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Carolina Hurricanes

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The Carolina Hurricanes, a professional ice hockey club, is a National Hockey League (NHL) team based in Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, and is the city's only major league team. Until 1997, they were known as the Hartford Whalers.

Facts

Founded: 1972-1973 as a World Hockey Association (WHA) franchise (awarded November 1971)
Former League(s): WHA (1972-1979)
Formerly Known As: New England Whalers (1972-1979), Hartford Whalers (1979-1997)
Arena: RBC Center (capacity 18,731)
Former Home Arena: Greensboro Coliseum (1997-1999)
Uniform colors: red, black, white, grey
Logo design: a stylized hurricane symbol engulfing a hockey puck
Alternate logo: a red storm flag on a hockey stick as an impromptu flagpost which overlays a triangle representing the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill region
Stanley Cup final appearances: 2 (2001-02 NHL season, lost to Detroit Red Wings, 4-1; 2005-06 NHL season vs. Edmonton Oilers)
Conference championships: 2 - 2002, 2006
Division championships: 3 - 1999, 2002, 2006
Mascot: Stormy the Ice Hog.
Local Televison: FSN South
Play-by-Play men: John Forslund & Tripp Tracy
Rivals: Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals

Franchise history

In March 1997, Hartford Whalers owner Peter Karmanos announced that his team would leave Connecticut after the 1996-97 season due to 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.

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 completely unsuitable for NHL hockey. Thus, the Hurricanes were forced to play home games ninety minutes away at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro for their first two seasons in North Carolina, displacing the AHL's Carolina Monarchs and temporarily putting them in the highest-capacity arena in the NHL for 1997-98. Most Triangle-area fans were unwilling to make the 90-minute drive across I-40 to Greensboro. Piedmont Triad fans were not interested in supporting a lame-duck team, and were still upset over ticket price hikes when the Monarchs moved from the ECHL to the AHL in 1995. The Hurricanes pulled in fewer fans than they did in Hartford, and their lackluster play didn't help the cause. The team frequently drew less than 10,000 fans, and even those numbers were inflated due to "2 for 1" deals where seats sold were counted, despite no fans in them. Sports Illustrated ran a story named "Natural Disaster", and ESPN talking heads mocked the "Green Acres" of empty seats in Greensboro.

For 1998-99, in an attempt to create artificial scarcity in the ticket market, the Hurricanes curtained off most of the upper deck, lowering capacity to about 12,000, but attendance continued to lag behind league standards. On the ice, however, the 'Canes were out of the doldrums; led by the return of longtime Whalers captain Ron Francis, Keith Primeau's 30 goals and Gary Roberts's 178 penalty minutes, they won the new Southeast Division by eight points and made the playoffs for the first time since 1992. Tragedy struck when, at the end of their lost first-round playoff series with the Boston Bruins, defenseman Steve Chiasson was killed in an auto accident driving home from a players' end-of-season party.

Despite their move to the brand-new ESA, the Canes played lackluster hockey in 1999-00, failing to make the playoffs. In 2000-01, they claimed an eighth seed in the playoffs and landed a first-round date with New Jersey. Although the Hurricanes were bounced in the first round by the Devils in six games, the series is seen as the real "arrival" of hockey in Carolina. The Hurricanes in this series became the tenth team to stretch a series to six games after going down 3-0, leading to a Game 6 in Raleigh that featured their best playoff crowd that year and its noisiest[1]. Despite the 5-1 loss, Carolina was given a standing ovation by the crowd as the game ended, erasing many of the doubts that the city wouldn't warm up to the 'Canes[2].

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 first round against the defending Eastern Conference champion Devils. However, Arturs Irbe and Kevin Weekes were solid in goal, and two games were won by the Canes in overtime as they put away the Devils in six games. The second round matchup was against the Canadiens, who were riding a wave of emotion after Saku Koivu's return from cancer treatment. In the third period of game 4 in Montreal, the Hurricanes were down 2-1 in games and 3-0 in score, before the Hurricanes rebounded to win 4-3 on Niclas Wallin's overtime winner. The game became known to Hurricanes fans as the 'Miracle at Molson'; Carolina easily won the next two games over the dejected Habs to win the series.

The conference final was against the heavily-favored Toronto Maple Leafs. In game 6 in Toronto, the Leafs' Mats Sundin tied the game with 22 seconds remaining to send it to overtime, but Carolina's Martin Gélinas scored in overtime to send them to their first Stanley Cup final, against the Detroit Red Wings, thought to be the prohibitive favorite all year.

