Carolina Hurricanes Quarter-Century Teams unveiled

With 2025 underway, the NHL is celebrating the best of the past 25 years by revealing Quarter-Century Teams for each of the League's 32 franchises and the Arizona Coyotes.

Each club will be represented by a First Team and Second Team of six players -- three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie -- who played for the franchise from Jan. 1, 2000 - Dec. 31, 2024. The first and second teams were selected by broadcasters, national, local and NHL.com writers who have covered the respective teams, in addition to select former players.

The six players voted to each First Team will be on the ballot for the NHL All Quarter-Century Team that will be chosen via a fan vote that will start in February.

Today, the First and Second Quarter-Century Teams for the Carolina Hurricanes. Players are listed in alphabetical order.

CAROLINA HURRICANES QUARTER-CENTURY TEAMS

First team

Forwards

Sebastian Aho

Rod Brind'Amour

Eric Staal

Defensemen

Jaccob Slavin

Glen Wesley

Goalie

Cam Ward

Forwards: Staal was the face of the Carolina franchise during the first quarter of the century, arriving as a highly touted first-round pick (No.2) in the 2003 NHL Draft and playing 81 games as a rookie in the 2003-04 season. He played 909 regular-season games with the Hurricanes, scoring 775 points (322 goals, 453 assists), each the high-water mark for the team since 2000. In his first postseason with Carolina, he scored 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 25 games when the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in 2006. His No. 12 was retired by the Hurricanes on Jan. 12. Brind’Amour, now the team’s coach, came to the Hurricanes in a trade from the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 23, 2000, and became the heart and soul of the team for the next 10 seasons. He mentored Staal and the other young players, played a crucial role in the Cup-winning season, scoring 18 points (12 goals, six assists) in 25 games, and twice won the Selke Trophy as the League’s best defensive forward (2006, 2007). He was third in points for Carolina during the quarter-century with 473 (174 goals, 299 assists). His No. 17 was retired by the team on Feb. 18, 2011. Aho joined the Hurricanes after being selected in the second round (No. 35) of the 2015 NHL Draft. He had 597 points (266 goals, 331 assists) in 635 regular-season games between his arrival for the 2016-17 regular season and Dec. 31, 2024, which is second in all categories.

Defensemen: No defensemen played more regular-season games (702) during the past quarter-century for Carolina than Slavin. But it’s about more than just longevity with Slavin, who has been a stalwart since arriving for the 2015-16 season. He led all defensemen with 232 assists, 282 points and a plus -157 rating, and was second with 50 goals. It’s hard to imagine any defenseman having a bigger impact than Wesley, who joined the Hartford Whalers in the 1994-95 season and moved with the franchise to Carolina. In the quarter-century he had 95 points (20 goals, 75 assists) and was an integral part of the 2006 Stanley Cup team. His No. 2 was retired by Carolina on Feb. 17, 2009.

Goalie: Ward is THE goaltender for the Hurricanes. He played in 668 regular-season games during the past quarter-century; Arturs Irbe, next on the list, is at 215. Ward won 318 regular-season games. No other goalie in that span won more than 92 (Irbe). He had 27 shutouts, and he had the only goalie goal during that period. He caught fire at the end of the 2005-06 season, his rookie season, after backing up Martin Gerber. He went 15-8 in the postseason with a 2.14 goals-against average and .920 save percentage, leading the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in the process.

Second Team

Forwards

Ron Francis

Jordan Staal

Justin Williams

Defensemen

Justin Faulk

Bret Hedican

Goalie

Arturs Irbe

Forwards: Francis may be 25th on the list of games played for the Hurricanes during the past quarter-century, but he is likely No. 1 in the hearts of many fans. He played for the team from 1998 to 2004 and served as captain, getting 271 points (88 goals, 271 assists) in 355 games. He said he joined the team as a free agent to help grow the game in the area. From 2014 to 2018, Francis was the general manager of the Hurricanes. Staal, the current captain and brother to Eric, had 441 points (169 goals, 272 assists) in 859 regular-season games. Williams was the most clutch to play for the Hurricanes during the past quarter-century, going by the moniker “Mr. Game 7.” In 47 postseason games, Williams had 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists), including two game-winners. In the regular season, he had 21 game-winning goals in 449 games, finishing with 316 points (128 goals, 188 assists).

Defensemen: Faulk was a premier offensive defenseman and his 85 goals were the most on the team during the quarter-century. He added 173 assists for 258 points in 559 regular-season games, averaging .46 points per game. Hedican was a beloved, rugged two-way defender who played parts of six seasons with the Hurricanes. He had 101 points (19 goals, 82 assists) in 369 games from 2001-08 and was a key cog in the Cup win in 2006.

Goalies: Irbe played parts of six seasons with the Hurricanes, his best coming in 2000-01 when he set NHL career highs in starts (77) and went 37-29-9 with a 2.45 goals-against-average and .908 save percentage. The Latvian won 92 games during his time with the Hurricanes, the second-highest total since 2000 on the team behind Ward.

Coming Saturday: Washington Capitals Quarter-Century Teams