An anonymous Canadian man made the winning bid in an internet auction purchase, according to 45-year-old seller Gord Sharpe, an Ontario man who has owned the family heirloom since he was nine.

David Romeo, chief executive of selling agency Auction Wire, said the stick is among the most important items in hockey.

“The buyer was a private individual, a Canadian, who wants to remain anonymous. He told us that he plans to have the stick over at Hockey Hall of Fame and to keep it there until he decides what he’s going to do,” Romeo said.

“For now he wants to keep it in Canada.”

The Hurricanes enter road games in Atlanta Friday and Pittsburgh Saturday with the dubious honor of being the only defending champion in NHL history to lose its first four games (one loss was in a shootout).

The last Cup winner to lose its opener was the Detroit Red Wings in 1998; the last one to lose as many as its first two games was Colorado in 1996. But the Wings rebounded from their opening-night loss with four consecutive victories, while the Avalanche went 3-0-1 after dropping their first two games on the road after winning the Cup.

No Cup-winner since the 1955-56 Wings had lost its first three games. Those Wings are also the only other defending champion that failed to win at least one of its first two home games – that Detroit team sandwiched home losses to Chicago and the Rangers around a road loss to Toronto.

The Hurricanes are trying to avoid the two worst five-and six-game start by defending champions. The 1995 New York Rangers started their post-lockout season by losing their opener, won their second game and then dropped the next three for a 1-4-0 record.

The 1945-46 Toronto Maple Leafs tied their season-opener, then lost their next five games before ending their 0-5-1 start with a victory.

The Hurricanes probably envisioned a start more like the 1984-85 Edmonton Oilers. That team tied its opener 2-2 in Los Angeles on Oct. 11, but wound up going 12-0-3 from the start of the season before finally dropping a 7-5 decision in Philadelphia on Nov. 11. That’s still the longest unbeaten streak from the start of a season.

]]> http://hockey-nhl-news.com/2006/oh-no-carolina-hurricanes-making-unwanted-nhl-history-10-16.php/feed/ http://hockey-nhl-news.com/2006/pair-of-thrashers-shining-after-first-week-of-nhl-action-10-16.php http://hockey-nhl-news.com/2006/pair-of-thrashers-shining-after-first-week-of-nhl-action-10-16.php#comments Mon, 16 Oct 2006 02:44:00 +0000 regisuzuki NHL Stanley Cup NHL Playoffs Sidney Crosby Detroit Red Wings Calgary Flames Colorado Avalanche Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers Carolina Hurricanes http://hockey-nhl-news.com/?p=5 A week into the season, there are bound to be a few surprises like Kyle Wellwood and David Vyborny tied for the NHL lead with six points. Or how about Alexander Semin of the Capitals leading the NHL with four goals, including a hat trick, in two games?

Or how about Marc-Andre Fleury posting a .970 save percentage after two starts for the Penguins? But, as they say, the cream will always rise to the top, and as the season progresses we will get a better read on whether or not those who jump out to the early lead can sustain their pace over the course of the long NHL season.

At this point in the season it’s tough to write anything without getting way, way ahead of ourselves. That’s why I have no problem anointing the Atlanta Thrashers as my new favorite to be the 2006-07 Stanley Cup champions.

OK, perhaps I won’t quite go that far, but the Thrashers have early-season momentum and history on their side. It’s true.

But right now the biggest thing the Atlanta Thrashers have going for them is the second-year goaltender, Lehtonen. He logged his first full NHL season in 2005-06 and went 20-15-0 with a 2.94 goals-against average and .906 save percentages. Decent numbers for a rookie on a developing club, but there were some worries that emerged from the effort.

Lehtonen continued his seemingly chronic groin issues, missing two significant stretches of games in the first half. The worry of his groin problems lingered and will continue to be there until he proves he can remain healthy over a long season.

Thus it appears as if the Southeast is going to be a force again. And the Thrashers might have as good a chance as anyone in the bunch.

If you said the Carolina Hurricanes, after a thrilling seven-game series with Edmonton, the eighth seed out of the Western Conference, then you’re well aware the NHL is set to raise the curtain and drop the puck on another season beginning with three games tonight.

We offer some names and numbers that will make headlines over the next eight months on here.

The race to 600 goals

The New York Rangers’ Brendan Shanahan appears to be the frontrunner among the three within range of reaching 600 goals scored, but don’t count out his Rangers teammate Jaromir Jagr. Shanahan needs a pair to reach the milestone and join a club that includes just 14 others. But a fast start from Jagr (591) could propel him first.

Defending the title

The last team to repeat as the Stanley Cup champion was the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings. They had no problems in the finals, sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers for the first title and then the Washington Capitals the second time.

Fueled by the fact that they couldn’t fully enjoy their first title, Detroit got back to the playoffs and got by Phoenix, St. Louis and Dallas before squaring off with the Capitals.
Carolina was a sleeper team last season and not many expected the Hurricanes to win it all. So, do the Hurricanes have enough drive to win a back-to-back title?

New faces expected to make an impact

Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby burst onto the scene last year with stellar rookie campaigns - Ovechkin’s earning him Rookie of the Year honors.

This season, there are more new faces who expect to make an impact this season.

Evengi Malkin, an early favorite for Rookie of the Year and Crosby’s teammate, is generating a buzz after being sidelined and denied an NHL debut last season because of a preseason shoulder injury. He was the second overall pick in 2004.

There’s also Columbus’ Gilbert Brule, whose injuries kept him out of most of the 2005-06 season. He has a tenacious playing style, which has contributed to his injury-prone career. He definitely makes up for his size with his effort.