After the first game of the final, where Ron Francis scored in the first minute of overtime, Detroit stormed back to win the next four games in a row to win the Stanley Cup. Game 3 in Raleigh featured a triple-overtime thriller (won by the Red Wings 3-2 on a goal by Igor Larionov), which sportscasters called one of the best Stanley Cup Finals games in history. Despite the 4-1 finals loss, it was by far the most successful season in franchise history.

During their run through the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Hurricanes franchise became associated with a couple of distinct characteristics which created a unique experience not found in many other NHL arenas. For one, the Hurricanes, introuduced their "Storm Squad". They were a group of young, aesthetically pleasing women who basically formed a cheerleading squad as they led the crowd through chants and raised the overall energy level of the building, which sparked the self-lauding claim of "The Loudest House in the NHL". Aided by warm weather and a favorable location, tailgating instantly became a Hurricanes playoff tradition. The RBC Center (as the ESA was renamed in 2002) was located next door to Carter-Finley Stadium, home of North Carolina State University's football team. The local fans were accustomed to using the lots for tailgating purposes and naturally shifted this local tradition to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The momentum didn't last, however, and the next two seasons (2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons)saw the Canes drop into the cellar of the NHL rankings; 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 rising star Eric Staal in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. The team also 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.

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. However, the Canes turned out to be one of NHL's biggest surprises, turning in arguably the best season in the franchise's 34-year history. They finished with a 52-22-8 record and 112 points. The 112 points and 52 wins are both franchise records, shattering totals set by the 1986-87 Whalers. It was also the first time the franchise had ever earned more than 100 points in a season. Both the Canes and Dallas Stars finished with 112 points, one point behind the Senators for the second-best record in the league. However, the Stars had one more win, so the Stars were ranked 3rd for tiebreaking purposes. Still, the Canes' 4th-place finish was far and away the franchise's best finish as an NHL team. Attendance increased over the 2003-04 doldrums, averaging over 15,000 per game with eight sellouts[1] as of February 7, and the team expected to break even financially for the first time since the move. On March 31, 2006, the Hurricanes won their third Southeast Division championship by defeating the Florida Panthers 3-2.

In the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs, after losing the first two Eastern Conference Quarterfinal games at home against the Montreal Canadiens, Carolina went to Montreal and won both games to tie up the playoff series before returning home and taking Game 5 to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 advantage in the series. Carolina finished the series in Montreal with a 2-1 overtime victory. The turning point of the series came in Game 3. Forward Justin Williams hit Montreal captain, Saku Koivu, in the eye with a high stick. The stick punctured Koivu's eye, though he is expected to recover.

The Hurricanes then played the New Jersey Devils. Carolina shut out the New Jersey Devils 6-0 at home to lead the series 1-0. This was goaltender Cam Ward's first playoff shutout, as well as New Jersey netminder Martin Brodeur's 34th birthday. The Hurricanes won game 2 in dramatic fashion, 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. However, in a penalty-filled game 4, the Devils rallied back with a 5-1 win in New Jersey. Game 5 was exactly opposite: Carolina won 4 to 1, New Jersey scoring their only goal in the first period.

In the NHL Eastern Conference Finals, the Hurricanes faced the Buffalo Sabres, who had ironically finished one spot behind the Canes in the overall standings. 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 Martin Gerber started for the first time since Game 2 of the Montreal series. Carolina then took a 3-2 series lead by winning game 5 as Corey Stillman scored an overtime goal to give the Canes a 4-3 win. In Game 6 of the contentious series, the Hurricanes lost 2-1 to the Sabres in overtime, forcing a 7th game in the series. In game 7 the Hurricanes fell behind 2-1 in the second period but rallied with 3 goals in the third to win by a score of 4-2. Rod Brind'Amour scored the game winner as the Hurricanes reached their second Stanley Cup Final in team history. The Final will commence on Monday June 5th, 2006 as the Hurricanes will host the Edmonton Oilers in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
1997-98 82 33 41 8 -- 74 200 219 1455 6th (last) in Northeast Out of playoffs
1998-99 82 34 30 18 -- 86 210 202 1158 1st in Southeast Conf QF, 2-4 (Bruins)
1999-00 82 37 35 10 -- 84 217 216 799 3rd in Southeast Out of playoffs
2000-01 82 38 32 9 3 88 212 225 1083 2nd in Southeast Conf QF, 2-4 (Devils)
2001-02 82 35 26 16 5 91 217 217 1022 1st in Southeast Final, 1-4 (Red Wings)
2002-03 82 22 43 11 6 61 171 240 1208 5th (last) in Southeast Out of playoffs
2003-04 82 28 34 14 6 76 172 209 1102 3rd in Southeast Out of playoffs
2004-051 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
2005-06 82 52 22 -- 8 112 294 260 1107 1st in Southeast Stanley Cup Final vs. Edmonton
1 Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Notable players

