As Carolina Hurricanes Enter Playoffs, NHL Players Recognize ‘Caniac Nation’ With ‘Toughest’ Votes for PNC Arena

By David Glenn

 

When the National Hockey League playoffs begin this weekend, the Carolina Hurricanes will serve as hosts for the New York Islanders in the teams’ best-of-seven, first-round series.

The Hurricanes’ brilliant performance (52-23-7, 111 points) during their 82-game regular season, which ended Tuesday night, comes with the benefit of playing the first two games of the series against the Islanders — plus Game Five and Game Seven, if necessary — in the friendly confines of their home rink, PNC Arena in Raleigh.

That’s been known as a “home-ice advantage” in hockey circles for more than a century.

In the Hurricanes’ case, though, playing at home hasn’t always been a big advantage.

In recent years, it’s been nice to hear when Hurricanes executives, coaches, players and broadcasters mention and celebrate the truly fantastic home-ice atmosphere the franchise’s fans have created consistently at PNC Arena.

It’s a much bigger compliment when opposing players say the same thing.

Carolina Hurricanes’ Jordan Martinook is congratulated by teammates Dmitry Orlov (7), Andrei Svechnikov (37) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (82) after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues Friday, April 12, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

In a wide-ranging poll conducted by the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) this season and released on April 10, PNC Arena received the second-most votes — among 32 NHL venues — in the “toughest place to play for a visiting team” category.

The NHLPA poll asked questions of 639 active NHL players, which represents an impressive average of roughly 20 players per team.

“Toughest Arena For Visiting NHL Team”
(Arena, Team, Highest Voting Percentages)
1. T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas Golden Knights, 31.4%
2. PNC Arena, Carolina Hurricanes, 16.3%
3. TD Garden, Boston Bruins, 15.6%
4. Ball Arena, Colorado Avalanche, 7.9%
5. Bell Centre, Montreal Canadiens, 4.7%

As recently as 2018, remember, the Hurricanes were an embarrassment. Their attendance numbers ranked at or near the bottom of the league every year, and they missed the playoffs for nine consecutive seasons (2009-10 through 2017-18), one of the worst such streaks in NHL history.

At that point, in 2018, everything started changing pretty quickly for a once-proud franchise that had captured the Stanley Cup in 2006.

Texas-based billionaire Tom Dundon bought the team from Peter Karmanos, who had owned the franchise since its pre-relocation Hartford Whalers days (1994 to 2018 in all). Dundon then quickly hired as the Hurricanes’ head coach former player Rod Brind’Amour, who had been the team captain and legendary leader on the Canes’ championship team.

From that inarguable turning point, Carolina went from a franchise that had missed the playoffs for nine straight years (in a sport where half the teams make it each year) to a franchise that has now made the playoffs for six consecutive seasons and reached the Eastern Conference finals, or hockey’s version of the Final Four, in both 2019 and 2023.

Even as early as the spring of 2019, Dundon himself recognized that, while some fans had complaints about the growing crowds (and resulting complications) at PNC Arena, the pluses far outweighed the minuses.

“It’s a lot more fun in PNC Arena right now, right?” Dundon said. “The more, the merrier.

“Is there a downside to all of this? Yes. There’s more traffic. It takes longer to get a beer. The restroom lines are long between periods. But everybody knows it’s more fun when it’s crowded.”

That same spring, as the Hurricanes advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, Brind’Amour said he had personally witnessed an incredible change in North Carolina’s hockey culture, starting with his arrival in Raleigh as a player.

Traded to the Hurricanes from the Philadelphia Flyers in January 2000, Brind’Amour said the clerk at his Raleigh hotel couldn’t describe the location of the city’s hockey arena. Others didn’t even know there was an NHL team in Raleigh at the time.

In 2006, of course, Brind’Amour was a vital part of the Hurricanes’ championship season as a player. By 2019, after seeing more quiet times at PNC Arena as a Canes player and assistant coach, he made a point to mention the crowd’s resurgence as Carolina eliminated the Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders in the first two rounds of the postseason.

“Because of the fans, we felt like we just weren’t going to lose,” Brind’Amour said. “The feeling in the building wouldn’t allow that. There were times it felt like we had six skaters on the ice. They’re a huge part of this, and we’re thankful.”

Five years later, that theme continues, as do the Canes’ winning ways.Most recently, on the day of the team’s final home game of the 2023-24 season, Brind’Amour told Hurricanes color commentator Tripp Tracy how much he and the players appreciated the boost they get from the home crowd, which is now responsible for 61 straight PNC Arena sellouts.

“I think it’s a real testament to the fans,” Brind’Amour said. “They come out every night. And not just come out and watch … they certainly give us a lot of energy.

“I think it shows in the way we play here. We don’t always win every night, but we certainly give a good effort, and I think that we’re in every game that we play here, and it has a lot to do with the great support that we have.”

Entering today, the final day of the 2023-24 regular season, the Hurricanes (with 111 points) were tied for the second-best record in the 32-team NHL, behind only the New York Rangers (114 points). The Canes’ 27 home victories ranked fourth in the league, behind only the Rangers (30), the Colorado Avalanche (30) and the Edmonton Oilers (28).

With the playoffs finally here, the Hurricanes will need every possible advantage to make a run at another Stanley Cup … and now they know that their home-ice crowd will be one of them.

David Glenn (DavidGlennShow.com, @DavidGlennShow) is an award-winning author, broadcaster, editor, entrepreneur, publisher, speaker, writer and university lecturer (now at UNC Wilmington) who has covered sports in North Carolina since 1987.

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