2005 Carolina Hurricanes

Congratulations to all the participants in the National Hockey League Playoff series, and especially to the Carolina Hurricanes, the 2006 winners of the Stanley Cup! It took seven hard-fought games, but the 'Canes finally defeated the Edmonton Oilers. Carolina's rookie goalkeeper, Cam Ward, was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoff's Most Valuable Player.

Fans and sportswriters have been assessing it all year: is hockey back? Here at the Stanley Cup finals, it feels safe to say, yes, it's back and it's sensational! For example, Game 1 offered the chance to see what would once have been a gilt-edged 3-0 second-period lead for the Edmonton Oilers morph into a see-saw battle that didn't end until Rod Brind'Amour's goal with 31 seconds left sealed a 5-4 victory for the Carolina Hurricanes. Of course, Oilers fans would rather point to, say, Game 5, where Fernando Pisani kept the playoffs and Edmonton's dreams alive with an overtime goal that gave them a 4-3 victory. but what a series for hockey fans! You shoulda been there!

You can be there! Call or click Coast to Coast. We've got the Stanley Cup tickets you're looking for.

The Carolina Hurricanes played through a respectable but non-playoff season in 2003-04, and now it's time for the Hurricanes to act like their namesakes and start tearing through the National Hockey League. With such players as Josef Vasicek and Erik Cole leading the offense, head coach Peter Laviolette has a lot of talent to work with. The result could be a playoff run, so get your tickets early.

The Hurricanes play at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, and wears uniforms of red, black, and white. The team name and logo are taken from the high-velocity wind storms that often strike North Carolina's Atlantic seaboard in late fall and winter.

Before becoming the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997, the franchise played as the New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 to 1978, and as the Hartford Whalers in the NHL from 1979 to 1997.

As members of the Eastern Division of the WHA during the 1970s, the Whalers earned three division titles and one league championship. In 1977, 49-year-old Gordie Howe, who had already been named to the Hockey Hall of Fame, and his sons Mark and Marty joined the team. Gordie and Mark produced top scoring efforts that year, powering New England to a second trip to the WHA Finals. The Whalers lost the series to the Jets, whose offense was led by left wing Bobby Hull.

In 1979 the Whalers joined the NHL after the WHA and NHL merged. That same year the team changed its name to the Hartford Whalers. Gordie Howe played one more year with the team before retiring in 1980 at age 52.

In the 1980s and 1990s Hartford qualified for the NHL playoffs for seven consecutive seasons with lineups starring center Ron Francis and goalie Mike Liut. The team owners moved the franchise to North Carolina before the 1997-98 season and renamed the team the Hurricanes. In 2001-02, the Hurricanes went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to the Detroit Red Wings.