Erik Cole

**Erik Cole** (born November 6, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger. He played parts of 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars, and Detroit Red Wings. Outside of the NHL, Cole played for Eisbären Berlin of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).

Cole is a one-time Stanley Cup champion, winning with the Hurricanes in 2006. He is also a one-time DEL champion, winning with Eisbären Berlin in 2005.

## Career
Before playing in the NHL, Cole played parts of one season with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League (USHL), three years with the Clarkson Golden Knights of ECAC Hockey, a two seasons with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the International Hockey League (IHL). He had a successful time with the Golden Knights, being named to the All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team after finishing his rookie season with 11 goals and recording 20 assists in 34 games. The next season, he was named to the All-ECAC Hockey First Team, AHCA East Second-Team All-American, ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team and All-ECAC Hockey Second team.

He was drafted 71st overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 1998 NHL entry draft. On October 5, 2001, Cole made his NHL debut in a 3–1 win against the New York Rangers. During the game, he also recorded his first NHL career point, assisting on a Sandis Ozoliņš goal. On October 24, Cole scored his first career NHL goal against Manny Fernandez in a 7–3 win against the Minnesota Wild. On March 4, 2006, Cole was injury after a hit by Brooks Orpik and suffered a fractured vertebra in his neck. During his absence, the Hurricanes went on a run in the playoffs, defeating the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and Buffalo Sabres. The went on to defeat the Edmonton Oilers four games to three in the Final to win the first Stanley Cup in Hurricanes franchise history. Cole was able to return to help in Game 6 of the Finals.

On July 1, 2008, the Hurricanes traded Cole to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Joni Pitkänen. He played 63 games with the Oilers, scoring 16 goals and recording 11 assists.

On March 4, 2009, the Oilers traded Cole along with a 2009 fifth-round pick back to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Patrick O'Sullivan and a 2009 second-round pick. On July 1, 2009, Cole signed a two-year, $5.8 million contract to stay with the Hurricanes.

On July 1, 2011, Cole signed a four-year, $18 million contract to join the Montreal Canadiens. He had a successful 2011–12 season with the Canadiens, scoring 35 goals and recording 61 points for new NHL career-high totals.

On February 26, 2013, the Canadiens traded Cole to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Michael Ryder and a 2013 third-round draft pick.

On March 1, 2015, the Stars traded Cole to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Mattias Bäckman, Mattias Janmark-Nylén and a 2015 second-round draft pick. He only played 11 games with the Red Wings, scoring 3 and recording 3 assists. His season was cut short when he was injured with a spinal contusion in a game against the Arizona Coyotes on April 8.

On September 20, 2017, Cole signed a one-day contract to return to the Carolina Hurricanes and announced that he was retiring from playing professional ice hockey.

## References
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