I AM A CHEATING PIG!!!!! Now the curious case of Erik Cole

Hello Caniacs I am back after a long hiatus and I come bearing a confession. I The Caniac Collector am a dirty rotten cheater! I have sinned against my beloved blog with another! I prostrate myself before you and beg for you forgiveness. I was briefly involved with another blog yet I swear it meant nothing. After I realized it would not work out due to differing views. I realized I missed my first love I have came crawling back on bended knee to my over 1000 faithful Caniac Readers!

Now that you have all forgiven me I would like to talk about a former Cane who also recently drew the ire of parts of the Redvolution with his comments about the recently departed Jeff Skinner (He was right)! So allow me to present to you the curious case of Erik Cole!
Drafted 71st overall in 1998 by the Carolina Hurricanes, Cole broke during the Stanley Cup Run season of 2001-2002. Logging action in 81 games and being the "C" on the famed BBC line, Cole logged 40 points(16 goals and 24 assists) to include 9 points in the playoffs in the teams 4-1 Series loss to the Detroit Red Wings. From that season on Cole played in integral part in the Carolina Hurricanes successes. With the team missing the playoffs in 2003 and 2004, Cole spent the 2005 lockout season in Germany before returning for the 2006 Stanley Cup Run.

The 2006 season saw Erik Cole putting it another solid workhorse season, even having thee rare distinction of being awarded to penalty shots in the same game against Buffalo in November of 2005, and reaching the 30 goal mark before a borderline dirty check from Brooks Orpik ( he is still booed in Raleigh) then of the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 4th 2006 ended Cole's regular season with a broken neck! Cole would miss the remainder of the regular season up to game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final just over 3 months later where he would help the team hoist their only Stanley Cup!

Cole would be traded to the Edmonton Oilers on July 1st 2008 for Joni Pitkanen . His absence was short lived as he returned at the trade deadline of March 2009 . Cole would remain with the team until Free Agency 2011 when he would leave the team for Montreal. Cole rejoined the team for one day in September 2017 to retire as a Cane. His total stats in a Canes Uniform are admirable at 557 games played 373 points (168 goals and 205 assists) he currently serves as a team ambassador, and as I mentioned earlier recently drew the ire of his sharp but rather accurate opinion of fan favorite Jeff Skinner. 

What makes Cole's Case curious is despite his numbers he is an often forgotten member in Canes Lore! Behind the names of Ron Francis, Rod Brindamour, Glen Wesley, and Eric Staal one can not help but wonder if we will ever see number 26 hanging in the rafters. On a more positive note were less than one month away from opening night so break out the Jerseys and lets get ready to fill the PNC! Thanks for reading and Redvolution!

The Caniac Collector

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