PNC Arena

The Carolina Hurricanes were originally known as The New England Whalers. They were a team established in 1971 when the World Hockey Association (WHA) awarded a franchise to play in Boston, Massachusetts. The team played their home games out of the Boston Arena and Boston Garden. But the team had difficulty scheduling games because they shared Boston Garden with the Boston Bruins, so they relocated to Hartford Connecticut starting in the 1974-75 season.

While waiting for their new arena to be completed, the team played their home games out of The Big E Coliseum in West Springfield. And they played their first game on January 11, 1975 to a sold out crowd at the Hartford Civic Center Coliseum.

The Whalers were one of the most stable WHA teams, so when the WHA and NHL merged in 1979, the Whalers were invited to join alongside the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques and the Winnipeg Jets. However, the team faced pressure to rename their team, primarily due to the existing New England team, the Boston Bruins. So the team became the Hartford Whalers.

Early on, the team suffered, as they were never quite as successful as they were in the WHA, with only three winning seasons. They peaked in the mid-to-late 1980s and won their only playoff series in 1986. The team then took the division title in 1987 only to fall to the Nordiques in six games in the first round of the playoffs. FInally, the team made the playoffs for the final time in 1992, but were beaten in the first round in seven games by the Canadiens.

Despite these challenges, the team has gone on to success even after rebranding as the Carolina Hurricanes when they moved. For example, the 2021 season saw many players departing making the way for an overhauled roster that fans hoped would find success. And their hopes were realized in the 2021-22 season that concluded with the Hurricanes winning the Metropolitan Division for the first time in franchise history. The season also saw the team with a 54 win record, which was the most in franchise history.

The team went on to defeat the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs before falling to the New York Rangers in seven games.

The Hurricanes are a rugged team that works hard to play incredible hockey. And with the revamped roster, we can only wait and see how far the team will go.