Can Carolina capture the Stanley Cup again?

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2006

By Lucas Aykroyd

No NHL team has won back-to-back Stanley Cups since the Detroit Red Wings of 1997 and 1998. Therefore, the Carolina Hurricanes face a difficult challenge this season as they try to defend their championship.

So far, the Canes aren’t on pace to equal the 112 points that earned them the Southeast Division title last season. While they’ve posted an impressive 8-4-1 record at home, their road record hovers around the .500 mark. Opposing teams are clearly psyched up when they host the champions, and there’s no room for complacency.

“After winning the Cup, it’s hard to describe how you get ready for a new season,” said veteran defenseman Mike Commodore. “We just accomplished something that most of the guys in here have dreamed about since they were little kids. The key is that you have to get yourself mentally ready for the next year. Last year was huge, but you’ve got to get over it and win another one.”

Under the NHL’s salary cap system, it wasn’t realistic to expect that general manager Jim Rutherford could keep his entire Cup-winning squad together. The Canes lost solid veterans like Matt Cullen and Aaron Ward to free agency, but players like newcomer Scott Walker and a healthy Anton Babchuk should be able to fill that void.

However, the loss of Mark Recchi and Doug Weight hurts from an experience standpoint. Both were so-called “rental players” acquired at last year’s trade deadline, and both re-signed with their previous clubs (Pittsburgh and St. Louis) in the off-season.

“Obviously those guys are big losses,” said Commodore. “They’re a pair of Hall-of-Famers, and that’s tough to replace. But we feel we have just as good of a team as last year on paper. We just have to put it together on a consistent basis.”

Offensive consistency hasn’t been a problem. Carolina boasts one of the league’s best attacks. Surprisingly, captain Rod Brind’Amour is on pace to match his glory years in Philadelphia (he peaked at 97 points in 1993-94), and Ray Whitney, Justin Williams, Eric Cole, and 2006 playoff scoring leader Eric Staal are all contributing up front. The imminent return of Cory Stillman, who’s spent the entire season on the injured reserve list, makes that picture even brighter.

The Canes could use more scoring from the blueline, however. Commodore has done his best to help, already surpassing his 2005-06 points total of 13. But he can’t make up for the absence of Frantisek Kaberle. The Czech defenseman, who scored the Cup-winning goal in Game Seven and led all Carolina blueliners with 44 regular season points last year, is still rehabilitating a shoulder injury and won’t return until sometime in 2007.

Of course, goaltending is the biggest key, and Cam Ward hasn’t been quite as hot as during his Conn Smythe Trophy playoff performance last year. The 22-year-old stole Martin Gerber’s starting job during a first-round victory over Montreal, and the Swiss veteran ended up signing as a free agent with Ottawa in the off-season. Ward, backed up by ex-Tampa Bay netminder John Grahame, has seen his GAA hover closer to 3.00 this year than the 2.14 he posted during the championship run.

According to Commodore, the one thing you can always rely on is the vocal support of Carolina fans: “Last year, when we were just getting started, the rink might not have been full every night, but it was loud. Our fans came out and had tailgate parties and a few drinks. They’d get in there and scream. As the year progressed, we had the best rink in the league. I don’t care what they say about Rexall Place in Edmonton. It couldn’t compare to the RBC Centre, where it was a lot louder.”

Another run to the finals would be the best way to test Commodore’s theory.