# 2006–07 Carolina Hurricanes season

The 2006–07 Carolina Hurricanes season began as the defending Stanley Cup champions started to defend their title. The Hurricanes did not make any substantial changes to their roster, hoping that their lineup would be enough to get them a repeat as NHL champions. However, due to many factors, including a shortened off-season due to last season's Stanley Cup run, injuries and disappointing performances from the team's young stars (including Eric Staal and Cam Ward), the team failed to qualify for the post-season becoming the first team since the 1995–96 New Jersey Devils to miss the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup the previous year.

## Regular season
### Season standings

Southeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 3 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 43 | 28 | 11 | 246 | 245 | 97 |
| 2 | 7 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 44 | 33 | 5 | 253 | 261 | 93 |
| 3 | 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 40 | 34 | 8 | 241 | 253 | 88 |
| 4 | 12 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 35 | 31 | 16 | 247 | 257 | 86 |
| 5 | 14 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 28 | 40 | 14 | 235 | 286 | 70 |
Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
 Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | P - Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 308 | 242 | 113 |
| 2 | Y - New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 49 | 24 | 9 | 216 | 201 | 107 |
| 3 | Y - Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 43 | 28 | 11 | 246 | 245 | 97 |
| 4 | X - Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 48 | 25 | 9 | 288 | 222 | 105 |
| 5 | X - Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 47 | 24 | 11 | 277 | 246 | 105 |
| 6 | X - New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 42 | 30 | 10 | 242 | 216 | 94 |
| 7 | X - Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 44 | 33 | 5 | 253 | 261 | 93 |
| 8 | X - New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 248 | 240 | 92 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 258 | 269 | 91 |
| 10 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 42 | 34 | 6 | 245 | 256 | 90 |
| 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 40 | 34 | 8 | 241 | 253 | 88 |
| 12 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 35 | 31 | 16 | 247 | 257 | 86 |
| 13 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 35 | 41 | 6 | 219 | 289 | 76 |
| 14 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 28 | 40 | 14 | 235 | 286 | 70 |
| 15 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 22 | 48 | 12 | 214 | 303 | 56 |
* Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results

