2011–12 Carolina Hurricanes season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	2011–12
Year:	2011
Team:	Carolina Hurricanes
Conference:	Eastern
Conferencerank:	12th
Division:	Southeast
Divisionrank:	5th
Record:	33–33–16
Homerecord:	20–14–7
Roadrecord:	13–19–9
Goalsfor:	213
Goalsagainst:	243
Generalmanager:	Jim Rutherford
Coach:	Paul Maurice (Oct.–Nov.) Kirk Muller (Nov.–Apr.)
Captain:	Eric Staal
Altcaptain:	Tim Gleason Brandon Sutter
Arena:	PNC Arena
Attendance:	16,042 (85.9%)
Goalsleader:	Eric Staal (24)
Assistsleader:	Eric Staal (46)
Pointsleader:	Eric Staal (70)
Plusminusleader:	Tim Gleason (12)
Pimleader:	Bryan Allen (76)
Winsleader:	Cam Ward (30)
Gaaleader:	Cam Ward (2.74)

The 2011–12 Carolina Hurricanes season was the 40th season for the franchise, 33rd in the National Hockey League (NHL) dating back to June 22, 1979,^[1] and 14th season since the franchise relocated to North Carolina to start the 1997–98 NHL season.

The Hurricanes failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third straight year. The last time the team made the trip to the playoffs was in the 2008–09 season.

Regular season

On November 28, 2011, the Hurricanes replaced head coach Paul Maurice with Kirk Muller.^[2]

Playoffs

The Hurricanes failed to qualify for the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Schedule and results

Pre-season

2011 Pre-season game log: 1–4–1 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Record	Recap
1	September 19	Carolina Hurricanes	1–3	Buffalo Sabres		Peters	0–1–0	https://web.archive.org/web/20120602005704/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011010001
2	September 23	Nashville Predators	3–2	Carolina Hurricanes		Peters	0–2–0	https://web.archive.org/web/20120602005708/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011010034
3	September 25 (in Charlotte, NC)	Winnipeg Jets	0–4	Carolina Hurricanes		Ward	1–2–0	https://web.archive.org/web/20120602005712/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011010056
4	September 28	Carolina Hurricanes	1–3	Winnipeg Jets		Boucher	1–3–0	https://web.archive.org/web/20120610200012/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011010074
5	September 30	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–2	Carolina Hurricanes		Ward	1–4–0	https://web.archive.org/web/20120610200015/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011010085
6	October 1	Carolina Hurricanes	1–2	Nashville Predators	OT	Boucher	1–4–1	https://web.archive.org/web/20111007233958/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011010091

