Let’s start with this—this post both assumes you don’t know much about the NHL hockey team that plays in Raleigh, North Carolina nor will it judge you for it. While a good chunk of the fanbase scoffs at the narratives that have emerged about this team, others—like this author—understand that in this world and the all-consuming nature of following your own team that there just isn’t a lot of room to get deep in the weeds on another team.
I probably couldn’t tell you much about your team. We’re all
busy. Now, though, that there are only two teams left and you’re reading this you’ve probably looked at the matchup with the Canes and the Vegas Golden Knights and landed on rooting for the Hurricanes. There are a lot reasons why you’re probably doing this—and my guess for a lot of you it has to do with the goalie in Vegas. This isn’t the article to talk about that, but if you don’t know about why he’s drawn the scorn of many, you should find out and you may end up back here. I’d highly suggest reading Sara Civian’s Substack post about it.
Whatever the reason, though, you’ve now bought a ticket to the Hurricanes’ bandwagon. Here are some things you need to know:
The fandom
The fandom of the Hurricanes basically has two sects—pre and post 2006. It is important to know that there is a significant portion of the base that has been fans since they arrived in North Carolina in 1997. They’ll tell you of the days of driving to Greensboro, being there for the first night of the Entertainment and Sports Arena when the Canes permanently landed in Raleigh, and crying as Rod Brind’Amour lifted the cup in 2006.
The problem with that run was that it basically came out of nowhere, especially with a full year off due to a lockout. The Canes then wasted that by missing the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, made a magical run in 2009 that ended in a sweep to the Penguins, and then that was it. Nothing.
Enter the “post 2006” crowd which honestly should be called the “post 2018” crowd. In this new era of Hurricanes hockey since Tom Dundon purchased the team the sustained success of getting into the playoffs every year has built a ton of new fans. Some found their passion reignited, but a lot are folks that have latched on to the team because the moved to the area since that Cup run, and they’ve been welcomed—for the most part. There’ll always be a few gatekeepers, but for the most part being a fan of the Hurricanes means you’ve likely been a victim of gatekeeping from other fanbases, and you want to be an example against that.
It’s a big reason that when you come to Raleigh for a game as an opposing fan you’re probably going to be surprised at how welcomed you’ll be as long as you aren’t a part of the male anatomy in your actions.
The College Atmosphere
There was a reason why when the Stadium Series came to Raleigh in 2023 they chose to make it feel as much like a college game as possible. There is no other hockey market in the country that sits where three major college rivals have battled each other for decades. That means the fanbase brings a collegiate fandom atmosphere to games, both before and after.
No where best is that atmosphere found than in the parking lots around the arena before the game. When the Lenovo Center was opened back in 1999, it was in the older model where you built areans away from the center part of town and surrounded it with ample parking for everyone. It was also built right next to the football stadium where North Carolina State plays, so naturally it made sense to do what you do before football games—tailgate. It’s a culture that has grown over the years, to the point that those in the know grab spots by the Lenovo Center before the lots officially open so they can get their smokers going—the attendants just go up to them and get their payment when they arrive. Some of the best food you’re going to find will be in those parking lots, and you’re pretty much guaranteed to be offered something if asked.
Inside the atmosphere leads to loud crowds, college style chants, the loud “red” during the Anthem, boos for members of opposing schools that show up, and expert level trolling because fans in this area love to troll fans of the opposing school. How does that show in real time?
Style of Play
There’s just not enough room here to go into all of the intricacies of this team. Let’s just talk basics—you’ve been told Carolina Hurricanes hockey is boring. The thing is—saying that harkens back to the pre-lockout days where you couldn’t complete two-line passes and goalies could touch the puck anywhere on the ice. You think of a team that clogs the neutral zone and milks the clock.
That’s not how Carolina plays, nor could they because of the rules. Instead, when you watch you realize just how action-packed the hockey is. Carolina’s basic play style is that on offense they want to possess the puck, shoot the puck, and then on the defensive side play man-to-man style defense to force you to give the puck up. Carolina is always moving, always chasing, and one mistake on either side of the ice leads to high-danger chances. The reason it can be considered “boring” is because this style tends to lead to Carolina possessing the puck A LOT, and just peppering the goalie with shots. Folks get bored because one team controls the action, but as they showed against Montreal it really does lead to constant action.
They also use all four lines and all three defensive pairs more than any other team. That was never more apparent than when that fourth line was used during all the overtimes that Carolina would play, and basically set up several of the OT winners.
It’s a wearing style of play that has worn the Hurricanes out in previous postseasons because they couldn’t close games out in enough time to rest between series. They’d then face a team that would either goalie them or just play that physical style better. This season, though, the cards have fallen right. Two teams that could have worn them out in Ottawa and Philadelphia instead found themselves taken out quickly, and then Montreal plays a completely opposite style that wilted in the face of playing an extra series’ worth of games. Add in the fact that this team is the healthiest they’ve ever been in the postseason, and you have the best version of what has been building for years. The use of all four lines and trusting all three pair of defensemen also meant that the minutes per game has been even, making them all fresher as well. Just look at the difference in the time for Vegas and for Carolina. Expect to see a similar story this round.