2006–07 regular season :
October: 5–5–2 (home: 2–1–1; road: 3–4–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1October 4Buffalo3 – 2CarolinaSOWard18,8400–0–11Recap
2October 6New Jersey4 – 0CarolinaWard18,6390–1–11Recap
3October 7Carolina2 – 5WashingtonWard16,6220–2–11Recap
4October 11Carolina3 – 6FloridaGrahame14,3120–3–11Recap
5October 13Carolina4 – 3AtlantaWard13,1061–3–13Recap
6October 14Carolina5 – 1PittsburghWard14,3512–3–15Recap
7October 16Carolina5 – 1Tampa BayWard19,8153–3–17Recap
8October 20Carolina4 – 5BuffaloWard18,6903–4–17Recap
9October 21Carolina3 – 4NY IslandersOTGrahame12,3493–4–28Recap
10October 25Atlanta4 – 5CarolinaOTWard15,0084–4–210Recap
11October 26Carolina1 – 5Tampa BayWard19,8264–5–210Recap
12October 28Tampa Bay4 – 6CarolinaWard18,6395–5–212Recap :
November: 9–5–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 4–3–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
13November 1Carolina5 – 2AtlantaWard14,2776–5–214Recap
14November 2Montreal4 – 0CarolinaWard16,4866–6–214Recap
15November 4Carolina3 – 2OttawaWard19,5487–6–216Recap
16November 7Carolina2 – 3New JerseySOWard10,9867–6–317Recap
17November 9Washington0 – 5CarolinaWard18,6398–6–319Recap
18November 11Pittsburgh2 – 6CarolinaWard18,7269–6–321Recap
19November 13Buffalo7 – 4CarolinaWard14,3879–7–321Recap
20November 15NY Rangers1 – 2CarolinaWard16,08010–7–323Recap
21November 17Carolina4 – 1WashingtonGrahame12,68311–7–325Recap
22November 18Dallas4 – 5CarolinaWard18,63912–7–327Recap
23November 21Carolina0 – 4NY RangersWard18,20012–8–327Recap
24November 22Carolina2 – 4NY IslandersGrahame12,41912–9–327Recap
25November 24Carolina5 – 1BostonGrahame16,54413–9–329Recap
26November 28Ottawa4 – 1CarolinaGrahame14,39313–10–329Recap
27November 30Montreal2 – 4CarolinaWard13,10314–10–331Recap :
December: 7–6–1 (home: 4–2–0; road: 3–4–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
28December 2Boston2 – 5CarolinaWard18,63915–10–333Recap
29December 5Carolina0 – 3CalgaryGrahame19,28915–11–333Recap
30December 6Carolina1 – 3EdmontonWard16,83915–12–333Recap
31December 8Carolina3 – 4VancouverOTWard18,63015–12–434Recap
32December 11Carolina2 – 5ColoradoGrahame17,21415–13–434Recap
33December 15Toronto5 – 3CarolinaWard18,63915–14–434Recap
34December 16Carolina3 – 2Tampa BayWard18,63416–14–436Recap
35December 19Carolina2 – 1PhiladelphiaWard19,11117–14–438Recap
36December 22NY Islanders1 – 5CarolinaWard18,25218–14–440Recap
37December 23Carolina3 – 2FloridaOTGrahame16,14719–14–442Recap
38December 26Florida2 – 4CarolinaWard18,63920–14–444Recap
39December 28Carolina1 – 4BuffaloGrahame18,69020–15–444Recap
40December 29Anaheim2 – 4CarolinaWard18,79021–15–446Recap
41December 31Philadelphia5 – 2CarolinaWard18,79621–16–446Recap :
January: 5–5–2 (home: 3–3–2; road: 2–2–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
42January 2Carolina0 – 3PittsburghWard16,95721–17–446Recap
43January 4Phoenix2 – 0CarolinaWard15,09621–18–446Recap
44January 6NY Islanders2 – 4CarolinaWard18,63922–18–448Recap
45January 9Carolina4 – 1TorontoWard19,44723–18–450Recap
46January 11Florida4 – 6CarolinaGrahame13,55224–18–452Recap
47January 13Atlanta4 – 3CarolinaSOWard18,63924–18–553Recap
48January 16Carolina3 – 2FloridaOTGrahame10,31725–18–555Recap
49January 18Washington5 – 2CarolinaGrahame16,28525–19–555Recap
50January 20Tampa Bay6 – 5CarolinaSOWard18,19625–19–656Recap
51January 26Washington2 – 6CarolinaWard18,04426–19–658Recap
52January 27Carolina3 – 7WashingtonWard16,92426–20–658Recap
53January 30Toronto4 – 1CarolinaWard16,53326–21–658Recap :
February: 6–6–1 (home: 2–4–1; road: 4–2–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
54February 1Tampa Bay4 – 0CarolinaGrahame16,63526–22–658Recap
55February 3Boston4 – 3CarolinaOTWard18,66526–22–759Recap
56February 6Carolina2 – 1MontrealWard21,27327–22–761Recap
57February 8Carolina5 – 2BostonWard13,01428–22–763Recap
58February 10Carolina4 – 5MinnesotaGrahame18,56828–23–763Recap
59February 13Los Angeles1 – 2CarolinaWard15,76529–23–765Recap
60February 15NY Rangers4 – 1CarolinaWard17,25529–24–765Recap
61February 17Carolina5 – 3MontrealWard21,27330–24–767Recap
62February 20Atlanta3 – 1CarolinaWard16,22830–25–767Recap
63February 22Philadelphia2 – 3CarolinaOTGrahame14,53331–25–769Recap
64February 24Carolina4 – 1AtlantaGrahame18,74432–25–771Recap
65February 27Ottawa4 – 2CarolinaGrahame17,81232–26–771Recap
66February 28Carolina0 – 2OttawaWard19,26132–27–771Recap :
March: 6–5–1 (home: 4–2–0; road: 2–3–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
67March 2Pittsburgh2 – 3CarolinaWard18,79333–27–773Recap
68March 4Carolina1 – 3AtlantaGrahame17,78333–28–773Recap
69March 9Carolina3 – 0WashingtonWard13,97034–28–775Recap
70March 11Carolina1 – 2NY RangersSOGrahame18,20034–28–876Recap
71March 13Florida1 – 3CarolinaGrahame18,63935–28–878Recap
72March 15New Jersey3 – 2CarolinaGrahame18,27935–29–878Recap
73March 17Carolina7 – 2New JerseyGrahame15,49036–29–880Recap
74March 22Washington3 – 4CarolinaWard18,74037–29–882Recap
75March 24San Jose4 – 6CarolinaWard18,76338–29–884Recap
76March 27Carolina1 – 6TorontoWard19,55938–30–884Recap
77March 28Carolina1 – 5PhiladelphiaGrahame19,12338–31–884Recap
78March 30Tampa Bay4 – 2CarolinaWard18,63938–32–884Recap :
April: 2–2–0 (home: 1–1–0; road: 1–1–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
79April 1Carolina4 – 3FloridaOTWard17,87839–32–886Recap
80April 3Carolina2 – 3Tampa BayWard20,22439–33–886Recap
81April 6Atlanta4 – 3CarolinaWard17,15839–34–886Recap
82April 7Florida4 – 5CarolinaOTGrahame18,63940–34–888Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics

