The NHL celebrates the best of the last 25 years by unveiling the quarter-century teams from each of the 32 NHL franchises and the Arizona Coyotes.
Each team is represented by a first team and a second team, each made up of six players – three attackers, two defenders and a goalkeeper – who played for that franchise after January 1, 2000. The players from the first and second teams were selected by members of the national and local media, by NHL.com journalists who covered these teams as well as by former players.
The six players who were selected for the first team of each team will have their names placed on the ballot for the NHL All-Star Team of the Quarter Century, which will be determined by a vote of the fans who will begin in February.
Today, the Carolina Hurricanes first and second teams. Players are listed in alphabetical order:
CAROLINA HURRICANES QUARTER-CENTURY TEAMS
First team
Attackers
I’m Sebastian
Rod Brind’Amour
Eric Steel
Defenders
Jaccob Slavin
Glen Wesley
Guardian
Cam Ward
Attackers: Staal was the face of the Carolina franchise for its first quarter-century, coming to the Hurricanes after being selected second overall in the 2003 draft. He played in 81 games in his rookie season in 2003. -04, and concluded his stint with the Hurricanes with a total of 909 regular season games, recording 775 points (322 goals, 453 assists), both team highs since 2000. In his first playoff appearance with Carolina, he recorded 28 points (nine points, 19 assists) in 25 games to help the Hurricanes lift the Stanley Cup in 2006. His number 12 jersey was retired by the Hurricanes on January 12th. Brind’Amour, who is now the team’s coach, came to the Hurricanes following a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on January 23, 2000, and became the heart and soul of the team. He was a mentor to Staal and other young players, in addition to playing a crucial role in winning the Cup in 2006 with his 18 points (12 goals, six assists) in 25 games. He also twice won the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward (2006, 2007). He finished third in Carolina scoring in the last quarter century with 473 points (174 goals, 299 assists). His number 17 was retired by the team on February 18, 2011. Aho was selected by the Hurricanes in the second round (35th overall) of the 2015 draft. He had 597 points (266 goals, 331 assists) in 635 games of regular season between his arrival with the team in 2016-17 and December 31, 2024, giving him second place in each categories.
Defenders: No defenseman has played in more regular season games (702) over the past quarter century for Carolina than Slavin. But it’s not just about longevity for Slavin, who has been a mainstay of the team since his arrival at the start of the 2015-16 season. He leads defensemen with 232 assists, 282 points and a +157 rating, and is second with 50 goals. It’s hard to imagine a defenseman having a bigger impact than Wesley, who joined the Hartford Whalers for the 1994-95 season and moved with the team to Carolina. Over the past quarter century, he has recorded 95 points (20 goals, 75 assists) and played an important role in winning the 2006 Stanley Cup. His number 2 jersey was retired by Carolina on February 17, 2009. .
Guardian: Ward was THE goalie for the Hurricanes. He has played in 668 regular season games over the past quarter century. For comparison, Arturs Irbe is second in this regard with 215. Ward signed 318 victories in the regular season, while no other goalie obtained more than 92 (Irbe). He notched 27 shutouts, and he scored the team’s only goal by a goalie during that span. He established himself in the playoffs in his rookie season in 2005-06, when he took over from Martin Gerber in the first round. He went 15-8 in the playoffs with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage to help the Hurricanes lift the Cup. His performances earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy.
