Hurricanes Ignoring Tradition

Carolina can’t approach Montreal’s hockey tradition. The Canadiens have won more Stanley Cups than the Hurricanes have logged years in the NHL.

But Carolina is still not impressed, as it prepares for today’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“I remember breaking into the league and everybody was talking about the [Montreal] ghosts. That’s just a bunch of bull,” Carolina defenseman Glen Wesley said Thursday. “It’s just another uniform.”

Montreal has won 24 Stanley Cups, but has struggled since trading future Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy in 1996. The Canadiens missed the playoffs three straight seasons before making it in 2002 as the No. 8 seed in the East.

“It’s not Larry Robinson and all of those other guys over there anymore,” Carolina’s Jeff O’Neill said. “It’s a new wave of players and a different NHL. Half of the young guys in here, including myself, don’t even remember those dream teams of the past.”

Two-time NHL All-Star Milan Hejduk of the Colorado Avalanche was fined $300 and ordered to take a driving class after pleading guilty to speeding.... Phoenix Coyote forward Brad May pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct charges in a fight with a nightclub manager and two sheriff’s deputies. May was fined $5,000 and sentenced to a year of probation and 100 hours of community service.

Associated Press