Playing 9 of his 11 NHL seasons with the franchise, "O Dog" was a sniper on the right wing. From 1999-2003, the King City, Ontario product had four consecutive seasons of 25 goals or more. For the 2000-01 season, he finished tied for seventh among all league skaters with his 41, a number that still stands as the second most ever by any Cane in a single season, trailing only Eric Staal's 46 in '06.
In 2002 his
'Eye of the Hurricane' game
would go on to become one of the best moments in team history and in 2003 O'Neill represented the organization at the All-Star Game.
Totaling 416 points in 673 games, he still holds the record for most goals in a single calendar month for the franchise - totaling 14 in January of 2001. Seven of his 198 goals also came in overtime fashion, a mark that stood as the franchise record until the 2021-22 season.
"An elite goal-scorer who was also a loose cannon off the ice -- and has since pivoted neatly into sports radio in his hometown of Toronto -- O'Neill was more than just a shooter, even if his booming right shot accounted for a lot of Ron Francis assists. In 2001, he was the only player in the NHL to lead his team in goals and hits, and that 41-goal season (in the heart of the Dead Puck Era) is still the second-best since the team moved south. He'll always be remembered for his overtime goal in the 2002 conference finals, scoring after taking a puck to the right eye earlier in the game and getting treated like a boxer on the bench. Forever, the Eye of the Storm." - Luke DeCock, Carolina Hurricanes Hall of Fame Committee and Raleigh News & Observer Columnist