Current squad

As of May 7, 2006 [2]

Goaltenders
Number Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth
29 Switzerland Martin Gerber L 2004 Burgdorf, Switzerland
30 Canada Cam Ward L 2002 Sherwood Park, Alberta
Defensemen
Number Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
2 Canada Glen Wesley - A L 2003 Red Deer, Alberta
4 Canada Aaron Ward R 2001 Windsor, Ontario
5 Czech Republic Frantisek Kaberle L 2004 Kladno, Czech Republic
6 United States Bret Hedican L 2002 St. Paul, Minnesota
7 Sweden Niclas Wallin L 2000 Boden, Sweden
22 Canada Mike Commodore R 2005 Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
24 United States Andrew Hutchinson R 2005 Evanston, Illinois
48 Ukraine Anton Babchuk L 2006 Kiev, Ukraine
70 Russia Oleg Tverdovsky L 2005 Donetsk, Russia
Forwards
Number Player Shoots Position Acquired Place of Birth
8 United States Matt Cullen L C 2004 Virginia, Minnesota
11 Canada Justin Williams R RW 2004 Cobourg, Ontario
12 Canada Eric Staal L C 2003 Thunder Bay, Ontario
13 Canada Ray Whitney R LW 2005 Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
14 United States Kevyn Adams - A R C 2002 Washington, District of Columbia
16 Canada Andrew Ladd L LW 2004 Maple Ridge, British Columbia
17 Canada Rod Brind'Amour - C L C 2000 Ottawa, Ontario
18 Canada Mark Recchi L RW 2006 Kamloops, British Columbia
26 United States Erik Cole (Injured Reserve) L LW/RW 1998 Oswego, New York
27 Canada Craig Adams R RW 2005 Seria, Brunei
39 United States Doug Weight R C 2006 Warren, Michigan
59 United States Chad Larose R LW/RW 2003 Fraser, Michigan
61 Canada Cory Stillman - A L LW/RW 2005 Peterborough, Ontario
63 Czech Republic Josef Vasicek L C/LW 1998 Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic

Hall of Famers

none (The Hurricanes' predecessor, the Hartford Whalers did have two Hall of Famers: Gordie Howe and Dave Keon)

Team captains

Note: This list of team captains does not include captains from the Hartford Whalers (NHL) and New England Whalers (WHA).

Retired numbers

  • 3 Steve Chiasson, D, 1996-99, including 1996-97 in Hartford (Unofficially retired)
  • 9 Gordie Howe, RW, 1977-80 (retired by Whalers, which continues to be honored by the Hurricanes, but no banner hangs in the RBC Center)
  • 10 Ron Francis, C, 1982-91 (Hartford) & 1998-2004
  • 99 Wayne Gretzky (retired league-wide by the NHL)

The Whalers also retired the number 2 of Rick Ley (D, 1972-81) and the number 19 of John McKenzie (RW, 1977-79), but these numbers have been restored to circulation by the Hurricanes.

First round draft picks

Note: This list does not include selections as the Hartford Whalers.

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in the history of the Carolina Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers franchise in the NHL. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season. Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player POS GP G A Pts
Ron Francis C 1186 382 793 1175
Kevin Dineen RW 708 250 294 544
Jeff O'Neill RW 673 198 218 416
Pat Verbeek RW 433 192 211 403
Blaine Stoughton RW 357 219 158 377
Geoff Sanderson RW 479 196 173 369
Ray Ferraro C 442 157 194 351
Andrew Cassels C 438 97 253 350
Sami Kapanen LW 520 145 203 348
Sylvain Turgeon LW 370 178 150 328

Trivia

  • The Hurricanes' received their new name a few months after a particularly active hurricane season for North Carolina in 1996, which included one major storm, Hurricane Fran, that hit Raleigh directly.
  • The Hurricanes' alternate logo actually is a signal for a storm warning, since it uses only one flag. A hurricane warning is indicated by two such flags, but obviously showing two flags flying from the hockey stick would be aesthetically awkward.
  • Ric Flair sometimes will make appearances at their games, cheering them on, and yelling "Woooo!" when they score a goal.

Broadcasters

  • John Forslund - Play-by-play (TV)
  • Tripp Tracy - Color commentary (TV)
  • Katy Temple - Rinkside (TV)
  • Chuck Kaiton - Play-by-play (Radio)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ http://espn.go.com/nhl/2001/20010422/recap/njdcar.html
  2. ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/nhl/2001/features/preview/hurricanes/
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