FanHouse PeterLaviolette

It must be tough to be a Carolina Hurricanes fan. Consider this for a moment: twice in the last seven years the franchise formerly known as the Hartford Whalers has fought its way to the Stanley Cup Finals -- winning it all in the first year after the lockout in 2006 -- only to miss the playoffs the following two seasons.

In any other market, such a performance would be devastating. But in a non-traditional market like Raleigh, North Carolina, it very well could have been fatal. A Stanley Cup is supposed to cement a team's place in the heart of a community that it calls home, but runs like the team had in 2002 and 2006 were supposed to be performances to build on to fill the build, not memories to fall back on with failure just around the corner.

That a team with such a recent championship on its resume finished 21st overall in attendance this season has to be considered something of an embarrassment.

But here the Hurricanes are again, like the NHL's version of Hailey's comet, just four games from a third trip the Finals in the last six NHL seasons, with only the defending Eastern Conference champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in the way. Granted, that's one heck of an obstacle, but it still begs the question: how the heck did it happen?

With the NHL playoffs just around the corner, FanHouse takes a look at some of the lesser-known teams that qualified. Friday's installment: the Carolina Hurricanes

When the Whalers left Hartford back in 1997 to become the Carolina Hurricanes, they left a lot of things behind: the best jerseys in the NHL, Brass Bonanza, and, perhaps, most importantly, a losing tradition. In their 18 seasons in Hartford, the Whalers qualified for the playoffs eight times, and only once advanced beyond the first round.

Since moving to Carolina, the team has played in the Stanley Cup Final twice (2002 and 2006) while ultimately winning it all during the 2005-06 campaign. Heading into the playoffs this year, the Hurricanes are one of the hottest teams in the NHL, steamrolling the opposition. So, who are these guys?

Interesting news coming out of Carolina this morning, as the Hurricanes -- second place in the Southeast Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference -- have fired head coach Peter Laviolette and replaced him with a former bench-boss, Paul Maurice, as reported by TSN.

Laviolette becomes the third head coach to be fired this season -- and second from Southeast Division -- joining Tampa Bay's Barry Melrose and Chicago's Denis Savard.

After getting off to an 8-4-2 start to the season, the Hurricanes have gone just 4-7-0 since, including 1-4 over their past five games. Apparently that, combined with missing the playoffs the past two seasons, was enough to cost him his job.

This was Laviolette's fifth season in Carolina, while his teams have missed the playoffs in three of his previous four seasons. Though, the one year they did make the playoffs they won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.

When the Chicago Blackhawks, a team that doesn't ooze offensive depth from its pores, put the enigmatic Sergei Samsonov on waivers in December, most of us thought that it was the end for the little Russian. He had his last chance, and blew it.
Sammy appeared to care little about doing much other than whining and pouting, despite the fact that given every opportunity to succeed during his brief tenure in the Windy City. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Robert Lang had no problems scoring, but Samsonov certainly did.

Who would really want to take a chance on a whiny, me-first player who put up just 4 points in 23 games? The Carolina Hurricanes, apparently, who took Samsonov on waivers, and made a lot of fans scratch their heads.

Whatever magic tonic Peter Laviolette has been giving Sergei could make a mint on eBay. Somehow, some way, the Canes' head coach has coaxed 24 points and +11 in 27 games out of the little bugger.

Frankly, I am quite amazed and shocked. Even with Samsonov's skill set, there was nothing to suggest that there was something left in the tank. It's not just the production that has suddenly reappeared, but the passion for the game and the willingness to work hard. For whatever reason, Samsonov didn't care much about winning when he was with the Habs or Hawks, but is now working his buns off to backcheck, forecheck, hipcheck, bodycheck, cross-check, and produce offensively.

Just think ... it could very well be Sergei Samsonov, of all people, that turns out to be the best in-season transaction in the NHL for this campaign. With Justin Williams and Rod Brind'Amour lost to injury, Samsonov may very well be the reason why Canes win their division.

With Atlanta's 5-1 win over Detroit on Tuesday night, the Thrashers quietly slipped into first place in the Southeast Division past a struggling Carolina Hurricanes team that was busy dropping a 5-4 decision to the Maple Leafs in Toronto. After a 11-4-3 start, the Hurricanes have sleepwalked through the last two months of the season, posting an 11-18-1 record over their last 30 games.

In any case, it's clear the stress is getting to Carolina GM Jim Rutherford, and he vented his frustration on the air in Carolina in a 10-minute interview on 850 AM: The Buzz earlier today, saying that "The team has clearly underachieved," and that he was in the process of deciding whether or not it was time to step in and make some major changes. In particular, Rutherford took pains to say that he thought that he might have made a mistake by keeping so many players from the 2006 Stanley Cup Champion, adding that too many of the holdovers seemed to be satisfied after winning their first Cup.

When it comes to making changes, Rutherford said that the quickest fix would be to shuffle role players on the third and fourth line, but at this point that wouldn't make a difference in Carolina. Instead, Rutherford said in order to make a lasting impact he would have to deal one of the team's more "popular players". And by inference, he seemed to make it clear that the only player on the roster who wasn't going to be available would be Eric Staal, who Rutherford singled out for some fulsome praise.

When he was asked whether or not he was thinking of replacing head coach Peter Laviolette, Rutherford made a half-hearted attempt at being evasive: "Everything gets factored in now ... Not going to answer that question directly, but I have indirectly answered your question."

Ouch. Carolina is in Ottawa tonight. Hope everyone packed a few extra changes of clothes.

UPDATE: And Craig Adams is the first to earn a free flight out of town -- in this case, to Chicago! So much for not shuffling fourth line guys, eh? Thanks to J.P. for the pointer.