32 NHL Cities in 32 Days: Carolina Hurricanes

Alexis Bazydola
May 6, 2020
4 min read

The Location: Raleigh, NC

The Carolina Hurricanes play at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. Opening in 1999, the arena has been home to many sporting events as well as concerts. This 700,000 square foot facility seats just over 18,000 for a hockey game. Today, the same goal horn used in the Hartford Civic Center during their stint as the Hartford Whalers is used in PNC Arena.

Team History

Carolina has not always been home to the Hurricanes. They began as the New England Whalers in 1971 in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and played at the Boston Arena and Boston Garden. While scheduling games became difficult as they were sharing arena space with the Boston Bruins, the owners decided to move the team to Hartford Connecticut in 1974. Although the arena was not complete yet in Hartford, the Whalers began their season playing in The Big E Coliseum in West Springfield, Massachusetts. They would play their first game at the Hartford Civic Center in front of a sold-out crowd in January 1975. When the WHA dissolved in 1979, the Whalers were admitted in to the NHL. They were then renamed to the Hartford Whalers. The team did not find much success in this new league, however. Their only playoff series win was in 1986 over the Quebec Nordiques, but were then knocked out by the Montreal Canadians.

With a limited market and the inability to negotiate a new arena deal with Hartford, owner Peter Karmanos announced the team would be moving to North Carolina. Due to the quick turnaround, Karmanos named the team himself: the Carolina Hurricanes. Later that offseason it was announced the Whalers blue and green would be swapped out for the new black and red color scheme. Although they had the highest capacity arena at the time, drawing fans to the arena that was located in Greensboro proved to be challenging. They managed to make it back to the playoffs in 1999 facing the Boston Bruins, but would lose the series.

In the 99-00 season, the Hurricanes moved to Raleigh, but play was lackluster and they again failed to make the playoffs. This season did bring future captain Rod Brind’Amour to the team in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. It would not be until the 2002 playoffs that the team would win another playoff series. Facing the reigning Eastern Conference Champion New Jersey Devils, the Canes would go on to win the series in six games. They would go on to face the Montreal Canadians and would also take that series in six games as well. The Eastern Conference Finals would see the Hurricanes face the Toronto Maple Leafs. After winning this series as well, they would reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in their franchise history. Although they took the series against the Detroit Red Wings to five games, they would ultimately lose the series.

Coming off of this historic run, the Canes could not capitalize on their success of the previous season and finished last in the league with 61 points. The 2003-04 season saw a similar effect and management brought in head coach Peter Laviolette to turn the team around. Attendance declined once again. Although the team was not doing well on the ice, 2003 brought Eric Staal to the Canes via the draft. After the 2004-05 lockout, the Canes were poised and ready to make another Cup run.

The 2005-06 season saw the Canes finish with 112 points, the best in their franchise history. After beating the Montreal Canadians in the first round and the New Jersey Devils in the second round, they faced the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Finals. Winning the series in six games, the Canes would go on to their second Cup Final appearance. They faced the Edmonton Oilers. They pushed the series to seven games and won their first ever Stanley Cup. Rookie Cam Ward was honored as the Conn Smythe Trophy winner for the playoffs’ MVP.

Despite the success in 2006, the Canes were unable to capitalize on it during the next few seasons. They would miss the playoffs for the next two seasons. Peter Laviolette was let go at the beginning of the 08-09 season and replaced by Paul Maurice. After acquiring Jussi Jokinen and Erik Cole via trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning and Edmonton Oilers, respectively, the team once again clinched a playoff spot in 2009. While they were able to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals once again, they were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Canes would once again find a slump in their play as they missed the playoffs for the next nine seasons despite stars like young Jeff Skinner and his offensive success. 2017 saw the transition of a new owner, Thomas Dundon. After turmoil in the front office, the 2018 offseason saw the need for both a general manager and head coach. Don Waddell and Ron Brind’Amour were announced as the GM and head coach, respectively.

Although they would go on to clinch a playoff spot and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2019, they ultimately fell to the Boston Bruins. At the season’s pause, Carolina sits 11th in the league with 81 points.

Fanbase

The 2019 playoff run brought the new “Storm Surge” tradition to Carolina. The team would celebrate wins on the ice in front of the fans after games. This would inspire the nickname “Bunch of Jerks” thanks to Hockey Night in Canada’s Don Cherry, a nickname the team would wholeheartedly embrace.

The team is also cheered on by their mascot Stormy and their Storm Squad cheerleaders. Stormy is a pig who represents the state’s abundance of hog farms and love of pork barbecue. In 2017, a secondary mascot Caroline was introduced as well.