Just getting on the Canes bandwagon or visiting from Vegas? What you need to know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- The Hurricanes last reached the Stanley Cup Finals 20 years ago in 2006.
- Coach Rod Brind’Amour became head coach in 2018 and was 2006 captain.
- After home wins players gather at center ice for the Storm Surge Viking clap.
It’s been 20 years since the Carolina Hurricanes last made it to the Stanley Cup Finals — the World Series of hockey, the Super Bowl of the NHL.
If that’s got you paying attention to the Canes for the first time in a while, or if you’re from Las Vegas, here’s a brief primer to help you understand the team and its fans.
Hockey in North Carolina?
Perhaps no stranger than hockey in the Nevada desert. But it’s true, the idea of a National Hockey League team in the Carolinas took some getting used to for some. Former owner Peter Karmanos moved the team from Hartford, Connecticut, in 1997, a continuing source of heartache and bitterness in the Nutmeg State. The Canes and their fans pay homage to the old Hartford Whalers by occasionally wearing the team’s green and white jerseys with the classic whale tail logo.
Hurricanes fans are a melting pot
Transplants from other states have made the Triangle one of the fastest-growing areas of the country. That means many fans have split allegiances, rooting for the Canes as well as the team they grew up with. People wearing an opposing team’s jersey at the Lenovo Center are as likely to be from Cary or North Raleigh as from out of town. That said, this is the Stanley Cup Finals, and most Triangle fans are focused on the home team, despite their fondness for the one they left behind.
Come early for the tailgating
The Canes share an arena with N.C. State University, built on university land next to the school’s football stadium out on the edge of town. It’s surrounded by acres and acres of parking, perfect for setting up a grill, a few chairs and cornhole before the game, especially during the playoffs when days are long and warm. It’s a tailgating culture that just isn’t possible in most NHL cities, including Las Vegas.
Is that mascot a pig?
Yes, Stormy is a big pig. Former owner Karmanos is credited with choosing an “ice hog” mascot for his team, which made his debut before a game against the Detroit Red Wings in the Greensboro Coliseum in 1997. Jim Rutherford, the team’s general manager at the time, said the hog was a way to honor the state’s pork industry and one of its moguls, state Sen. Wendell Murphy, who was instrumental in getting the arena built. Stormy got a name through an internet survey later that fall and became the popular, ever-smiling face of the franchise.
In Rod We Trust
The first Hurricanes player to hoist the Stanley Cup in 2006 was the team’s captain, Rod Brind’Amour. His No. 17 has hung in the rafters of the Lenovo Center since it was retired in 2011. He became the Canes’ head coach in 2018 and has led the team to the playoffs every year since, making the conference finals four times. He’s known for his intensity, work ethic and the time he spends in the weight room (the ”Rod the Bod” nickname he acquired as a player still fits). He’s the main reason a team without superstars has won so consistently and is playing for the Cup.
Storm Surge
When the Canes win a home game, the players gather around the center faceoff circle and perform an arms-raised Viking clap, first popularized by soccer fans in Iceland. This salute to Canes fans is the Storm Surge. Lately the team has ended each one by swarming the player who stood out that night. But in the early days of the ritual in 2019, players followed the clap with a pre-planned performance, such as a limbo line or game of duck, duck goose. Fans stuck around to see what the players would come up with next.
Bunch of Jerks
Not a fan of the Storm Surge was Don Cherry, a former NHL coach and longtime Hockey Night in Canada commentator known as much for his gaudy clothes as his observations on hockey. In a disjointed tirade in February 2019, Cherry chastised the Canes Storm Surge as uncouth. “You never do anything like that,” Cherry said. “They’re a bunch of jerks, as far as I’m concerned.” The Canes responded by making “Bunch of Jerks” T-shirts that sold briskly during the next game and remain a common sight in the Triangle.
Hurricane flags
It may seem odd to name a North Carolina sports team after the storms that periodically ravage the state. But the Hurricanes have made it work and have embraced the imagery and rituals associated with the destructive storms. That includes the red flag with the black square in the middle that mariners fly to indicate a storm is coming. The Canes have hung one outside the Lenovo Center for each win during the playoffs, leaving space for four more.
Sound the siren
Each time the Hurricanes take the ice during a game, their arrival is heralded by the wail of a hand-cranked siren that occupies a prominent spot in the middle level of seats. Sounding the siren means a few moments in the spotlight for those chosen for the honor, often local celebrities such as singers Scotty McCreery and Petey Pablo. Turning the crank and keeping the siren going as the team funnels out of the locker room takes some strength, and many siren sounders are athletes, such as Carolina Panthers Luke Kuechly and Christian McCaffrey. Retired Canes Erik Cole and Chad LaRose, who played on the Cup team in 2006, sounded the siren to open Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Playoff beards
The Carolina Hurricanes are generally a clean-cut group, but you wouldn’t know it to see them now. Whether out of superstition or as a badge of honor, the playoff beard has become a tradition for players and their fans. The longer your team plays, the longer your beard. Look back at team photos from 2006 and you’ll see most of the Hurricanes clustered around the cup with healthy beards — except for Brind’Amour, who isn’t growing one this year either. If all 16 teams stop shaving at the beginning of the playoffs and only one wins the cup, he reasons, it must not work very well.
This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 12:03 PM with the headline "Just getting on the Canes bandwagon or visiting from Vegas? What you need to know."
