1998–99 Carolina Hurricanes season

1998–99 Carolina Hurricanes
1998–99 Carolina Hurricanes
Southeast Division champions
Division	1st Southeast
Conference	3rd Eastern
1998–99 record	34–30–18
Home record	20–12–9
Road record	14–18–9
Goals for	210
Goals against	202
Team information
General manager	Jim Rutherford
Coach	Paul Maurice
Captain	Keith Primeau
Arena	Greensboro Coliseum Complex
Average attendance	8,188
Minor league affiliate(s)	Beast of New Haven; Florida Everblades
Team leaders
Goals	Keith Primeau (30)
Assists	Sami Kapanen (35)
Points	Keith Primeau (62)
Penalty minutes	Gary Roberts (178)
Plus/minus	Nolan Pratt (+15)
Wins	Arturs Irbe (27)
Goals against average	Arturs Irbe (2.22)
	← 1997–98 1999–2000 →

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%.^[2]

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

^[3]

Eastern Conference^[4]
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^[5]

October: 4–3–3 (home: 2–1–3; road: 2–2–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance	Recap
1	T	October 10, 1998	4–4 OT	Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)	0–0–1	8,195	Recap
2	L	October 13, 1998	2–3	@ Nashville Predators (1998–99)	0–1–1	14,376	Recap
3	T	October 15, 1998	2–2 OT	Dallas Stars (1998–99)	0–1–2	5,531	Recap
4	T	October 17, 1998	1–1 OT	Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)	0–1–3	10,063	Recap
5	W	October 20, 1998	3–1	Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)	1–1–3	5,573	Recap
6	W	October 24, 1998	3–1	@ Ottawa Senators (1998–99)	2–1–3	14,428	Recap
7	L	October 25, 1998	2–3	Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)	2–2–3	5,569	Recap
8	W	October 28, 1998	2–0	Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	3–2–3	5,902	Recap
9	L	October 30, 1998	0–1	@ New York Rangers (1998–99)	3–3–3	18,200	Recap
10	W	October 31, 1998	2–0	@ Boston Bruins (1998–99)	4–3–3	13,655	Recap

November: 7–7–0 (home: 3–4–0; road: 4–3–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance	Recap
11	L	November 2, 1998	2–3	Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)	4–4–3	6,205	Recap
12	W	November 5, 1998	6–3	@ New York Islanders (1998–99)	5–4–3	10,856	Recap
13	W	November 6, 1998	3–2	@ Washington Capitals (1998–99)	6–4–3	19,740	Recap
14	L	November 8, 1998	2–5	Boston Bruins (1998–99)	6–5–3	8,566	Recap
15	L	November 11, 1998	4–5 OT	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)	6–6–3	14,668	Recap
16	L	November 12, 1998	0–3	@ San Jose Sharks (1998–99)	6–7–3	16,733	Recap
17	W	November 14, 1998	5–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)	7–7–3	10,990	Recap
18	W	November 17, 1998	5–4	Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)	8–7–3	7,147	Recap
19	L	November 19, 1998	2–3 OT	@ New Jersey Devils (1998–99)	8–8–3	14,586	Recap
20	L	November 20, 1998	1–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)	8–9–3	11,013	Recap
21	L	November 22, 1998	2–5	New Jersey Devils (1998–99)	8–10–3	8,062	Recap
22	W	November 25, 1998	3–0	San Jose Sharks (1998–99)	9–10–3	6,037	Recap
23	W	November 28, 1998	3–1	@ New York Islanders (1998–99)	10–10–3	12,472	Recap
24	W	November 29, 1998	3–1	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)	11–10–3	6,871	Recap

December: 6–4–2 (home: 4–3–1; road: 2–1–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance	Recap
25	W	December 2, 1998	4–1	Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)	12–10–3	5,664	Recap
26	T	December 4, 1998	3–3 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)	12–10–4	9,083	Recap
27	T	December 5, 1998	3–3 OT	@ Florida Panthers (1998–99)	12–10–5	17,384	Recap
28	L	December 10, 1998	2–3	Boston Bruins (1998–99)	12–11–5	6,059	Recap
29	W	December 12, 1998	3–0	Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	13–11–5	11,059	Recap
30	W	December 15, 1998	3–0	Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)	14–11–5	5,684	Recap
31	L	December 18, 1998	1–5	@ Ottawa Senators (1998–99)	14–12–5	15,124	Recap
32	W	December 19, 1998	3–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)	15–12–5	17,979	Recap
33	L	December 21, 1998	1–4	Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)	15–13–5	7,655	Recap
34	W	December 23, 1998	1–0	@ New York Rangers (1998–99)	16–13–5	18,200	Recap
35	L	December 26, 1998	3–6	New York Rangers (1998–99)	16–14–5	11,059	Recap
36	W	December 30, 1998	4–3	Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)	17–14–5	7,898	Recap

January: 6–4–3 (home: 4–1–1; road: 2–3–2)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance	Recap
37	T	January 1, 1999	3–3 OT	@ Florida Panthers (1998–99)	17–14–6	18,505	Recap
38	W	January 2, 1999	4–1	Nashville Predators (1998–99)	18–14–6	7,698	Recap
39	T	January 4, 1999	4–4 OT	Ottawa Senators (1998–99)	18–14–7	5,655	Recap
40	L	January 7, 1999	2–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)	18–15–7	13,719	Recap
41	L	January 9, 1999	0–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)	18–16–7	19,618	Recap
42	W	January 14, 1999	3–2	Florida Panthers (1998–99)	19–16–7	6,544	Recap
43	L	January 16, 1999	2–3 OT	Washington Capitals (1998–99)	19–17–7	11,007	Recap
44	W	January 18, 1999	4–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)	20–17–7	8,894	Recap
45	L	January 21, 1999	1–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	20–18–7	19,983	Recap
46	W	January 26, 1999	5–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)	21–18–7	14,731	Recap
47	W	January 28, 1999	3–2 OT	New York Rangers (1998–99)	22–18–7	11,059	Recap
48	W	January 30, 1999	3–1	@ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)	23–18–7	20,514	Recap
49	T	January 31, 1999	0–0 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1998–99)	23–18–8	16,180	Recap

