The Carolina Hurricanes announced Tuesday that they have officially created the Hurricanes Hall of Fame. To kick things off, Ron Francis, Glen Wesley and current head coach Rod Brind’Amour were inducted without a vote.
The Hurricanes have compiled a committee to vote for the inductees when the time comes. That list includes; Tom Dundon, Don Waddell, Mike Forman, Mike Sundheim, Kelly Kirwin, Doug Warf, Shane Willis, Mike Maniscalco, Kevin Weekes, Luke DeCock, Adam Gold and Cathy Rudisill. If a nominee receives nine of a possible 13 votes when the vote takes place, they will automatically be inducted. If no player meets that 70 percent threshold, the top two nominees will be voted upon again, and then they will make their choice from that.
The team stated that inductees will be broken up into two categories; players and contributors. There are a lot of people deserving of a spot in the Hurricanes Hall of Fame, so let’s take a look at four potential candidates to have their names honored in the future.
Cam “Wardo” Ward
Cam Ward has 701 career NHL games, and all but 33 were with the Hurricanes. Longevity certainly has to be taken into account when having a conversation about a team’s Hall of Fame inductees, and Ward certainly meets that. He leads the franchise in all-time games played by a goalie (668), wins (318), saves (17,261) and shutouts (27), and many think he should also have his number retired.
As a rookie, Ward was able to bring the Hurricanes to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. In doing so, he became the third rookie in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, joining Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden. Following his fantastic rookie season, he managed to put up some great numbers, including four seasons in a row with a save percentage (SV%) of .915 or higher. Weekes, who is on the voting committee, has the all-time SV% and goals-against-average (GAA) lead, but Ward is still very high on those lists with third place in SV% and fourth in GAA.
Truthfully, I am surprised Ward didn’t make it into the first wave of the Hurricanes Hall of Fame, but I have no doubt he will be in there soon enough.
Justin “Mr. Game 7” Williams
Justin Williams was another key part of the Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup run in 2006. “Mr. Game Seven” registered 18 points in 25 games, but most notably scored in each of the two Game 7’s in the final two rounds of their run, totaling four points. He finished his career with 15 points in seven do-or-die Game 7’s.
Related: ‘Mr. Game 7’ Justin Williams: A Cup-Winning Career to Remember
Williams played with the Hurricanes from 2003-04 until midway through 2008-09 but returned as a free agent in the summer of 2017. In his second season back with the team, he wore the “C” on his jersey as the captain, which also happened to be the year they started the iconic “Storm Surge” celebration. He was a large part of the creation of the celebrations, typically taking the lead as the main performer, which ended up earning them the nickname “Bunch of Jerks” by Don Cherry.
Williams’ career numbers with the Hurricanes are good, not necessarily Hurricanes Hall-of-Fame worthy on their own, but definitely good. Where the argument comes in, is his impact on the organization and the fans. He was loved by every ‘Canes fan, whether it be because of his Game 7 performances, the Storm Surge, or his overall personality. Regardless, I think he definitely belongs in there at some point.
The Voice of the Hurricanes
Long-time commentator John Forslund has been a part of the Hartford Whalers/Hurricanes broadcasts since 1991, moving to television broadcasts in 1995. He was around for all of the ups and downs of the franchise, before leaving for the Seattle Kraken in their inaugural season and later joining the NHL on TNT team.
Every Hurricanes fan knows exactly who Forslund is, and could recognize his voice from any crowd. Hearing the iconic “hey, hey, what do ya say” line after a goal brings just as much joy to any fan as the goal itself. This phrase was a tribute to his father, which he says is “the link between the two of them”. It’s always great when such a famous line has so much meaning. “That’s hockey, baby” is yet another iconic line Hurricanes fans will never forget. He always had the best catchphrases.
Forslund joining Seattle for their inaugural season makes perfect sense. Though he stated it wasn’t easy to leave Carolina, he will be able help build Seattle as a proven hockey market in the NHL, similar to what he did with the Hurricanes. Kraken fans are lucky to have him.
Even just for his two lines alone, Forslund deserves to be in the Hurricanes Hall of Fame, and when you look at the longevity, the journey with the team, and all of the memorable moments he left with every fan, his induction should be a no-brainer.
Big Save Dave
No, not David Rittich.
David Ayers has 28 minutes of ice time in the NHL, but if you ask any Hurricanes fan – or any hockey fan for that matter – they will instantly smile (unless they are a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, then you may get a very vocal sigh) and say “what a great story!”
I am sure everybody reading this knows exactly who he is, but for those who don’t, or would like to re-live that night, Ayers was the emergency backup goaltender (EBUG) at Scotiabank Arena the night the Hurricanes visited. They had lost Petr Mrazek and James Reimer due to injury with just under half the game to play, and they were in quite a predicament. 42-year-old Ayers, who was employed as the Toronto Marlies Zamboni driver, had to put the gear on and face the Leafs.
Ayers came into the game with a 3-1 lead, and let in two goals in his first five minutes. After that, he was lights out. He finished his only NHL appearance with a win and eight saves to defeat the Leafs 6-3.
Now, Ayers likely won’t get his spot in the Hurricanes Hall of Fame, but it is definitely worth mentioning. If it was a fan vote, he would be on the first ballot, but it’s not. Regardless, the conversation has to be had. He is now up there with Brind’Amour, Francis, and many others as the most iconic Hurricanes of all time, and he only played for 28 minutes.
There are many more people that could be nominated that weren’t mentioned here, but they will get their time eventually. The first set of nominees will be released in a couple of weeks, and we can have a different conversation then, but for now, these are some of the top candidates.