# 1998–99 Carolina Hurricanes season

The 1998–99 Carolina Hurricanes season was the second season of the NHL franchise in Greensboro, North Carolina. The club qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1992, and their first winning season since 1990 (and first time as the Hurricanes), placing first in the NHL Southeast division. The Hurricanes lost in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to the Boston Bruins.

## Offseason

In a re-organization of the NHL, the club was placed in the new Southeast Division. Another major headline was the signing of former Hartford Whalers captain Ron Francis as a free agent.

## Regular season

The Hurricanes struggled on the power-play during the regular season, finishing 27th in power-play percentage, at 10.99%.
The division was weaker than the Hurricanes' previous division, the Northeast and the Hurricanes were able to win the division and qualify for the playoffs, the only team from the division to do so.

### Final standings

Southeast Division :
| R | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | Pts |
| 1 | 3 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 34 | 30 | 18 | 210 | 202 | 1158 | 86 |
| 2 | 9 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 30 | 34 | 18 | 210 | 228 | 1522 | 78 |
| 3 | 12 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 31 | 45 | 6 | 200 | 218 | 1381 | 68 |
| 4 | 14 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 19 | 54 | 9 | 179 | 292 | 1316 | 47 |
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | y – New Jersey Devils | ATL | 82 | 47 | 24 | 11 | 248 | 196 | 105 |
| 2 | y – Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 44 | 23 | 15 | 239 | 179 | 103 |
| 3 | y – Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 34 | 30 | 18 | 210 | 202 | 86 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 268 | 231 | 97 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Flyers | ATL | 82 | 37 | 26 | 19 | 231 | 196 | 93 |
| 6 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 214 | 181 | 91 |
| 7 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 37 | 28 | 17 | 207 | 175 | 91 |
| 8 | Pittsburgh Penguins | ATL | 82 | 38 | 30 | 14 | 242 | 225 | 90 |
| 9 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 30 | 34 | 18 | 210 | 228 | 78 |
| 10 | New York Rangers | ATL | 82 | 33 | 38 | 11 | 217 | 227 | 77 |
| 11 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 32 | 39 | 11 | 184 | 209 | 75 |
| 12 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 31 | 45 | 6 | 200 | 218 | 68 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | ATL | 82 | 24 | 48 | 10 | 194 | 244 | 58 |
| 14 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 19 | 54 | 9 | 179 | 292 | 47 |
Divisions: ATL – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division
bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division

