# 2010–11 Carolina Hurricanes season

The 2010–11 Carolina Hurricanes season was the 32nd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 22, 1979, and 13th season since the franchise relocated to North Carolina to start the 1997–98 NHL season.
The Hurricanes posted a regular season record of 40 wins, 31 losses and 11 overtime/shootout losses for 91 points, failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second consecutive season.

## Off-Season

On June 17, the Carolina Hurricanes announced that they will play seven games during the pre-season – six against NHL teams and one against SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
For their first-round selection, the Hurricanes selected Jeff Skinner at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. The Hurricanes had eight selections in total at the Draft.

## Regular season

The Carolina Hurricanes started their 2010–11 season (as well as the 2010–11 NHL season) with a two-game series in Helsinki, Finland, against the Minnesota Wild. The Hurricanes swept the Wild in the two-game series, with 18-year-old rookie Jeff Skinner scoring the sole shootout goal to win the second game for the Hurricanes.
After Helsinki, the Hurricanes embarked on a five-game, nine-day road trip starting in Ottawa and ending in Phoenix on October 23. The Hurricanes arrived in Raleigh with a 4–3–0 record before their home opener against the Washington Capitals.
Before the October 30 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, General Manager Jim Rutherford announced that Jeff Skinner would stay with Carolina Hurricanes for the remainder of 2010–11 season.
On November 17, Rutherford announced that defenseman Anton Babchuk and right wing Tom Kostopoulos would be traded to the Calgary Flames for defenseman Ian White and center Brett Sutter in an effort to "stabilize" the Canes' defense following two lopsided losses to the Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Hurricanes claimed right wing Troy Bodie on waivers and traded for center Ryan Carter – both from the Anaheim Ducks – on November 16 and 23, respectively. Bodie and Carter, along with Jiri Tlusty, are expected to bring more physicality to the Hurricanes' fourth line.
The Hurricanes concluded the regular season with the most power-play opportunities in the NHL, with 346.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Southeast Division :
| | vte | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | z-Washington Capitals | 82 | 48 | 23 | 11 | 43 | 224 | 197 | 107 |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 40 | 247 | 240 | 103 |
| 3 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 35 | 236 | 239 | 91 |
| 4 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 29 | 223 | 269 | 80 |
| 5 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 30 | 40 | 12 | 26 | 195 | 229 | 72 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference :
| R | vte | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | z – Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 48 | 23 | 11 | 43 | 224 | 197 | 107 |
| 2 | y – Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 47 | 23 | 12 | 44 | 259 | 223 | 106 |
| 3 | y – Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 44 | 246 | 195 | 103 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 49 | 25 | 8 | 39 | 238 | 199 | 106 |
| 5 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 40 | 247 | 240 | 103 |
| 6 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 44 | 30 | 8 | 41 | 216 | 209 | 96 |
| 7 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 43 | 29 | 10 | 38 | 245 | 229 | 96 |
| 8 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 44 | 33 | 5 | 35 | 233 | 198 | 93 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 35 | 236 | 239 | 91 |
| 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 11 | 32 | 218 | 251 | 85 |
| 11 | New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 38 | 39 | 5 | 35 | 174 | 209 | 81 |
| 12 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 29 | 223 | 269 | 80 |
| 13 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 30 | 192 | 250 | 74 |
| 14 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 26 | 229 | 264 | 73 |
| 15 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 30 | 40 | 12 | 26 | 195 | 229 | 72 |
bold – qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Placed first in conference (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

## Schedule and results
### Pre-season

Win  Loss  Overtime/shootout loss

### Regular season

Win (2 points)  Loss (0 points)  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)
2010–11 Game Log :

## Playoffs

The Hurricanes missed the playoffs for the second straight year by two points.

