In October 6, 1997, Sports Illustrated published a scouting report on the Carolina Hurricanes that really summed up the chance-in-a-million season the team, newly relocated to Greensboro from Hartford, faced that year.
Theyd be better off if they played in the ACC, the prediction read. It was a shot that proved to be as dead-on as a three-point buzzer-beater.
The Canes, as their now-rabid royal rooters in Raleigh have affectionately nicknamed them, put together the most unremarkable 199798 season in the NHLs six-team Northeast Division, finishing dead last, a full nine points behind the fifth place Ottawa Senators, with a 33418 record. That campaign included just 16 wins in 34 home games, 23 losses on the road, 219 goals against (compared to the 200 they scored), a streak of seven straight losses followed by seven straight wins and then six straight losses in their first 28 gamesyou get the picture.
Even after dressing up his players in new red, white and black uniforms, owner Peter Karmanos couldn't hide the fact that these guys, with rising All-Star center Keith Primeau and all, were really just the Hartford Whalers in disguise, a franchise that finished above .500 three times in 17 years and had not appeared in the playoffs since the 199192 season. And just to rub their noses in it a little, the NHL itself sucker-punched the team by comparing the chance of Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz, who is famously stingy, televising his teams home games to the Canes chance of making the playoffs. It was a cheap shot that angered Primeau, and he fired back at NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in an interview with the Chicago Sun Times. It was the first memorable and publicly expressed sign of true Hurricane pride by any of their players.
Not surprising to Triangle sports fans, who traditionally turn to their alma mater or adopted NCAA team come fall and who are used to watching the home team win (well, except for Duke Blue Devil football fans), nobody was buying into this ice hockey thing, and it showed in the stands. The Canes ended the season averaging 9108 fans per game at the 23,000-capacity Greensboro Coliseum. Even more telling was the measly 3000-or-so season tickets they managed to sell.
One of the things Pete (Karmanos) found attractive about Raleigh was that the city had plans to build an arena, which provided the hope of its being able to found a stable franchise, says Jim Cain, president and chief operating officer of Gale Force Holdings, owners of the Canes. But he knew it would take at least two years for the city to build a new arena. Of course, this meant that establishing a solid fan base and marketing effort in Greensboro or the Triangle would be nearly impossible with the team slated to move.
It seems almost humorous now but for a time there was talk, albeit very briefly, of housing the Canes in Dorton Arena, but at just 4750 seats it was an unrealistic choice; you have to have fans in the seats to pay the high salaries a group of top NHL players commands. Instead, Gale Force labored to sell season tickets and corporate packages to whatever fans they could find to watch the games in Greensboro. By the end of that first year, 85 percent of those 3000-or-so ticket holders, according to Cain, were commuting to the Greensboro home games from the Triangle.
What we didn't realize at the time was that the Triangle and the Triad were two very separate and different markets economically, demographically, socially and corporately, says Cain, a Charlotte native and graduate of Wake Forest law school, who replaced Dean Jordan as president in 1999. Secondly, we didn't fully appreciate the fact that in a temporary market, fans and the corporate community won't embrace you the same as if you were making a long-term commitment.
They also underestimated the gust of negativity that would engulf construction of the $158 million Entertainment and Sports Arena (which will be re-named the RBC Centura Arena if all goes well), and a contract holdout by Primeau before the 199899 season, the teams most recognizable commodity following a series of television ads and brochures depicting the Canes center driving a Zamboni with Richard Petty. Primeau has since fled to the Philadelphia Flyers.
During the off-season, and unbeknownst to even the most loyal NHL followers, a new weather pattern began forming over the Piedmont Valley. Forecasts still called for plenty of gloom-and-doom, but now, seven years after the Hartford Whalers traded All-Star forward Ron Francis and defensive stalwart Ulf Samuelsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for three players youll never hear mentioned in casual hockey conversationsa trade regarded by many as possibly the worst in NHL historyFrancis surprised the hockey world by passing up offers worth more money from other contending teams (most notably the Buffalo Saberswho would lose in the Stanley Cup finals that year to the Dallas Stars) and returning to the Hurricanes.
