# 2009–10 Carolina Hurricanes season

The 2009–10 Carolina Hurricanes season was the franchise's 38th season, 31st season in the National Hockey League and 12th as the Hurricanes.

## Off-season

On June 15, 2009, the Carolina Hurricanes announced that they have agreed to terms with their current coaching staff. Head coach Paul Maurice was signed to a multi-year contract. The club also announced Ron Francis will return as associate head coach and take on the additional title of director of player personnel, while Tom Barrasso has been named as an assistant coach, and assistant coaches Kevin McCarthy and Tom Rowe will remain in their roles moving forward and continue on their existing multi-year contracts.
On June 26, 2009, the Hurricanes drafted Philippe Paradis as their first-round, 27th overall selection. Prior to this, the Hurricanes had not had a first-round selection outside of the top 20 since they picked Jamie McBain in the second round, 63rd overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
On June 29, 2009, the Hurricanes announced that they have re-signed forward Jussi Jokinen to a two-year contract, with him earning $1.5 million in the upcoming 2009–10 season and $1.9 million in the 2010–11 season. Jokinen was acquired in a trade on February 7, 2009. He scored just one goal, but added 10 assists in 25 regular-season games, but was tied for second on the team for playoff points with 11 points (seven goals and four assists) in 18 games.
On July 24, 2009, the Carolina Hurricanes re-acquired defenceman Aaron Ward from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Patrick Eaves and a fourth-round draft pick in 2010. Ward has previously played with the club when they won the Stanley Cup back in 2006.
On July 28, 2009, the Carolina Hurricanes announced that they have bought-out the remainder of the contract for defenceman Frantisek Kaberle. Kaberle was slated to make $2.2 million during the 2009–10 season, however, with the buyout, he will now receive two-thirds ($1,467,700) of that amount over the next two seasons. Kaberle played 214 games with the club over the span of four seasons.

## Regular season

The Hurricanes had the most power-play opportunities during the regular season, with 329.

### Divisional standings

Southeast Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Washington Capitals | 82 | 54 | 15 | 13 | 318 | 233 | 121 |
| 2 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 35 | 34 | 13 | 234 | 256 | 83 |
| 3 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 230 | 256 | 80 |
| 4 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 217 | 260 | 80 |
| 5 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 32 | 37 | 13 | 208 | 244 | 77 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 54 | 15 | 13 | 318 | 233 | 121 |
| 2 | y – New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 48 | 27 | 7 | 222 | 191 | 103 |
| 3 | y – Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 235 | 207 | 100 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 257 | 237 | 101 |
| 5 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 44 | 32 | 6 | 225 | 238 | 94 |
| 6 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 206 | 200 | 91 |
| 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 236 | 225 | 88 |
| 8 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 217 | 223 | 88 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 222 | 218 | 87 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 35 | 34 | 13 | 234 | 256 | 83 |
| 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 230 | 256 | 80 |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 217 | 260 | 80 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 222 | 264 | 79 |
| 14 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 32 | 37 | 13 | 208 | 244 | 77 |
| 15 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 30 | 38 | 14 | 214 | 267 | 74 |
bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

### Game log

Win (2 points)  Loss (0 points)  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)
2009–10 Game Log :

## Playoffs

Despite their great playoff run the previous year, the Hurricanes failed to make the 2010 playoffs for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Eric Staal | 70 | 29 | 41 | 70 | 4 | 68 |
| Jussi Jokinen | 81 | 30 | 35 | 65 | 3 | 36 |
| Ray Whitney | 80 | 21 | 37 | 58 | -6 | 26 |
| Joni Pitkanen | 71 | 6 | 40 | 46 | -11 | 72 |
| Brandon Sutter | 72 | 21 | 19 | 40 | -1 | 2 |
| Matt Cullen$^‡$ | 60 | 12 | 28 | 40 | 0 | 26 |
| Tuomo Ruutu | 54 | 14 | 21 | 35 | -4 | 50 |
| Sergei Samsonov | 72 | 14 | 15 | 29 | -15 | 32 |
| Chad LaRose | 56 | 11 | 17 | 28 | -2 | 24 |
| Tom Kostopoulos | 82 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 4 | 106 |
| Rod Brind'Amour | 80 | 9 | 10 | 19 | -29 | 36 |
| Tim Gleason | 61 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 0 | 78 |
| Erik Cole | 40 | 11 | 5 | 16 | -9 | 29 |
| Patrick Dwyer | 58 | 7 | 5 | 12 | -3 | 6 |
| Brett Carson | 54 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 5 | 12 |
| Joe Corvo$^‡$ | 34 | 4 | 8 | 12 | -6 | 10 |
| Bryan Rodney | 22 | 1 | 10 | 11 | -4 | 8 |
| Aaron Ward$^‡$ | 60 | 1 | 10 | 11 | -17 | 54 |
| Jamie McBain | 14 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| Andrew Alberts$^‡$ | 62 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 74 |
| Zach Boychuk | 31 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| Stephane Yelle$^‡$ | 59 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -6 | 28 |
| Jay Harrison | 38 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -8 | 50 |
| Jiri Tlusty$^†$ | 18 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 6 |
| Scott Walker$^‡$ | 33 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -4 | 23 |
| Niclas Wallin$^‡$ | 47 | 0 | 5 | 5 | -5 | 26 |
| Brian Pothier$^†$ | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -8 | 11 |
| Drayson Bowman | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 4 |
| Jerome Samson | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 10 |
| Steven Goertzen | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 5 |
| Tim Conboy | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 24 |
| Casey Borer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 |
| Oskar Osala | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alexandre Picard$^†$ | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); 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 | 47 | 2651 | 18 | 23 | 5 | 119 | 2.69 | 1409 | .916 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Manny Legace | 28 | 1472 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 69 | 2.81 | 745 | .907 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Justin Peters | 9 | 488 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 2.83 | 241 | .905 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Leighton$^‡$ | 7 | 350 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 4.28 | 164 | .848 | 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

