2017–18 Carolina Hurricanes season

The 2017–18 Carolina Hurricanes season was the 39th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on June 22, 1979 (following seven seasons of play in the World Hockey Association), and 21st season since the franchise relocated from Hartford to start the 1997–98 NHL season.[1] The Canes failed to make the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.

2017–18 Carolina Hurricanes
Division	6th Metropolitan
Conference	10th Eastern
2017–18 record	36–35–11
Home record	19–16–6
Road record	17–19–5
Goals for	228
Goals against	256
Team information
General manager	Ron Francis (Oct-Mar) Vacant (Mar- )
Coach	Bill Peters
Captain	Justin Faulk Jordan Staal
Alternate captains	Jeff Skinner
Arena	PNC Arena
Minor league affiliate(s)	Charlotte Checkers (AHL) Florida Everblades (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Sebastian Aho (29)
Assists	Teuvo Teravainen (41)
Points	Sebastian Aho (65)
Penalty minutes	Justin Williams (56)
Plus/minus	Trevor van Riemsdyk (+9)
Wins	Cam Ward (23)
Goals against average	Cam Ward (2.73)

Standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Washington Capitals	82	49	26	7	46	259	239	+20	105
2	x – Pittsburgh Penguins	82	47	29	6	45	272	250	+22	100
3	x – Philadelphia Flyers	82	42	26	14	40	251	243	+8	98
4	x – Columbus Blue Jackets	82	45	30	7	39	242	230	+12	97
5	x – New Jersey Devils	82	44	29	9	39	248	244	+4	97
6	Carolina Hurricanes	82	36	35	11	33	228	256	−28	83
7	New York Islanders	82	35	37	10	32	264	296	−32	80
8	New York Rangers	82	34	39	9	31	231	268	−37	77

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division.

Eastern Conference Wild Card

Pos	Div	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	ME	x – Columbus Blue Jackets	82	45	30	7	39	242	230	+12	97
2	ME	x – New Jersey Devils	82	44	29	9	39	248	244	+4	97
3	AT	Florida Panthers	82	44	30	8	41	248	246	+2	96
4	ME	Carolina Hurricanes	82	36	35	11	33	228	256	−28	83
5	ME	New York Islanders	82	35	37	10	32	264	296	−32	80
6	ME	New York Rangers	82	34	39	9	31	231	268	−37	77
7	AT	Detroit Red Wings	82	30	39	13	25	217	255	−38	73
8	AT	Montreal Canadiens	82	29	40	13	27	209	264	−55	71
9	AT	Ottawa Senators	82	28	43	11	26	221	291	−70	67
10	AT	Buffalo Sabres	82	25	45	12	24	199	280	−81	62

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot.

Schedule and results

Preseason

The preseason schedule was released on June 8, 2017.[2]

2017 preseason game log: 5–2–0 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 18	Carolina	3–2	Buffalo	OT	Nedeljkovic	16,310	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 19	Carolina	2–1	Tampa Bay		Nedeljkovic	11,454	2–0–0	Recap
3	September 20	Tampa Bay	4–3	Carolina		Smith	6,486	2–1–0	Recap
4	September 23	Carolina	4–1	Washington		Ward	15,514	3–1–0	Recap
5	September 25	Carolina	6–2	Edmonton		Darling	18,347	4–1–0	Recap
6^[a]	September 27	Edmonton	4–0	Carolina		Ward	—	4–2–0	Recap
7	September 29	Washington	1–3	Carolina		Darling	8,797	5–2–0	Recap
Notes: ^a Game was played at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Regular season

The regular season schedule was announced on June 22, 2017.[3]

