Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). They won their first Stanley Cup during the 2005-06 season, beating the Edmonton Oilers four games to three. Prior to 1997, the team was known as the Hartford Whalers.

Franchise History

The New England Whalers were born in November 1971 when the World Hockey Association awarded a franchise to begin play in Boston, Massachusetts. For the first two-and-a-half years of their existence, the club played their home games at the Boston Arena, Boston Garden, and The Big E Coliseum in West Springfield. However, sagging attendance forced the team to Connecticut. On January 11, 1975, the team played its first game in front of a sellout crowd at the Hartford Civic Center Coliseum. With the exception of a period in the late 1970s when the Whalers played at the Springfield Civic Center while their Hartford home was being renovated (due to a portion of the roof collapsing after a blizzard), the franchise was largely located in Hartford..

As one of the most stable WHA teams, the Whalers, along with the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets, were admitted to the NHL when the rival leagues merged in 1979. Because the NHL already had a team in the New England area, the Boston Bruins, the former WHA team was renamed the Hartford Whalers. Unfortunately, the team was never as successful in the NHL as they had been in the WHA, recording only three winning seasons. They peaked with their only playoff series victory in 1986 over the Quebec Nordiques and extended the Montreal Canadiens to overtime of the seventh game in the second round, followed by a regular season division title in 1986-87. 1992 was the last time the Hartford Whalers made the playoffs.

In March 1997, Whalers owner Peter Karmanos announced that the team would leave Connecticut after 1996-97 because of the team's inability to negotiate a satisfactory construction and lease package for a new arena in Hartford.. In July, Karmanos announced that the Whalers would move to the Research Triangle area of North Carolina and the new Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, become the Carolina Hurricanes, and change their team colors to red and black. Due to the relatively short time frame for the move, Karmanos himself thought of and decided upon the new name for the club, rather than holding a contest as is sometimes done.

Unfortunately, the ESA wouldn't be complete for two more years, and the only other hockey building in the Triangle was Dorton Arena, a 5,100-seat, 45-year-old building which was totally unsuitable for NHL hockey. The Hurricanes were thus forced to play home games in Greensboro, ninety minutes away from Raleigh, for their first two seasons after the move. This displaced the American Hockey League's Carolina Monarchs. The Greensboro Coliseum seated over 21,000 people for hockey, temporarily putting the 'Canes in the highest-capacity arena in the NHL. This choice was disastrous for the franchise's attendance and reputation. Most Triangle-area fans were unwilling to make the drive across I-40 to Greensboro. As for their part, fans from the Piedmont Triad wouldn't support a lame-duck team, and were still upset over ticket price hikes when the Monarchs moved from the East Coast Hockey League to the AHL in 1995. Furthermore, only 29 out of 82 games were televised, and radio play-by-play coverage was often pre-empted by ACC basketball, leaving these games totally unavailable to those who didn't have a ticket. With attendance routinely below the league average, Sports Illustrated ran a story titled "Natural Disaster", and ESPN anchors mocked the "Green Acres" of empty seats; in a 2006 interview, Karmanos admitted that "as it turns out, Greensboro was probably a mistake."

For 1998-99 the Hurricanes curtained off most of the upper deck, lowering capacity to about 12,000, but attendance continued to lag well behind league averages. On the ice, however, the 'Canes were now out of the doldrums; led by the return of longtime Whalers captain Ron Francis, Keith Primeau's 30 goals, and Gary Roberts' 178 penalty minutes, they won the new Southeast Division by eight points and made the playoffs for the first time since 1992. Tragedy struck hours after their first-round loss to the Bruins when defenseman Steve Chiasson was thrown from his pickup truck and killed in a single-vehicle drunk-driving accident.

Despite their move to the brand-new ESA, the Hurricanes played lackluster hockey in 1999-2000, failing to make the playoffs. In 2000-01, though, they claimed the eighth seed, which nosed out Boston, and landed a first-round date with the defending champs, the New Jersey Devils. Although the Hurricanes were bounced by the Devils in six games, the series is seen as the real "arrival" of hockey in the Triangle. Down 3-0 in the series, the 'Canes extended it to a sixth game, thereby becoming only the tenth team in NHL history to do so. Game six in Raleigh featured their best playoff crowd that year, as well as its noisiest. Despite the 5-1 loss, Carolina was given a standing ovation by their crowd as the game ended, erasing many of the doubts that the city wouldn't warm up to the team.

The 'Canes made national waves for the first time in the 2002 playoffs. They survived a late charge from the Washington Capitals to win the division, but expectations were low entering the Round One against the defending Eastern Conference champion Devils. However, Arturs Irbe and Kevin Weekes were solid in goal, and two games were won by the Hurricanes in overtime as they put away the Devs in six games. The second-round matchup was against the Montreal Canadiens, who were riding a wave of emotion after their captain Saku Koivu's return from cancer treatment. In the third period of Game 4 in Montreal, down 2-1 in games and 3-0 in score, Carolina would tie the game and then win on Niclas Wallin's overtime goal. The game became known to Hurricanes fans as the "Miracle at Molson"; Carolina easily won the next two games, by a 13-3 margin, over the dejected Habs to win the series.