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Eric Staal | 81 | 33 | 43 | 76 | -10 | 72 |
| Jeff Skinner | 82 | 31 | 32 | 63 | 3 | 46 |
| Tuomo Ruutu | 82 | 19 | 38 | 57 | 1 | 54 |
| Erik Cole | 82 | 26 | 26 | 52 | -1 | 49 |
| Jussi Jokinen | 70 | 19 | 33 | 52 | 3 | 24 |
| Joe Corvo | 82 | 11 | 29 | 40 | -14 | 18 |
| Joni Pitkanen | 72 | 5 | 30 | 35 | -2 | 60 |
| Chad LaRose | 82 | 16 | 15 | 31 | -21 | 59 |
| Jamie McBain | 76 | 7 | 23 | 30 | -8 | 32 |
| Brandon Sutter | 82 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 13 | 25 |
| Sergei Samsonov$^‡$ | 58 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 0 | 12 |
| Patrick Dwyer | 80 | 8 | 10 | 18 | -6 | 12 |
| Tim Gleason | 82 | 2 | 14 | 16 | -11 | 85 |
| Cory Stillman$^†$ | 21 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 2 | 4 |
| Jiri Tlusty | 57 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 14 |
| Jay Harrison | 72 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 72 |
| Ian White$^{†‡}$ | 39 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 12 |
| Anton Babchuk$^‡$ | 17 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -4 | 12 |
| Zach Boychuk | 23 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -2 | 4 |
| Bryan Allen$^†$ | 19 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 19 |
| Derek Joslin$^†$ | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| Zac Dalpe | 15 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Kostopoulos$^‡$ | 17 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 30 |
| Troy Bodie$^†$ | 50 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -4 | 54 |
| Ryan Carter$^{†‡}$ | 32 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 22 |
| Jerome Samson | 23 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jon Matsumoto | 13 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 4 |
| Drayson Bowman | 23 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| Patrick O'Sullivan$^‡$ | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
| Bryan Rodney | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Brett Carson$^‡$ | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 |
| Brett Sutter$^†$ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Hurricanes. Stats reflect time with Hurricanes only. $^‡$Traded mid-season Bold/italics denotes franchise record

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; GAA= Goals against average; SA= Shots against; SV= Saves; Sv% = Save percentage; SO= Shutouts
Regular season :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | Sv% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Cam Ward | 74 | 4318 | 37 | 26 | 10 | 184 | 2.56 | 2375 | .923 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Justin Peters | 12 | 648 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 43 | 3.98 | 343 | .875 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Hurricanes. Stats reflect time with Hurricanes only. $^‡$Traded mid-season Bold/italics denotes franchise record

## Awards and records
### Awards

Regular Season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Eric Staal | NHL Third Star of the Week | December 20, 2010 |
| Jussi Jokinen | NHL First Star of the Week | January 17, 2011 |
| Eric Staal | NHL First Star of the Week | January 31, 2011 |
| Jeff Skinner | NHL Rookie of the Month | January 2011 |
| Jeff Skinner | Calder Memorial Trophy | June 2011 |

### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Zac Dalpe | 1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | October 7, 2010 |
| Jeff Skinner | 1st Career NHL Game | October 7, 2010 |
| Jeff Skinner | 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | October 8, 2010 |
| Jeff Skinner | 1st Career NHL Goal | October 20, 2010 |
| Tim Gleason | 400th Career NHL Game | October 23, 2010 |
| Jon Matsumoto | 1st Career NHL Game | November 1, 2010 |
| Jon Matsumoto | 1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point | November 3, 2010 |
| Jussi Jokinen | 400th Career NHL Game | November 5, 2010 |
| Joe Corvo | 500th Career NHL Game | November 6, 2010 |
| Jiri Tlusty | 100th Career NHL Game | November 11, 2010 |
| Eric Staal | 200th Career NHL Goal 11th Career Hat Trick | November 17, 2010 |
| Eric Staal | 500th Career NHL Game | November 24, 2010 |
| Tuomo Ruutu | 400th Career NHL Game | November 26, 2010 |
| Patrick Dwyer | 100th Career NHL Game | December 15, 2010 |
| Cam Ward | 300th Career NHL Game | December 23, 2010 |
| Tuomo Ruutu | 100th Career NHL Goal | December 26, 2010 |
| Zac Dalpe | 1st Career NHL Goal | January 1, 2011 |
| Jay Harrison | 100th Career NHL Game | January 15, 2011 |
| Erik Cole | 200th Career NHL Assist | February 22, 2011 |
| Erik Cole | 600th Career NHL Game | February 25, 2011 |
| Troy Bodie | 100th Career NHL Game | February 25, 2011 |
| Joni Pitkanen | 200th Career NHL Assist | February 25, 2011 |
| Jussi Jokinen | 100th Career NHL Goal | February 26, 2011 |
| Bryan Allen | 100th Career NHL Point | March 9, 2011 |
| Chad LaRose | 400th Career NHL Game | March 29, 2011 |
| Drayson Bowman | 1st Career NHL Assist | March 30, 2011 |
| Tim Gleason | 100th Career NHL Point | April 2, 2011 |
| Brandon Sutter | 200th Career NHL Game | April 2, 2011 |
| Eric Staal | 500th Career NHL Point | April 3, 2011 |