## Playoffs

The Hurricanes drew the Boston Bruins as their first-round opponent. The Hurricanes were defeated in six games.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1998–99 regular season :
October: 4–3–3 (home: 2–1–3; road: 2–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
1TOctober 10, 19984–4 OTTampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)0–0–18,195Recap
2LOctober 13, 19982–3@ Nashville Predators (1998–99)0–1–114,376Recap
3TOctober 15, 19982–2 OTDallas Stars (1998–99)0–1–25,531Recap
4TOctober 17, 19981–1 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1998–99)0–1–310,063Recap
5WOctober 20, 19983–1Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)1–1–35,573Recap
6WOctober 24, 19983–1@ Ottawa Senators (1998–99)2–1–314,428Recap
7LOctober 25, 19982–3Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)2–2–35,569Recap
8WOctober 28, 19982–0Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)3–2–35,902Recap
9LOctober 30, 19980–1@ New York Rangers (1998–99)3–3–318,200Recap
10WOctober 31, 19982–0@ Boston Bruins (1998–99)4–3–313,655Recap :
November: 7–7–0 (home: 3–4–0; road: 4–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
11LNovember 2, 19982–3Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)4–4–36,205Recap
12WNovember 5, 19986–3@ New York Islanders (1998–99)5–4–310,856Recap
13WNovember 6, 19983–2@ Washington Capitals (1998–99)6–4–319,740Recap
14LNovember 8, 19982–5Boston Bruins (1998–99)6–5–38,566Recap
15LNovember 11, 19984–5 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)6–6–314,668Recap
16LNovember 12, 19980–3@ San Jose Sharks (1998–99)6–7–316,733Recap
17WNovember 14, 19985–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)7–7–310,990Recap
18WNovember 17, 19985–4Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)8–7–37,147Recap
19LNovember 19, 19982–3 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1998–99)8–8–314,586Recap
20LNovember 20, 19981–3Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)8–9–311,013Recap
21LNovember 22, 19982–5New Jersey Devils (1998–99)8–10–38,062Recap
22WNovember 25, 19983–0San Jose Sharks (1998–99)9–10–36,037Recap
23WNovember 28, 19983–1@ New York Islanders (1998–99)10–10–312,472Recap
24WNovember 29, 19983–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)11–10–36,871Recap :
December: 6–4–2 (home: 4–3–1; road: 2–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
25WDecember 2, 19984–1Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)12–10–35,664Recap
26TDecember 4, 19983–3 OTPittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)12–10–49,083Recap
27TDecember 5, 19983–3 OT@ Florida Panthers (1998–99)12–10–517,384Recap
28LDecember 10, 19982–3Boston Bruins (1998–99)12–11–56,059Recap
29WDecember 12, 19983–0Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)13–11–511,059Recap
30WDecember 15, 19983–0Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)14–11–55,684Recap
31LDecember 18, 19981–5@ Ottawa Senators (1998–99)14–12–515,124Recap
32WDecember 19, 19983–2@ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)15–12–517,979Recap
33LDecember 21, 19981–4Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)15–13–57,655Recap
34WDecember 23, 19981–0@ New York Rangers (1998–99)16–13–518,200Recap
35LDecember 26, 19983–6New York Rangers (1998–99)16–14–511,059Recap
36WDecember 30, 19984–3Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)17–14–57,898Recap :
January: 6–4–3 (home: 4–1–1; road: 2–3–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
37TJanuary 1, 19993–3 OT@ Florida Panthers (1998–99)17–14–618,505Recap
38WJanuary 2, 19994–1Nashville Predators (1998–99)18–14–67,698Recap
39TJanuary 4, 19994–4 OTOttawa Senators (1998–99)18–14–75,655Recap
40LJanuary 7, 19992–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)18–15–713,719Recap
41LJanuary 9, 19990–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)18–16–719,618Recap
42WJanuary 14, 19993–2Florida Panthers (1998–99)19–16–76,544Recap
43LJanuary 16, 19992–3 OTWashington Capitals (1998–99)19–17–711,007Recap
44WJanuary 18, 19994–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)20–17–78,894Recap
45LJanuary 21, 19991–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)20–18–719,983Recap
46WJanuary 26, 19995–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)21–18–714,731Recap
47WJanuary 28, 19993–2 OTNew York Rangers (1998–99)22–18–711,059Recap
48WJanuary 30, 19993–1@ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)23–18–720,514Recap
49TJanuary 31, 19990–0 OT@ Boston Bruins (1998–99)23–18–816,180Recap :
February: 4–5–4 (home: 1–1–2; road: 3–4–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
50LFebruary 3, 19991–4New Jersey Devils (1998–99)23–19–87,746Recap
51LFebruary 5, 19991–4@ Washington Capitals (1998–99)23–20–817,601Recap
52TFebruary 6, 19993–3 OTFlorida Panthers (1998–99)23–20–911,059Recap
53WFebruary 10, 19996–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)24–20–915,726Recap
54WFebruary 12, 19993–1@ New York Rangers (1998–99)25–20–918,200Recap
55LFebruary 13, 19994–6@ New Jersey Devils (1998–99)25–21–917,023Recap
56LFebruary 15, 19992–3@ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)25–22–918,595Recap
57TFebruary 18, 19992–2 OTWashington Capitals (1998–99)25–22–106,697Recap
58WFebruary 20, 19993–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)26–22–1010,464Recap
59WFebruary 21, 19994–1New York Islanders (1998–99)27–22–109,913Recap
60TFebruary 24, 19992–2 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)27–22–1118,460Recap
61LFebruary 26, 19990–1@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)27–23–1115,072Recap
62TFebruary 27, 19992–2 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)27–23–1217,100Recap :
March: 4–5–4 (home: 4–2–1; road: 0–3–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
63WMarch 3, 19992–1Boston Bruins (1998–99)28–23–127,507Recap
64TMarch 6, 19992–2 OT@ Florida Panthers (1998–99)28–23–1319,250Recap
65WMarch 8, 19994–1Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)29–23–138,390Recap
66LMarch 10, 19992–3 OTPittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)29–24–1310,563Recap
67WMarch 12, 19992–1Calgary Flames (1998–99)30–24–138,564Recap
68TMarch 15, 19995–5 OT@ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)30–24–1415,811Recap
69LMarch 18, 19992–3@ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)30–25–1416,061Recap
70LMarch 21, 19992–3 OT@ Dallas Stars (1998–99)30–26–1416,928Recap
71LMarch 22, 19992–5@ St. Louis Blues (1998–99)30–27–1417,311Recap
72WMarch 24, 19992–1New York Islanders (1998–99)31–27–147,370Recap
73LMarch 26, 19992–7Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)31–28–1410,014Recap
74TMarch 28, 19993–3 OTTampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)31–28–1510,010Recap
75TMarch 30, 19993–3 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)31–28–1619,681Recap :
April: 3–2–2 (home: 2–0–1; road: 1–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
76LApril 3, 19991–2@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)31–29–1615,824Recap
77WApril 6, 19994–2New Jersey Devils (1998–99)32–29–1610,340Recap
78LApril 7, 19990–2@ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)32–30–1620,336Recap
79WApril 10, 19996–1@ New York Islanders (1998–99)33–30–1613,055Recap
80WApril 14, 19993–0Washington Capitals (1998–99)34–30–166,790Recap
81TApril 16, 19992–2 OT@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)34–30–1715,277Recap
82TApril 17, 19991–1 OTOttawa Senators (1998–99)34–30–1810,981Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1999 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (6) Boston Bruins – Bruins win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LApril 22, 19990–2Boston BruinsBruins lead 1–0Recap
2WApril 24, 19993–2 OTBoston BruinsSeries tied 1–1Recap
3WApril 26, 19993–2@ Boston BruinsHurricanes lead 2–1Recap
4LApril 28, 19991–4@ Boston BruinsSeries tied 2–2Recap
5LApril 30, 19993–4 2OTBoston BruinsBruins lead 3–2Recap
6LMay 2, 19990–2@ Boston BruinsBruins win 4–2Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## 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 | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 55 | Keith Primeau | C | 78 | 30 | 32 | 62 | 8 | 75 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −3 | 6 |
| 24 | Sami Kapanen | RW | 81 | 24 | 35 | 59 | −1 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −2 | 0 |
| 26 | Ray Sheppard | RW | 74 | 25 | 33 | 58 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | −2 | 2 |
| 21 | Ron Francis | C | 82 | 21 | 31 | 52 | −2 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | Gary Roberts | LW | 77 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 2 | 178 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −3 | 8 |
| 92 | Jeff O'Neill | RW | 75 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 3 | 66 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −5 | 0 |
| 23 | Martin Gelinas | LW | 76 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 3 | 67 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −4 | 2 |
| 18 | Robert Kron | LW | 75 | 9 | 16 | 25 | −13 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | Glen Wesley | D | 74 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 14 | 44 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 19 | Nelson Emerson‡ | RW | 35 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 1 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Paul Ranheim | LW | 78 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 4 | 39 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Kevin Dineen | RW | 67 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 5 | 97 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 13 | Bates Battaglia | LW | 60 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 7 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 44 | Kent Manderville | C | 81 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 9 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Nolan Pratt | D | 61 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 95 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 51 | Andrei Kovalenko† | RW | 18 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | Marek Malik | D | 52 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −6 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 |
| 77 | Paul Coffey† | D | 44 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −1 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Sean Hill | D | 54 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | Curtis Leschyshyn | D | 65 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −1 | 50 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 6 |
| 3 | Steve Chiasson | D | 28 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | Adam Burt‡ | D | 51 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | Steven Halko | D | 20 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 33 | Dave Karpa | D | 33 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 55 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 46 | Mike Rucinski | D | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Arturs Irbe | G | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 37 | Trevor Kidd | G | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Craig MacDonald | LW | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Byron Ritchie | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 45 | Shane Willis | RW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 1 | Arturs Irbe | 62 | 27 | 20 | 12 | 1753 | 135 | 2.22 | .923 | 6 | 3643 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 181 | 15 | 2.21 | .917 | 0 | 408 |
| 37 | Trevor Kidd | 25 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 640 | 61 | 2.70 | .905 | 2 | 1358 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Arturs Irbe |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Keith Primeau |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Month | Arturs Irbe (October) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Arturs Irbe (November 2) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Byron Ritchie | December 21, 1998 |
| First game | Craig MacDonald | January 7, 1999 |
| First game | Shane Willis | February 5, 1999 |

