Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Hurricanes play their home games at the 18,680-seat PNC Arena.

Raleigh is the capital city of North Carolina. It’s known for its universities, including North Carolina State University. The number of technology and scholarly institutions around Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Durham make the area known as the Research Triangle. The North Carolina State Capitol is a 19th-century Greek Revival–style building with a statue of George Washington dressed as a Roman general in its rotunda.

Franchise History

The franchise was formed in 1971 as the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association (WHA). It joined the NHL in 1979 as part of the NHL–WHA merger, renaming themselves the Hartford Whalers.

Relocation to North Carolina

The team relocated to North Carolina in 1997 and won its first Stanley Cup during the 2005–06 season. On May 6, 1997, Karmanos announced that the Whalers would move to the Research Triangle area of North Carolina and the new Entertainment and Sports Arena (ESA) in Raleigh.

Due to the relatively short time frame for the move, Karmanos himself thought of and decided upon the new name for the club, the Carolina Hurricanes, rather than holding a contest as is sometimes done. Later that summer, the team dropped the Whalers' colors of blue, green, and silver for a new black-and-red scheme, matching the colors of the North Carolina State University Wolfpack. They shared the arena in Raleigh with the Wolfpack's men's basketball team.

The Hurricanes inherited the Whalers' place in the Northeast Division. Unfortunately, the ESA would not be complete for two more years. The only arena in the Triangle area with an ice plant was the 45-year-old Dorton Arena. At 5,100 seats, it was completely inadequate even for temporary use.

The Hurricanes were thus forced to play home games in Greensboro—90 minutes west of Raleigh—for their first two seasons after the move. However, the team was based in Raleigh and practiced in nearby Hillsborough. This effectively saddled the Hurricanes with 82 road games for the next two years. The choice was disastrous for the franchise's attendance and reputation.

With a capacity of over 21,000 people for hockey, the Greensboro Coliseum was the highest-capacity arena in the NHL.

2002 Playoff Breakthrough

The Hurricanes made national waves for the first time in the 2002 playoffs. They survived a late charge from the Washington Capitals to win the division. Expectations were low entering the first round against the defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils.

However, Artūrs Irbe and Kevin Weekes were solid in goal. The Hurricanes won two games in overtime as they defeated the Devils in six games.

Their second-round matchup was against the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens 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 the series and 3–0 in the game—Carolina tied the game and then won on Niclas Wallin's overtime goal. The game became known to Hurricanes fans as the \"Miracle at Molson.\" Carolina won the next two games by a combined 13–3 margin over a dejected Habs club to take the series.

2006 Stanley Cup Championship

The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in the 2005–06 season, beating the Edmonton Oilers four games to three.

In Game 7, before the second-largest home crowd in franchise history (18,978), the Hurricanes won 3–1. This sealed their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. Cam Ward was honored with the Conn Smythe Trophy for the playoffs' most valuable player, becoming just the fourth rookie to receive the award.

Several Hurricanes raised the Cup for the first time in their long NHL careers. Players like Rod Brind'Amour and Bret Hedican had played over 15 years without winning the Cup. Glen Wesley—the last remaining Hartford Whaler on the roster—had waited 18 seasons.

General manager Jim Rutherford finally won the Cup in his twelfth year with the franchise since joining the Whalers in 1994.

The Hurricanes' Stanley Cup championship marked the first professional major league sports title for a team from North Carolina. They were also the first NHL team to win the Stanley Cup despite losing at least nine playoff games that year. The 2011 Boston Bruins, 2014 Los Angeles Kings, and 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins are the only other teams to accomplish the feat.

2018 Offseason Moves

The 2018-19 season outlook for the Carolina Hurricanes was promising amid a tough Metropolitan Division. The Metro had produced the last three Stanley Cup champions and featured stars like Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Artemi Panarin, and Mathew Barzal.

Carolina added key players: top-four defensemen Calvin de Haan and Dougie Hamilton; Calder Trophy contender Andrei Svechnikov; gritty wingers Micheal Ferland and Jordan Martinook; and backup goalie Petr Mrazek.

On May 8, 2018, the Hurricanes hired former Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell as team president and general manager. Former captain Rod Brind'Amour was named head coach after serving as an assistant since 2011.

These additions positioned the Hurricanes for a playoff push.