2016–17 Carolina Hurricanes season

The 2016–17 Carolina Hurricanes season was the 38th 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 19th season since the franchise relocated from Hartford to start the 1997–98 NHL season.^[1] The Canes failed to make the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.

2016–17 Carolina Hurricanes
Division	7th Metropolitan
Conference	12th Eastern
2016–17 record	36–31–15
Home record	23–12–6
Road record	13–19–9
Goals for	215
Goals against	236
Team information
General manager	Ron Francis
Coach	Bill Peters
Captain	Vacant
Alternate captains	Justin Faulk Victor Rask Jeff Skinner Jordan Staal
Arena	PNC Arena
Average attendance	11,152 (59.7%)
Minor league affiliate(s)	Charlotte Checkers (AHL) Florida Everblades (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Jeff Skinner (37)
Assists	Elias Lindholm (34)
Points	Jeff Skinner (63)
Penalty minutes	Jordan Staal (38)
Plus/minus	Jaccob Slavin Brett Pesce (+23)
Wins	Cam Ward (26)
Goals against average	Eddie Lack (2.64)
← 2015–16 2017–18 →

Standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	p – Washington Capitals	82	55	19	8	53	263	182	+81	118
2	x – Pittsburgh Penguins	82	50	21	11	46	282	234	+48	111
3	x – Columbus Blue Jackets	82	50	24	8	47	249	195	+54	108
4	x – New York Rangers	82	48	28	6	45	256	220	+36	102
5	New York Islanders	82	41	29	12	39	241	242	−1	94
6	Philadelphia Flyers	82	39	33	10	32	219	236	−17	88
7	Carolina Hurricanes	82	36	31	15	33	215	236	−21	87
8	New Jersey Devils	82	28	40	14	25	183	244	−61	70

Source: National Hockey League^[2]
p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy; x – Clinched playoff spot

Eastern Conference Wild Card

Pos	Div	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	ME	x – New York Rangers	82	48	28	6	45	256	220	+36	102
2	AT	x – Toronto Maple Leafs	82	40	27	15	39	251	242	+9	95
3	ME	New York Islanders	82	41	29	12	39	241	242	−1	94
4	AT	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	42	30	10	38	234	227	+7	94
5	ME	Philadelphia Flyers	82	39	33	10	32	219	236	−17	88
6	ME	Carolina Hurricanes	82	36	31	15	33	215	236	−21	87
7	AT	Florida Panthers	82	35	36	11	30	210	237	−27	81
8	AT	Detroit Red Wings	82	33	36	13	24	207	244	−37	79
9	AT	Buffalo Sabres	82	33	37	12	31	201	237	−36	78
10	ME	New Jersey Devils	82	28	40	14	25	183	244	−61	70

Source: National Hockey League^[3]
x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

Pre-season

2016 Pre-season Game Log: 4–2–1 (Home: 2–0–1; Road: 2–2–0)[4]
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 26	Carolina	2–1	Washington	OT	Nedeljkovic	13,850	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 27	Carolina	3–2	Tampa Bay		Ward	12,475	2–0–0	Recap
3	September 30	Tampa Bay	2–1	Carolina	OT	Leighton	6,610	2–0–1	Recap
4	October 2	Carolina	1–3	Minnesota		Nedeljkovic	18,665	2–1–1	Recap
5	October 4	Carolina	0–2	Buffalo		—	—	2–2–1	Recap
6	October 5	Buffalo	2–3	Carolina	SO	—	—	3–2–1	Recap
7	October 7	Washington	2–3	Carolina	SO	Ward	7,995	4–2–1	Recap

