Carolina Hurricanes Anatomy of a Moment: Ron Francis Silences the Motor City in the Stanley Cup Final
Coming in as the underdogs against the Red Wings, the Hurricanes, led by their captain, sent a message in Game 1 that they weren't just "happy to be there."
Their Paths to the 2002 Stanley Cup Final
Despite being on the lower end of the point totals, the Hurricanes earned home-ice advantage in the quarterfinals against the New Jersey Devils as the Southeast Division champions. Needing a lot of heroics, the Canes finished the Devils in six games to earn the first postseason victory since relocation. They faced the 2002 Hart and Vezina winner Jose Theodore and the Canadiens in the conference semifinals, the only team in the East to finish with fewer points than them. After falling behind 2-1 in the series, the Molson Miracle helped turn the tables and give the Canes three straight wins to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time.
The Hurricanes' battle with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the Prince of Wales Trophy was tight. During the six-game tilt, all but one game was decided by one goal, four of which ended 2-1. Aided by three overtime victories, the Canes fended off the Leafs on Martin Gelinas' series-winner in overtime during Game 6. Arturs Irbe and Kevin Weekes did an incredible job of keeping teams off the board, while a balanced offensive attack allowed everyone to get involved.
Detroit's road saw them defeat Vancouver and St. Louis before locking into a battle in the Western Conference Final with the Colorado Avalanche. Much like the Red Wings at the time, the Avalanche had become a dynasty. The two sides had waged war several times leading up to the 2002 playoffs, but this seven-game series to decide the conference was phenomenal. The Red Wings were too much for the Avalanche to handle, winning 7-0 in Game 7 to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Story of Fedorov and the Hurricanes
It's only fitting that Sergei Fedorov would be the first to find the back of the net in the series. After the Canes failed to clear the puck on the penalty kill, Steve Yzerman threw the puck at the net. Artus Irbe kicked it out, but a battle in front of the net between Tomas Holmstrom and Aaron Ward ended with the Red Wings' forward being pushed into Irbe. This allowed Fedorov to jump on the loose puck and beat Irbe.
The story of Fedorov and the Hurricanes is a very unique one. Through the 1996-97 season, Fedorov had already won the Hart, the Ted Lindsay, the Selke twice, and the Stanley Cup in 1997, but he needed a new contract, entering a holdout until the Red Wings gave him what he was owed. The restricted free agent held his ground into the 1997-98 season. That's when the Hurricanes came along.
Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos submitted an offer sheet to the Russian winger for six years worth $38 million that Fedorov signed. With the ball in their court, the Red Wings matched the offer sheet, ending Fedorov's holdout and allowing him to return to the team. Fedorov returned to play 21 games and win a second straight Stanley Cup by recording his fourth-straight 20+-point postseason performance. His production never returned to what it was before the holdout, hovering in the 30-goal, 63-69-point range.
Making it a Game
The Hurricanes earned a 5-on-3 early in the second period to get back even. The team's top-scoring defenseman would get it past Dominik Hasek as Sean Hill labeled a one-timer over Hasek's glove. Detroit reclaimed their lead midway through the period after winning a battle in the corner and setting up Kirk Maltby for a snapshot from the right dot to make it 2-1.
Throughout the postseason, Jeff O'Neill found himself in a position to make magic happen when the Canes needed it. Against New Jersey, the team's 30-goal man scored late in regulation to force overtime in Game 5. In the Eastern Conference Finals, O'Neill scored the overtime winner in Game 3 and broke the scoreless tie in Game 6 before the Canes won the series in overtime.
O'Neill had a great chance to tie it after Detroit defender Jiri Fischer turned the puck over to him, only for Hasek to attack and make the stop. He wouldn't be denied on his second attempt in the final minute of the period. Aaron Ward hit O'Neill with a pass to get him in on a breakaway. Hasek made the initial stop, but O'Neill was there to poke home the second chance and even the score.
Ronnie Franchise Leaves Them Stunned
The third period brought no resolution, meaning the opening game of the 2002 Stanley Cup Final would go to overtime. After killing the final seconds of a late third-period penalty by Erik Cole, the Canes turned to their leader. After being drafted fourth overall by the Whalers in 1981, Francis was in the late stages of his second tour with the organization as its captain. At 38 years old, Francis led the team with 77 points, marking his most points since his final season in Pittsburgh in 1997-98.
Less than a minute into overtime, Jeff O'Neill tried to set up Sami Kapanen at the top of the crease. Being closely defended by Niklas Lidstrom, Kapanen couldn't finish it, but the puck found its way back to O'Neill, who sent the puck right back to the front of the net. O'Neill's pass landed on the stick of Francis as the captain beat Dominik Hasek with most of the net vacant.
The announcers were stunned and the crowd fell silent as Francis stood there with his arms high with the rest of the bench mobbing him. On the road against a veteran team with an unlimited amount of skill, the underdogs had come into the Motor City and shown that the Carolina Hurricanes weren't going to let the Red Wings walk all over them.
The Aftermath
While Game 1 was a great moment for the Hurricanes, it would be the last great moment they would have in the series. The Red Wings evened the series in Game 2 with a 3-1 victory before outlasting the Canes in triple overtime in Raleigh for Game 3 on the way to four straight wins and the Stanley Cup. Detroit outscored Carolina 14-7 in the series, with Jeff O'Neill scoring three of the team's seven goals.
There were 11 future Hall-of-Famers in this series, ten of whom played for the Detroit Red Wings. Their nine top scorers from the regular season all made it to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Among them were captain Steve Yzerman, regular-season scoring leader Brendan Shanahan, finals scoring leader Sergei Fedorov, and the top two vote-getters for the 2002 Norris Trophy, Niklas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios.
The Hurricanes' lone Hall-of-Famer was, obviously, Ron Francis, who finished second on the team in scoring for the series. Francis would go on to be named the 2002 Lady Byng winner while finishing sixth in Hart voting. Francis played another year and a half with the team before being dealt at the 2004 trade deadline to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he would finish his career.
Francis would become the first player in franchise history to have his number raised to the rafter. On January 28, 2006, the team honored their former captain and franchise leader in scoring by ensuring that #10 would never be worn again. Behind multi-point nights from finals teammates Kevyn Adams and Rod Brind'Amour, the Hurricanes defeated the Atlanta Thrashers 4-1. Francis would go on to become the General Manager of the team in 2014 before being let go in 2018.