Wesley embraced his family with tears streaming down his face before commissioner Gary Bettman presented the Stanley Cup to Brind'Amour.

''It's incredible, I still can't believe it,'' Wesley said. ''It honestly feels like a dream to me. Throughout the whole afternoon I couldn't sleep, just thinking about preparing for Game 7.''

Brind'Amour kissed the trophy after Bettman handed it over before passing it to Wesley, who had been the longest-serving NHLer without a championship.

Then it went to Bret Hedican, Ray Whitney and Kevyn Adams - three of the lesser-known players who helped get Carolina to the top - before finding its way to injured forward Doug Weight, who could hardly lift the heavy trophy because of the pain in his right shoulder.

''It's probably the greatest feeling of my life,'' said Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette. ''Long after I hold the Cup tonight and have my time with it in the summer, I'll remember where this team came from and how hard they fought for each other.

''To watch those guys hold the Cup over their heads tonight, it's what I'll remember.''

The Oilers leave with heads held high after going much farther in the playoffs than anybody expected. To get so close to going all the way and falling just short was a heartbreaker for captain Jason Smith and his teammates.

''I know all the odds were against us but I really, truly thought we were the team of destiny,'' said Oilers defenceman Steve Staios.

Added teammate Ryan Smyth: ''We worked so hard to get back in the series ... I have a lot of respect for the players over there, they worked hard for it. But it sure hurts right now.''

Brind'Amour provided inspirational leadership for the Hurricanes, Eric Staal amassed the most playoff points, 28, and Cam Ward became the first rookie netminder since Patrick Roy in 1986 to lead his team to the title.

Aaron Ward, Frantisek Kaberle and Justin Williams scored for the Hurricanes, while Fernando Pisani replied for the Oilers in front of a capacity RBC Center crowd of 18,978 that stood and cheered through the whole game.

Cam Ward was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as NHL playoff MVP afterwards, but he was only interested in one prize.

''It's just dream come true,'' he said. ''The Conn Smythe, you could have given it to anyone on this team, the real important one is the Stanley Cup.''

The Hurricanes got the opening goal of the finale after only 1:26 after a giveaway by Staios in the neutral zone.

Ward blasted a drive from the top of the circle to the left of Jussi Markkanen and the goalie couldn't see the puck as it whizzed through a forest of legs.

''They bounced back after what was a sub-par game for them in Game 6,'' said Oilers coach Craig MacTavish. ''We were a little tight early and it cost us a goal and ultimately it cost us the game.''  

Carolina was denied a penalty shot with five seconds left in the first period after Staios flopped on the puck in his team's crease. Referee Bill McCreary originally indicated a penalty shot by pointing to centre, but a video review ruled out a penalty shot and led to a faceoff in the Edmonton end. Director of officiating Stephen Walkom explained during intermission that play was deemed dead as soon as Staios pulled the puck out of the air near the goal-line because there was a delayed penalty being called on Edmonton's Ethan Moreau.

Pisani and Rem Murray had great scoring chances while killing off the penalty at the start of the second period. Pisani missed the net with his shot, and Murray shot into Cam Ward's pads.

A fourth consecutive penalty against Edmonton, and the second to Jaroslav Spacek, resulted in Carolina's second goal when Kaberle connected on the power play. Jason Smith dove to block the slapshot, the puck struck his back and it bounced through Markkanen's legs at 4:18.

Penalties to Niclas Wallin and Aaron Ward five seconds apart in the 17th minute gave the Oilers a two-man advantage, but only for one minute. Smyth was caught hooking, and Cam Ward defused a Chris Pronger rocket as Aaron Ward returned to the ice.

The crowd erupted.

The 'Canes were laying on the body as they had earlier in the series. They led 35-16 in hits after 40 minutes. The score would have been more lopsided if not for Markkanen. 

As the third period began, chances of the 'Canes clutching the Cup looked good because they had outscored opponents 25-12 in third periods of their 24 previous playoff games this spring.

The Oilers struck early, however, and Pisani got his playoffs-leading 14th goal at 1:03 by lifting in a fat rebound as he crashed the crease.

It was a nailbiter of a finish.

''Well you know what that was probably the hardest game,'' said Laviolette. ''They came to play tonight, but our guys were just relentless, they never, ever stopped.''

Whatever It Takes was Carolina's playoff motto, and each and every one of the 'Canes made it ring true by backchecking and shot blocking as if their lives depended on it as the Oilers valiantly attempted to tie it. Edmonton's last gasp came during a roughing call against Hedican at 12:38 of the third. The Oilers' power play, a weakness in most games in the series, failed them again.

Williams sealed it by scoring an empty-net goal with 61 seconds to play. 

Nothing seemed to fail during the post-season for commissioner Bettman. Unable to present the Stanley Cup last spring because of the lockout that wiped out the 2004-2005 season, he could hand it to Brind'Amour satisfied that the league's push to eliminate obstruction has created a much more exciting spectacle. The playoffs proved as much.

It is a new era now, and the Carolina Hurricanes are leading the way.

The Oilers had excited an entire country as they attempted to become the first Canadian NHL champion since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. It was an inspiring effort that was made all the more difficult when No. 1 goalie Dwayne Roloson was lost to a knee injury late in Game 1, but give the Oilers credit for taking it to the limit.

Notes: Carolina was 1-for-5 in the game and 9-for-44 in the series on power plays, while Edmonton was 0-for-4 and 5-45 overall ... Aaron Ward hadn't scored a goal since April 28 in the first round ... The home team won Game 7 of the final for the sixth consecutive time. The last time the road team took Game 7 was 1971 when Montreal won 3-2 in Chicago ... Carolina's Cory Stillman, who earned a ring with Tampa Bay in 2004, is the first player since Claude Lemieux (New Jersey 1995, Colorado 1996) to win consecutive titles with different teams ... Edmonton made no lineup changes for the last game. Carolina reinserted Chad LaRose for Josef Vasicek ... The Hurricanes hadn't qualified for the playoffs since 2002. Credit GM Jim Rutherford with a masterful rebuilding job ... Actors Tim Robbins and Cuba Gooding Jr. and musician Kid Rock were in the crowd.

Source: http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=169157&hubname=nhl