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 dog 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.

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. We have looked at the Finnish, Swedish and Russian starting lineups so far. And today we look at a country that likely has the Hurricanes most notable players. This is the all-time Hurricanes Canadian starting lineup.

The Carolina Hurricanes All-Time Canadian Starting Lineup

When we have looked at Hurricanes players from Finland, Sweden and Russia, there were a handful of notable ones. But largely the overall numbers were thin. This is because the Hurricanes have largely been comprised of Canadian and U.S. players over its existence. While there are a lot of options for this list, it really comes down to some of the most notable players for Carolina all time. In fact, three of the starting six are the only players with their numbers retired by the organization, one is getting his number retired this upcoming season, and four (including the three with their jerseys retired) are in the Hurricanes Hall of Fame. So let’s take a look at the Hurricanes all-time Canadian starting lineup.

Eric Staal LW – Rod Brind’Amour C – Ron Francis RW

Glen Wesley LD – Dougie Hamilton RD

Cam Ward G

Rod the Bod

Even though all three forwards on this list played centre, we start the list off with Rod Brind’Amour. Hurricanes fans new and old know Brind’Amour. In his playing career, Brind’Amour was characterized by a relentless work ethic and an elite two-way game. He won the Selke Trophy back-to-back in 2005-06 and 2006-07. The work he put in on the ice was equally matched by what he did in the weight room, earning him the nickname “Rod the Bod.”

Stanley Cup Impact

Brind’Amour came to Carolina in 2000 from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Keith Primeau. Primeau was a good forward for Carolina at the time so the deal came with its own set of different reactions. But now with the whole story in the rearview, none would argue it wasn’t the right deal. Brind’Amour would go on to captain the only Stanley Cup winning team in Hurricanes history. Actually, the only major professional league championship of any sport in North Carolina. It was his leadership, work ethic, and skill that lead that team to victory.

Career in Carolina

Statistically, Brind’Amour finished with 473 points as a Hurricane. Good enough for number three all-time. This included 174 goals. In 2005-06 he scored 31 goals and 70 points, while the following season he put up 82 points. For someone who was so strong defensively as a forward, those were some pretty big offensive numbers.

After it was all said and done, Brind’Amour’s number was retired and number 17 hangs in the rafters of PNC Arena, never to be worn again. Due to the jersey retirement, he was inducted into the Hurricanes Hall of Fame as well. Now as the Hurricanes head coach, and arguably one of the top in the league, Brind’Amour leads his team behind the bench much like he played. No shifts off, relentless work ethic, and strong defensive focus are all important elements of his squad. But due to his legacy as a player, you cannot separate the Hurricanes and Brind’Amour.

The Last Number 12

Another easy choice for the Hurricanes Canadian starting lineup is the organization’s current all-time leader in points and goals. Along with Andrei Svechnikov, he is the highest draft pick the Hurricanes have ever had. And after a Stanley Cup championship, he racked up stats playing on lines that were not always the strongest. The newest Hurricane to have his number retired (at a time to occur in the 2024-25 season), the next Hurricanes all-time Canadian is Eric Staal.

After the Hurricanes finished last in the league in 2002, they lost the draft lottery. However, they still managed to pick a top forward in Eric Staal second overall after the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Marc-Andre Fleury. And he did not disappoint. Right off the bat, Staal was a crucial component of the Hurricanes 2006 Stanley Cup Championship team. He put up 28 points in 25 playoff games that year.

The Team’s Statistical Leader

In addition to lifting the Cup, Staal managed to put up 775 points over 909 total games played in a Hurricanes sweater. This also included the organizational lead for goals, assists, and power play goals. While Sebastian Aho is on his heels, Staal leads the organization in most major statistical categories. He also managed to make the cover of EA Sports NHL 2008 video game, something that is rare in a Hurricanes sweater, and is a member of the triple gold club, winning a Stanley Cup, Olympic gold medal, and World Championship. While typically a centre, Staal could also play some on the wing. Staal would captain the team from 2009-10 until 2015-16, when he was traded to the New York Rangers.

