The Stanley Cup Sweep Stakes: Relocations and the Great Philadelphia Connection

When I moved to the Triangle back in 1997, I arrived right alongside a hockey team migrating south from Hartford. By the 1999/2000 season, the original Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena had practically become a second home. Lorraine was navigating a radio non-compete contract back then, working for the team, and since we were a young, newly engaged couple with no kids, I spent almost every single night sitting in those stands. Those were some of the best times of our lives, watching a fan base take root in tobacco country.

I will never forget the day: January 23, 2000. Lorraine called me from her desk at the arena saying everyone in the front office was freaking out. The Hurricanes had just pulled off a blockbuster trade with Philadelphia for some guy named Rod Brind'amour, who was currently walking the halls meeting the staff. His jersey now hangs framed in my fan cave.

My own version of the Hurricanes Hall of Fame

If you want to talk about how the universe loops its tracks, look at the timeline. My best friend since our 1990s radio days in Knoxville, Rob, is a die-hard Philly guy. Twenty-six years after Rod was pulled out of the City of Brotherly Love to change the culture in Carolina, Rob and I locked horns for a second-round playoff bet because the Canes were drawing those very same Philadelphia Flyers.

Before I accepted the wager, I wanted to be fair. The Canes were an absolute wagon and number one seed in the East, fresh off a brutal sweep of Ottawa and firing on all cylinders. Philly was the eighth seed and fresh off a series win against Pittsburgh. I asked him straight up if he really wanted this smoke. He didn't blink.

We kept the stakes pure: no cash, just music. The loser buys the winner a record of choice, capped at a reasonable forty bucks so nobody ends up filing for bankruptcy over a rare first-pressing.

By the time Carolina went up three games to zero, Rob’s phone was burning a hole in his pocket. He texted me: Enough is enough, just tell me what album you want.

Naturally, as an old radio guy, I made him wait. You never celebrate on a three-game lead; you wait until the handshake line is over and the official second-round sweep is in the books. Once the broom was officially deployed, I sent him my current crate-digging wishlist.

Rob delivered like a hall-of-famer. He tracked down a local legend of a shop up his way, the Newtown Book and Record Exchange in Newtown, Pennsylvania, and secured a stunning 180-gram collector's edition of Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy.

Now, with the Canes officially hoisting the 2026 Stanley Cup after a wildly emotional and entertaining six-game battle against the Vegas Golden Knights, this record isn't just a wager paid. It’s the soundtrack to a championship celebration twenty-six years in the making, coached by the very man Philly sent us in 2000.

Dropping the needle on side one, the acoustic opening of Over the Hills and Far Away is especially poignant tonight. When Robert Plant belts out Many dreams come true, And some have silver linings, I live for my dream, and a pocket full of gold, I can't help but think of the decades spent building this hockey community from scratch. Jimmy Page’s transition from that delicate acoustic folklore into a heavy, driving rock groove mirrors the exact intensity of this postseason run.

This album was the moment where Zeppelin threw out the blues-rock rulebook and started experimenting with Mellotrons, reggae grooves on D'yer Mak'er, and the tight, James Brown-style funk of The Crunge. On a heavy vinyl pressing, John Bonham’s drum pocket on The Ocean hits you right in the chest like a thunderous Jordan Staal forecheck!

Vegas put up a fight, and Rob lost his money, but dropping the needle on this new & clean pressing in the den makes it clear: the south has officially won the winter, the spring, and Lord Stanley's chalice. The musical spoils are spinning at 33 1/3.

Retro Spin Liner Notes

The Production Powerhouse Houses of the Holy was recorded across 1972 using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio at Stargroves, a country estate in Hampshire, England. Additional sessions took place at Olympic Studios in London and Electric Lady Studios in New York City. It was produced entirely by Jimmy Page, with engineering duties handled by Eddie Kramer. This album marked a massive sonic departure for the band, utilizing advanced overdubbing techniques and the distinct, orchestral textures of the Mellotron synthesizer. This 180-gram collector issue is also remastered and produced by Jimmy Page.

The Players

• Robert Plant: Lead vocals

• Jimmy Page: Acoustic and electric guitars, production

• John Paul Jones: Bass guitar, Mellotron, piano, synthesizer, organ, backing vocals

• John Bonham: Drums, backing vocals

The Radio Stats Released on March 28, 1973, the album instantly topped the charts globally, hitting number 1 on both the US Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart.

• D'yer Mak'er: Peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 1973.

• Over the Hills and Far Away: Peaked at number 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in May 1973.