A Look at the 2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes

After the Tampa Bay Lightning won their first Stanley Cup, hockey fans such as myself ended up going over a year without our favorite sport. I've been a hockey fan since I was a little kid, but to be honest, the moment I loved hockey the most was that 2004-05 season...because there wasn't one. I've experienced lockouts in other sports, but this was different. When hockey was gone, it felt like something was missing. It felt too quiet. It felt like a piece of myself was missing. WWE helped fill that void, but even so, with hockey gone, it was still too quiet for my liking.

Finally, the lockout ended, and the 2005-06 season started as planned. Of course, there were a few changes. For one, no more ties. All games ended with a shootout to determine a winner; this remains commonplace today. Two-line passes were now legal; goalie's equipment became smaller, and even the broadcasting rights changed. ESPN and ABC were done, and that season began NBC's tenure as the main NHL network, with NBC and the then-named Outdoor Life Network (later renamed Versus and later the NBC Sports Network) airing the games.

There was one more change in the 2005-06 season, and it involved the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes were on the rise, and it was a long overdue rise, as their success as a franchise was minimal. The team debuted as the New England Whalers in the WHA in 1972, and became one of four teams to move from the WHA to the NHL in 1979, joining the Edmonton Oilers, the Quebec Nordiques, and the Winnipeg Jets (the renamed Hartford Whalers were the only American franchise in the group). They were an immensely hard luck franchise, only qualifying for the playoffs eight times in their first 18 years in the NHL, winning only one division title (1986-87), and only winning one playoff series (a three-game sweep over the Nordiques in the Adams Division Semifinals). The team moved to Raleigh, North Carolina and became the Carolina Hurricanes beginning with the 1997-98 season. In their fifth season in Carolina, the Hurricanes reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in team history, losing in five games to the Detroit Red Wings.

In the 2005-06 season, the Hurricanes went 52-22-8, totalling 112 points in the standings. They fell just one point short of the Eastern Conference lead, but even so, it was the first time in franchise history that the team surpassed 100 points, and their record was their best in franchise history until the 2021-22 season. The Hurricanes were led by Eric Staal, whose 45 goals and 100 points led the team; his 55 assists were tied for the team lead with Cory Stillman. Stillman and Justin Williams finished tied for 2nd on the team with 76 points, Rod Brind'Amour racked up 70 points (31 of them were goals), and Erik Cole had 59 points (30 of them were goals). The Hurricanes' net was shared by Martin Gerber and Cam Ward, though it would be the latter who took over during the 2006 playoffs.

The Hurricanes' run began with a six-game victory over the Montréal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, with the win coming after the Hurricanes lost the first two games of the series. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Hurricanes ousted the New Jersey Devils in only five games to reach the Final Four for the second time in franchise history. Fun fact: the Devils and Canadiens were the same two teams who Carolina defeated in their first run to the Cup Final in 2002, but the order was in reverse--they defeated the Devils (back-to-back Eastern Conference Champions at the time) in Round 1, and defeated the Canadiens in Round 2. The Hurricanes needed the maximum seven games in the Eastern Conference Final against the Buffalo Sabres, but won Game Seven by a score of 4-2 to clinch their second trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

The 2006 Stanley Cup Final was the first to air on NBC, and regarding the Hurricanes, they faced off against the Edmonton Oilers, who reached the playoffs as the Western Conference's #8 seed. This was also the first (and, so far, only) Cup Final to feature two former WHA teams, and with the Oilers representing the West, this was Canada's third chance to end their Cup drought. The Canes took Games One and Two by scores of 5-4 and 5-0, but the games at Rexall Place in Edmonton were split, with the teams trading 2-1 wins. Carolina was one win away from their first Stanley Cup, but Edmonton made things difficult for their opponents, as they won Game Five, 4-3, in overtime, and blanked the Canes, 4-0, in Game Six. The Oilers were one win away from their sixth Stanley Cup and first since 1990, but Dwayne Roloson's injury entering Game Seven served as a detriment. The Canes capitalized, winning 3-1 to capture the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.

Eric Staal led the team with 28 points (9 G/19 A) in 25 playoff games. Rod Brind'Amour scored 12 goals in the playoffs, but the Conn Smythe winner was Carolina's rookie goaltender, Cam Ward. In the 2006 playoffs, Ward went 15-8 with a .920 SV%, a 2.14 GAA, and two shutouts (one of them in the Cup Final). He became the first rookie goaltender to win a Cup Final series since Patrick Roy did so 20 years prior, and here's a random fun fact: Cam Ward is the only Conn Smythe winner to be born on Leap Day (February 29). With the Hurricanes' Stanley Cup victory, the original Winnipeg Jets (now the Arizona Coyotes) are the only WHA transplant to have never won the Stanley Cup. The Edmonton Oilers became the first in 1984, and 12 years later, the relocated Colorado Avalanche became the second WHA transplant to win the Cup. In addition, the Hurricanes became the fourth (and most recent) relocated team to win the Stanley Cup, joining the New Jersey Devils, the aforementioned Avalanche, and the Dallas Stars.

This was an amazing run for the Carolina Hurricanes; I definitely enjoyed it. I was happy for the Hurricanes; this was a well deserved Cup for the team, and it added some legitimacy to the maligned Southeast Division (who won their second straight Cup). Unfortunately for the Canes, they had problems getting back to the playoffs for a while--they actually missed out in the following year. They reached the Final Four in 2009, but it would be a full decade until they returned to the playoffs, with their 2019 run seeing them in the Final Four again. Rod Brind'Amour, who was part of the 2006 championship, serves as the Hurricanes' head coach, and under him, the Canes appear to be back on the road to a second Cup. Time will tell if they get there, but even so, the Hurricanes' 2006 Stanley Cup served as an amazing ending to a season that we hockey fans truly needed, after over a year without experiencing this amazing sport.