1999 First Playoff Series vs Pittsburgh

Lore & Background

The franchise was formed in 1971 as the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Whalers saw success immediately, winning the Eastern Division in the WHA's first three seasons and becoming the inaugural Avco World Trophy champions at the end of the 1972–73 season. The Whalers again competed for the World Trophy in 1978, this time falling short to the Winnipeg Jets in a rematch of the 1973 Avco Cup Final. The franchise joined the NHL in 1979 as part of the NHL–WHA merger, renaming themselves the Hartford Whalers. The team relocated to North Carolina in 1997, rebranding themselves as the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes have won the Stanley Cup Final twice in 2006 and in 2026. They are the only professional team from North Carolina to have won a major sports championship.

In Their Own Story

The arena was alive before the puck even dropped. Three thousand, four thousand, five thousand voices layered over the ice, all of them Carolina, all of them new to this feeling. Ron Francis stood at the blue line, stick in hand, watching the Penguins skate out. He could feel the vibration through the soles of his skates, the whole floor trembling. He turned to Jeff O'Neill and said, quiet, almost to himself, "This is ours. Let's go take it."

The first period was a scrum — bodies in the corners, sticks checking, the sound of skates carving ice echoing off the glass. But by the second, the Hurricanes had found their rhythm. Francis feeding a pass up slot, a one-timer cracking off the crossbar and bouncing into the net, and the building simply detonated. Strangers hugged. A kid in a too-big jersey in the front row was screaming so hard his face was red. The Penguins' coach stood at the boards, jaw tight, watching his guys get swarmed. When the final horn sounded and the series was over, Francis didn't celebrate. He just skated to the bench, dropped his stick, and let a long breath out. The crowd roared. He raised a hand, almost shyly, and let them have it. That was Carolina. That was the beginning.

Reader's Guide

The Hurricanes' first playoff appearance after moving to North Carolina came in 1999, when they won the newly formed Southeast Division. They lost their first-round series to the Boston Bruins.

Did You Know?

• The Hurricanes' goal horn from the Hartford Civic Center remains in use at Lenovo Center.
• The team introduced the 'Storm Squad', the first cheerleaders for professional ice hockey in North America, after moving to their new arena in Raleigh in 1999.
• The franchise's original name was the New England Whalers, and they won the Avco World Trophy in 1973.