In the Conference Final, Carolina met the heavily-favored Toronto Maple Leafs. In game six in Toronto, the Leafs' Mats Sundin tied the game with 22 seconds remaining to send it to overtime, where Carolina's Martin Gelinas would score to send the franchise to their first Stanley Cup Final, against the Detroit Red Wings, thought to be the prohibitive favorite all year. Though the Canes stunned the Wings in Game 1, when Francis scored in the first minute of OT, Detroit stormed back to win the next four games. Game 3 in Raleigh featured a triple-overtime thriller (won by Detroit's Igor Larionov, the eldest player to score a last-round goal), which sportscasters called one of the best Final games in history. Despite the 4-1 series loss, it had been by far the most successful season in franchise history.


Carolina's alternate logo, a gale storm watch flag. The black triangle represents the Triangle of North Carolina.The momentum didn't last, however, and the next two seasons saw the 'Canes drop into the cellar of the NHL rankings; many of the new fans attracted to the team (and to hockey itself) during the 2002 playoff run lost interest and attendance declined. One of the few positive results of these losing years was the team's drafting of rising star Eric Staal in 2003. In December 2003, the team fired Paul Maurice, who had been their coach since their next-to-last season in Hartford, replacing him with former New York Islanders bench boss Peter Laviolette. Weekes remained tough, but offense was doubtful; center Josef Vasicek led the team with a mere 19 goals, 26 assists (tied with rookie Staal, who scored only 5 times himself) and 45 points

2005-06 Championship
The outcome of the 2004-05 NHL lockout led to the shrinking of the payroll to $26 million; many fans were not optimistic about the 2005-06 season, still the first game back was to a sold out arena. The 'Canes, however, turned out to be one of the NHL's biggest surprises, turning in the best season in the franchise's 34-year history. They finished with a 52-22-8 record and 112 points, shattering the previous franchise record set by the 1986-87 Whalers. It was the first time ever that the franchise had passed the 50-win and 100-point plateaus. The 112-point figure was one point behind the Ottawa Senators for the best record in the East, and tied the Dallas Stars for third-highest in the league. The Stars, however, finished with one more win, meaning the 'Canes were ranked fourth in the overall league standings as a result of the tiebreaker. Still, their fourth-place finish was far and away their best ever as an NHL team. They ran away with their third Southeast Division title, finishing 20 points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Attendance increased from 2003-04, averaging just under 15,600 per game, and the team made a profit for the first time since the move from Hartford.

In the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Carolina lost the first two games of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal at home against the seventh-seeded Habs, leading many to believe that the Canes' grand season would come to a sudden end. Laviolette made what would prove to be a fateful decision, lifting goalkeeper Martin Gerber in favor of rookie Cam Ward. A turning point of the series occurred in Game 3, as Carolina forward Justin Williams inadvertently hit Montreal captain Koivu in the eye with his stick as both players lunged for the puck. Koivu's eye was severely injured, causing him to miss the remainder of the series; Williams escaped a possible double-minor high-sticking penalty. The Hurricanes went on to win both games in Montreal, tying up the playoff series and turning the momentum around. They returned home and took Game 5 to take a 3-2 advantage in the series, and finished the series in Montreal with a 2-1 overtime victory on a goal by Cory Stillman.

The Hurricanes then played third-seeded New Jersey in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. This was expected to be a close series, but proved surprisingly one-sided. Carolina exploded to score six goals in Game 1, chasing career Jersey netminder Martin Brodeur from the net on his 34th birthday. This was Ward's first playoff shutout, as the Hurricanes won 6-0. The Hurricanes won Game 2 in dramatic fashion with Eric Staal (who led Carolina with a 45-goal, 55-assist campaign) scoring with just 3 seconds left in the third period to send the game into overtime. Niclas Wallin was the hero once again, as he lifted the Canes to a 3-2 win. In Game 3, the Hurricanes took a stranglehold on the series with a 3-2 win in New Jersey, but in a penalty-filled fourth game, the Devils rallied back with a 5-1 win. The series shifted back to Raleigh for Game 5 where Carolina closed out the series with a 4-1 win. Stillman struck again, scoring this series-winning goal too.

In the Eastern Conference Final, the Hurricanes faced the Buffalo Sabres, who had finished just one spot behind the Canes in the overall standings. The Sabres squad was devastated by injuries in the series, at one point in the series playing without their top four defensemen in good health. The Hurricanes were defeated in the first game, as Buffalo took a 3-2 victory and the early lead in the series. In the second game, however, the Hurricanes recovered, defeating Buffalo 4-3. Buffalo won Game 3 by a score of 4-3 to take back the series lead, but Carolina tied it up again in Game 4 with a 4-0 shutout, in which Gerber, who had relieved Ward the previous game, started in goal for the first time since Game 2 of the first round. Gerber's good luck would not extend to Game 5, as after a shaky start, Ward was brought back in. Carolina took a 3-2 series lead by rallying and winning Game 5, as Stillman scored an overtime goal to give the Canes the 4-3 win. In Game 6 of the contentious series (both coaches — Lindy Ruff and Laviolette — took public verbal shots at each other's team), the Hurricanes lost 2-1 to the Sabres in overtime, forcing a seventh-and-deciding game in the series. In Game 7 the Hurricanes fell behind 2-1 in the second period but rallied with three goals in the third to win by a score of 4-2. Rod Brind'Amour scored the game winner as the Hurricanes reached the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in team history.

