1997–98 Carolina Hurricanes season

1997–98 Carolina Hurricanes
Division6th Northeast
Conference9th Eastern
1997–98 record33–41–8
Home record16–18–7
Road record17–23–1
Goals for200
Goals against219
Team information
General managerJim Rutherford
CoachPaul Maurice
CaptainKevin Dineen
Alternate captainsKeith Primeau
Unknown
ArenaGreensboro Coliseum
Average attendance9,086[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)Beast of New Haven
Richmond Renegades
Team leaders
GoalsSami Kapanen (26)
Keith Primeau (26)
AssistsSami Kapanen (37)
Keith Primeau (37)
PointsSami Kapanen (63)
Keith Primeau (63)
Penalty minutesStu Grimson (204)
Plus/minusKeith Primeau (+19)
WinsTrevor Kidd (21)
Goals against averageTrevor Kidd (2.17)

The 1997–98 Carolina Hurricanes season was the 26th season in franchise history, their 19th as a member of the National Hockey League (NHL), 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 1998 Stanley Cup 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. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 82 40 24 18 228 188 98
2 5 Boston Bruins 82 39 30 13 221 194 91
3 6 Buffalo Sabres 82 36 29 17 211 187 89
4 7 Montreal Canadiens 82 37 32 13 235 208 87
5 8 Ottawa Senators 82 34 33 15 193 200 83
6 9 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