## Awards and records
### Awards

Regular Season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Eric Staal | NHL Second Star of the Week | April 12, 2010 |

### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |

## Transactions

The Hurricanes have been involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 24, 2009 | To Boston Bruins Patrick Eaves 4th-round pick in 2010 | To Carolina Hurricanes Aaron Ward |
| August 31, 2009 | To New York Islanders Bobby Hughes | To Carolina Hurricanes Rob Hennigar |
| December 3, 2009 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Philippe Paradis | To Carolina Hurricanes Jiri Tlusty |
| February 7, 2010 | To San Jose Sharks Niclas Wallin 5th-round pick in 2010 | To Carolina Hurricanes 2nd-round pick in 2010 |
| February 12, 2010 | To Ottawa Senators Matt Cullen | To Carolina Hurricanes Alexandre Picard 2nd-round pick in 2010 |
| March 3, 2010 | To Anaheim Ducks Aaron Ward | To Carolina Hurricanes Justin Pogge Conditional 4th-round pick in 2010 |
| March 3, 2010 | To Washington Capitals Scott Walker | To Carolina Hurricanes 7th-round pick in 2010 |
| March 3, 2010 | To Washington Capitals Joe Corvo | To Carolina Hurricanes Brian Pothier Oskar Osala 2nd-round pick in 2011 |
| March 3, 2010 | To Colorado Avalanche Stephane Yelle Harrison Reed | To Carolina Hurricanes Cedric McNicoll 6th-round pick in 2010 |
| March 3, 2010 | To Vancouver Canucks Andrew Alberts | To Carolina Hurricanes 3rd-round pick in 2010 |
Player signings
PlayerContract terms
Chris Terry3 years, two-way contract
Jussi Jokinen2 years, $3.4 million
Erik Cole2 years, $5.8 million
Patrick Dwyer2 years, two-way contract
Michael Ryan1 year, two-way contract
Chad LaRose2 years, $3.4 million
Casey Borer1 year, two-way contract
Justin Peters1 year, two-way contract
Mike Angelidis1 year, two-way contract
Brett Carson1 year, two-way contract
Bryan Rodney1 year, two-way contract
Tuomo Ruutu3 years, $11.4 million
Cam Ward6 years, $37.8 million contract extension
Kyle Lawson2 years, $1.025 million entry-level contract
Zac Dalpe3 years, $1.85 million entry-level contract
Michal Jordan3 years, $1.65 million entry-level contract
Jared Staal3 years, $1.55 million entry-level contract :

## Draft picks

The 2009 NHL Entry Draft was in Montreal, Quebec.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 27 | Philippe Paradis | (C) | Canada | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 51 (from Calgary via Los Angeles) | Brian Dumoulin | (D) | United States | New Hampshire Junior Monarchs (EJHL) |
| 3 | 88 | Mattias Lindstrom | (LW) | Sweden | Skelleftea AIK (J20 SuperElit) |
| 5 | 131 (from Edmonton) | Matt Kennedy | (RW) | Canada | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 6 | 178 | Rasmus Rissanen | (D) | Finland | KalPa Jr. (Jr. A SM-liiga) |
| 7 | 208 | Tommi Kivisto | (D) | Finland | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) |

## Farm teams
### American Hockey League

The Albany River Rats are the Hurricanes American Hockey League affiliate for the 2009–10 AHL season.

### ECHL

The Florida Everblades are the Hurricanes ECHL affiliate.