The Final began on June 5 as the Hurricanes hosted the Edmonton Oilers in Raleigh, marking the first time in NHL history that two former WHA franchises had played in the Final. Early in the third period of the first game Dwayne Roloson, the Edmonton netminder considered by many to be the sole reason for the Oilers' playoff success, went down with a playoff-ending injury after a collision with Hurricane Andrew Ladd resulting from a check by the Oiler's Marc-Andre Bergeron. The Canes rallied from a 3-0 deficit in Game 1 (which included Oilers' star defenseman Chris Pronger scoring the first successful penalty-shot goal ever in the final round) to win 5-4 after Rod Brind'Amour scored with 30 seconds left after some miscommunication behind the net between the Oilers' captain Jason Smith and backup goalie Ty Conklin, who had replaced injured starter Dwayne Roloson with five minutes to play. In Game 2, the other Edmonton reserve goaltender, Jussi Markkanen, was brought in and played for the remainder of the series, the first time a team had used three goalies in the Final since the St. Louis Blues in 1970. The 'Canes shelled Markkanen and the Oilers 5-0 to take a two-game lead, threatening to turn the series into a romp. However, it would eventually prove to be a classic nail-biter, as Markkanen and the Oilers made adjustments.

The Oilers won Game 3 at Rexall Place, 2-1, as Ryan Smyth scored the game-winning goal with 2:47 left to play in the third period. Carolina rebounded in Game 4 with a 2-1 victory, and came home with a chance to win the Cup on home ice. However, game five saw the Oilers come back with a stunning 4-3 overtime win on a shorthanded breakaway by Fernando Pisani early in extra session. Suddenly the momentum started to turn the Oilers' way. In Game 6 in Edmonton, Carolina was soundly defeated 4-0, and now the possibility loomed of a team surrendering a 3-1 advantage in the Final for the first time since 1942, when the Wings had fallen to the Leafs. The ace in the deck for the Hurricanes was their home ice advantage in Game 7, and one last chance to regroup.

In Game 7, before the second-largest home crowd in franchise history (18,978), the Hurricanes jumped to an early 1-0 lead on an Aaron Ward blast from the right circle at 1:26. In the waning minutes of the first period, Craig Adams corraled a rebound and drove it toward the net. Defenseman Steve Staios jumped on the puck to keep it from going over the line after a mistimed tip by Ales Hemsky. Referee Brad Watson initially signaled for a penalty shot, but it was washed out by a delayed penalty on Ethan Moreau. Later replays showed that Adams had actually gotten the puck in the net. In the second period, Edmonton defenseman Jaroslav Spacek was called for holding. At 4:18, Frantisek Kaberle blasted one in from the left circle on the power play. Edmonton finally got on the board early in the third period on a Pisani goal. The game remained in doubt until the Oilers pulled Markkanen in hopes of sending the game into overtime. However, with just under two minutes left in regulation, an errant centering pass wound up on the stick of Bret Hedican, who dumped it to Eric Staal. He put it out to center ice where Justin Williams gathered the puck and scored on an empty-net breakaway at 18:59 of the third period, sealing the Hurricanes' first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

Ward was honored with the Conn Smythe Trophy for the playoffs' most valuable player, erasing the hopes that either Pisani or Pronger would break the 30-year streak of a non-goaltender to win the award in a losing cause — the only player to fit in such a category is Philadelphia Flyer Reggie Leach, who won it when his Flyers were swept by the Canadiens in 1976. Ward became just the fourth rookie to be honored with the award, following fellow goaltenders Patrick Roy (won with Montreal in 1986), Ron Hextall (lost with Philadelphia the next year), and Ken Dryden (also won as a Hab, in 1971, but not as an official rookie).

Rod Brind'Amour and Bret Hedican had both waited over 15 years to raise Lord Stanley's Mug, while Glen Wesley — the last remaining Hartford Whaler on the Hurricanes' roster — had waited 18 seasons.

The Hurricanes' Stanley Cup championship marked the first professional major league sports title for a team from the Carolinas. They are the second consecutive Southeast Division team to win the Cup, after the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04; like the Hurricanes, Tampa Bay defeated a team from the Northwest Division — Edmonton's provincial rival in Alberta, the Calgary Flames. As well, they are the only NHL team in history to lose 9 or more games in a year's playoffs, yet still win the Stanley Cup.

However, the Hurricanes have not been able to repeat their success. Following a loss to the previous Cup champs, the Tampa Bay Lightning, on Tuesday, April 3, 2007, the Hurricanes were eliminated from playoff contention. This made them the first champions since the 1938-39 Chicago Blackhawks to have failed to qualify for the playoffs both the seasons before and after their championship season. The Edmonton Oilers also missed the playoffs, making the 2006-07 season the first time in NHL history both Stanley Cup Finalists of one season failed to qualify for the playoffs the next.


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