1997–98 regular season[5]
October: 3–8–3 (home: 2–2–2; road: 1–6–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
1 L October 1, 1997 2–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 0–1–0 17,808 Recap
2 L October 3, 1997 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 0–2–0 18,661 Recap
3 L October 4, 1997 2–3 @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 0–3–0 18,500 Recap
4 T October 7, 1997 3–3 OT Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 0–3–1 6,083 Recap
5 W October 10, 1997 2–1 New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 1–3–1 6,352 Recap
6 L October 11, 1997 1–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 1–4–1 15,175 Recap
7 L October 13, 1997 1–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 1–5–1 12,530 Recap
8 T October 15, 1997 3–3 OT Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 1–5–2 6,278 Recap
9 L October 18, 1997 2–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 1–6–2 19,983 Recap
10 L October 20, 1997 2–4 @ New York Rangers (1997–98) 1–7–2 18,200 Recap
11 W October 22, 1997 4–3 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 2–7–2 8,185 Recap
12 T October 24, 1997 3–3 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 2–7–3 16,061 Recap
13 W October 26, 1997 3–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 3–7–3 14,834 Recap
14 L October 31, 1997 2–3 OT Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 3–8–3 7,555 Recap
November: 7–5–1 (home: 5–3–1; road: 2–2–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
15 W November 3, 1997 5–3 Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 4–8–3 7,257 Recap
16 W November 5, 1997 3–1 Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 5–8–3 10,090 Recap
17 L November 7, 1997 2–3 New York Islanders (1997–98) 5–9–3 7,742 Recap
18 W November 9, 1997 4–1 Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 6–9–3 5,551 Recap
19 W November 12, 1997 6–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 7–9–3 14,240 Recap
20 W November 13, 1997 4–2 @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 8–9–3 15,825 Recap
21 L November 16, 1997 1–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 8–10–3 14,740 Recap
22 W November 19, 1997 2–1 Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 9–10–3 6,896 Recap
23 L November 21, 1997 3–4 New York Rangers (1997–98) 9–11–3 19,358 Recap
24 T November 23, 1997 3–3 OT Calgary Flames (1997–98) 9–11–4 5,516 Recap
25 L November 26, 1997 2–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 9–12–4 13,253 Recap
26 W November 28, 1997 2–0 Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 10–12–4 8,107 Recap
27 L November 29, 1997 2–3 Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 10–13–4 11,332 Recap
December: 5–8–1 (home: 5–3–1; road: 0–5–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
28 W December 1, 1997 3–1 Boston Bruins (1997–98) 11–13–4 5,865 Recap
29 W December 3, 1997 5–3 New York Islanders (1997–98) 12–13–4 5,651 Recap
30 T December 5, 1997 2–2 OT Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 12–13–5 6,793 Recap
31 L December 6, 1997 1–4 @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 12–14–5 14,805 Recap
32 L December 10, 1997 2–5 Florida Panthers (1997–98) 12–15–5 7,219 Recap
33 L December 12, 1997 2–3 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 12–16–5 12,321 Recap
34 W December 16, 1997 2–1 Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 13–16–5 7,317 Recap
35 L December 18, 1997 2–3 @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 13–17–5 14,437 Recap
36 L December 20, 1997 1–2 Washington Capitals (1997–98) 13–18–5 8,118 Recap
37 L December 23, 1997 2–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 13–19–5 19,594 Recap
38 L December 26, 1997 2–5 Florida Panthers (1997–98) 13–20–5 8,684 Recap
39 W December 27, 1997 4–1 Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 14–20–5 8,682 Recap
40 W December 30, 1997 2–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 15–20–5 8,309 Recap
41 L December 31, 1997 2–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 15–21–5 15,108 Recap
January: 5–7–1 (home: 1–3–1; road: 4–4–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
42 L January 3, 1998 1–6 Dallas Stars (1997–98) 15–22–5 9,266 Recap
43 W January 5, 1998 4–1 Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 16–22–5 6,055 Recap
44 L January 6, 1998 2–4 @ New York Rangers (1997–98) 16–23–5 18,200 Recap
45 T January 8, 1998 3–3 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 16–23–6 11,908 Recap
46 W January 10, 1998 2–1 OT @ New York Islanders (1997–98) 17–23–6 13,679 Recap
47 L January 12, 1998 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 17–24–6 8,250 Recap
48 L January 14, 1998 1–4 Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 17–25–6 10,704 Recap
49 L January 21, 1998 1–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 17–26–6 12,627 Recap
50 W January 22, 1998 4–2 @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 18–26–6 15,491 Recap
51 W January 24, 1998 4–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 19–26–6 21,273 Recap
52 L January 27, 1998 0–3 @ Florida Panthers (1997–98) 19–27–6 14,703 Recap
53 W January 28, 1998 3–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 20–27–6 10,815 Recap
54 L January 30, 1998 0–2 @ New York Islanders (1997–98) 20–28–6 13,275 Recap
February: 1–2–1 (home: 0–1–1; road: 1–1–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
55 L February 1, 1998 3–6 Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 20–29–6 9,591 Recap
56 T February 4, 1998 3–3 OT Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 20–29–7 8,304 Recap
57 W February 7, 1998 3–1 @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 21–29–7 16,944 Recap
58 L February 28, 1998 3–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 21–30–7 19,040 Recap
March: 8–5–1 (home: 2–3–1; road: 6–2–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
59 W March 2, 1998 3–1 @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 22–30–7 16,237 Recap
60 W March 5, 1998 2–1 @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 23–30–7 10,541 Recap
61 W March 6, 1998 5–4 OT @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 24–30–7 16,210 Recap
62 W March 8, 1998 3–1 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 25–30–7 17,174 Recap
63 L March 12, 1998 0–2 New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 25–31–7 8,811 Recap
64 L March 14, 1998 1–2 San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 25–32–7 12,911 Recap
65 W March 15, 1998 4–1 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 26–32–7 7,853 Recap
66 L March 18, 1998 0–1 @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 26–33–7 12,792 Recap
67 L March 20, 1998 1–6 @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) 26–34–7 16,928 Recap
68 W March 23, 1998 5–3 @ Florida Panthers (1997–98) 27–34–7 14,703 Recap
69 W March 26, 1998 4–1 New York Rangers (1997–98) 28–34–7 15,456 Recap
70 W March 28, 1998 4–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 29–34–7 19,608 Recap
71 L March 29, 1998 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 29–35–7 13,216 Recap
72 T March 31, 1998 3–3 OT Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 29–35–8 8,671 Recap
April: 4–6–0 (home: 1–3–0; road: 3–3–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
73 W April 1, 1998 4–0 @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 30–35–8 16,338 Recap
74 W April 4, 1998 1–0 @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 31–35–8 21,273 Recap
75 W April 6, 1998 3–0 @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 32–35–8 15,180 Recap
76 L April 8, 1998 1–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 32–36–8 16,644 Recap
77 W April 9, 1998 5–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 33–36–8 8,368 Recap
78 L April 11, 1998 1–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 33–37–8 15,726 Recap
79 L April 13, 1998 2–3 Boston Bruins (1997–98) 33–38–8 9,228 Recap
80 L April 16, 1998 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 33–39–8 10,515 Recap
81 L April 18, 1998 3–4 Washington Capitals (1997–98) 33–40–8 12,641 Recap
82 L April 19, 1998 1–2 @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 33–41–8 18,921 Recap
Legend:

  Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Scoring

  • Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Hurricanes only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Hurricanes only.
No. Player Pos Regular season
GP G A Pts +/- PIM
24 Sami Kapanen RW 81 26 37 63 9 16
55 Keith Primeau C 81 26 37 63 19 110
10 Gary Roberts LW 61 20 29 49 3 103
19 Nelson Emerson RW 81 21 24 45 −17 50
92 Jeff O'Neill RW 74 19 20 39 −8 67
18 Robert Kron LW 81 16 20 36 −8 12
3 Steve Chiasson D 66 7 27 34 −2 65
23 Martin Gelinas† LW 40 12 14 26 1 30
2 Glen Wesley D 82 6 19 25 7 36
11 Kevin Dineen RW 54 7 16 23 −7 105
8 Geoff Sanderson‡ LW 40 7 10 17 −4 14
28 Paul Ranheim LW 73 5 9 14 −11 28
21 Jeff Brown‡ D 32 3 10 13 −1 16
7 Curtis Leschyshyn D 73 2 10 12 −2 45
6 Adam Burt D 76 1 11 12 −6 106
27 Steve Leach RW 45 4 5 9 −19 42
44 Kent Manderville C 77 4 4 8 −6 31
5 Kevin Haller D 65 3 5 8 −5 94
32 Stu Grimson LW 82 3 4 7 0 204
26 Ray Sheppard† RW 10 4 2 6 2 2
33 Bates Battaglia LW 33 2 4 6 −1 10
12 Steven Rice RW 47 2 4 6 −16 38
22 Sean Hill† D 42 0 5 5 −2 48
39 Enrico Ciccone‡ D 14 0 3 3 3 83
14 Steven Halko D 18 0 2 2 −1 10
4 Nolan Pratt D 23 0 2 2 −2 44
1 Sean Burke‡ G 25 0 1 1 6
1 Kirk McLean†‡ G 8 0 1 1 0
17 Chris Murray‡ RW 7 0 1 1 2 22
46 Mike Rucinski D 9 0 1 1 0 2
29 Kevin Brown RW 4 0 0 0 −2 0
16 Jeff Daniels LW 2 0 0 0 0 0
30 Mike Fountain G 3 0 0 0 2
39[a] Pat Jablonski G 5 0 0 0 0
37 Trevor Kidd G 47 0 0 0 2
34 Steve Martins C 3 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Hurricanes only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Hurricanes only.
No. Player Regular season
GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
37 Trevor Kidd 47 21 21 3 1237 97 2.17 .922 3 2685
1 Sean Burke‡ 25 7 11 5 655 66 2.80 .899 1 1415
1 Kirk McLean†‡ 8 4 2 0 181 22 3.29 .878 0 401
39[a] Pat Jablonski 5 1 4 0 115 14 3.01 .878 0 279
30 Mike Fountain 3 0 3 0 68 10 3.68 .853 0 163

Awards and records

Awards

Type Award/honor Recipient Ref
League
(annual) 		Lester Patrick Trophy Peter Karmanos [6]

Milestones

Milestone Player Date Ref
First game Steven Halko October 1, 1997 [7]
Bates Battaglia January 3, 1998
Mike Rucinski March 29, 1998

Transactions

The Hurricanes were involved in the following transactions during the 1997–98 season.

Trades

June 21, 1997 To San Jose Sharks
1st round pick in 1997 - Scott Hannan 		To Carolina Hurricanes
2nd round pick in 1997 - Brad DeFauw
3rd round pick in 1998 - Erik Cole
June 27, 1997 To St. Louis Blues
Alexander Godynyuk
6th round pick in 1998 - Brad Voth 		To Carolina Hurricanes
Steve Leach
July 25, 1997 To Chicago Blackhawks
Ryan Risidore
5th round pick in 1998 - Morgan Warren 		To Carolina Hurricanes
Enrico Ciccone
August 8, 1997 To New York Rangers
Jason Muzzatti 		To Carolina Hurricanes
5th round pick in 1998 - Tommy Westlund
August 25, 1997 To Calgary Flames
Andrew Cassels
Jean-Sébastien Giguère 		To Carolina Hurricanes
Gary Roberts
Trevor Kidd
November 17, 1997 To Ottawa Senators
Chris Murray 		To Carolina Hurricanes
Sean Hill
January 2, 1998 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Jeff Brown 		To Carolina Hurricanes
4th round pick in 1999 - Evgeny Pavlov
January 2, 1998 To Vancouver Canucks
Sean Burke
Enrico Ciccone
Geoff Sanderson 		To Carolina Hurricanes
Kirk McLean
Martin Gelinas
March 23, 1998 To Florida Panthers
Kirk McLean 		To Carolina Hurricanes
Ray Sheppard

Free agents

Player Former Team
Pat Jablonski Phoenix Coyotes
Mike Fountain Vancouver Canucks
Greg Koehler University of Massachusetts-Lowell (NCAA)
Player New Team
Derek King Toronto Maple Leafs
Dave Babych Vancouver Canucks
Bob Wren Anaheim Mighty Ducks

Draft picks

Carolina's draft picks at the 1997 NHL entry draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[8]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 22 Nikos Tselios  United States Belleville Bulls (OHL)
2 28 Brad DeFauw  United States University of North Dakota (WCHA)
3 80 Francis Lessard  Canada Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
4 88 Shane Willis  Canada Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
6 142 Kyle Dafoe  Canada Owen Sound Platers (OHL)
7 169 Andrew Merrick  United States University of Michigan (CCHA)
8 195 Niklas Nordgren  Sweden Modo Hockey Jr. (Sweden)
8 199 Randy Fitzgerald  Canada Detroit Whalers (OHL)
9 225 Kent McDonell  Canada Guelph Storm (OHL)

Farm teams

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

Notes

  1. ^ a b Jablonski wore number 35 in his first four games.

References

  • "Carolina Hurricanes 1997-98 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  • "1997-98 Carolina Hurricanes Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  1. ^ "NHL Average Attendance since 1989-90". Andrew's Dallas Stars Page. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. 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 Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  6. ^ "Lester Patrick Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  7. ^ "1997-98 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  8. ^ "1997 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.