Kevin Weekes didn’t spend a long time in Raleigh, but he left a clear impression.
The former Carolina Hurricanes goalie played just 119 games in a little over two seasons with the club, yet fans came away with a strong appreciation for what he brought. Weekes, known as “Shady 80,” gave Carolina a chance to win most nights. The problem was that the support in front of him often wasn’t there.
Weekes arrived in Carolina during the 2001-02 season after being traded by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Before that, he had been drafted 41st overall by the Florida Panthers in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft after a junior career with the Ontario Hockey League’s Owen Sound Platers, where he went 9-12-5 with a 5.22 goals-against average and an .868 save percentage. He also spent time with the Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, and New York Islanders before landing with the Hurricanes.
His first taste of action with Carolina was brief but efficient. In two regular-season games, Weekes went 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and a .927 save percentage, giving up only three goals and stopping 38 of 41 shots.
He then handled a bigger role in the postseason, appearing in eight games and making six starts during the Hurricanes’ run to the 2002 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in six games. Weekes finished that playoff stretch with a 3-2-0 record, a 1.62 GAA, a .939 save percentage, and two shutouts.
He shared the crease with Arturs Irbe, who also had a strong playoff run.
Over the next two seasons, Weekes became Carolina’s main man in net. He started 114 games over that span, appearing in 117 total.
In 2002-03, he posted a 14-24-9 record with a 2.55 GAA, a .912 save percentage, and five shutouts. The following year, he went 23-30-11 with a 2.33 GAA, another .912 save percentage, and six shutouts.
He started 65 games in 2003-04 after starting 49 the season before.
The shutout total jumps off the page. Of Weekes’ 39 wins in Carolina, 11 came without allowing a goal. That’s a big number, especially in an era when offense wasn’t coming easy.
The scoring environment around him tells the story even more clearly. Jeff O’Neill led the 2002-03 Hurricanes with 61 points, while Josef Vašíček led the 2003-04 club with 45.
As a team, Carolina averaged 2.09 goals per game in 2002-03 and allowed 2.93. In 2003-04, the Hurricanes averaged 2.10 goals for and 2.55 goals against.
It was also a time before the two-line pass was removed, and scoring simply wasn’t as prevalent as it is now.
Weekes finished his Carolina run with a 39-54-20 record, a .912 save percentage, a 2.41 GAA, and 11 shutouts. The team records during those two seasons were 22-43-11-6 in 2002-03 and 28-34-14-6 in 2003-04. After the lockout season of 2004-05, Weekes went on to finish his career with the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils.
For all the modest team results, Weekes’ time with the Hurricanes stands out because he really did give them a shot. A goalie who can stack up 11 shutouts, back-to-back .912 save percentages, and sub-2.60 GAA seasons is doing his job. Raleigh remembers him fondly for a reason.
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