Francis led the team through another year in Greensboro as the only Canes player to appear in all 82 games, but this time they finished in first place atop the newly created Southeastern Division with a record of 343018, and the Primeau-less Canes were rewarded with a long-awaited playoff berth, although they were ousted in the first round by the Boston Bruins. But arguably the teams longest stride was made by Francis before the seasons first face-off when he announced he was buying a home in Raleigh and moving his family to the Triangle. It was widely reported that he viewed Research Triangle Park as a massively untapped marketthat he wanted to be here. By the end of the Canes 200102 appearance in the Stanley Cup finals, other players and executives followed suit, purchasing about $15 million worth of property in Wake County.
Again, though, Gale Force would stumble as it tried to adjust to life in the South. Canes management and other arena backers promised time and time again during construction of the ESA that traffic snarls would never be an issue. That theory was shot down on opening night of the 199900 campaign when someone forgot to tell the inexperienced parking-lot crew how to help 18,000 curious hockey spectators to park their cars in time for the first drop of the puck in Raleigh. The initial home game was a technical sellout, Cain says, But there were about 4000 empty seatsyou could see them if you were watching on TVbecause the traffic was so bad. Even if you could get inside, the concession lines were so longthings just werent working out as they should.
Davin Olsen, vice president and general manager of the ESA, remembers the opening night mess with a knowing chuckle. The keys to the building were literally turned over to Gale Force 48 hours before the first game, Olsen says. The bottom line was that we opened the building in a short period of time, and it took us awhile to acclimate.
That goes for the fans, too. As the college hoops season tipped-off, the Canes watched home crowds start to thin like the hair on Mike Krzyzewskis head; a string of three home games against the likes of Calgary, Pittsburgh and Toronto averaged about 9500 fans each, harkening back to the two years in Greensboro when the team drew the lowest attendance in the NHL. At the time, goaltender Arturs Irbe said better hockey would bring better attendance, but even in the Triangle, where sports freaks are accustomed to rooting for winning teams (and although the Canes finished the 199900 season with a 373510 record but missed the playoffs), the idea of ice hockey would take some time to take, only it would take a lot less time than anyone imagined, especially the reigning Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils.
The 200001 campaign started off with the Canes September release of a 125-point contract with the fans. Gale Force was promising to add more food and beverage choices, including a pub-style restaurant with views of the ice, improvements inside and outside the arena, including widening entry roads, and more player involvement in Triangle communities.
Once we came out with that and admitted our mistakes, we started seeing a shift in the fans acceptance of us, Cain says.
About 9000 fans responded by showing up at the Caniac Carnival, the teams now-annual public relations event. Eventually, the season opened with a sold-out ESA, and the Canes would go on to fill the arena to capacity seven times that year compared to just once the year before. Gale Force also began a push to land the NHL All-Star game at the ESA, an effort that included the development of a four-and-a-half-inch-thick marketing plan and a promise from the NHL commissioner that the All-Star game would skate into Raleigh if the Canes could prove their fans actually care (translation: sell more season tickets).
The Hurricanes finished that season 38329, good enough for second place in the Southeast Division, and slipped into the playoffs past Boston on a tie-breaker. It was the Triangles first dose of the dazzle that is NHL post-season hockey. But the real victory would come, ironically, while the Canes were staring into the face of a first-round defeat at the hands of the world-champion Devils.
At the ESA, with about two-and-a-half minutes left in game six, trailing New Jersey 51, a cheer, which is more appropriately described as a jaw-dropping roar, started bubbling from some remote corner of the arena. Within seconds it spread to the vocal chords of nearly every person in the building; even fans seated in the usually tame luxury boxes and club level seats rose to their feet. And well beyond the final buzzer the Caniacs stood, applauding their hometown boys for their performance on the ice. They'd hung on their seats through a fight-filled game three, memorable for watching Francis try to crawl off the ice after being knocked into la-la land (he sat out the remainder of the series with a concussion), erupted when Rod BrindAmour scored an overtime goal in game five to keep the Canes alive, and cheered at home, or in their favorite pub, as they traveled up i-95 and beat the Devils to force game six.