Regular season

2016–17 Game Log[4]
October: 2–4–2 (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 1–3–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 13 Carolina 4–5 Winnipeg OT Ward 15,296 0–0–1 1 Recap 2 October 16 Carolina 3–4 Vancouver OT Lack 17,832 0–0–2 2 Recap 3 October 18 Carolina 2–3 Edmonton Ward 18,347 0–1–2 2 Recap 4 October 20 Carolina 4–2 Calgary Lack 17,652 1–1–2 4 Recap 5 October 22 Carolina 3–6 Philadelphia Lack 19,668 1–2–2 4 Recap 6 October 25 Carolina 2–4 Detroit Ward 20,027 1–3–2 4 Recap 7 October 28 NY Rangers 3–2 Carolina Ward 18,680 2–3–2 6 Recap 8 October 30 Philadelphia 3–4 Carolina Ward 10,353 2–4–2 6 Recap
November: 7–5–2 (Home: 5–2–0; Road: 2–3–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 9 November 1 Carolina 1–2 Ottawa OT Ward 13,049 2–4–3 7 Recap 10 November 5 Carolina 3–2 Nashville SO Ward 17,113 3–4–3 9 Recap 11 November 6 New Jersey 4–1 Carolina Lack 8,650 3–5–3 9 Recap 12 November 8 Carolina 2–3 New Jersey SO Ward 12,179 3–5–4 10 Recap 13 November 10 Anaheim 4–2 Carolina Ward 8,086 3–6–4 10 Recap 14 November 12 Washington 1–5 Carolina Ward 12,436 4–6–4 12 Recap 15 November 15 San Jose 0–1 Carolina Ward 8,932 5–6–4 14 Recap 16 November 18 Montreal 2–3 Carolina Ward 12,101 6–6–4 16 Recap 17 November 20 Winnipeg 1–3 Carolina Ward 10,809 7–6–4 18 Recap 18 November 22 Carolina 2–1 Toronto Ward 18,893 8–6–4 20 Recap 19 November 24 Carolina 1–2 Montreal Ward 21,288 8–7–4 20 Recap 20 November 26 Carolina 1–2 Ottawa Ward 18,042 8–8–4 20 Recap 21 November 27 Florida 2–3 Carolina Leighton 8,124 9–8–4 22 Recap 22 November 29 Carolina 2–3 NY Rangers Ward 18,006 9–9–4 22 Recap
December: 7–4–3 (Home: 5–0–1; Road: 2–4–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 23 December 1 Carolina 1–2 Boston SO Ward 17,565 9–9–5 23 Recap 24 December 3 Carolina 2–4 NY Rangers Leighton 18,006 9–10–5 23 Recap 25 December 4 Tampa Bay 0–1 Carolina Ward 11,521 10–10–5 25 Recap 26 December 7 Carolina 5–6 Anaheim SO Ward 14,582 10–10–6 26 Recap 27 December 8 Carolina 3–1 Los Angeles Ward 18,230 11–10–6 28 Recap 28 December 10 Carolina 3–4 San Jose Ward 17,562 11–11–6 28 Recap 29 December 13 Vancouver 6–8 Carolina Leighton 11,721 12–11–6 30 Recap 30 December 16 Washington 4–3 Carolina SO Ward 11,892 12–11–7 31 Recap 31 December 17 Buffalo 1–2 Carolina SO Ward 11,682 13–11–7 33 Recap — December 19 Detroit — Carolina Postponed due to poor ice conditions, rescheduled to March 27, 2017 32 December 22 Carolina 3–1 Buffalo Ward 18,863 14–11–7 35 Recap 33 December 23 Boston 2–3 Carolina OT Ward 12,924 15–11–7 37 Recap 34 December 28 Carolina 2–3 Pittsburgh Ward 18,653 15–12–7 37 Recap 35 December 30 Chicago 2–3 Carolina Ward 18,016 16–12–7 39 Recap 36 December 31 Carolina 1–3 Tampa Bay Ward 19,092 16–13–7 39 Recap
