In the impending celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Carolina Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina, it’s easy to forget just what a mess things were that first season in Greensboro, not just on the ice and in the empty stands, but behind the scenes.
The team was essentially on the road at home, a burden that fell as hard on equipment manager Wally Tatomir and his two longtime partners, Bob Gorman and Skip Cunningham, than anyone else. Tatomir, who passed away Sunday at 76, went to great lengths to make sure none of the players noticed.
“He took a lot of pride in that,” his stepson Mike Beneteau said. “It was now his show and he was now in charge and it was going to be a professional atmosphere with everything perfect, every towel folded just right, every roll of tape in the right place.”