Regular season

2011–12 Game Log
October: 4–4–3 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 2–3–2) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 7 Tampa Bay Lightning 5–1 Carolina Hurricanes 18,680 0–1–0 0 https://web.archive.org/web/20111104090013/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020004 2 October 8 Carolina Hurricanes 3–4 Washington Capitals OT 18,506 0–1–1 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20111104090018/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020013 3 October 10 Carolina Hurricanes 2–4 New Jersey Devils Ward 12,096 0–2–1 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20111104090023/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020026 4 October 12 Boston Bruins 2–3 Carolina Hurricanes Ward 16,483 1–2–1 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20111214180743/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020036 5 October 14 Carolina Hurricanes 4–3 Buffalo Sabres Ward 18,690 2–2–1 5 https://web.archive.org/web/20111104084817/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020047 6 October 18 Carolina Hurricanes 4–1 Boston Bruins Ward 17,565 3–2–1 7 https://web.archive.org/web/20111104084822/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020069 7 October 21 Carolina Hurricanes 2–3 St. Louis Blues OT Ward 19,150 3–2–2 8 https://web.archive.org/web/20111222034056/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020093 8 October 22 Carolina Hurricanes 3–5 Winnipeg Jets Boucher 15,004 3–3–2 8 https://web.archive.org/web/20111104090028/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020103 9 October 25 Ottawa Senators 3–2 Carolina Hurricanes SO Ward 12,083 3–3–3 9 https://web.archive.org/web/20111229015103/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020115 10 October 28 Chicago Blackhawks 0–3 Carolina Hurricanes Ward 16,056 4–3–3 11 https://web.archive.org/web/20111104090033/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020136 11 October 29 Carolina Hurricanes 1–5 Philadelphia Flyers Boucher 19,683 4–4–3 11 https://web.archive.org/web/20111104084827/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020145
January: 5–4–3 (Home: 4–2–1 ; Road: 1–2–2) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 41 January 3 New York Islanders 4–3 Carolina Hurricanes SO 13,828 13–21–7 33 https://web.archive.org/web/20120108080116/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020577 42 January 6 Buffalo Sabres 2–4 Carolina Hurricanes Ward 16,095 14–21–7 35 https://web.archive.org/web/20120108100416/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020595 43 January 7 Carolina Hurricanes 2–5 Nashville Predators 17,113 14–22–7 35 https://web.archive.org/web/20120211225820/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020607 44 January 10 Philadelphia Flyers 2–1 Carolina Hurricanes Ward 14,511 14–23–7 35 https://archive.today/20130129233721/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020621 45 January 12 Carolina Hurricanes 5–2 Tampa Bay Lightning Ward 16,553 15–23–7 37 https://web.archive.org/web/20120322012000/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020634 46 January 14 Boston Bruins 2–4 Carolina Hurricanes Ward 18,680 16–23–7 39 https://web.archive.org/web/20120321184118/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020652 47 January 15 Carolina Hurricanes 1–2 Washington Capitals Ward 18,506 16–24–7 39 https://web.archive.org/web/20120322013032/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020659 48 January 17 Carolina Hurricanes 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins SO Ward 18,535 16–24–8 40 https://web.archive.org/web/20120321171957/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020674 49 January 20 Washington Capitals 0–3 Carolina Hurricanes Ward 17,507 17–24–8 42 http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20121221080836/http%3A//hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id%3D2011020696 50 January 21 Carolina Hurricanes 1–2 New York Islanders OT Ward 13,622 17–24–9 43 https://web.archive.org/web/20130603115047/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020703 51 January 23 Winnipeg Jets 1–2 Carolina Hurricanes Ward 16,045 18–24–9 45 http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20121221080834/http%3A//hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id%3D2011020717 52 January 31 New York Islanders 5–2 Carolina Hurricanes Ward 15,575 18–25–9 45 https://archive.today/20130129213206/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020740
March: 7–6–3 (Home: 2–2–2 ; Road: 5–4–1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 64 March 1 New York Rangers 3–2 Carolina Hurricanes 14,523 24–27–13 61 https://archive.today/20130130000704/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011020953 65 March 3 Tampa Bay Lightning 4–3 Carolina Hurricanes OT Ward 17,116 24–27–14 62 https://archive.today/20130130042855/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011020967 66 March 6 Carolina Hurricanes 4–3 Washington Capitals OT Ward 18,506 25–27–14 64 https://archive.today/20130130004839/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011020987 67 March 7 Carolina Hurricanes 2–3 Buffalo Sabres OT Ward 18,690 25–27–15 65 https://archive.today/20130130041636/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011020996 68 March 10 Carolina Hurricanes 4–2 Tampa Bay Lightning Ward 18,554 26–27–15 67 https://archive.today/20130129220907/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021019 69 March 11 Carolina Hurricanes 0–2 Florida Panthers Ward 15,081 26–28–15 67 https://archive.today/20130130004203/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021026 70 March 13 Carolina Hurricanes 2–4 New York Rangers Ward 18,200 26–29–15 67 https://archive.today/20130129232740/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021038 71 March 15 St. Louis Blues 0–2 Carolina Hurricanes Ward 18,680 27–29–15 69 https://archive.today/20130130053338/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021055 72 March 17 Carolina Hurricanes 5–3 Minnesota Wild 18,394 28–29–15 71 https://archive.today/20130130023652/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021067 73 March 18 Carolina Hurricanes 4–3 Winnipeg Jets Ward 15,004 29–29–15 73 https://archive.today/20130208132822/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021081 74 March 21 Florida Panthers 1–3 Carolina Hurricanes Ward 18,680 30–29–15 75 https://archive.today/20130129214419/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021098 75 March 23 Carolina Hurricanes 1–5 Columbus Blue Jackets Ward 15,085 30–30–15 75 https://archive.today/20130130124855/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021113 76 March 24 Carolina Hurricanes 4–5 Detroit Red Wings Ward 20,066 30–31–15 75 https://archive.today/20130129213135/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021123 77 March 27 Carolina Hurricanes 3–0 Toronto Maple Leafs Ward 19,348 31–31–15 77 https://archive.today/20130130035135/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021141 78 March 30 Winnipeg Jets 4–3 Carolina Hurricanes OT Ward 18,680 31–31–16 78 https://archive.today/20130130015513/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021162 79 March 31 New Jersey Devils 5–0 Carolina Hurricanes Boucher 18,680 31–32–16 78 https://archive.today/20130130011350/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021173
April: 2–1–0 (Home: 1–0–0 ; Road: 1–1–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 80 April 3 Carolina Hurricanes 2–1 Ottawa Senators 19,484 32–32–16 80 https://archive.today/20130129224925/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021193 81 April 5 Montreal Canadiens 1–2 Carolina Hurricanes SO Ward 17,846 33–32–16 82 https://archive.today/20130129224901/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021206 82 April 7 Carolina Hurricanes 1–4 Florida Panthers 19,057 33–33–16 82 https://web.archive.org/web/20130203114840/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2011021225