Staal continued to put up big goals after the Stanley Cup run. One of the most notable goals came against the New Jersey Devils in 2009. In game seven of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs that year, the Hurricanes were down with a few minutes left. Jussi Jokinen would tie the game late. And seconds later, who else but Eric Staal would take the puck down the boards and fire a shot to beat Martin Brodeur, and shock the crowd in New Jersey. The Hurricanes would march to the Eastern Conference Final that year for the last time until making the playoffs again in 2019.

More than Just Numbers

But Staal stayed with the team for most of those dark days and continued to do what he could to lift the team up. Many of his frequent linemates included the likes of Chad Larose, Jiri Tlusty, and Joakim Nordstrom. With all due respect to those players, they are not exactly top-line forwards. But Staal continued to produce. It’s no surprise that he will now retire a Hurricane after signing a one day contract with the team. This will conclude with his jersey being lifted into the rafters as one of the most important players in Hurricanes history. Staal is the last Hurricanes number 12 and a member on our list as well.

Ronnie Franchise

While there are some good choices such as Justin Williams, Jeff O’Neill, Jordan Staal, and Ray Whitney, our final forward looks at another pillar of Hurricanes history. Before Brind’Amour lifted the Cup and Staal put up organizational best numbers, Ron Francis was the cornerstone of the Hurricanes as a team from essentially their inception. Originally a member of the Hartford Whalers, Francis came to Carolina after already having a decorated career with the Pittsburgh Penguins that saw him win two Stanley Cups playing with some of the best players ever in the game. But then in 1998, he signed as a free agent with the Hurricanes. Fresh off of their inaugural year in 1997-98, Carolina was looking for a big name, and Francis was the guy.

Francis All-Time

While Eric Staal is the leader in many categories in a Hurricanes sweater, Francis might be the overall best player for the combined Whalers/Hurricanes franchise. He leads the franchise in points by a pretty decent margin. He made the NHL’s 100 greatest players of all-time list, had four all-star game appearances, and five other individual trophies. While with Carolina he won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the Lady Byng Trophy. But this list is not about Ron Francis‘s entire career, it’s about his time and impact in Carolina.

The Impact on the Hurricanes Beginnings

Francis was a cerebral player with a knack for getting players the puck in scoring positions. He was so smart on the ice and it carried over to the Hurricanes, even though he was on the back side of his career. Putting him as wing on this list is partially due to just how good and smart he was as a player.

Francis was exactly what this team needed to get off the ground and running. Many were shocked when the team made the Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings in 2001-02. But Francis was a huge part of the reason why. He put up 16 points in 23 playoff games that year as he captained the team. In fact, every year that he donned a Hurricanes sweater they made the playoffs except one.

With 354 points in 472 Hurricanes games, Francis was a key part of the first phase of the Hurricanes existence. After playing a year with Toronto he retired and eventually moved into management with Carolina before he found himself in his current role as general manager of the Seattle Kraken. While Ron Francis has moved on to the west coast, his time in Carolina will never be forgotten. And like Brind’Amour and Staal, his jersey too hangs in the rafters.

A Defenceman from the Beginning

The final Hurricane whose number will never be worn again takes the first defenceman spot on our list. Like Francis, he was both a member of the Whalers and the Hurricanes. But unlike Francis, he came to Carolina on the same bus as the rest of the Whalers moving to North Carolina. Besides a brief post trade deadline stint with the Maple Leafs, he stuck with the Hurricanes through and through. The first defenceman on our list is Glen Wesley.

Playing the entire first decade of the Hurricanes existence (minus the rental stint with the Maple Leafs in 2003), Wesley was there for all of the big moments of the Hurricanes early existence. From the move to Carolina, to reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2002, and finally to hoisting the Stanley Cup in Raleigh in 2006, Wesley was there.

An All Situations Defenceman

He was a true two-way defenceman who never had one aspect of his game truly stand out, but in a good way. Wesley could play a 200-foot game that included shutting down the opposition in his own end, transitioning the puck through the neutral zone, and chipping in offensively. The team could also rely on him in all situations including the power play and the penalty kill. Statistically, he leads all Hurricanes Canadian defencemen with 155 points.

