More of this Feature • Part 2: Do the 'Canes have a chance?

Related Resources • The Stanley Cup Bunker • Avalanche meltdown! • Keys to success in the playoffs

Dateline: June 1/02

When the conference finals began, hockey traditionalists looked ahead to a Stanley Cup final that would rekindle one of the NHL's oldest rivalries. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings have been butting heads since the depression years. Another meeting this spring would have represented their first Stanley Cup showdown since 1964, when Gordie Howe was in his lengthy prime and Bobby Baun's overtime heroics helped Toronto win a third straight title.

But the Carolina Hurricanes stuffed the Leafs, allowing the highest scoring team in the Eastern Conference just six goals in six games. So instead of marking an Original Six revival, this year's championship series represents old world versus new world. With their sensible uniforms, storied history and venerable traditions, the Red Wings embody the NHL's old guard. By contrast, the Carolina Hurricanes are a product of hockey's rebellious years in the 1970s.

The 'Canes began life as the New England Whalers, charter members of the World Hockey Association. Bursting to life in a flurry of plaid suits, rock 'n roll hair and day-glo jerseys, the WHA dropped its first puck in 1972. The owners included the usual mix of sandbox millionaires and silver-tongued mavericks, stocking their teams with minor leaguers, Europeans and a handful of NHL vets chasing better money.

A few teams - the Miami Screaming Eagles come to mind - never played a game. But the New England Whalers were an instant success as the inaugural winners of the "World Trophy" in the spring of 1973. Although they spent the next few years migrating from Boston to Springfield to Hartford, the Whalers remained one of the WHA's elite teams, adding quality players like Dave Keon, Mark Howe and Mark's dad, the pushing-50 Gordie Howe.

When the WHA folded in 1979, the Whalers were one of four surviving teams invited to join the NHL. But while the Quebec Nordiques, Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers thrived in the big league, the Whalers stumbled. They endured 18 mostly unsuccessful years in Hartford. New ownership and a move to North Carolina did not immediately improve the situation, as the Hurricanes played to paltry crowds and struggled to make the playoffs. If WHA teams can be characterized as hockey's rebellious baby boomers, the Whalers/Hurricanes represent the guy who moves back into his parent's basement after all his friends have grown up and settled down.

But patience, perseverance and sound management have finally paid off in Carolina. The Hurricanes, to the surprise of just about everyone, emerged from the basement in 2002, popular, respectable and ready to take on the NHL's most powerful team in hockey's showcase series.

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