* 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 |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 13 | Ray Whitney | LW | 81 | 32 | 51 | 83 | −5 | 46 |
| 17 | Rod Brind'Amour | C | 78 | 26 | 56 | 82 | 7 | 46 |
| 12 | Eric Staal | C | 82 | 30 | 40 | 70 | −6 | 68 |
| 11 | Justin Williams | RW | 82 | 33 | 34 | 67 | −11 | 73 |
| 26 | Erik Cole | LW | 71 | 29 | 32 | 61 | 2 | 76 |
| 24 | Scott Walker | RW | 81 | 21 | 30 | 51 | −10 | 45 |
| 22 | Mike Commodore | D | 82 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 0 | 113 |
| 61 | Cory Stillman | LW | 43 | 5 | 22 | 27 | −8 | 24 |
| 16 | Andrew Ladd | LW | 65 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 1 | 46 |
| 25 | Eric Belanger‡ | C | 56 | 8 | 12 | 20 | −2 | 14 |
| 59 | Chad LaRose | RW | 80 | 6 | 12 | 18 | −2 | 10 |
| 45 | David Tanabe | D | 60 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 5 | 44 |
| 27 | Craig Adams | RW | 82 | 7 | 7 | 14 | −9 | 54 |
| 28 | Andrew Hutchinson | D | 41 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 30 |
| 48 | Anton Babchuk | D | 52 | 2 | 12 | 14 | −6 | 30 |
| 2 | Glen Wesley | D | 68 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 56 |
| 7 | Niclas Wallin | D | 67 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 48 |
| 6 | Bret Hedican | D | 50 | 0 | 10 | 10 | −8 | 36 |
| 63 | Josef Vasicek† | C | 25 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −6 | 22 |
| 5 | Frantisek Kaberle | D | 27 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 20 |
| 19 | Trevor Letowski | RW | 61 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −8 | 18 |
| 8 | Tim Gleason | D | 57 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −10 | 57 |
| 4 | Dennis Seidenberg† | D | 20 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −12 | 2 |
| 14 | Kevyn Adams‡ | C | 35 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −10 | 17 |
| 47 | John Grahame | G | 28 | 0 | 3 | 3 | | 2 |
| 18 | Ryan Bayda | LW | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
| 77 | Anson Carter† | RW | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 2 |
| 37 | Keith Aucoin | C | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | Cam Ward | G | 60 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 6 |
| 34 | David Gove | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | OT | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 30 | Cam Ward | 60 | 30 | 21 | 6 | 1625 | 167 | 2.93 | .897 | 2 | 3422 |
| 47 | John Grahame | 28 | 10 | 13 | 2 | 702 | 72 | 2.85 | .897 | 0 | 1515 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Frank J. Selke Trophy | Rod Brind'Amour |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Eric Staal |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Justin Williams |
| League (in-season) | NHL Second Star of the Week | Rod Brind'Amour (November 19) |
| Team | Good Guy Award | Mike Commodore |
| Team | Most Valuable Player | Ray Whitney |
| Team | Steve Chiasson Award | Rod Brind'Amour |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| 600th assist | Rod Brind'Amour | October 13, 2006 |
| 1,000th point | Rod Brind'Amour | November 4, 2006 |
| 400th goal scored | Rod Brind'Amour | February 17, 2007 |