The path is also a point of contention with the fanbase, one that Greg Wyshynski does a great job dispelling. The Hurricanes played a team a lot of folks expected to upset Carolina and was the “team you don’t want to face.” They then faced a Flyers team that was familiar with their style and played them to overtime in every game in the regular season, upsetting the Penguins. Finally they played a Montreal squad that beat both Tampa and Buffalo just to get to the Conference Finals. Maybe it looked easy because this team is just that good. Compare that to the Vegas opponents and you very easily can argue they had the much easier path.
The other answer—play better in the regular season to get a higher seed and earn that easy path.
The Personalities
Like every fanbase we have our favorites. Seth Jarvis is probably the biggest name you know and if you haven’t seen some of the gems he’s put out there, a quick search on YouTube will find it. He’s also famous for having his group of core buddies from Winnipeg that traveled to the Olympics to watch him and should be in the area for the Final. It’s ridiculously wholesome, and they are welcome every time they want to come here.
The other big personality is Jordan Martinook, who plays on the line with Jordan Staal and Nikolaj Ehlers. For a long time he hit the ice by screaming out the name of Andrei Svechnikov, and while Jarvis may be the jester of the team Martinook is the soul. Staal is the heart, basically a version of Rod Brind’Amour on the ice. The rest of the team is basically full of a lot of cliches. They aren’t going to say something the opponent will get sparked by, are focused on the team winning, and are friendly as all get out but tend to be guarded in terms of showing a ton of personality.
That said, as the run has gone on some stories have emerged out of that pack. We have two new dads in Sean Walker and K’Andre Miller, and Miller specifically has started to emerge as another fan favorite for how he’s embraced the team, the area, and hasn’t been afraid to let his emotions show since the Hurricanes traded for him out of New York (more on that in a second). I challenge you not to be moved when you see this.
As an aside, I chatted with Miller off recording for a couple of minutes prior to Game Two, and the smile on his face despite what the Canes were coming off of was infectious. He really did have an appreciation for being on this team, and that was later backed up by this great reporting by TNT’s Jackie Redmond:
The other story this postseason is Frederik Andersen. You should know his story by now and while off the ice he really isn’t known as a quote machine, it’s impossible not to root for him both as someone who escaped Toronto and now dealing with tragedy. The amount of emotion he showed after winning Game Five was so uncharacteristic and tells you just how much he was hurting. His story provides quite a contrast to who’s manning the pipes on the other side.
The Leadership
To know this team is to honestly know two people: Rod Brind’Amour and Eric Tulsky. For as much grief as owner Tom Dundon deserves—and look as fans of this team who’ve had to pay higher prices lately we give him grief—the fact is that he chose both of those people to be in their current positions and the Hurricanes wouldn’t be here without those two.
We’ll start with Tulsky who should have been a General Manager of the Year nominee. The players who have made the biggest impact for the Hurricanes this playoff have all been additions under the Tulsky leadership the last two years.
Tulsky is a inspirational story. He has a chemistry Phd and then just started writing for Broad Street Hockey, formerly of SB Nation, being one of the first to get into the analytics of hockey. That launched him into working for teams, eventually being brought on by Ron Francis to the Hurricanes. From there he worked his way up to being a driving force behind the players acquired. When Don Waddell decided to take more money to do half the job over in Columbus—cause who can blame him—Tulsky was elevated into the role. His biggest attribute has been showing a deftness to take a failure and move on quickly. Everyone points to the Rantanen deal, but a few months prior he also missed on being able to resign Jake Guentzel. In both cases he rebounded and continued that work in the offseason when he signed Ehlers and traded for Miller. The Rantanen trade in particular is just one big success story as it led to Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven, Mark Jankowski, and Miller all playing for this squad.
At this point Tulsky’s reputation is such that it’s known that if he’s calling to trade for one of your defensemen, rather than completing the trade you should take a long, hard look at why he’s calling. The thing is, it isn’t just about analytics with him. In interview after interview he speaks not just of a players’ number but the attitude and fit with the team. He works collaboratively with Brind’Amour, who makes it known what type of person the player has to be. For the most part players that are here want to be here, and it’s led to one of the most consistent lineups under the Brind’Amour leadership.
That brings us to Rod. I truly don’t think there are many hockey personalities that are as loved by the home team as Brind’Amour is to Hurricanes fans. He’s given these fans the ultimate compliment that make them want to run through a wall for him—he’s chosen this area. After he was traded here in 2000 he embraced Raleigh and the fans. He married local, and when his career was over even though it ended rough—as most hockey players’ careers do—he stayed. He would jump on the team staff, eventually became an assistant coach under Bill Peters, and then was selected by Dundon to lead the team as part of the Peters trade to Calgary. He coaches for this area as much as he coaches for this franchise, and has eschewed other opportunities despite being a victim of “Business Tom” taking advantage of his loyalty and getting him at a discount.
It is easy to be hyperbolic about Brind’Amour but folks who have covered the team know it too. He’s also good with a soundbite, has a wicked sense of humor, and has had some of the most meme-able facial expressions in hockey. Fans here still wear his jersey, and honestly fans are rooting for him as much as they are rooting for the Hurricanes.
That should have you covered. Folks in the comments will also catch you up on anything else I may have missed and if you have questions, ask. Meanwhile, welcome on the bandwagon, enjoy a Cheerwine and a BBQ sandwich and here’s hoping for a good ride.