January: 6–7–0 (Home: 5–3–0; Road: 1–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 37 January 3 New Jersey 3–1 Carolina Ward 8,998 16–14–7 39 Recap 38 January 5 Carolina 4–2 St. Louis Ward 19,090 17–14–7 41 Recap 39 January 6 Carolina 1–2 Chicago Ward 21,822 17–15–7 41 Recap 40 January 8 Boston 3–4 Carolina OT Ward 11,820 18–15–7 43 Recap 41 January 10 Columbus 3–5 Carolina Ward 9,351 19–15–7 45 Recap 42 January 13 Buffalo 2–5 Carolina Ward 11,992 20–15–7 47 Recap 43 January 14 NY Islanders 4–7 Carolina Ward 16,640 21–15–7 49 Recap 44 January 17 Carolina 1–4 Columbus Ward 14,724 21–16–7 49 Recap 45 January 20 Pittsburgh 7–1 Carolina Ward 17,312 21–17–7 49 Recap 46 January 21 Carolina 2–3 Columbus Leighton 19,033 21–18–7 49 Recap 47 January 23 Carolina 1–6 Washington Ward 18,506 21–19–7 49 Recap 48 January 26 Los Angeles 3–0 Carolina Ward 10,486 21–20–7 49 Recap January 27–29 All-Star Break in Los Angeles 49 January 31 Philadelphia 1–5 Carolina Ward 13,577 22–20–7 51 Recap
February: 3–5–2 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 1–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 50 February 3 Edmonton 1–2 Carolina Ward 12,512 23–20–7 53 Recap 51 February 4 Carolina 5–4 NY Islanders OT Ward 14,153 24–20–7 55 Recap 52 February 7 Carolina 0–5 Washington Lack 18,506 24–21–7 55 Recap 53 February 11 Carolina 2–5 Dallas Ward 17,864 24–22–7 55 Recap 54 February 17 Colorado 2–1 Carolina OT Ward 11,456 24–22–8 56 Recap 55 February 19 Toronto 4–0 Carolina Ward 10,004 24–23–8 56 Recap 56 February 21 Pittsburgh 3–1 Carolina Ward 12,145 24–24–8 56 Recap 57 February 24 Ottawa 0–3 Carolina Lack 11,327 25–24–8 58 Recap 58 February 26 Calgary 3–1 Carolina Lack 14,112 25–25–8 58 Recap 59 February 28 Carolina 2–3 Florida SO Ward 10,839 25–25–9 59 Recap
March: 10–2–5 (Home: 5–1–3; Road: 5–1–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 60 March 1 Carolina 3–4 Tampa Bay OT Lack 19,092 25–25–10 60 Recap 61 March 3 Arizona 4–2 Carolina Ward 10,827 25–26–10 60 Recap 62 March 5 Carolina 2–1 Arizona Lack 10,224 26–26–10 62 Recap 63 March 7 Carolina 1–3 Colorado Lack 11,700 26–27–10 62 Recap 64 March 9 NY Rangers 3–4 Carolina Ward 11,404 27–27–10 64 Recap 65 March 11 Toronto 3–2 Carolina OT Ward 12,328 27–27–11 65 Recap 66 March 13 Carolina 8–4 NY Islanders Ward 12,785 28–27–11 67 Recap 67 March 14 NY Islanders 3–2 Carolina OT Ward 8,707 28–27–12 68 Recap 68 March 16 Minnesota 1–3 Carolina Lack 10,894 29–27–12 70 Recap 69 March 18 Nashville 2–4 Carolina Lack 10,707 30–27–12 72 Recap 70 March 19 Carolina 3–4 Philadelphia OT Ward 19,517 30–27–13 73 Recap 71 March 21 Carolina 4–3 Florida Ward 10,793 31–27–13 75 Recap 72 March 23 Carolina 4–1 Montreal Lack 21,288 32–27–13 77 Recap 73 March 25 Carolina 3–1 New Jersey Lack 15,088 33–27–13 79 Recap 74 March 27 Detroit 4–3 Carolina OT Lack 11,516 33–27–14 80 Recap 75 March 28 Detroit 1–4 Carolina Ward 9,427 34–27–14 82 Recap 76 March 30 Columbus 1–2 Carolina OT Ward 11,881 35–27–14 84 Recap
April: 1–4–1 (Home: 0–2–1; Road: 1–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 77 April 1 Dallas 3–0 Carolina Ward 14,201 35–28–14 84 Recap 78 April 2 Carolina 2–3 Pittsburgh Lack 18,631 35–29–14 84 Recap 79 April 4 Carolina 3–5 Minnesota Ward 18,848 35–30–14 84 Recap 80 April 6 NY Islanders 3–0 Carolina Lack 9,769 35–31–14 84 Recap 81 April 8 St. Louis 5–4 Carolina SO Ward 13,509 35–31–15 85 Recap 82 April 9 Carolina 4–3 Philadelphia SO Lack 19,559 36–31–15 87 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player stats