## Transactions

The Hurricanes have been involved in the following transactions during the 2010–11 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| May 13, 2010 | To Phoenix Coyotes 5th-round pick in 2010 – Luke Walker | To Carolina Hurricanes Jared Staal |
| June 26, 2010 | To New York Rangers 6th-round pick in 2010 – Jesper Fast 2nd-round pick in 2011 – Tyler Wotherspoon | To Carolina Hurricanes Bobby Sanguinetti |
| June 26, 2010 | To Philadelphia Flyers 7th-round pick in 2010 – Ricard Blidstrand | To Carolina Hurricanes Jon Matsumoto |
| June 26, 2010 | To Edmonton Oilers 2nd-round pick in 2010 – Martin Marincin | To Carolina Hurricanes Riley Nash |
| November 17, 2010 | To Calgary Flames Anton Babchuk Tom Kostopoulos | To Carolina Hurricanes Ian White Brett Sutter |
| November 23, 2010 | To Anaheim Ducks Stefan Chaput Matt Kennedy | To Carolina Hurricanes Ryan Carter |
| February 18, 2011 | To San Jose Sharks Future considerations | To Carolina Hurricanes Derek Joslin |
| February 18, 2011 | To San Jose Sharks Ian White | To Carolina Hurricanes 2nd-round pick in 2012 – Brock McGinn |
| February 24, 2011 | To Florida Panthers Ryan Carter 5th-round pick in 2011 – Sean Kuraly | To Carolina Hurricanes Cory Stillman |
| February 28, 2011 | To Florida Panthers Sergei Samsonov | To Carolina Hurricanes Bryan Allen |
Lost via retirement
Player
Rod Brind'Amour
Player signings
PlayerContract terms
Jared Staal3 years, $1.55 million entry-level contract
Matt Kennedy3 years, $1.55 million entry-level contract
Jiri Tlusty1 year, $500,000
Jay Harrison1 year, $500,000
Jerome Samson2 years, $1.025 million
Zack Fitzgerald1 year, $500,000
Jon Matsumoto2 years, $1.025 million
Justin Peters2 years, $1.05 million
Nicolas Blanchard2 years, $1.025 million
Casey Borer1 year, $500,000
Nick Dodge1 year, $500,000
Justin Pogge1 year, $500,000
Bryan Rodney1 year, $525,000
Riley Nash3 years, $1.85 million entry-level contract
Brett Carson1 year, $500,000
Jeff Skinner3 years, $2.43 million entry-level contract
Rasmus Rissanen3 years, $1.725 million entry-level contract
Justin Krueger1 year, $525,000 entry-level contract
Justin Faulk3 years, $2.53 million entry-level contract :

## Draft picks

The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was held in Los Angeles • California.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 7 | Jeff Skinner | C | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 2 | 37 | Justin Faulk | D | United States | U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL) |
| 2 | 53 (from Buffalo via San Jose) | Mark Alt | D | United States | Cretin-Derham Hall (USHS-MN) |
| 3 | 67 | Danny Biega | D | Canada | Harvard University (ECAC Hockey) |
| 3 | 85 (from Vancouver) | Austin Levi | D | United States | Plymouth Whalers (OHL) |
| 4 | 105 (from Boston via Anaheim) | Justin Shugg | LW | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) |
| 6 | 167 (from Colorado) | Tyler Stahl | D | Canada | Chilliwack Bruins (WHL) |
| 7 | 187 | Frederik Andersen | G | Denmark | Frederikshavn White Hawks (AL-Bank Ligaen) |

## Farm teams
### American Hockey League

The Charlotte Checkers were the Hurricanes' American Hockey League affiliate for the 2010–11 AHL season. The Checkers' ECHL franchise was folded and the Albany River Rats relocated to Charlotte as a replacement. The strategic partnership was designed to reduce travel costs and increase support for the organization across the state.

### ECHL

The Florida Everblades are the Hurricanes ECHL affiliate.