Player statistics

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; GAA= Goals against average; SA= Shots against; SV= Saves; Sv% = Save percentage; SO= Shutouts

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

Awards and records

Milestones

Regular Season
Player	Milestone	Reached
	1st Career NHL Game	October 7, 2011
	100th Career NHL Game	October 8, 2011
	100th Career NHL Game	November 4, 2011
	200th Career NHL Game	November 11, 2011
	300th Career NHL Point	November 12, 2011
	100th Career NHL Game	November 14, 2011
Justin Faulk	1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	November 20, 2011
	500th Career NHL Game	November 27, 2011
	500th Career NHL Game	November 27, 2011
	1st Career NHL Game	December 6, 2011
Justin Faulk	1st Career NHL Goal	December 9, 2011
Jussi Jokinen	200th Career NHL Assist	December 13, 2011
	1st Career NHL Game	December 21, 2011
Riley Nash	1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	December 23, 2011
Cam Ward^[3]	1st Career NHL Goal	December 26, 2011
	600th Career NHL Game	December 31, 2011
	500th Career NHL Game	December 31, 2011
	1st Career NHL Goal	January 10, 2012
Eric Staal	300th Career NHL Assist	January 12, 2012
	600th Career NHL Game	January 14, 2012
Jussi Jokinen	500th Career NHL Game	January 14, 2012
	200th Career NHL Game	January 23, 2012
Tim Gleason	100th Career NHL Assist	January 31, 2012
	200th Career NHL Game	February 4, 2012
	1st Career NHL Shutout	February 20, 2012
Cam Ward	400th Career NHL Game	March 3, 2012
	100th Career NHL Game	March 6, 2012
	100th Career NHL Point	March 6, 2012
Jeff Skinner	100th Career NHL Point	March 7, 2012
Cam Ward	200th Career NHL Win	March 15, 2012
	200th Career NHL Game	April 3, 2012
	600th Career NHL Game	April 5, 2012
	1st Career NHL Game	April 7, 2012

Transactions

The Hurricanes have been involved in the following transactions during the 2011–12 season.

Trades

Date
July 5, 2011^[4]	To Boston Bruins Joe Corvo	To Carolina Hurricanes 4th-round pick in 2012
December 9, 2011^[5]	To Montreal Canadiens Tomas Kaberle	To Carolina Hurricanes Jaroslav Spacek
January 18, 2012^[6]	To Florida Panthers Mattias Lindstrom Jon Matsumoto	To Carolina Hurricanes Evgenii Dadonov A. J. Jenks
January 20, 2012^[7]	To New Jersey Devils Alexei Ponikarovsky	To Carolina Hurricanes Joe Sova 4th-round pick in 2012

Free agents acquired

Player	Former team	Contract terms
Brian Boucher^[8]		2 years, $1.9 million
Tim Brent^[9]		2 years, $1.5 million
Alexei Ponikarovsky^[10]		1 year, $1.5 million
Justin Soryal^[11]		1 year, $525,000
Anthony Stewart^[12]		2 years, $1.8 million
Tomas Kaberle^[13]		3 years, $12.75 million
Chris Durno^[14]		1 year, $525,000
Mathieu Roy^[15]		1 year, $600,000
Jeremy Welsh^[16]		1 year, $832,500 entry-level contract
Beau Schmitz^[17]		3 years, $1.575 million entry-level contract
John Muse^[18]		1 year, $525,000

Free agents lost

Player	New team	Contract terms
Erik Cole^[19]		4 years, $18 million
Bryan Rodney^[20]		1 year, $525,000
Justin Pogge^[21]		1 year, $575,000
Troy Bodie^[22]		1 year, $550,000

