Carolina Hurricanes best national team players, Finland first

As the off-season continues and the excitement of the NHL Entry Draft and free agency subsides, hockey fans are eagerly awaiting the upcoming season. Here at Last Word on Hockey, we’ve taken a look at a number of different “best” teams during the hottest days of summer. Best players by number for a few teams, best captains, best and worst jerseys, and best first-round draft picks are just a few of the select rankings our writers have examined. In honor of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, here for the Carolina Hurricanes, we’re taking a look at the all-time starting lineups by nationality.

A few parameters for this list to start. This will be a starting lineup, so two wingers, one center, two defensemen, and a goalie. The player must have played in the NHL with the Hurricanes (not looking at the Hartford Whalers or prospects). The rating will come from the player’s best performances with, and impact on, the Hurricanes, not his entire career if he’s played with other teams. Today we’re starting with a country that has become somewhat synonymous with Carolina. This is the all-time Finnish starting lineup for the Hurricanes.

Carolina Hurricanes All-Time Finnish Starting Lineup

The Hurricanes have become synonymous with a strong Finnish squad in recent years. The headliner is none other than Sebastian Aho. But there have been a few notable Finns in the lineup since the team was founded in 1997. Let’s take a look at who’s in the starting lineup.

Tuomo Ruutu-LW – Sebastian Aho-C – Teuvo Teravainen-RW

Joni Pitkanen-LD – Jani Hakanpää-RD

Antti Raanta-G

Sebastian Aho

We start off with a bang with Sebastian Aho. Not only is Aho the best Finn in Hurricanes history, he also challenges Eric Staal for the best player in team history. The current first line center and face of the franchise, Aho is an all-situations player with top-tier skills and a strong competitive nature. A smart second-round draft pick by then-general manager Ron Francis, Aho has done nothing but exceed expectations since becoming a Hurricane.

Second in franchise history in points, goals and assists behind Eric Staal, you can’t overstate Aho’s work for this team. His clutch ability is unmatched, and he leads the organization in game-winning goals, overtime goals and shorthanded goals. Additionally, his playoff points, assists and goals are all franchise leaders. Sure, he’s seen the playoffs more than Eric Staal, and that may partially explain his totals. But you could also argue that his impact on the team’s consistent playoff run over the past six years is almost as important as Rod Brind’Amour behind the bench. It’s no surprise that Aho leads the Finns for Carolina.

Tuomo Ruutu

With a handful of Hurricanes Finnish forwards who could land on this list, next up is Tuomo Ruutu. Currently an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers and now Stanley Cup champions, Ruutu came to Carolina in a 2008 trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. Andrew Ladd went the other way. He made an immediate impression, getting off the plane, dressing for Carolina for a game that night, getting stitched up, and returning to the game.

In addition to Ruutu’s willingness to “put it on the line,” he scored 90 goals and had 126 assists with Carolina. Notably, he was part of the team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009 and stayed until 2014. When Ruutu’s effectiveness began to wane, Carolina traded him to the New Jersey Devils. His time with Carolina was certainly memorable, however. While his statistical effectiveness slowly faded, his heart never did. And the Hurricanes’ fans kept chanting “Ruuuuuu” until the very end.

Teuvo Teravainen

The final Finnish Hurricanes forward on this list is Teuvo Teravainen. While you could make a good argument that fellow Finns Jussi Jokinen or Sami Kapanen could be in the starting five over Ruutu or Teravainen, they take the upper hand due to a mix of performance, effectiveness, and impact on the team during both the lows and highs.

And here’s why Teravainen is picking up where Ruutu left off. Teravainen also came to Carolina from Chicago in a salary dump-related trade in 2016. (Ironically, he re-signed with Chicago this summer.) Coming off a Stanley Cup championship as a rookie, Teravainen had the potential to become the top-six winger Carolina needed. With a high hockey IQ and a calming presence on and off the ice, Teravainen was a key piece in helping Carolina return to the playoffs after a decade-long drought.

