Though he hasn’t played NHL hockey since the 2014-15 season, Erik Cole never officially retired. Today, after signing a ceremonial contract with the Carolina Hurricanes he’ll hang up his skates for good at the age of 38. Carolina is where it all started for Cole, and he told gathered media he always hoped he could end his career by coming back to the Hurricanes. He’ll now serve as a team ambassador.
Cole was selected by Carolina in the third round of the 1998 draft, and after another pair of seasons at Clarkson University and one in the minor leagues, debuted with the Hurricanes in 2001 and would never look back. In that rookie season, Cole scored 40 points and would finish fifth in Calder trophy voting behind Dany Heatley (the winner), Ilya Kovalchuk, Kristian Huselius and Pavel Datsyuk. He went on to become an integral part of the Carolina team, scoring 30 goals in just 60 games in 2005-06 before completing an incredibly emotional comeback from a serious neck injury to help the team raise the Stanley Cup.
He would never be quite as dominant as he was during that shortened season, but Cole would continue to represent a prototypical power forward in the years to come, scoring 265 goals in his career including a career-high 35 in his one full season in Montreal. In 892 career games he recorded 532 points and 1,192 hits. He played for Carolina, Edmonton, Montreal, Dallas and Detroit during his long career.
Happy Retirement Erik
Serious neck injury? Orpik cheap shotted him from behind and his neck was broken. He’s lucky to be walking.
Good player here in Raleigh. The BBC line during the playoffs was unstoppable.
At this point, does it really matter how he injured his neck? How long ago was the incident?This is about his retirement & his retirement only. Being sarcastic toward Gavin’s story is uncalled for.