But as mentioned above, it was more than his point totals that made Wesley one of Carolina’s most impactful defencemen. He wore the ‘A’ during the 2006 Stanley Cup run and served as a leader on the team. Spending all of his career with the organization following a trade from Boston in 1994, you now cannot mention Hurricanes history without including Wesley. And this is why he too has his number in the rafters at PNC Arena.

A Defenceman with a Shot that Brought Carolina Back to Relevance

The final player on this list is a big, right shot defenceman to round out the starting five. He is the only Hurricanes Canadian on this list that is not in the Hurricanes Hall of Fame or has had his jersey retired. But after Wesley, the list of Hurricanes Canadian defencemen is lengthy, but with only a few notable names. Brent Burns has made a name for himself in Carolina of late. Mike Commodore and Aaron Ward both played roles on the 2006 Stanley Cup Championship team. But to round out this list, we give the nod to Dougie Hamilton.

Hamilton came to Carolina in 2018 in a big trade including Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Micheal Ferland, and Adam Fox. He was the best player at the time in that trade. Carolina was looking for a spark to get back into the playoffs and both Lindholm and Hanifin were hung up in contract negotiations. Along with Brind’Amour being named coach and Aho starting to shine, Hamilton was a big reason Carolina found the playoffs after a decade of misses.

An Instant Jolt in Carolina

Hamilton is an offensive defenceman with a big shot. He is not afraid to contribute from the back end and settled in perfectly alongside Jaccob Slavin. With Slavin’s elite defence and Hamilton’s elite offence, the two were a formidable top pair. After Wesley, Hamilton holds the organizational lead in points by Canadian defencemen. Actually, he is only off by close to 30 points with over 500 less games played in Carolina. It’s no secret that Hamilton put up great numbers in Carolina.

Combining his statistical performance with his immediate impact on bringing the team out of the “dark ages” is what puts him on our list. He now plays for the Devils after signing as a free agent, but Hurricanes fans will always remember the impact he had in Carolina.

The Hurricanes Stanley Cup Saviour in Net

When it comes to Carolina Hurricanes goaltenders, there is still one name that rings the loudest. And this is not just for Hurricanes Canadian goalies, it’s for all goalies. Yeah Arturs Irbe, Kevin Weekes, Petr Mrazek, and Frederik Andersen all have their place in Hurricanes history. But no one has made as big of an impact on the organzation as Cam Ward. And this is why he starts in net for our Hurricanes Canadian starting lineup.

The Magic of the 2006 Playoffs

The Hurricanes drafted Ward in the first-round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft but he did not see NHL ice until the 2005-06 season. He served as a backup to veteran netminder Martin Gerber during the season. But when the playoffs started with Gerber in net, the Hurricanes found themselves down 2-0 to the Montreal Canadiens, losing them both at home. But part of the way through game two, then coach Peter Laviolette switched Gerber for the rookie Cam Ward. And the rest is history. Carolina would win the next four against Montreal and march all the way to hoist the Stanley Cup. The Conn Smythe Trophy winner that year? Cam Ward.

Ward had a solid .920 SV% and 2.14 GAA during that Stanley Cup run. But more than the statistics, he stood on his head when it was needed. He truly came in as the saviour for Carolina during that magical journey to the top. No save may have been more important than his open net save on Fernando Pisani in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Ward’s Post Stanley Cup Run

Unfortunately, Cam Ward‘s career in Carolina never reached that peak again. He would only see the playoffs once more in 2009. Otherwise, he backstopped the team that struggled to leave mediocrity for years. But this doesn’t mean that he still didn’t have a big impact on the organization through that time. He played the most games of any goalie in a Hurricanes sweater by over double the next closest (Irbe). He finished with a 2.70 GAA and .909 SV%. Spending his entire career in Carolina except for his final season in Chicago, Ward found himself named to the Hurricanes Hall of Fame. Even if his entire career didn’t match the shine of 2006, he gave the organization their only Stanley Cup (for now). And that alone is worth its weight in gold.