NHL's Carolina Hurricanes make their home at Raleigh, North Carolina's Entertainment and Sports (ESA) Arena. The Hurricanes won their franchise's first Stanley Cup in 2005-06, beating the Edmonton Oilers four games to three. The guys in the red and black had clocked up their first major triumph, and for this young team it couldn't have come at a better time. Before 1997, the Hurricanes were known as the Hartford Whalers, one of several WHA teams (the Whalers, Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets were the others) admitted to the NHL when the two leagues merged in 1979. The then New England Whalers were forced to change their name to accommodate the presence of the Boston Bruins, another New England team, and the former WHA team was renamed the Hartford Whalers. Unfortunately, the team was never as successful in the NHL as they had been in the WHA, recording only three winning seasons.
In March 1997, Hartford Whalers owner Peter Karmanos announced that the team would leave New England for North Carolina, due to logistical issues in Hartford. That July, Karmanos stated that the team was to relocate to the new "ESA" Arena, Raleigh, in North Carolina's Research Triangle. They became the Carolina Hurricanes, and changed the team colors to red and black. The name "Hurricanes" came from Hurricane Fran, an active hurricane during the 1996 hurricane season, which hit Raleigh. The name "Hurricanes" is often shortened to simply "'Canes", and the term Whalercanes, a combination of the Hartford and Carolina nicknames, is used occasionally derisory sense to refer to the franchise's checkered history in Hartford and North Carolina. Hurricanes fans also call themselves "Caniacs", taken from the shortened "'Canes" nickname.
Southerners are not traditionally renowned as big hockey fans, but it appears that the northern passion for the game has been brought south with the former New England outfit, as Hurricanes fans have enjoyed a roller-coaster ride up and down the league from year to year. The Stanley Cup win was the culmination of several years of high drama from the Hurricanes, whose fans definitely have warmed to the team and now are among the most vocal in the league. Tickets for events at the ESA are always in high demand, and especially for Hurricanes games. I find that Ticketliquidator is the best site for tickets to hockey, and all sports, as well as concerts.