6, 19971–4 @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 12–14–5
32LDecember 10, 19972–5 Florida Panthers (1997–98) 12–15–5
33LDecember 12, 19972–3 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 12–16–5
34WDecember 16, 19972–1 Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 13–16–5
35LDecember 18, 19972–3 @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 13–17–5
36LDecember 20, 19971–2 Washington Capitals (1997–98) 13–18–5
37LDecember 23, 19972–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 13–19–5
38LDecember 26, 19972–5 Florida Panthers (1997–98) 13–20–5
39WDecember 27, 19974–1 Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 14–20–5
40WDecember 30, 19972–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 15–20–5
41LDecember 31, 19972–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 15–21–5

January

Record for the month 5-7-1 (Home 1-3-1 Away 4-4-0)

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
42LJanuary 3, 19981–6 Dallas Stars (1997–98) 15–22–5
43WJanuary 5, 19984–1 Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 16–22–5
44LJanuary 6, 19982–4 @ New York Rangers (1997–98) 16–23–5
45TJanuary 8, 19983–3 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 16–23–6
46WJanuary 10, 19982–1 OT @ New York Islanders (1997–98) 17–23–6
47LJanuary 12, 19981–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 17–24–6
48LJanuary 14, 19981–4 Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 17–25–6
49LJanuary 21, 19981–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 17–26–6
50WJanuary 22, 19984–2 @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 18–26–6
51WJanuary 24, 19984–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 19–26–6
52LJanuary 27, 19980–3 @ Florida Panthers (1997–98) 19–27–6
53WJanuary 28, 19983–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 20–27–6
54LJanuary 30, 19980–2 @ New York Islanders (1997–98) 20–28–6

February

Record for the month 1-2-1 (Home 0-1-1 Away 1-1-0)

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
55LFebruary 1, 19983–6 Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 20–29–6
56TFebruary 4, 19983–3 OT Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 20–29–7
57WFebruary 7, 19983–1 @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 21–29–7
58LFebruary 28, 19983–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 21–30–7

March

Record for the month 8-5-1 (Home 2-3-1 Away 6-2-0)

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
59WMarch 2, 19983–1 @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 22–30–7
60WMarch 5, 19982–1 @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 23–30–7
61WMarch 6, 19985–4 OT @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 24–30–7
62WMarch 8, 19983–1 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 25–30–7
63LMarch 12, 19980–2 New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 25–31–7
64LMarch 14, 19981–2 San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 25–32–7
65WMarch 15, 19984–1 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 26–32–7
66LMarch 18, 19980–1 @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 26–33–7
67LMarch 20, 19981–6 @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) 26–34–7
68WMarch 23, 19985–3 @ Florida Panthers (1997–98) 27–34–7
69WMarch 26, 19984–1 New York Rangers (1997–98) 28–34–7
70WMarch 28, 19984–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 29–34–7
71LMarch 29, 19981–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 29–35–7
72TMarch 31, 19983–3 OT Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 29–35–8

April

Record for the month 4-6-0 (Home 1-3-0 Away 3-3-0)

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
73WApril 1, 19984–0 @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 30–35–8
74WApril 4, 19981–0 @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 31–35–8
75WApril 6, 19983–0 @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 32–35–8
76LApril 8, 19981–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 32–36–8
77WApril 9, 19985–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 33–36–8
78LApril 11, 19981–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 33–37–8
79LApril 13, 19982–3 Boston Bruins (1997–98) 33–38–8
80LApril 16, 19981–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 33–39–8
81LApril 18, 19983–4 Washington Capitals (1997–98) 33–40–8
82LApril 19, 19981–2 @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 33–41–8

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Kapanen, SamiSami Kapanen RW 81 26 37 63 169405
Primeau, KeithKeith Primeau C 81 26 37 63 11019732
Roberts, GaryGary Roberts LW 61 20 29 49 1033402
Emerson, NelsonNelson Emerson RW 81 21 24 45 50-17604
O'Neill, JeffJeff O'Neill RW 74 19 20 39 67-8714
Kron, RobertRobert Kron LW 81 16 20 36 12-8402
Chiasson, SteveSteve Chiasson D 66 7 27 34 65-2600
Gelinas, MartinMartin Gelinas LW 40 12 14 26 301214
Wesley, GlenGlen Wesley D 82 6 19 25 367101
Dineen, KevinKevin Dineen RW 54 7 16 23 105-7001
Sanderson, GeoffGeoff Sanderson LW 40 7 10 17 14-4200
Ranheim, PaulPaul Ranheim LW 73 5 9 14 28-11012
Brown, JeffJeff Brown D 32 3 10 13 16-1300
Leschyshyn, CurtisCurtis Leschyshyn D 73 2 10 12 45-2101
Burt, AdamAdam Burt D 76 1 11 12 106-6010
Leach, StephenStephen Leach RW 45 4 5 9 42-19112
Manderville, KentKent Manderville C 77 4 4 8 31-6000
Haller, KevinKevin Haller D 65 3 5 8 94-5000
Grimson, StuStu Grimson LW 82 3 4 7 2040001
Sheppard, RayRay Sheppard RW 10 4 2 6 22201
Battaglia, BatesBates Battaglia LW 33 2 4 6 10-1001
Rice, StevenSteven Rice RW 47 2 4 6 38-16000
Hill, SeanSean Hill D 42 0 5 5 48-2000
Ciccone, EnricoEnrico Ciccone D 14 0 3 3 833000
Halko, StevenSteven Halko D 18 0 2 2 10-1000
Pratt, NolanNolan Pratt D 23 0 2 2 44-2000
Burke, SeanSean Burke G 25 0 1 1 60000
McLean, KirkKirk McLean G 8 0 1 1 00000
Murray, ChrisChris Murray RW 7 0 1 1 222000
Rucinski, MikeMike Rucinski D 9 0 1 1 20000
Brown, KevinKevin Brown RW 4 0 0 0 0-2000
Daniels, JeffJeff Daniels LW 2 0 0 0 00000
Fountain, MikeMike Fountain G 3 0 0 0 20000
Jablonski, PatPat Jablonski G 5 0 0 0 00000
Kidd, TrevorTrevor Kidd G 47 0 0 0 20000
Martins, SteveSteve Martins C 3 0 0 0 00000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Kidd, TrevorTrevor Kidd 2685 47 21 21 3 97 2.17 312371140.922
Burke, SeanSean Burke 1415 25 7 11 5 66 2.80 1655589.899
McLean, KirkKirk McLean 401 8 4 2 0 22 3.29 0181159.878
Jablonski, PatPat Jablonski 279 5 1 4 0 14 3.01 0115101.878
Fountain, MikeMike Fountain 163 3 0 3 0 10 3.68 06858.853
Team: 4943 82 33 41 8 209 2.54 422562047.907

[5]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
      MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage;

Awards and records

Farm teams

American Hockey League

The Beast of New Haven are the Hurricanes American Hockey League affiliate for the 1998–99 AHL season.

Roster

1997-98 Carolina Hurricanes
Goaltenders

Defensemen

Wingers

Centers

References

  1. "NHL Average Attendance since 1989-90". Andrew's Dallas Stars Page. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  2. Callaghan, Gerry. "Natural Disaster." Sports Illustrated, October 27, 1997; Web article retrieved November 19, 2008.
  3. Burnside, Scott. "Karmanos: Hard-nosed owner, die-hard hockey fan." ESPN.com, June 6, 2008; Web article retrieved February 14, 2009.
  4. "1997–1998 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  5. "1997-98 Carolina Hurricanes Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  6. Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.426, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6

External links

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