Carolina Hurricanes



They won their first Stanley Cup during the 2005-06 season, beating the Edmonton Oilers. Prior to 1997, the team was known as the Hartford Whalers.The abbreviation 'Canes? was previously used for the teams of the University of Miami and Lethbridge of the WHL, who were also known as the Hurricanes.

The term Whalercanes, a combination of the Hartford and Carolina nicknames, is used occasionally to refer to the franchise's combined history in Hartford and North Carolina. Hurricanes fans call themselves "Caniacs", a derivation from 'Canes? of the team's nickname.

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' logo is a signal for a storm watch, since it uses only one flag. A hurricane warning is indicated by two such flags, but showing two flags flying from the hockey stick would be aesthetically awkward.

The New England Whalers formed 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 in the late 1970s, the Whalers played at the Springfield Civic Center while their Hartford home was renovated, the franchise was largely located in Hartford.

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 during the 2002 playoff.

The outcome of the 2004-05 NHL shrunk 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 proved to be one of the NHL's biggest surprises thus rated for the best season in the franchise's 34-year history. 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 'Canes were later ranked fourth in the overall league. Still, their fourth-place was far and away their best ever as an NHL team.

The Oilers won Game 3 at Rexall Place, as Ryan Smyth scored the game-winning goal 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. However, game five saw the Oilers come back with a stunning 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 Hurricanes' Stanley Cup championship marked the first professional major league sports title from the Carolinas. They are the second consecutive Southeast Division team to win the Cup, 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 were unable 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 Cup champions since the 1938-39 Chicago Blackhawks won the cup after having failed to qualify for the playoffs the previous season, only to again fail to make the postseason after their victory. 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.

In 2007, the team became only the third defending Stanley Cup champion, to miss the playoffs the following season. The team only became the 2nd team to win a Stanley Cup Championship after missing the playoffs the previous season.

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