February: 4–5–4 (home: 1–1–2; road: 3–4–2)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance	Recap
50	L	February 3, 1999	1–4	New Jersey Devils (1998–99)	23–19–8	7,746	Recap
51	L	February 5, 1999	1–4	@ Washington Capitals (1998–99)	23–20–8	17,601	Recap
52	T	February 6, 1999	3–3 OT	Florida Panthers (1998–99)	23–20–9	11,059	Recap
53	W	February 10, 1999	6–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)	24–20–9	15,726	Recap
54	W	February 12, 1999	3–1	@ New York Rangers (1998–99)	25–20–9	18,200	Recap
55	L	February 13, 1999	4–6	@ New Jersey Devils (1998–99)	25–21–9	17,023	Recap
56	L	February 15, 1999	2–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)	25–22–9	18,595	Recap
57	T	February 18, 1999	2–2 OT	Washington Capitals (1998–99)	25–22–10	6,697	Recap
58	W	February 20, 1999	3–2	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)	26–22–10	10,464	Recap
59	W	February 21, 1999	4–1	New York Islanders (1998–99)	27–22–10	9,913	Recap
60	T	February 24, 1999	2–2 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)	27–22–11	18,460	Recap
61	L	February 26, 1999	0–1	@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)	27–23–11	15,072	Recap
62	T	February 27, 1999	2–2 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)	27–23–12	17,100	Recap

March: 4–5–4 (home: 4–2–1; road: 0–3–3)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance	Recap
63	W	March 3, 1999	2–1	Boston Bruins (1998–99)	28–23–12	7,507	Recap
64	T	March 6, 1999	2–2 OT	@ Florida Panthers (1998–99)	28–23–13	19,250	Recap
65	W	March 8, 1999	4–1	Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)	29–23–13	8,390	Recap
66	L	March 10, 1999	2–3 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)	29–24–13	10,563	Recap
67	W	March 12, 1999	2–1	Calgary Flames (1998–99)	30–24–13	8,564	Recap
68	T	March 15, 1999	5–5 OT	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)	30–24–14	15,811	Recap
69	L	March 18, 1999	2–3	@ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)	30–25–14	16,061	Recap
70	L	March 21, 1999	2–3 OT	@ Dallas Stars (1998–99)	30–26–14	16,928	Recap
71	L	March 22, 1999	2–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1998–99)	30–27–14	17,311	Recap
72	W	March 24, 1999	2–1	New York Islanders (1998–99)	31–27–14	7,370	Recap
73	L	March 26, 1999	2–7	Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)	31–28–14	10,014	Recap
74	T	March 28, 1999	3–3 OT	Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)	31–28–15	10,010	Recap
75	T	March 30, 1999	3–3 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)	31–28–16	19,681	Recap

April: 3–2–2 (home: 2–0–1; road: 1–2–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance	Recap
76	L	April 3, 1999	1–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	31–29–16	15,824	Recap
77	W	April 6, 1999	4–2	New Jersey Devils (1998–99)	32–29–16	10,340	Recap
78	L	April 7, 1999	0–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)	32–30–16	20,336	Recap
79	W	April 10, 1999	6–1	@ New York Islanders (1998–99)	33–30–16	13,055	Recap
80	W	April 14, 1999	3–0	Washington Capitals (1998–99)	34–30–16	6,790	Recap
81	T	April 16, 1999	2–2 OT	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)	34–30–17	15,277	Recap
82	T	April 17, 1999	1–1 OT	Ottawa Senators (1998–99)	34–30–18	10,981	Recap

Legend:

Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1999 Stanley Cup playoffs^[5]

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (6) Boston Bruins – Bruins win 4–2

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Series	Recap
1	L	April 22, 1999	0–2	Boston Bruins	Bruins lead 1–0	Recap
2	W	April 24, 1999	3–2 OT	Boston Bruins	Series tied 1–1	Recap
3	W	April 26, 1999	3–2	@ Boston Bruins	Hurricanes lead 2–1	Recap
4	L	April 28, 1999	1–4	@ Boston Bruins	Series tied 2–2	Recap
5	L	April 30, 1999	3–4 2OT	Boston Bruins	Bruins lead 3–2	Recap
6	L	May 2, 1999	0–2	@ Boston Bruins	Bruins win 4–2	Recap

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						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										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	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Arturs Irbe	^[6]
	NHL All-Star Game selection	Keith Primeau	^[6]
	NHL Player of the Month	Arturs Irbe (October)	^[7]
	NHL Player of the Week	Arturs Irbe (November 2)	^[7]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Byron Ritchie	December 21, 1998	^[8]
	Craig MacDonald	January 7, 1999
	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 Avalanche 5th round pick in 1999 - Will Magnuson	To Carolina Hurricanes Randy Petruk
July 29, 1998	To Los Angeles Kings Manny Legace	To Carolina Hurricanes Future Considerations
August 11, 1998	To Anaheim Mighty Ducks Stu Grimson Kevin Haller	To Carolina Hurricanes Dave Karpa 4th round pick in 2000 - Blake Robson
December 29, 1998	To Chicago Blackhawks Nelson Emerson	To Carolina Hurricanes Paul Coffey
March 6, 1999	To Philadelphia Flyers Adam Burt	To Carolina Hurricanes Andrei 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.^[9]

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)