1997-98

• The NHL opens the season with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Vancouver Canucks playing a two-game series in Tokyo, Japan.

• Fresh off their move from Hartford, the Carolina Hurricanes begin play. With the arena they would be sharing with NC State basketball under construction, the Hurricanes would play two seasons at the Greensboro Coliseum, usually in front of very intimate crowds. One fan held up a sign one game that read, "Great seats available? Great SECTIONS available!"

• The Detroit Red Wings go about their title defense without Vladimir Konstantinov, who along with team masseur Sergei Mnatsakonov, were badly injured in a limousine accident six days after winning the 1997 Stanley Cup. What's more blood-boiling is that the limousine driver, Richard Gnida, was driving with a suspended license for drunk driving. Konstantinov suffered permanent neurological damage, ending his hockey career.

• The Red Wings' Stanley Cup defense is successful, as they sweep the Washington Capitals in four straight. In an emotional scene afterwards, Konstantinov is wheeled onto the MCI Center ice, and captain Steve Yzerman placed the cup on his lap, and teammates pushed his wheelchair around the ice.