With the offseason chugging along and the excitement of the NHL Entry Draft and free agency waning, hockey fans are left anxiously awaiting next season. Here at Last Word on Hockey, we have been exploring some different “bests” from teams during the long, hot days of summer. Best players by number for a few teams, top captains, best and worst sweaters, and top first-round draft picks are some of the select rankings our writers have been exploring. As an ode to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, here for the Carolina Hurricanes, we are looking at the all-time starting lineups based on nationality. Each of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Ottawa Senators did similar series.
A few parameters to this list to get us started. This will be a starting lineup, so two wingers, one centre, two defencemen, and a goalie. The player must have played in the NHL with the Hurricanes (not looking at Hartford Whalers or prospects). The assessment comes from the players best performance with, and impact on, the Hurricanes, not over his career if he played with other teams. So far we have looked at the Canadian, Finnish, Swedish, Russian and Czech starting lineups. And today we look at the country that likely houses most Carolina fans. This is the all-time Hurricanes American starting lineup.
The Carolina Hurricanes All-Time American Starting Lineup
After Canada, the Hurricanes have next had the largest number of American players over their history of any nationality. While the Canadian Hurricanes boast a stronger forward group, the Americans likely take the nod when it comes to defence. There are a lot of great American defencemen who have worn the Hurricanes sweater, making the decision on the starting two somewhat difficult. But this doesn’t mean there aren’t other American forwards who have contributed greatly to the organization. Let’s take a look.
Erik Cole LW – Matt Cullen C – Bates Battaglia RW
Jaccob Slavin LD – Justin Faulk RD
The Ageless Wonder
To start our list off at centre, we go to Matt Cullen. The Minnesota native started his career in Anaheim before eventually making it to Carolina. He actually played a season in Carolina before a year with the New York Rangers, only to return to Carolina in 2006 via trade. At the time he was knocking on the door of his thirties. A veteran by NHL standards, he managed to hold an NHL spot for over another decade before retiring in 2019. Never an All-Star or noted goal scorer, Cullen carved out a role over his career as a solid, two-way middle six forward who coaches used in all situations. He maintained this role until his retirement which was very impressive.
This niche Cullen carved was a big piece of what he provided Carolina each season with the team too. As a Hurricane, he scored 72 goals and 109 assists over four years while also putting up seven goals and 17 assists in 43 Hurricane playoff games. Cullen was a big piece of the 2006 Stanley Cup Championship team as well as the team that went to the 2009 Eastern Conference Final. A veteran for both squads, Cullen was the stability that Carolina needed to make both runs. Players like Cullen don’t always get the glory they deserve, but turn out to be cornerstone pieces for teams that make deep runs.
An honourable mention for the centre position could be Vincent Trocheck as he provided Carolina with a solid, second-line centre during his tenure. It has been something they have been seeking since his departure. But due to the team’s success during the four-year span Cullen spent in Carolina, he takes the spot.
Erik with a K
Probably the best Hurricanes American forward comes up next on our list. A Carolina third-round pick in 1998, Erik Cole was a fixture on the Hurricanes first Stanley Cup appearance and the 2006 Stanley Cup Championship winning teams. This holds true even though he only actually suited up for two playoff games in 2006.
Playing nine seasons with the Hurricanes, Cole brought them a fast, power forward type winger who could play in all situations. Carolina traded him for Joni Pitkanen, but Cole would later return in another trade. His best seasons came in 2005-06 when he put up 30 goals and 59 points and the following season with 29 goals and 61 points. Over his Hurricanes career he had 168 goals and 363 points. His ability to push the pace and play with speed provided Carolina with a good weapon up front.
Having a 30-goal season in 2005-06 was impressive considering he only played 60 games. This is why losing him near the end of that season was such a big deal. In a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Brooks Orpik hit Cole face first into the boards. Cole suffered a fractured vertebrae and missed the rest of the season. He also missed most all of the playoffs, except the final two games. While game six of that Stanley Cup Championship series was a miss for Carolina, Cole’s return was an inspiring moment for a Carolina team looking for a spark to close out the series. He didn’t have any points, but his return was arguably a big reason the Hurricanes lifted the Stanley Cup at home in 2006.
Bates Battaglia
The final Hurricanes American forward slot is a little bit more of toss up. If we were to move Trocheck to wing he may make this spot. Had Jake Guentzel stuck around and/or the Hurricanes went further in the playoffs with him he may be here. Other possibilities include Stefan Noesen, Chad Larose, and Kevyn Adams. But instead we put an original Hurricane in this spot in Bates Battaglia.