## Transactions

The Hurricanes were involved in the following transactions during the 1998–99 season.

### Trades

| June 1, 1998 | To Colorado Avalanche5th round pick in 1999 - Will Magnuson | To Carolina HurricanesRandy Petruk |
| July 29, 1998 | To Los Angeles KingsManny Legace | To Carolina HurricanesFuture Considerations |
| August 11, 1998 | To Anaheim Mighty DucksStu Grimson Kevin Haller | To Carolina HurricanesDave Karpa 4th round pick in 2000 - Blake Robson |
| December 29, 1998 | To Chicago BlackhawksNelson Emerson | To Carolina HurricanesPaul Coffey |
| March 6, 1999 | To Philadelphia FlyersAdam Burt | To Carolina HurricanesAndrei Kovalenko |

### Free agents

| Player | Former Team |
| Ron Francis | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Al Iafrate | Nashville Predators |
| Scott Levins | Phoenix Coyotes |
| Arturs Irbe | Vancouver Canucks |
| Player | New Team |
| Steve Martins | Ottawa Senators |
| Dan Kesa | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Jason McBain | Las Vegas Thunder (IHL) |
| Stephen Leach | Ottawa Senators |

## Draft picks

Carolina's draft picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft held at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 11 | Jeff Heerema | Canada | Sarnia Sting (OHL) |
| 3 | 70 | Kevin Holdridge | Canada | Plymouth Whalers (OHL) |
| 3 | 71 | Erik Cole | United States | Clarkson University (ECAC) |
| 4 | 91 | Josef Vasicek | Czech Republic | Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) |
| 4 | 93 | Tommy Westlund | Sweden | Brynas IF (Sweden) |
| 4 | 97 | Chris Madden | United States | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 7 | 184 | Donald Smith | United States | Clarkson University (ECAC) |
| 8 | 208 | Jaroslav Svoboda | Czech Republic | HC Olomouc (Czech Republic) |
| 8 | 211 | Mark Kosick | Canada | University of Michigan (CCHA) |
| 9 | 239 | Brent McDonald | Canada | Prince George Cougars (WHL) |

## Farm teams
### American Hockey League

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

### East Coast Hockey League

The Florida Everblades were the Hurricanes East Coast Hockey League affiliate.