2017–18 game log
October: 4–4–2 (Home: 1–2–2 ; Road: 3–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 7 Minnesota 4–5 Carolina SO Darling 18,680 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 10 Columbus 2–1 Carolina OT Darling 7,892 1–0–1 3 Recap 3 October 14 Carolina 1–2 Winnipeg Darling 15,321 1–1–1 3 Recap 4 October 17 Carolina 5–3 Edmonton Ward 18,347 2–1–1 5 Recap 5 October 19 Carolina 2–1 Calgary Darling 18,119 3–1–1 7 Recap 6 October 21 Carolina 3–4 Dallas Darling 18,023 3–2–1 7 Recap 7 October 24 Tampa Bay 5–1 Carolina Darling 10,498 3–3–1 7 Recap 8 October 26 Carolina 6–3 Toronto Darling 19,070 4–3–1 9 Recap 9 October 27 St. Louis 2–1 Carolina Ward 10,069 4–4–1 9 Recap 10 October 29 Anaheim 4–3 Carolina SO Darling 10,108 4–4–2 10 Recap
November: 6–4–3 (Home: 4–2–1 ; Road: 2–2–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 11 November 2 Carolina 3–5 Colorado Ward 12,048 4–5–2 10 Recap 12 November 4 Carolina 1–2 Arizona SO Darling 12,019 4–5–3 11 Recap 13 November 7 Florida 1–3 Carolina Darling 8,828 5–5–3 13 Recap 14 November 10 Carolina 3–1 Columbus Ward 16,049 6–5–3 15 Recap 15 November 11 Chicago 4–3 Carolina OT Darling 16,778 6–5–4 16 Recap 16 November 13 Dallas 1–5 Carolina Darling 7,968 7–5–4 18 Recap 17 November 16 Carolina 4–6 NY Islanders Darling 11,188 7–6–4 18 Recap 18 November 18 Carolina 3–1 Buffalo Darling 18,028 8–6–4 20 Recap 19 November 19 NY Islanders 2–4 Carolina Ward 11,390 9–6–4 22 Recap 20 November 22 NY Rangers 6–1 Carolina Darling 11,398 9–7–4 22 Recap 21 November 24 Toronto 5–4 Carolina Darling 15,241 9–8–4 22 Recap 22 November 26 Nashville 3–4 Carolina SO Darling 11,133 10–8–4 24 Recap 23 November 28 Carolina 2–3 Columbus SO Darling 13,947 10–8–5 25 Recap
December: 8–5–2 (Home: 5–0–0 ; Road: 3–5–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 24 December 1 Carolina 1–5 NY Rangers Darling 17,695 10–9–5 25 Recap 25 December 2 Florida 2–3 Carolina OT Ward 14,246 11–9–5 27 Recap 26 December 5 Carolina 0–3 Vancouver Darling 17,860 11–10–5 27 Recap 27 December 7 Carolina 4–5 San Jose OT Ward 16,947 11–10–6 28 Recap 28 December 9 Carolina 2–3 Los Angeles OT Darling 18,230 11–10–7 29 Recap 29 December 11 Carolina 2–3 Anaheim Darling 16,198 11–11–7 29 Recap 30 December 12 Carolina 3–2 Vegas SO Ward 17,520 12–11–7 31 Recap 31 December 15 Carolina 5–4 Buffalo OT Ward 17,610 13–11–7 33 Recap 32 December 16 Columbus 1–2 Carolina Darling 11,357 14–11–7 35 Recap 33 December 19 Carolina 1–8 Toronto Darling 19,288 14–12–7 35 Recap 34 December 21 Carolina 4–1 Nashville Ward 17,492 15–12–7 37 Recap 35 December 23 Buffalo 2–4 Carolina Ward 14,470 16–12–7 39 Recap 36 December 27 Montreal 1–3 Carolina Ward 14,880 17–12–7 41 Recap 37 December 29 Pittsburgh 1–2 Carolina Ward 17,975 18–12–7 43 Recap 38 December 30 Carolina 2–3 St. Louis Darling 18,749 18–13–7 43 Recap