The crowds raucous tribute to a hard-fought season even took veteran ESPN sportscasters by surprise, as they commented on air that this team, that had no permanent home just two years earlier, and was a franchise labeled as not-so-lovable losers since their days in Hartford, had arrived in the world of big-time pro hockey.
A storm had settled over Raleigh, the Whalers were no more, and for the reborn Carolina Hurricanes, the best was yet to come.
When North Carolina sports enthusiasts recall the pressures of overtime, they likely remember a five-minute extra session between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils, or a ravenous duel between the Wolfpack and Demon Deacons. Athletics in this region typically occur on squeaky hardwood, a long par 4, lush green diamonds, or a cow pasture with lines on it, as Andy Griffith once recited.
The concept of six men skating on ice for three periods and substituting during the flow of the game was a foreign concept until the Carolina Hurricanes moved to Raleigh from Greensboro for the 19992000 campaign. Since then the Raleigh/Triangle region has been buzzing about hockey on Tobacco Road.
Were starting to see that people don't need to have the fundamentals of the game explained to them as much, especially after last year, says Jerry Higgins, the Canes public relations director and a former Whalers beat reporter for the Hartford Courant. The fans are showing a lot of passion for these guys, kind of like Don't mess with our team.
For two seasons the Hurricanes drew the curious, the passionate and the unfamiliar to Raleighs Entertainment and Sports Arena, selling out games against renowned opponents such as the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers, but playing to half-capacity crowds for some of their more average opponents. After failing to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2000 and losing in the opening round to the New Jersey Devils in 2001, fans expected something similar for the 200102 season with most Hurricanes followers hoping for a competitive season and perhaps a first-round playoff victory.
After all, according to every hockey expert this is not hockey country, and the puck and ice would just be an entertaining addition to ACC football and basketball. Little did they know that the Carolina Hurricanes, seven years removed from Hartford, Connecticut, would have a successful regular season and take advantage of every opportunity given them in the playoffs. Skating through overtimes, goalie changes, and black eyes, the Canes defied the odds and every prediction. Yet Coach Paul Maurices army braved the elements and showed remarkable promise, and in a celebration of character and teamwork came tantalizingly close to hoisting Lord Stanleys Cup.
And they achieved hockey history by sticking to the game plan by General Manager Jim Rutherford and owner Peter Karmanos, who fervently insisted on keeping player salaries low and building from within. Their philosophy paid off by the strategic use of Carolinas farm system, where the development of young players is as good as any in professional hockey. Key contributors such as Erik Cole, Jeff ONeill, Josef Vasicek, and Jaroslav Svoboda are all products of Carolinas minor league development and contributed greatly in the teams 352616 regular season record, good for third place in the Eastern Conference.
These farm players joined with veteran Center Ron Franciswho led the Hurricanes with 50 regular season assists, good for fourth in the NHLand Winger Jeff ONeill who led the club with 31 goals, 24th most in the league. But these numbers were not staggering, and Carolina was not entering the post-season with mind-boggling statistics. What they lacked in numbers, however, they made up for with courage.
In the opening round versus the New Jersey Devils and Hurricane nemesis Scott Stevens, the Canes won twice in overtime. As if the pressures of extra-period hockey were not enough, the Canes also introduced their goalie by committee strategy, as Coach Paul Maurice lifted veteran net-minder Arturs Irbe in favor of youngster Kevin Weekes. By the end of the playoffs, Irbe would register 10 wins and Weekes three, but more impressive were their post-season statistics: Irbe posted a goals against average (GAA) of 1.67 and a save percentage of .938, and his 10 playoff wins were good for third in the NHL. Kevin Weekes allowed 1.62 goals a game and boasted a .939 save percentage, winning three games. During the regular season Irbe started 51 games in net while splitting time with then-Hurricane Tom Barasso (later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs), winning 20 and finishing with 11 ties, a league high. However, his GAA of 2.54 and .902 save percentage were very modest, further emphasizing his gallant post-season play.
