Summer Report: Hurricanes

Friday, July 21, 2006 | Feedback | Print Entry

Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford didn't have a lot of time to enjoy the first Stanley Cup of his long hockey career. (If you're too young to remember, Rutherford began his NHL tenure as a goalie with the Red Wings in 1970.)

Just days after the Cup-clinching victory, while still recovering from a difficult procedure to remove a kidney stone, Rutherford got back to business. He and owner Peter Karmanos understood they would have to pay a price to keep their championship core intact.

To that end, Rutherford has signed most of his key players to new contracts. Captain Rod Brind'Amour, Eric Staal, Erik Cole, Justin Williams, Frantisek Kaberle, Niclas Wallin, Mike Commodore, Glen Wesley, Craig Adams, Chad LaRose and Andrew Hutchinson all signed new deals to stay with Carolina. He also completed a long-term extension for coach Peter Laviolette, signed free-agent goalie John Grahame and traded for veteran grinder Scott Walker.  
 

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  • E.J. Hradek E.J. Hradek

    E.J. Hradek is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, joining the staff prior to its launch in 1998. He began covering hockey as a writer/editor for Hockey Illustrated in 1989. The following year, he beat the Stars to Dallas (by three years), taking over as the editor of Beckett Hockey Monthly. When the Stars finally did arrive in Big D, he hosted a weekly hockey radio show and tried (unsuccessfully) to convert ESPN's Skip Bayless to the greatest game on ice.

    In 1996, Hradek left Dallas, but not the Stars. Relocating back to the New York area, he became a part-time pro scout for the club, seeing more than 100 NHL/AHL games for each of the next two seasons. The scouting gig was a great learning experience, offering a different view of the game.

    Hradek grew up in Tuckahoe, N.Y., about a 40-minute train ride from New York City. Despite the proximity to the Rangers, Hradek embraced the Islanders when the expansion franchise debuted in 1972. Eight years later, he was part of the sellout crowd at the Nassau Coliseum that witnessed the Islanders' first Stanley Cup championship.


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