## Transactions

The Hurricanes were involved in the following transactions from June 20, 2006, the day after the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 6, 2007, the day of the deciding game of the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 18, 2006 (2006-07-18) | To Carolina Hurricanes Scott Walker | To Nashville Predators Josef Vasicek |
| September 29, 2006 (2006-09-29) | To Carolina Hurricanes Eric BelangerTim Gleason | To Los Angeles Kings Oleg TverdovskyRights to Jack Johnson |
| November 21, 2006 (2006-11-21) | To Carolina Hurricanes Rights to Jakub PetruzalekConditional 5th-round pick in 2008 | To New York Rangers Brad Isbister |
| November 29, 2006 (2006-11-29) | To Carolina Hurricanes Mark Flood | To Columbus Blue Jackets Derrick Walser |
| January 8, 2007 (2007-01-08) | To Carolina Hurricanes Dennis Seidenberg | To Phoenix Coyotes Kevyn Adams |
| February 9, 2007 (2007-02-09) | To Carolina Hurricanes Josef Vasicek | To Nashville Predators Eric Belanger |
| February 23, 2007 (2007-02-23) | To Carolina Hurricanes Anson Carter | To Columbus Blue Jackets 5th-round pick in 2008 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 1, 2006 (2006-07-01) | John Grahame | Tampa Bay Lightning | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 6, 2006 (2006-07-06) | Trevor Letowski | Columbus Blue Jackets | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 7, 2006 (2006-07-07) | Patrick Dwyer | Chicago Wolves (AHL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 18, 2006 (2006-07-18) | Shane Willis | Linkopings HC (SHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 21, 2006 (2006-07-21) | Mike Angelidis | Owen Sound Attack (OHL) | 3-year | Free agency |
| July 21, 2006 (2006-07-21) | Tim Conboy | San Jose Sharks | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 21, 2006 (2006-07-21) | Scott Kelman | Fresno Falcons (ECHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 2, 2006 (2006-08-02) | Jesse Boulerice | St. Louis Blues | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 4, 2006 (2006-08-04) | Ryan Bayda | Manitoba Moose (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 29, 2006 (2006-08-29) | David Tanabe | Boston Bruins | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 30, 2006 (2006-08-30) | Brad Isbister | Boston Bruins | 1-year | Free agency |
| March 26, 2007 (2007-03-26) | Noah Babin | University of Notre Dame (CCHA) | 2-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 1, 2006 (2006-07-01) | Matt Cullen | New York Rangers | Free agency (III) |
| July 1, 2006 (2006-07-01) | Martin Gerber | Ottawa Senators | Free agency (III) |
| July 2, 2006 (2006-07-02) | Doug Weight | St. Louis Blues | Free agency (III) |
| July 3, 2006 (2006-07-03) | Aaron Ward | New York Rangers | Free agency (III) |
| July 25, 2006 (2006-07-25) | Mark Recchi | Pittsburgh Penguins | Free agency (III) |
| August 28, 2006 (2006-08-28) | Chris Hajt | Fuchse Duisburg (DEL) | Free agency (VI) |
| January 2007 (2007-01) | Gordie Dwyer | Orebro HK (SWE-3) | Free agency (UFA) |
| May 28, 2007 (2007-05-28) | Vince Bellissmo | ERC Ingolstadt (DEL) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 23, 2006 (2006-06-23) | Rod Brind'Amour | 5-year | Re-signing |
| June 27, 2006 (2006-06-27) | Frantisek Kaberle | 4-year | Re-signing |
| June 30, 2006 (2006-06-30) | Craig Adams | 3-year | Re-signing |
| June 30, 2006 (2006-06-30) | Andrew Hutchinson | 2-year | Re-signing |
| June 30, 2006 (2006-06-30) | Niclas Wallin | 4-year | Re-signing |
| June 30, 2006 (2006-06-30) | Justin Williams | 5-year | Re-signing |
| July 1, 2006 (2006-07-01) | Mike Commodore | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 1, 2006 (2006-07-01) | Eric Staal | 3-year | Re-signing |
| July 2, 2006 (2006-07-02) | Chad LaRose | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 5, 2006 (2006-07-05) | Erik Cole | 3-year | Re-signing |
| July 6, 2006 (2006-07-06) | Glen Wesley | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 12, 2006 (2006-07-12) | Keith Aucoin | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 12, 2006 (2006-07-12) | David Gove | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14) | Craig Kowalski | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14) | Derrick Walser | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 20, 2006 (2006-07-20) | J. D. Forrest | 1-year | Entry-level |
| August 24, 2006 (2006-08-24) | Joe Barnes | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 31, 2006 (2006-08-31) | Stephen Peat | 1-year | Re-signing |
| April 3, 2007 (2007-04-03) | Nicolas Blanchard | 3-year | Entry-level |
| April 10, 2007 (2007-04-10) | Bobby Hughes | 3-year | Entry-level |
| April 13, 2007 (2007-04-13) | Ray Whitney | 3-year | Extension |
| May 17, 2007 (2007-05-17) | Casey Borer | 2-year | Entry-level |
| May 18, 2007 (2007-05-18) | Jakub Petruzalek | 2-year | Entry-level |
| May 31, 2007 (2007-05-31) | Cam Ward | 3-year | Extension |
| June 1, 2007 (2007-06-01) | Glen Wesley | 1-year | Extension |

## Draft picks

Carolina's picks at the 2006 NHL entry draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 63 | Jamie McBain (D) | United States | US National Team Development Program (NAHL) |
| 3 | 93 | Harrison Reed (RW) | Canada | Sarnia Sting (OHL) |
| 4 | 123 | Bobby Hughes (C) | Canada | Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) |
| 5 | 153 | Stefan Chaput (C) | Canada | Lewiston Maineiacs (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 183 | Nick Dodge (RW) | Canada | Clarkson University (NCAA) |
| 7 | 213 | Justin Krueger (D) | Switzerland | Cornell University (NCAA) |