As of April 9, 2017

Skaters

Regular Season[5] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Jeff Skinner 79 37 26 63 −3 28 Sebastian Aho 82 24 25 49 −1 26 Victor Rask 82 16 29 45 −10 16 Jordan Staal 75 16 29 45 −1 38 Elias Lindholm 72 11 34 45 −2 16 Teuvo Teravainen 81 15 27 42 −6 16 Lee Stempniak 82 16 24 40 2 32 Justin Faulk 75 17 20 37 −18 32 Jaccob Slavin 82 5 29 34 23 12 Derek Ryan 67 11 18 29 −8 22 Noah Hanifin 81 4 25 29 −19 26 Brett Pesce 82 2 18 20 23 20 Brock McGinn 57 7 9 16 −11 6 Ron Hainsey‡ 56 4 10 14 −16 17 Viktor Stalberg‡ 57 9 3 12 −6 33 Joakim Nordstrom 82 7 5 12 −12 17 Jay McClement 65 5 3 8 −8 18 Phillip Di Giuseppe 36 1 6 7 −12 15 Klas Dahlbeck 43 2 4 6 −12 30 Matt Tennyson 45 0 6 6 −13 6 Andrej Nestrasil 19 1 4 5 −3 2 Ryan Murphy 27 0 2 2 −11 8 Ty Rattie†‡ 5 0 2 2 −2 0 Lucas Wallmark 8 0 2 2 1 2 Bryan Bickell 11 1 0 1 −4 4 Valentin Zykov 2 1 0 1 1 0 Sergey Tolchinsky 2 0 1 1 0 0 Patrick Brown 14 0 0 0 −6 0 Martin Frk‡ 2 0 0 0 −3 0 Jakub Nakladal 3 0 0 0 −4 0 Andrew Poturalski 2 0 0 0 −3 0

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[6]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Cam Ward	61	61	3617:55	26	22	12	162	2.69	1711	.905	2	0	1	6
Eddie Lack	20	18	1089:51	8	7	3	48	2.64	492	.902	1	0	0	0
Michael Leighton	4	3	210:17	2	2	0	12	3.43	92	.870	0	0	1	0
Alex Nedeljkovic	1	0	29:57	0	0	0	0	0.00	17	1.000	0	0	0	2
Jorge Alves	1	0	0:08	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	n/a	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Hurricanes. Stats reflect time with the Hurricanes only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Hurricanes only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Transactions

The Hurricanes have been involved in the following transactions during the 2016–17 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
October 11, 2016	To Florida Panthers Brody Sutter	To Carolina Hurricanes Connor Brickley	[7]
February 21, 2017	To Montreal Canadiens Keegan Lowe	To Carolina Hurricanes Philip Samuelsson	[8]
February 23, 2017	To Pittsburgh Penguins Ron Hainsey	To Carolina Hurricanes Danny Kristo 2nd-round pick in 2017	[9]
February 28, 2017	To Ottawa Senators Viktor Stalberg	To Carolina Hurricanes 3rd-round pick in 2017	[10]
April 28, 2017	To Chicago Blackhawks OTT's 3rd-round pick in 2017	To Carolina Hurricanes Scott Darling (rights)	[11]

Notes

Free agents acquired Date Player Former team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01) Viktor Stalberg New York Rangers 1 year, $1.5 million [12] July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01) Andrew Miller Charlotte Checkers 1 year, $650,000 [13] July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01) Lee Stempniak Boston Bruins 2 years, $5 million [14] July 3, 2016 (2016-07-03) Matt Tennyson San Jose Sharks 1 year, $675,000 [15] September 7, 2016 (2016-09-07) Michael Leighton Chicago Blackhawks 1 year, $700,000 [16] October 9, 2016 (2016-10-09) Jakub Nakladal Calgary Flames 1 year, $600,000 [17]

Free agents lost Date Player New team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01) Riley Nash Boston Bruins 2 years, $1.8 million [18] July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01) Nathan Gerbe New York Rangers 1 year, $600,000 [19] July 2, 2016 (2016-07-02) Chris Terry Montreal Canadiens 1 year, $600,000 [20] July 2, 2016 (2016-07-02) Brad Malone Washington Capitals 1 year, $575,000 [21] May 11, 2017 (2017-05-11) Erik Karlsson Timrå IK 1-year [22]