Player signings

Player	Date	Contract terms
Tommi Kivisto^[24]	June 1, 2011	3 years, $1.695 million entry-level contract
	June 1, 2011	3 years, $1.72 million entry-level contract
Jay Harrison^[25]	June 16, 2011	2 years, $1.4 million
Patrick Dwyer^[26]	June 28, 2011	2 years, $1.25 million
Joni Pitkanen^[27]	June 28, 2011	3 years, $13.5 million
Chad LaRose^[28]	June 29, 2011	2 years, $3.4 million
Jussi Jokinen^[29]	June 30, 2011	3 years, $9 million
Jiri Tlusty^[30]	July 1, 2011	1 year, $525,000
Brett Bellemore^[31]	July 8, 2011	2 years, $1.05 million
Derek Joslin^[32]	July 8, 2011	2 years, $1.4 million
Brandon Sutter^[33]	July 13, 2011	3 years, $6.2 million
Brett Sutter^[34]	July 15, 2011	1 year, $525,000
Bobby Sanguinetti^[35]	July 15, 2011	1 year, $600,000
Ryan Murphy^[36]	September 16, 2011	3 years, $2.4975 million entry-level contract
Victor Rask^[37]	October 20, 2011	3 years, $1.95 million entry-level contract
Tim Gleason^[38]	January 30, 2012	4 years, $16 million contract extension
Tuomo Ruutu^[39]	February 22, 2012	4 years, $19 million contract extension
Austin Levi^[40]	March 16, 2012	3 years, $1.65 million entry-level contract

Draft picks

The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was held in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Round		Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	12	Ryan Murphy	D		Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
2	42	Victor Rask	C		Leksands IF (Swe-2)
3	73	Keegan Lowe	D		Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
4	103	Gregory Hofmann	C		HC Ambri-Piotta (NLA)
6	163	Matt Mahalak	G		Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
7	193	Brody Sutter	C		Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)

Notes and References

1. Book: National Hockey League. The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. 2010 . Triumph Books . 35. 978-1-60078-422-4.
2. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=603562 Hurricanes Name Kirk Muller as Head Coach
3. Web site: Hurricanes 4, Devils 2 . 2011-12-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120108080111/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020522 . 2012-01-08 . dead .
4. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568596 Canes Acquire 2012 Fourth-Round Pick from Boston
5. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=605645 Canes Acquire Jaroslav Spacek from Montreal
6. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=612448 Canes Acquire Dadonov, Jenks from Florida Panthers
7. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=612843 Canes Acquire Sova and Draft Pick from Devils
8. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568076 Hurricanes Agree to Terms with Brian Boucher
9. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568027 Hurricanes Agree to Terms with Tim Brent
10. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568130 Canes Agree to Terms with Alexei Ponikarovsky
11. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568292 Hurricanes Agree to Terms with Justin Soryal
12. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568306 Canes Agree to Terms with Anthony Stewart
13. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568594 Hurricanes Agree to Terms with Tomas Kaberle
14. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=569344 Hurricanes Sign Chris Durno to One-Year Contract
15. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=588438 Hurricanes Sign Defenseman Mathieu Roy
16. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=626215 Canes Sign Jeremy Welsh to Entry-Level Contract
17. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=629252 Canes Sign Beau Schmitz to Entry-Level Contract
18. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=634109 Hurricanes Sign Goaltender John Muse
19. http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568063 Erik Cole signs 4 years with Montreal
20. http://ducks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568605 Ducks Ink Rodney to One-Year Deal
21. http://coyotes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=585337 Coyotes Sign Pogge to One-Year Contract
22. http://ducks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=595592 Ducks Ink Bodie to One-Year Deal
23. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=603766 Hurricanes Claim Andreas Nodl on Waivers
24. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=564428 Canes Sign Kivisto, Lindstrom to Entry-Level Deals
25. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=566131 Hurricanes, Harrison Agree to Two-Year Deal
26. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567586 Canes Agree to Terms with Patrick Dwyer
27. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567594 Hurricanes Re-Sign Defenseman Joni Pitkanen
28. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567649 Canes Agree to Terms with Forward Chad LaRose
29. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567837 Hurricanes Agree to Terms with Jussi Jokinen
30. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568001 Hurricanes Agree to Terms with Jiri Tlusty
31. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568919 Hurricanes Agree to Terms with Brett Bellemore
32. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568931 Hurricanes Agree to Terms with Derek Joslin
33. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=569279 Canes Agree to Terms with Brandon Sutter
34. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=569386 Canes Re-Sign Forward Brett Sutter
35. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=569450 Canes Agree to Terms with Bobby Sanguinetti
36. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=588714 Hurricanes Agree to Terms with Ryan Murphy
37. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=596725 Hurricanes Agree to Terms with Victor Rask
38. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=614362 Hurricanes Sign Tim Gleason to Four-Year Extension
39. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=618389 Canes Agree to Terms with Ruutu on Extension
40. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=622596 Hurricanes Sign Austin Levi to Entry-Level Contract