Battaglia was an Anaheim draft pick who was traded to the Hartford Whalers in 1997. However, he never played for Hartford. His first season with the organization came in Carolina’s inaugural year in North Carolina. And he stuck with the team through their first Stanley Cup Championship appearance in 2002. In that run, Battaglia put up five goals and nine assists in 23 playoff games, which is not bad at all. That was also the best statistical year of his career with 21 goals and 46 points. He was another player that provided support in all situations, had decent size, and could chip in some offensively.
Battaglia never found that same scoring pace over the rest of his career and retired after bouncing around the league. In his retired life he and his brother actually appeared on the Amazing Race. Now Battaglia can be seen taking part in various Hurricanes related events from time to time around Raleigh. But his time as an original Hurricane through the first Stanley Cup run puts him on this list.
Jaccob Slavin
As we turn to defence, the Hurricanes American list is pretty deep. There are numerous names that could have their place on this list. Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, Sean Hill, Bret Hedican, Joe Corvo, and Tim Gleason all could have a case for making the Hurricanes all-time American defencemen list. But nevertheless, we have to pick two. And the first is a slam dunk.
What more can be said about what Jaccob Slavin has done in Carolina. He leads Hurricanes defencemen in points all-time with 272. That’s more impressive considering that he has spent limited time on the power play. But this really isn’t the reason he is likely the best Hurricanes defenceman of all-time.
Slavin is an elite shutdown defenceman that can hang with the best NHL forwards. Not only can he stop the play, but his transition game is very good too. He is a player that seems to always elevate his partner. For the last few seasons Slavin’s responsibility has been on the top pair with defencemen that are noted for their offence, but lack on the defensive side (Brent Burns, Tony DeAngelo, Dougie Hamilton). His pairings tend to rank very high every year in advanced analytics such as Corsi, Fenwick, and expected goals percentage, largely due to his role.
Slavin is an all-around defenceman who is on the Hurricanes “no-trade” list. There is a reason he wears the A (could be a C in the future). He too has shown an off-ice impact as he is involved in the local community. Now with a long extension signed this summer at a fairly reasonable price, and two Lady Byng Trophies as well as an All-Star Game appearance to his name, Slavin is a major cornerstone piece for Carolina.
Justin Faulk
While Slavin was a pretty easy pick, the next defenceman took some more thought. With the names available as mentioned above, we turn to a player who suited up for the Stars and Stripes in the Olympics. Slavin’s partner on the Hurricanes all-time American starting lineup list is Justin Faulk.
A Hurricanes 2010 second-round draft pick out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Faulk made his appearance with Carolina in 2011. Faulk was very much an offensive defenceman, though not a complete defensive liability. He possessed a booming shot and had a knack for putting up points. With 559 games played in Carolina Faulk had 85 goals and 173 assists. Of his 85 goals, 40 were on the power play which leads all Hurricanes defencemen in that category by a large margin. His 258 points lands him second all-time for Hurricanes defencemen. This is more impressive considering he stuck with the team during their ten year struggle to make the playoffs in the 2010s.
Faulk did suit up for Carolina when they made the playoffs in 2019 and put up eight points in 15 games. With Carolina he made the All-Star Game from 2015-2017 and also had the honour to play for Team USA in the 2014 Olympics. At 21, he was the youngest player on that Olympic team. As mentioned above, there are a lot of choices to fit this slot but given Faulk’s production on a mostly struggling team throughout his Carolina tenure, mixed with his Olympic participation, we give him the nod on this list.
Alex Nedeljkovic
While Carolina’s American defencemen run deep, their American goalies run a little more shallow. Tom Barrasso was a great goalie, but that was outside of his time in Carolina as he only played a short time here and mostly after his prime. Other players like John Grahame, Alex Lyon, and Brian Boucher had stints in Carolina but none were too long or much to write about. In fact, it was Scott Darling who played the most games for Carolina as an American netminder. But most Hurricanes fans know how poorly that experiment went. So with that said, we turn to Alex Nedljkovic as our Hurricanes American goaltender.
A second-round pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Nedeljkovic seemed poised to become the Hurricanes goaltender of the future. With steady numbers in junior and then a good showing in the AHL, Carolina looked like they may have found their guy. He played a few games in the NHL for a few seasons before making it as a more permanent piece in 2020. In 23 games that season he posted a .932 SV% and 1.90 GAA. He only played 29 games for Carolina over four seasons (the first three were sprinkles) but had a .928 SV% and 2.01 GAA. In 2021, he played nine playoff games for Carolina and had a solid .920 SV% and 2.17 GAA going 4-5 in wins and losses.
All in all, Nedeljkovic was part of the resurgence of the Hurricanes starting in 2019 and played pretty well. While many saw him as the goalie of the future, Carolina decided to move him after 2021. While he hasn’t shown to be an elite starting goalie by any means, he has found a solid footing in Pittsburgh. But based on his time in Carolina, and his competition of other Hurricanes American goalies, he is the starting goalie on our list.
Main Photo Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