January: 5–6–1 (Home: 1–3–1 ; Road: 4–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 39 January 2 Washington 5–4 Carolina OT Ward 11,989 18–13–8 44 Recap 40 January 4 Carolina 4–0 Pittsburgh Ward 18,595 19–13–8 46 Recap 41 January 6 Carolina 1–7 Boston Ward 17,565 19–14–8 46 Recap 42 January 9 Carolina 4–5 Tampa Bay Ward 19,092 19–15–8 46 Recap 43 January 11 Carolina 3–1 Washington Darling 18,506 20–15–8 48 Recap 44 January 12 Washington 4–3 Carolina Ward 16,239 20–16–8 48 Recap 45 January 14 Calgary 4–1 Carolina Darling 15,218 20–17–8 48 Recap 46 January 20 Carolina 3–1 Detroit Ward 19,515 21–17–8 50 Recap 47 January 21 Vegas 5–1 Carolina Darling 15,303 21–18–8 50 Recap 48 January 23 Carolina 1–3 Pittsburgh Ward 18,421 21–19–8 50 Recap 49 January 25 Carolina 6–5 Montreal Ward 21,302 22–19–8 52 Recap 50 January 30 Ottawa 1–2 Carolina Ward 11,448 23–19–8 54 Recap
February: 4–6–3 (Home: 4–4–2 ; Road: 0–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 51 February 1 Montreal 0–2 Carolina Ward 11,953 24–19–8 56 Recap 52 February 2 Detroit 4–1 Carolina Darling 18,126 24–20–8 56 Recap 53 February 4 San Jose 3–1 Carolina Ward 11,614 24–21–8 56 Recap 54 February 6 Philadelphia 2–1 Carolina OT Ward 11,585 24–21–9 57 Recap 55 February 9 Vancouver 1–4 Carolina Darling 13,123 25–21–9 59 Recap 56 February 10 Colorado 1–3 Carolina Ward 15,589 26–21–9 61 Recap 57 February 13 Los Angeles 3–7 Carolina Ward 12,805 27–21–9 63 Recap 58 February 15 Carolina 2–5 New Jersey Darling 14,079 27–22–9 63 Recap 59 February 16 NY Islanders 3–0 Carolina Ward 15,448 27–23–9 63 Recap 60 February 18 New Jersey 3–2 Carolina OT Ward 18,680 27–23–10 64 Recap 61 February 23 Pittsburgh 6–1 Carolina Ward 18,180 27–24–10 64 Recap 62 February 24 Carolina 1–3 Detroit Darling 19,515 27–25–10 64 Recap 63 February 27 Carolina 3–4 Boston OT Darling 17,565 27–25–11 65 Recap
March: 8–8–0 (Home: 3–5–0 ; Road: 5–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 64 March 1 Carolina 4–1 Philadelphia Ward 19,245 28–25–11 67 Recap 65 March 2 New Jersey 1–3 Carolina Ward 14,337 29–25–11 69 Recap 66 March 4 Winnipeg 3–2 Carolina Ward 11,407 29–26–11 69 Recap 67 March 6 Carolina 2–6 Minnesota Ward 19,017 29–27–11 69 Recap 68 March 8 Carolina 3–2 Chicago Darling 21,681 30–27–11 71 Recap 69 March 12 Carolina 3–6 NY Rangers Darling 17,679 30–28–11 71 Recap 70 March 13 Boston 6–4 Carolina Ward 13,081 30–29–11 71 Recap 71 March 17 Philadelphia 4–2 Carolina Ward 14,805 30–30–11 71 Recap 72 March 18 Carolina 4–3 NY Islanders Darling 10,688 31–30–11 73 Recap 73 March 20 Edmonton 7–3 Carolina Darling 10,554 31–31–11 73 Recap 74 March 22 Arizona 5–6 Carolina Ward 10,535 32–31–11 75 Recap 75 March 24 Carolina 5–2 Ottawa Ward 16,555 33–31–11 77 Recap 76 March 26 Ottawa 1–4 Carolina Ward 10,817 34–31–11 79 Recap 77 March 27 Carolina 3–4 New Jersey Darling 15,521 34–32–11 79 Recap 78 March 30 Carolina 4–1 Washington Darling 18,506 35–32–11 81 Recap 79 March 31 NY Rangers 2–1 Carolina Ward 14,993 35–33–11 81 Recap
April: 1–2–0 (Home: 1–0–0 ; Road: 0–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 80 April 2 Carolina 2–3 Florida Darling 10,619 35–34–11 81 Recap 81 April 5 Carolina 3–4 Philadelphia Darling 20,001 35–35–11 81 Recap 82 April 7 Tampa Bay 2–3 Carolina OT Ward 15,402 36–35–11 83 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

