O'Neill

Listen up, y'all. That stuff about hockey never making it on Tobacco Road, and goalie tandems never working in the playoffs? Wrong. If the Tar Heels can miss March Madness for the first time in 27 years, then goalies Arturs Irbe and Kevin Weekes can almost steal a Stanley Cup. Jeff O'Neill, despite a D-first system, thrives alongside needle-threader Ron Francis. And coach Paul Maurice? His players would do anything for him.

	The Big Question
	Q: Weekes is worthy of No. 1, but will it be with another team? Carolina has great goaltending so, I don't think they'll trade Kevin Weekes. Arturs Irbe did a great job for the Hurricanes in the playoffs. But two years ago, Irbe played in 75 games, I don't know if he's able to do that or if they'd want him to do that anymore. For a team like Carolina to succeed, they'll need contributions from many different players, not just two guys carrying the team. They're going to need both goaltenders. -- Ray Ferraro
	Good: Although he's not a top-line performer, Erik Cole's stock rose in the playoffs last year and he should become a playable forward this year. Last year's 40 points were fine, but that's a number he should top. Bad: Three straight seasons of 50 assists have made Ron Francis one of the most consistent players around. Of course, at 39 he's also one of the oldest guys around. Don't count on close to 27 goals again, and expect a decline in assists. -- Eric Karabell
	Top Prospect
	Jeff Heerema, RW After having made excellent progress in his first two pro seasons, including a breakthrough performance in Lowell last year when he lead the team in scoring, Heerema should be ready at some point this season, if not immediately.
	Minors Outlook
	Lowell Lock Monsters The biggest AHL overachievers in 2000-01, the Lock Monsters' only blemish was an early playoff exit. Coach Ron Smith is one of the best in the minors and, given a core of players back from last season, will put a contender on the ice again. -- Bill Ballou

Forwards Ron Francis, Jeff O'Neill, Sami Kapanen and Rod Brind'Amour may be top-six players on other teams, but none of them have eye-popping talent (although O'Neill is on the verge). On the flip side, the Hurricanes are a team that are slotted well at forward and have plenty of talented depth. They had two complete, quality lines last season in O'Neill-Francis-Kapanen and Bates Battaglia - Briand'Amour - Erik Cole. Jozef Vasicek and Jaroslav Svoboda are young up-and-comers, while and Kevyn Adams is a solid anchor for a third or fourth line. Eastern Conference Position Ranking: T3rd Defensemen When it comes to the Hurricanes' defense, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Glen Wesley, Bret Hedican and Sean Hill are legitimate top-four blue liners, and there is little drop-off in talent after them with Aaron Ward, Marek Malik and Niclas Wallin. Those six helped carry the 'Canes to the Cup finals, unfortunately someone will have to make room for David Tanabe, who injured his wrist in the first game of the playoffs. Eastern Conference Position Ranking: 4th Goalie Kevin Weekes showed during the playoffs that his is worthy of No. 1 consideration . . . but at the expense of Arturs Irbe? If Irbe struggles like he did at the start of last season, the Hurricanes have a more-than-capable replacement. If Irbe doesn't struggle, the Hurricanes have prime trade bait. Eastern Conference Position Ranking: 5th

Rankings: T3rd Overall
Forwards | Defensemen | Goalies

RECORD: 35-26-16-5, 91 points Rank: 16th overall 7th East 1st Southeast Playoffs: Lost to DET in Cup finals Home: 15-13-11-2 Road: 20-13-5-3 2001-02 results 2001-02 statistics 2002-03 schedule 2002-03 roster OFFENSE DEFENSE GOALS FOR/AVG. Overall: 217/2.65 (13th) Home: 98/2.39 (26th) Road: 119/2.90 (3rd) POWER PLAY Overall: 16.1/63-391 (12th) Home: 16.9/34-201 (13th) Road: 15.3/29/190 (10th) GOALS AGAINST/AVG. Overall: 217/2.65 (19th) Home: 105/2.56 (21st) Road: 112/2.73 (17th) PENALTY KILL Overall: 83.7/54-332 (20th) Home: 84.8/24-158 (15th) Road: 82.8/30-174 (20th) STATS LEADERS GOALS Jeff O'Neill (31) Ron Francis (27) Sami Kapanen (27) ASSISTS Francis (50) Kapanen (42) O'Neill (33) POINTS Francis (77) Kapanen (69) O'Neill (64) PENALTY MINUTES Darren Langdon (104) Marek Malik (88) Chris Dingman (77)* PLUS/MINUS Malik (+10) Kapanen (+9) Francis (+4) GAA (MIN. 20 GP) Arturs Irbe (2.56) SAVE PERCENTAGE Tom Barrasso (.906)* * - no longer with team