Gold: Welcome back (almost) Dougie

By Adam Gold radio host 99.9 the Fan

Rod Brind’Amour was hired as the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes in the spring of 2018. That is the moment that the fortunes of this franchise turned for the better. However, the real change began during the summer, at the NHL draft, when the Hurricanes began the overhaul of the roster.

Carolina traded forward Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin to the Calgary Flames for forward Michael Ferland, defenseman Dougie Hamilton and Harvard defender Adam Fox. The Canes were shipping out a pair of former 5th overall picks in Lindholm and Hanifin, who had not yet established themselves as consistent reliable performers – though an argument could be made that Lindholm was on the verge.

In return, Carolina was receiving a skilled, physical power forward and a talented offensive-minded defenseman who could play on a top pair and aid the power play. In Fox, the Canes were hopeful of luring him out of college to the NHL, though we know how that effort ended.

Hamilton’s inaugural season in Raleigh did not get off to a good start. Thanks in part to a hand injury and the normal learning curve for a defenseman in a new situation, Dougie had just 10 points 38 games in. But, once the Canes hit the new year, Hamilton took off. He had 15 goals and 29 points the rest of the way and that coincided with a 31-12-1 finish that saw the Hurricanes snap a decade-long postseason drought.

While his playoff production wasn’t overwhelming, it wasn’t non-existent either (3g, 4a in 15 games). But, we’ll all remember Dougie fondly for the way the second round sweep of the Islanders ended.

For that alone, Douglas Jonathan Hamilton, Jr. will always have a place in the hearts of Caniacs.

In three seasons with the Hurricanes Hamilton posted 42 goals, 121 points in 184 games. He’d have been an All Star in year two having totaled 40 points (14g, 26a) in 47 games with a +30 rating before suffering the broken leg in a game at Columbus. His playoff performance wasn’t up to his standard, but he wasn’t alone in that regard on the Hurricanes. Dougie parlayed his success with the Hurricanes into a 7 year, $63 million contract with New Jersey, a price the Hurricanes just could not match when you consider the deals coming due in the next three offseasons.

Still, Dougie was a huge part of three straight playoff squads and the team will give him the same video tribute they paid to Petr Mrazek when their former goaltender returned with Toronto in October. I speak for a lot of you when I say “thank you, Dougie. We wish you well in New Jersey.”

The Hurricanes are facing a second straight opponent that it lost to in their last meeting. Not sure you can recall all the way back to last Saturday, but the Hurricanes saw a 2-0 lead evaporate and devolve into a 7-4 setback. We’ll see if Carolina can exact revenge for the second time in three days.

Teuvo Teravainen was injured in the Canes’ win over the Rangers 8 days ago. He didn’t play in the game in New Jersey, but did return for games against Vegas and Ottawa. Still, his lower body injury was bothering him enough to the point where he did not take part in the morning skate and he will be a game time decision. So, here’s how the group looked when they limbered up.

Martinook-Aho-Jarvis

Svechnikov-Trocheck-Necas

Niederreiter-Staal-Fast

Lorentz-Kotkaniemi-Stepan

Slavin-DeAngelo

Skjei-Pesce

Cole-Bear

Raanta

If Teravainen does play it doesn’t necessarily mean that Martinook won’t. “We need to get him back in the mix”, Brind’Amour said this morning. Martinook has played just 2 games since December 2nd due to injury, covid and border crossing issues.

Coverage of the Hurricanes and Devils begins at 6:30 on 99.9 the Fan with Alec Campbell and Storm Watch. Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy follow with the live call of the Canes and Devils just after 7:00. Don’t forget to follow the Canes Corner Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. A new episode drops the #MorningAfter every Hurricanes game.