The 2026-27 National Hockey League season is just over two months away, and due to the Carolina Hurricanes being the Stanley Cup victors from the prior season, they are awarded the luxury of opening the NHL season at home, and their opponent has been revealed.
Carolina will take on the Florida Panthers to kick off the season, and how fitting it is that they open up the season against the team that they struggled so much against to get over the hump. The Panthers, obviously, were not in the 2025-26 NHL playoffs, but still, they had given the Hurricanes major trouble in the Stanley Cup playoffs in years past.
Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cup Banner Night Revealed
GettyLAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 14: The Carolina Hurricanes celebrate winning Game Six of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 at T-Mobile Arena on June 14, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The Carolina Hurricanes are opening up the NHL season on September 29 @ the Lenovo Center, against the Florida Panthers, at 5 p.m ET.
@Elliotte Friedman wrote (via X.com):
“Florida/Carolina is the right choice for the banner raising. Excellent Both have wonâ¦both at peak confidence/power. A real rivalry. Great showcase.”
A real rivalry is right, and given the fact that the Panthers are healthy once again, this should make for the perfect game to headline the opening week of the NHL season.
In case you forgot how the Carolina Hurricanes lifted the Stanley Cup back in June.
Carolina defeated the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers to roll through the Metro Division, and then topped the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference finals to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
Then, in the Stanley Cup Final, the Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in six games to hoist Lord Stanley and bring back their first Stanley Cup to Raleigh in 20 years.
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