Final[4]

Skaters

Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Sebastian Aho 78 29 36 65 4 24 Teuvo Teravainen 82 23 41 64 8 14 Justin Williams 82 16 35 51 −9 56 Jeff Skinner 82 24 25 49 −27 34 Jordan Staal 79 19 27 46 −4 26 Elias Lindholm 81 16 28 44 −8 18 Derek Ryan 80 15 23 38 −15 28 Noah Hanifin 79 10 22 32 −20 21 Victor Rask 71 14 17 31 0 12 Justin Faulk 76 8 23 31 −26 48 Brock McGinn 80 16 14 30 −12 22 Jaccob Slavin 82 8 22 30 1 10 Brett Pesce 65 3 16 19 −6 18 Trevor van Riemsdyk 79 3 13 16 9 20 Phillip Di Giuseppe 49 5 8 13 0 17 Lee Stempniak 37 3 6 9 −8 4 Haydn Fleury 67 0 8 8 −2 14 Valentin Zykov 10 3 4 7 4 2 Joakim Nordstrom 75 2 5 7 −11 6 Josh Jooris^‡ 31 3 3 6 −7 16 Marcus Kruger 48 1 5 6 −6 28 Klas Dahlbeck 33 1 4 5 −6 21 Warren Foegele 2 2 1 3 3 0 Roland McKeown 10 0 3 3 3 19 Lucas Wallmark 11 1 0 1 −4 2 Janne Kuokkanen 4 0 0 0 −3 0 Martin Necas 1 0 0 0 0 0 Trevor Carrick 1 0 0 0 0 2 Nicolas Roy 1 0 0 0 −1 0

Goaltenders

Regular season[4]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Cam Ward	43	42	2,459:20	23	14	4	112	2.73	1187	.906	2	0	0	14
Scott Darling	43	40	2,475:07	13	21	7	131	3.18	1171	.888	0	0	0	2

Transactions

The Hurricanes have been involved in the following transactions during the 2017–18 season.