After eliminating the Devils in a low-scoring series and crushing the legendary Montreal Canadians in a high-scoring set of games, the Hurricanes met the storied Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference Finals, and stunned the hockey world by taking the series 42.
Going into their building and winning all three games, especially that last one we won 21 in overtime, was really big for us, ONeill says. And we carried that momentum into the finals.
As Detroit writers drew analogies between Raleigh and Mayberry and focused more on barbecue than the Finals, hockey experts were predicting a clean sweepno way would the big-eyed Carolina Hurricanes compete with the revered Detroit Red Wings. The storied Wings could put more future Hall of Famers on the ice at one time than the Hurricanes had in their team history.
The rampant skepticism served as motivation as the Canes took the ice at Joe Louis Arena for Game 1. The contest seemed defined by officiating, as 13 penalties were registered. A questionable interference call on the Hurricanes Glen Wesley led to the first Red Wings goal, as Detroits Sergei Federov netted the power-play score. With two Red Wings in the penalty box, Carolina defenseman Sean Hill slapped an assist from Jeff ONeill past Dominik Hasek and tied the game at 1 with 3:30 left in the second period. After Darren McCarty beat Irbe stick side to give Detroit a 21 lead, the task seemed daunting. But with the second period nearing its close, Detroit castaway Aaron Ward found Jeff ONeill open and the game was tied 22.
No one scored in the third period, and the game headed into to overtime. Then, 57 seconds into the extra stanza, Ron Francis, team captain and future Hall of Famer, was left alone in front of the net. As the Captain put the puck past a sprawling Hasek, the Hurricanes took the series lead 10, and Raleigh was beside itself. The Carolina Hurricanes, the first team from the Southeast Division to win a Stanley Cup Finals game, had staged a monumental upset.
Winning that game in the finals against Detroit, we felt like at that point, that no one could stop us, Kapanen says. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way.
The momentum, however, fizzled in Game 2 as the Red Wings won 21. With the game tied 11 with five minutes remaining in the third period, the Detroit power-play unit beat Arturs Irbes high glove side on a shot by Nicklas Lidstrom. Carolina was tough throughout, but a slashing call on Martin Gelinas late in the game gave Detroit the advantage. Returning to Raleigh tied 11, however, was more than most Canes fans expected.
The Hurricanes were 1:14 seconds away from seizing a 21 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals, but a goal from Detroit legend Brett Hull tied Game 3 at 2 late in the third period. Neither team did much in overtime, and the 18,982 in attendance for the first Finals game ever in North Carolina settled in for a second OT. Twenty minutes later the game was still knotted at two, and as am hours came so did the anxiety. When Detroits Igor Larionov cut down the middle of the ice in the third overtime and backhanded a shot high over Irbe, the late-night show was over, and the Red Wings won 32. This was the third-longest game in Stanley Cup Finals history and the ninth overtime game in the 2002 Playoffs for the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina won twice in OT in the opening round against New Jersey, once against Montreal and three times against Toronto. Now the Hurricanes were down 21 in the series, but the hockey world was now fully aware of North Carolina hockey, and pacemakers throughout the Triangle were working overtime.
Destiny again seemed deflated as the Hurricanes came out flat in Game 4 and were shut out 30 in front of their home crowd. Detroit goalie Dominik Hasek was not invincible, but Carolina found difficulty in generating offense. However, local hockey fans applauded fervently as the teams left the ice. The Hurricanes had generated an interest in this Canadian sport that far exceeded anyones expectations.
After a 31 defeat in Detroit in Game 5 the dance was over. The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup 41. In a fine hockey game that was well played by both teams, the Wings struck first when Tomas Holmstrom scored with 15 minutes left in the second period. Brendan Shanahan added a second Detroit goal with six minutes left in the second, and the Wings pushed ahead 20.
Jeff ONeill made it close later in the second by scoring on the power play, but Detroits third-period defense was impenetrable. An empty-net, third-period goal from Shanahan put the game, and series out of reach, and the Red Wings hoisted the famed Cup at center ice.
