2007 Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes had a promising start this season and closed strong. However, the team could not overcome some mid-season slumps, and finished with 92 points, just out of the running for an NHL playoff berth. Cam Ward was rock-solid in goal this season, and Eric Staal had an outstanding season and won the MVP of the NHL All-Star Game. Though the team has not been able to match the phenomenal success of the 2006 Stanley Cup Championship team, they remain a dangerous, exciting club with lots of offensive weapons. They will remain a threat in the Southeast Division.

The 2006-07 season didn’t turn out the way Carolina Hurricanes’ fans had hoped – far from a repeat Stanely Cup victory, the Canes finished the season in third place in the Southeast Division. That just means that they’re back with something to prove in the 2007-08 season, and with Matt Cullen back on the roster the Canes stand a good chance of making it back to the playoffs. Much depends on the performance of Eric Staal and Cam Ward – and they’ll need throngs of screaming fans to support them. Get your tickets to RBC Center and help the Carolina Hurricanes reclaim their title!

The Hurricanes play at the RBC Center - Raleigh Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, and wear 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, but they made up for it in the 2005-06 season, beating the Edmonton Oilers to take home the Stanley Cup.