In The Magazine, we featured the Seven Beauties of Stanley Cup Finals throughout history. Now, E.J. Hradek chronicles the Seven Wonders of this year's Finals.

Will this Stanley Cup Final between the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings and the upstart Carolina Hurricanes go the full seven games? Most experts say no. But, the beauty of sports is you can never be sure what's going to happen until they play the games.

In fact, Detroit coach Scotty Bowman recently said it best: "There's nothing so uncertain as a sure thing."

So, on the eve of this year's final battle for the Cup, here are seven good reasons why this Final will be worth keeping an eye on.

MY CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: The Wings and Hurricanes both take their cue from their quiet, veteran captains. Detroit's Steve Yzerman and Carolina's Ron Francis, who each own a pair of Stanley Cup rings, will be first-ballot Hall of Famers when they decide to retire. But, the way both are going, that might not be for a while yet.

	One leg is better than none.

Yzerman, 37, has played this entire playoff campaign on one good leg. Still, he leads his star-studded cast with 19 points in 18 games. If the Wings do win, Yzerman gets his second Conn Smythe Trophy.

Francis, meanwhile, is the Carolina Hurricanes. On the ice, the 39-year-old Francis is still a slick playmaker. On the bench, he's an extra coach. And, in the dressing room, he provides quiet leadership, guidance and direction for the entire organization.

EURO GOALIES: A European-born and trained goaltender has never led a team to a Stanley Cup. That will change this year (unless No. 2s Kevin Weekes and Manny Legace get into the mix).

The first will be either Czech-born Dominik Hasek or Latvian-native Arturs Irbe.

Clearly, Hasek has enjoyed the better NHL career, winning multiple Hart and Vezina trophies. But, little Irbe has stood very tall during this postseason, posting a playoff-best .947 save percentage.

No doubt, Irbe will face a lot of rubber in this series. And, if he's up to the task, his team will have a chance. But, he won't be carrying the same pressure as Hasek, who came to the powerhouse Wings to complete his career resume with a Cup. Also, Hasek will have the difficult task of staying sharp while not seeing a ton of shots.

THE LEGEND AND BABY FACE: Detroit's Scotty Bowman coached his first Stanley Cup Final game on May 5, 1968. At the time, Carolina coach Paul Maurice was a little more than 15 months old. Still, the two men are the two longest tenured bench bosses in a league where coaches are changed like diapers on a ... well, 15-month old.

Bowman, who's completing his ninth season in Detroit, brings nine Cup rings (eight as a coach) to this year's championship series. The talented young Maurice, with seven years on the job, brings some nicely tailored suits and a healthy sense of humor.

Clearly, Bowman gets the edge in this matchup. But, it will be very interesting to watch Maurice in the biggest spotlight of his career. In the first three rounds, Maurice has pulled more than one rabbit out of his hat. He'll need to find a few more against Bowman and his cast of all-stars.

MONEY MAN: Detroit center Sergei Fedorov is a rich man. And, to some degree, he can thank Carolina owner Peter Karmanos, who has had a long-standing feud with Detroit owner Mike Ilitch.

The Hurricanes owner tried to sign Fedorov as a restricted free agent in February 1998. At the time, Fedorov was sitting out as a result of stalled contract negotiation between himself and the Red Wings.

Karmanos signed off on a multi-year, multi-million dollar offer sheet for Fedorov, which was quickly accepted by the star center. The deal included a $12 million dollar bonus to be paid to Fedorov if his team won the Stanley Cup in that season. The Hurricanes, a struggling team at the time, wouldn't have to pay such a bonus. But, the Wings, who were the defending champs and prohibitive favorite to win again, would have to pay up if they matched the offer.

Wisely (but not cheaply), Ilitch bit the bullet and matched the contract. And, not surprisingly, the Wings won another Cup and Fedorov collected his Lotto-like jackpot.

Now, Ilitch would love to see Fedorov extract a similar price from Karmanos' team.

DRAWMASTER GENERAL: If you appreciate the art of the draw, then you have to love Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour.

The hard-nosed Hurricanes pivot stands among the best face-off men in the game. In the first three rounds of the playoffs, Brind'Amour has outdueled such quick draw specialists as the Devils' Bobby Holik and Joe Nieuwendyk, the Canadiens' Yanik Perreault and the Leafs' Travis Green.

Brind'Amour gets so low on the draw, you would swear his knees are touching the ice. If he can't win a draw clean, he'll tie up his opponent or try to kick the puck to a teammate.

Brind'Amour will see a lot of time against Yzerman in this series. Yzerman will provide a challenge. He has been excellent on the draw during these playoffs. But, then again, so were Perreault and Green until they stepped in against Brind'Amour.

GUNFIGHT AT OK CORRAL: In an old Western, Detroit's Brett Hull and Carolina's Jeff O'Neill would have faced one another from 10 paces with pistols.

In this script, Hull is the old pro who has survived his share of gunfights. O'Neill, meanwhile, is the new kid with something to prove.

	Is the party over for the Canes?

Both right-handed snipers can change a game with one quick shot.

The 37-year-old Hull, who stands among the great big-game players in league history, leads the Wings with eight playoff goals. As usual, he'll surface in the cracks of the Carolina defense. And, when his gun is loaded, Irbe will need more than a little luck.

O'Neill, 26, has been getting better as these playoffs go on. He rang up 11 shots-scoring a goal-in the Hurricanes' Eastern Conference clinching Game 6 OT win against the Leafs. He also netted the overtime game-winner in Game 3 in Toronto.

OLD SCHOOL/NEW SCHOOL: The fans in Detroit live and die with the Red Wings, a charter member of the league's "Original Six."

These Octopus-throwing crazies have been following the red and white since birth. And, no doubt, smelling another Stanley Cup, they'll be rocking "The Joe" for the games in Motown.

Down in Raleigh, meanwhile, the Hurricanes have found a home. And it's a very loud one. The team's sudden playoff surge has made getting a ticket near impossible on Tobacco Road.

These fans may be new to the game, but they love to scream and yell and wave their towels. According to Maurice, his team feeds off the energy. That's good, because the Hurricanes are going to need the help.

E.J. Hradek writes puck for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at e.j.hradek@espnmag.com.