Spending a lot of time with Aho at 5v5 and as penalty killing partners, Teravainen finished in the top ten of all Hurricanes in points, the second Finn on that list behind Aho. Teravainen was another all-situations player who let his game do the talking. His play seemed to have priced him out of Carolina this summer, and his impact will be missed. But not forgotten.

Joni Pitkanen

Moving on to defense, there are only a few Finnish Hurricanes players to fill out this list. Sami Vatanen played very briefly for Carolina in 2020, but only played in the Covid bubble playoffs. Ironically, another Finn, Janne Kuokkanen, went the other way in that trade. But even if the list is small, Joni Pitkanen would likely see his name here.

Pitkanen joined Carolina from the Edmonton Oilers in 2008 in a divisive move among fans as fan favorite Erik Cole went the other way. But Carolina wanted some help moving the puck in the backfield at the time, and this was the deal that delivered. Joni Pitkanen, an offensive defenseman, was an extremely good puck mover. He had a good shot and the ability to score points himself, but his playmaking really stood out. During his time with Carolina, he scored 140 points in 266 games. He finished ahead of other notable Hurricanes defensemen such as Brady Skjei, Joe Corvo and Dougie Hamilton. Like Ruutu, Pitkanen was a key part of the team that reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2009.

Unfortunately, Pitkanen’s career ended in 2013 when he ran back to touch the puck for an icing, lost his balance and landed feet first into the boards. He shattered his heel and was never able to return to the NHL. It was this play (along with several others like it) that led the NHL to switch from touch icing to the hybrid icing they use today.

Jani Hakanpää

Okay, so seeing Jani Hakanpää on this list probably seems like a surprise. And to be honest, yes, it’s more a lack of competition than anything else. Besides the three Finns mentioned, Rasmus Rissanen and Tommi Kivisto aren’t going to make it. And Vatanen only played a handful of playoff games in Carolina. But despite that, we can focus on the positives he brought to Carolina during his short tenure.

In an effort to gain some size and physicality, the Hurricanes traded Haydn Fleury to the Anaheim Ducks in 2021 for Hakanpää. Carolina had some decent defenders at the time, but when players like Fleury and Jake Bean came along, they seemed to get pushed around a bit. At 6’3”, he certainly fit the bill. He was almost purely a defensive defenseman, coming in to help Carolina’s bottom defensive duo. He had three points in 15 regular season games, but none in the playoffs. But he played a shutdown role and provided the physicality that was desired. He wasn’t much of a game-changer, and went to the Dallas Stars in free agency after that season. But he did what he was brought in to do for Carolina.

The Finnish goalkeeper of the Carolina Hurricanes: Antti Raanta

“Father Finn”, as he has become known in Carlolina, completes our Finnish starting lineup in net. Like Hakanpää, he had no competition. But that doesn’t take away from what Raanta did when he was in Carolina. Raanta signed as a free agent in 2021 and came to Carolina at the same time as Frederik Andersen. The Hurricanes went a different direction in net than the year before, with Andersen as 1A and Raanta as 1B.

And overall, it worked out very well. Together, they won the William Jennings Trophy in 2021-22 for the league’s best goaltending duo. From that season through 2022-23, Raanta posted back-to-back save percentages of .912 and .910, with a 2.45 and 2.23 GAA, respectively. In 2022-23, he posted four shutouts, which led the league in shutouts. With a smile on his face, Raanta was a reliable and steady 1B option for Carolina. That ended with him earning a one-year deal last season.

Unfortunately, last season wasn’t great for Raanta. Especially early on. He seemed to struggle in net and couldn’t find the consistency he needed to get it together. He had flashes of his old self, but they came and went. Overall, he finished with a .872 SV% and 2.99 GAA and finished the year in the AHL. Now a free agent, hopefully he can find a spot in the NHL again. While it doesn’t seem like it will be Carolina, his impact on the team over his three seasons cannot be overlooked.

Main photo credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports