Canes raising Stanley Cup banner at Sept. 29 opener
Jun 20, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) holds up the Stanley Cup Trophy during the Stanley Cup championship parade and rally at Raleigh. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images The Carolina Hurricanes will raise their second Stanley Cup championship banner ahead of their Sept. 29 season opener against the Florida Panthers.
The 5 p.m. ET matchup in Raleigh, N.C., pits the two most recent league champions and kicks off the league's opening-night tripleheader on ESPN. The New York Rangers and Boston Bruins follow at 8 p.m. ET before the Chicago Blackhawks and Vegas Golden Knights cap the action at 10:30 p.m. ET.
The Hurricanes claimed their first championship since the 2005-06 season by defeating the Golden Knights in six games in June.
The NHL announced the home openers for all 32 teams on Wednesday and the full schedule is set to be released on Thursday.
The @NHL announced today the 2026-27 regular season, expanded to 84 games with the addition of two more divisional contests per team, will open on Tuesday, Sept. 29. In addition, the League announced each team's home opener.
— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) July 15, 2026
Details: https://t.co/jMxZCwXZU6 pic.twitter.com/wfrDekHQs1
Play begins in September as the league moves to an 84-game season for the first time since 1993-94. There will be a record 1,344 games played during the regular season.
--Field Level Media
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