Carolina Hurricanes

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, falling short to the Winnipeg Jets. 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.

Reader's Guide

The Hurricanes play at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The team's history includes a move from Hartford, Connecticut, after the 1996–97 season. For the first two seasons after the move, the Hurricanes played home games in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Greensboro Coliseum. The team moved to their newly completed arena in Raleigh in 1999.

Did You Know?

• The franchise was originally the New England Whalers of the WHA, winning the Avco World Trophy in 1973.
• The team relocated from Hartford to North Carolina in 1997 and was renamed the Carolina Hurricanes by owner Peter Karmanos.
• The Hurricanes introduced the 'Storm Squad', the first cheerleaders for professional ice hockey in North America, in 1999.