Claimed via waivers Player Previous team Date Martin Frk[23] Detroit Red Wings October 9, 2016 Klas Dahlbeck[24] Arizona Coyotes October 11, 2016 Ty Rattie[25] St. Louis Blues January 4, 2017

Lost via waivers Player New team Date Martin Frk[26] Detroit Red Wings November 1, 2016 Ty Rattie[27] St. Louis Blues February 19, 2017

Lost via retirement Date Player

Players released Date Player Via Ref November 14, 2016 (2016-11-14) Jakub Nakladal Termination of contract [28]

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
June 28, 2016	Patrick Brown	1 year, $650,000	[29]
July 9, 2016	Jake Bean	3 years, $2.4975 million entry-level contract	[30]
July 9, 2016	Julien Gauthier	3 years, $2.4975 million entry-level contract	[31]
July 12, 2016	Victor Rask	6 years, $24 million	[32]
July 14, 2016	Brendan Woods	1 year, $650,000	[33]
July 14, 2016	Keegan Lowe	1 year, $750,000	[34]
July 14, 2016	Brody Sutter	1 year, $600,000	[35]
July 14, 2016	Dennis Robertson	1 year, $650,000	[36]
July 14, 2016	Ryan Murphy	2 years, $1.575 million	[37]
March 16, 2017	Callum Booth	3 years, $2 million entry-level contract	[38]
March 23, 2017	Janne Kuokkanen	3 years, $2.25 million entry-level contract	[39]
March 31, 2017	Warren Foegele	3 years, $2.4 million entry-level contract	[40]
March 31, 2017	Spencer Smallman	3 years, $2.275 million entry-level contract	[41]
April 21, 2017	Klas Dahlbeck	1 year, $850,000 contract extension	[42]
April 21, 2017	Steven Lorentz	3 years, $2.185 entry-level contract	[43]
May 5, 2017	Scott Darling	4 years, $16.6 million contract extension	[44]
June 13, 2017	Andrew Miller	1 year, $650,000 contract extension	[45]
June 15, 2017	Teuvo Teravainen	2 years, $5.72 million contract extension	[46]

Draft picks

See also: List of Carolina Hurricanes draft picks

Below are the Carolina Hurricanes' selections at the 2016 NHL entry draft, was held June 24–25, 2016, at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/junior/club team (league)
1	13	Jake Bean	D	Canada	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
1	21a	Julien Gauthier	RW	Canada	Val d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
2	43	Janne Kuokkanen	LW	Finland	Karpat (Liiga)
3	67b	Matt Filipe	LW	United States	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)
3	74	Hudson Elynuik	C	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
3	75c	Jack LaFontaine	G	Canada	Janesville Jets (NAHL)
4	104	Max Zimmer	LW	United States	Chicago Steel (USHL)
5	134	Jeremy Helvig	G	United States	Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
6	164	Noah Carroll	D	Canada	Guelph Storm (OHL)

Draft notes^[47]

• ^a The Los Angeles Kings' first-round pick went to the Carolina Hurricanes as the result of a trade on February 25, 2015, that sent Andrej Sekera to Los Angeles in exchange for Roland McKeown and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).^[48] The condition – Carolina will receive a first-round pick in 2016 if Los Angeles fails to qualify for the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs^[48] – was converted on April 9, 2015.^[49]
• ^b The Winnipeg Jets' third round pick went to the Carolina Hurricanes as the result of a trade on February 25, 2015, that sent Jiri Tlusty to Winnipeg in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2015 and this pick.^[50]
• ^c The Boston Bruins' third-round pick went to the Carolina Hurricanes as the result of a trade on February 29, 2016, that sent John-Michael Liles to Boston in exchange for Anthony Camara, a fifth-round pick in 2017 and this pick.^[51]
• The Carolina Hurricanes' seventh-round pick went to the Vancouver Canucks as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Eddie Lack to Carolina in exchange for a third-round pick in 2015 and this pick.^[52]