Some hockey fans say that owning a Cup is a rich mans hobby, and with Detroit sporting the NHLs highest payroll that might be hard to argue. Low-budget teams win, but not often. Without a salary cap in place, it is difficult for smaller market teams to compete deep into the post-season, and oftentimes player movement results in the large market teams luring players from the smaller markets. Without revenue sharing or a salary cap, the NHL may likely face financial squabbles similar to those of Major League Baseball.
That said, the 200102 Carolina Hurricanes demolished all odds in their quest not only for the Stanley Cup, but big-time hockey respect as well. They enter the 200203 campaign with nearly 10 regular season, nationally televised games, after only one this past year (and that was a 10:30 EST game against the Los Angeles Kings). Players like Jeff ONeill, Ron Francis, and Arturs Irbe are now household names, and the excitement will be electric when the Canes raise the Cup Finals banner in their home opener October 7 against the New York Rangers. Raleigh is officially Canes Cup Crazy, and North Carolina is very proud.
With the Charlotte Hornets headed for the Big Easy and the Carolina Panthers poised for another less than stellar pigskin season, the Carolina Hurricanes are the only major league team in the state that has a chance of competing against ACC football and basketball for fan attention, not to mention dollars.
As the current holders of the Prince of Wales trophy, hockey's award for winning the Eastern Conference and advancing to the Stanley Cup finals, the rest of the NHL will no doubt be gunning to keep the Canes from storming the Eastern Conference. This year, the team does not have the advantage of being overlooked as a legitimate contender. For the first time since moving to North Carolina, Head Coach Paul Maurice no longer enjoys the advantage of the element of surprise.
First off, the Canes look great on paperat least good enough to have their loyal Caniacs already talking about the teams chances of appearing in their second Stanley Cup final in as many years. Of course, it is a long, physical 82-game season, but you can't knock Triangle sports fans for being positive. Besides, this team is the siren song of the Southeast Division, so to speak, with the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Atlanta Thrashers destined for mediocrity and the Washington Capitals, now with future hall-of-fame center Jaromir Jagr on board, trying to sort out who will back goaltender Olaf Kolzig while playing with weak defensive lines.
The Canes lost only one starter from last years Eastern Conference championship squad, left winger Martin Gelinas who skated off as a free agent to the Calgary Flames during the off-season. They have six solid defensemen in Aaron Ward, Bret Hedican (who passed up offers from several teams to sign a six-year $18 million deal with Carolina), Glen Wesley, Sean Hill, Marek Malik and Niclas Wallin, two brick walls in goaltenders Arturs Irbe and Kevin Weekeswho averaged 1.51 and 2.48 goals against, respectively, three top-notch offensive lines in and a gritty checking line.
Carolina re-signed its heart and soul in center Ron Francis (27 goals, 50 assists), now in his 22nd season, to a two-year $11 million contract and also inked a two-year deal with right winger Jeff ONeill (31 goals, 33 assists), who was integral to the success of last years club. General Manager Jim Rutherford has said he is looking for ONeill to be the star, which is interesting considering he seems not to favor Coach Maurices dump-and-shoot strategy. For instance, ONeill was subject to scoring droughts last year, most notably streaks of four and five games without a goal during the first two rounds of last years playoffs.
ONeill and Francis are this squads dynamic duo, and each needs the other to realize his potential. So do the rest of the Canes who seem to score in bursts. Case in point: they scored 17 goals in 11 post-season games, although the Canes did have five 20-goal scorers during the regular season in Sami Kapanen, Rod BrindAmor, Bates Battaglia, Francis and ONeill.
The biggest question defensively is the teams toughness. Coming off the bench for just 57 games, Darren Langdon was the only Canes player to rack up more than 100 penalty minutes (usually a good indicator of a players willingness to bleed a little and stand up for his teammates). The Detroit Red Wings realized this during last years final and exploited it throughout the series.
So is it really possible? Can the Hurricanes make lightning strike twice? Barring a complete breakdown on the ice, one thing is a certainty this year for Triangle sports fans: ACC basketball squads won't be the only Triangle teams making an appearance in the post-season. The Canes will still be playing next spring when baseball breathes life again. Now if they can just manage to claim home ice throughout the playoffs