In 1997, the Carolina Hurricanes came into existence with their first head coach being Paul Maurice. Maurice would take the team from 1997-2003. In that time, Carolina would find the postseason 3 times, in 1998, 2001 and 2002. In 2002, Maurice lead the Canes to a berth in the Stanley Cup finals, where they lost in 5 games to the Detroit Red Wings.
In 2003, Maurice was sacked, and replaced with one of the best coaches in hockey history Peter Laviolette. The canes had one playoff run under Laviolette, but boy did they make the most of it.