Trades Date Details Ref June 21, 2017 To Vegas Golden Knights 5th-round pick in 2017 To Carolina Hurricanes Expansion Draft Considerations^[a] [5] June 22, 2017 To Vegas Golden Knights 2nd-round pick in 2017 To Carolina Hurricanes Trevor van Riemsdyk 7th-round pick in 2018 [6] July 4, 2017 To Vegas Golden Knights 5th-round pick in 2018 To Carolina Hurricanes Marcus Kruger [7] February 26, 2018 To Pittsburgh Penguins Josh Jooris To Carolina Hurricanes Greg McKegg [8] May 3, 2018 To Arizona Coyotes Marcus Kruger 4th-round pick in 2018 To Carolina Hurricanes Jordan Martinook 3rd-round pick in 2018 [9] Notes ^[a] The Vegas Golden Knights will select Connor Brickley in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Free agents acquired Date Player Former team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref July 1, 2017 Justin Williams Washington Capitals 2-year, $9 million [10] July 1, 2017 Josh Jooris Arizona Coyotes 1-year, $750,000 [11] July 1, 2017 Brenden Kichton Winnipeg Jets 1-year, $700,000 [12] July 1, 2017 Jeremy Smith Colorado Avalanche 1-year, $750,000 [13] June 15, 2018 Michael Fora HC Ambrì-Piotta 2-year, entry-level contract [14] Free agents lost Date Player New team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref July 1, 2017 Matt Tennyson Buffalo Sabres 2-year, $1.3 million [15] July 1, 2017 Michael Leighton Tampa Bay Lightning 1-year, $650,000 [16] August 2, 2017 Andrej Nestrasil Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1-year [17] May 1, 2018 Andrew Miller Fribourg-Gottéron 1-year [18] June 1, 2018 Klas Dahlbeck CSKA Moscow 1-year [19] Claimed via waivers Player Previous team Date Ref Lost via waivers Player New team Date Ref Lost via retirement Date Player Ref April 8, 2017 Bryan Bickell [20] Player signings Date Player Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref June 26, 2017 Derek Ryan 1-year, $1.425 million [21] June 26, 2017 Trevor Carrick 1-year, $670,000 [22] June 27, 2017 Patrick Brown 1-year, $650,000 [23] June 27, 2017 Jake Chelios 1-year, $650,000 [24] June 28, 2017 Brock McGinn 2-year, $1.775 million [25] June 28, 2017 Philip Samuelsson 1-year, $650,000 [26] July 1, 2017 Dennis Robertson 1-year, $650,000 [27] July 12, 2017 Jaccob Slavin 7-year, $37.1 million contract extension [28] July 14, 2017 Martin Necas 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract [29] July 27, 2017 Phillip Di Giuseppe 1-year, $725,000 [30] August 1, 2017 Brett Pesce 6-year, $24.15 million [31] March 27, 2018 Jeremy Helvig 3-year, $2.355 million entry-level contract [32] May 10, 2018 Morgan Geekie 3-year, $2.4 million entry-level contract [33] May 29, 2018 Trevor Carrick 1-year, $700,000 contract extension [34] June 6, 2018 Patrick Brown 1-year, $650,000 contract extension [35] June 9, 2018 Andrew Poturalski 1-year, $700,000 contract extension [36] Draft picks Below are the Carolina Hurricanes' selections at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 23 and 24, 2017 at the United Center in Chicago. Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League) 1 12 Martin Necas C Czech Republic HC Kometa Brno (Czech Extraliga) 2 42 Eetu Luostarinen C Finland KalPa (Liiga) 2 52^1 Luke Martin D United States Michigan Wolverines (Big Ten) 3 67^2 Morgan Geekie C Canada Tri-City Americans (WHL) 3 73 Stelio Mattheos C Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) 4 104 Eetu Makiniemi G Finland Jokerit U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga) 6 166 Brendan De Jong D Canada Portland Winterhawks (WHL) 7 197 Ville Rasanen D Finland Jokipojat (Mestis) Draft notes:[37] The New York Rangers' second-round pick will go to the Carolina Hurricanes as the result of a trade on February 28, 2016 that sent Eric Staal to New York in exchange for Aleksi Saarela, a second-round pick in 2016 and this pick.[38] The New Jersey Devils' third-round pick will go to the Carolina Hurricanes as the result of a trade on March 5, 2014 that sent Tuomo Ruutu to New Jersey in exchange for Andrei Loktionov and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).[39] The condition and date of conversion are unknown. References National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4. Preston, Ken (June 8, 2017). "Hurricanes Announce 2017 Exhibition Schedule". NHL.com. Retrieved September 19, 2017. Williams, Terrell (June 22, 2017). "Canes Announce 2017-18 Regular-Season Schedule". NHL.com. Retrieved September 19, 2017. "Carolina Hurricanes Stats - 2017-2018". NHL.com. Retrieved September 19, 2017. "2017 NHL expansion draft results: All the Golden Knights' trades". sbnation.com. June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2016. "Vegas trades van Riemsdyk to Hurricanes". tsn.ca. June 22, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2016. "Marcus Kruger traded to Hurricanes by Golden Knights". nhl.com. Retrieved July 6, 2017. Williams, Terrell (February 26, 2018). "Hurricanes Acquire McKegg From Pittsburgh". NHL.com. Retrieved February 26, 2018. "Canes Acquire Martinook in Exchange for Kruger". NHL.com. May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018. "Justin Williams signs two-year deal with Hurricanes". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved July 1, 2017. "Carolina Hurricanes sign winger Josh Jooris". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved July 1, 2017. "Carolina Hurricanes sign defenceman Brenden Kichton to two-way deal". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved July 1, 2017. "Hurricanes sign goaltender Jeremy Smith to one-year deal". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved July 1, 2017. "Canes Sign Fora to Entry-Level Contract". nhl.com. Retrieved June 15, 2018. "Sabres ink Tennyson to 2-year deal". NHL.com. Retrieved July 1, 2017. "Lightning sign goalie Michael Leighton to one-year, two-way contract". NHL.com. Retrieved July 1, 2017. "McMillan to Riga; Nestrasil to Neftekhimik. August 1–4 transfer highlights". KHL.ru. Retrieved August 8, 2017. "ANDREW MILLER - LET'S GET TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE NEW PLAYER OF FRIBOURG GOTTÉRON!". leading-sport.com. Retrieved June 11, 2019. "Klas Dahlbeck Signs In KHL". prohockeyrumors.com. Retrieved June 11, 2019. Neveau, James (April 8, 2017). "Former Blackhawks Forward Bryan Bickell Announces Retirement". NBC Chicago. Retrieved October 5, 2017. "Hurricanes Agree to Terms with Derek Ryan". nhl.com. Retrieved June 26, 2017. "Carrick Agrees to Terms with Hurricanes". nhl.com. Retrieved June 26, 2017. "Canes Agree to Terms with Patrick Brown". nhl.com. Retrieved June 27, 2017. "Canes Agree to Terms with Jake Chelios". nhl.com. Retrieved June 27, 2017. "Canes Agree to Terms with Brock McGinn". nhl.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017. "Canes Agree to Terms with Philip Samuelsson". nhl.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017. "Defenceman Dennis Robertson heads back to Carolina Hurricanes". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved July 1, 2017. "Canes, Slavin Agree on Seven-Year Extension". nhl.com. Retrieved July 14, 2017. "Canes, Slavin Agree on Seven-Year Extension". nhl.com. Retrieved July 14, 2017. "Canes Agree to Terms with Di Giuseppe". nhl.com. Retrieved July 30, 2017. "Pesce Inks Long-Term Extension with Canes". nhl.com. Retrieved August 10, 2017. "Canes, Helvig Agree to Terms on Entry-Level Deal". nhl.com. Retrieved March 27, 2018. "Hurricanes Sign Geekie to Entry-Level Contract". nhl.com. Retrieved May 11, 2018. "Canes Sign Trevor Carrick to One-Year Deal". nhl.com. Retrieved May 29, 2018. "Canes Sign Patrick Brown to One-Year Deal". nhl.com. Retrieved June 9, 2018. "anes Sign Andrew Poturalski to One-Year Deal". nhl.com. Retrieved June 9, 2018. "2017 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved June 1, 2017. "Rangers acquire Eric Staal from Hurricanes". February 28, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2016. "Devils acquire Tuomo Ruutu from Carolina". March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2014.