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Ex-Carolina Hurricanes goalie Arturs Irbe was named new goalie coach today by the Washington Capitals. Irbe was a long time netminder for the Carolina franchise and is probably best known for his outstanding play during the 2001-02 playoffs as he helped the team make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. The popular goalie played for the Canes from 1998 to 2004.
He was a workhorse in the early years here and played in 77 out of 82 games for Carolina in the 2000-01 season while compiling a 37-29-9 record. In all, he won 130 regular season games and had 20 shutouts for the franchise.
The Latvia native left the team under strained circumstances after a public dispute about playing time. In 2003 he was reassigned to the minor leagues and at one time was put on loan to the Johnstown Chiefs of "Slapshot" fame, before eventually being traded to Columbus.