In Memoriam

The 2010-2011 Carolina Hurricanes season was cut way too short. Taken in its prime, it had so much potential in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we’ll never get the chance to see what might have been. I think all of us who love the Canes have spent the past week coming to terms with the abrupt ending of the season. While it still hurts to think of our loss and everything that slipped away with it, there are a lot of good memories that came from it. I think I’m finally ready to move on from the sadness and celebrate the good that was the 2010-2011 season.

Though I regretted greatly that I couldn’t make the trip, the start in Helsinki was great for the team and put us at the top of the NHL standings, if only briefly. It also set up the season-long Tripp Tracy interview fodder (and subsequently, running joke) with the team bonding trip to Sauna Island, facilitated by my favorite Finn. Wonder if they’ll bring it up again next season…

Despite a crazy chunk of travel, this season started off much better than the last. We avoided the whole 14-loss streak thing this time, but the most notable excitement of the early season (well, whole season) was watching Jeff Skinner’s NHL debut. We watched in awe during the first half of the season what I think we came to take for granted during the second. The freshman phenom shocked us all… or at least everyone except Rutherford and those involved in the genius scouting that went into our draft pick. It’s been a blast all season not only watching him develop as a player, but watching the effects of the rookie sensation on the media and fans—including hearing commentators calling him things like “rookie sensation” and seeing the throngs of fans going crazy over him during All-Star Weekend and beyond. And through it all, he remained the poised, mature (freak) 18 year old he is, taking it all in stride, smiling and not letting the insanity affect what was most important to him—his job on the ice. PS- Skinner for Calder!

All-Star Weekend was another huge part of the season we’ll all so fondly remember. Being the host city/team was an amazing experience. No words can quite describe how it felt to welcome such great players from around the league (even those we typically have at least a little grudge against) into OUR house via red carpet. Seeing their personalities come out and getting to know them a little more throughout the festivities of the weekend made the rest of the season that much more fun.

The season post-All-Star break had some ups and downs, but more ups for sure. Being at nearly every home game and several practices for this chunk of the season, the CaniacGirlTrio was practically a part of the team, in our own minds, at least :) We ate, slept, and breathed hockey, even more than usual, and rode the emotional rollercoaster that came along with that level of devotion. With our Twitter debut, we found not only another medium through which to extend the hockey obsession, but also an awesome group of fellow Caniacs. Watching the Canes and going through the stressful last week of the regular season with the #Caniacmob has been fantastic, despite the sad note we ended on in the final game.

Though the season ended abruptly, just when it looked like there was hope for a good playoff run, there’s still more silver lining than sadness to take away from it. Our younger players, both prospects and those with the Checkers or making brief visits to the Canes, have a lot of promise and give us hope for future seasons. Some of our older players had great seasons, like Cole and Ruutu, and Cam’s season just goes beyond words.

2010-2011 season—we were sad to see you go, but it’s been fun, and you’ll hold a special place in the hearts of Caniacs. Thanks for the memories.