The Carolina Hurricanes had arguably the loudest stadium in the NHL playoffs. Maintaining PNC’s noise allowed the Canes to reach an unexpected playoff run and potentially new heights as a franchise.
It took the Carolina Hurricanes 10 years for the canes to put an end to their agonizing playoff drought. However, the canes wouldn’t have sniffed the playoffs If it weren’t for the fans. In the seven playoff games that the hurricanes played in at home, every single game was sold out and then some.
The games weren’t just full, they were extremely loud. In one of the home games the canes had during the playoffs, the noise in the arena reached an 117 decibel level.
In comparison, a 120 decibel level is just as loud as a clap of thunder. The fans in PNC arena practically produced a thunderclap in cheering their home team on. The fans proved they were excited to watch the “Bunch of Jerks” return to the playoffs and they kept on coming and continiously brought the noise.
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Attendance was a big reason for why the canes were able to play so well. The hurricanes surprised many with the outstanding play they displayed in the second half of the season and into the playoffs.
The average attendance in the playoffs at home for the hurricanes was 19,038. However the average attendance in PNC during the regular season was a mere 14,322 which was ranked 28th in the entire NHL.
To put it in perspective, the canes played the Washington Capitals in the first round of the Stanley cup playoffs. The capitals ranked 9th in the league with an average attendance of 18,508. Although, in the playoffs it seemed that PNC was a lot louder than Capital One Arena. The playoffs gave a glimpse at not only what the players are capable of but what the fans can provide to.
In each game that was played during the playoffs at home for the canes, it was obvious that the players were building off the crowd noise. If the fans can produce a similar intensity for a full season, the canes could become a top-tier team in the league if they are not considered so already.
A lot of success can be attributed to first year owner Tom Dundon, first year GM Don Waddell, first year coach Rod Brind’amour, and first year captain Justin Williams. It was Justin Williams who came up with the idea to do the “storm surge” and celebrate after every victory with the fans watching.
This tradition caught on during the regular season, and fans kept coming in to see what the Carolina Hurricanes would do next. These celebrations led to hockey analyst Don Cherry calling the canes the “Bunch of Jerks”.
“They’re a bunch of jerks.” - Don Cherry ripped the Hurricanes for their postgame celebrations. pic.twitter.com/MImbTXH5Xs
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) February 17, 2019
This nickname caught on and Tom Dundon’s Marketing Team was smart enough to catch on and make this into a t-shirt and a new identity for the team. It was later added upon when the old Boston Coach continued to call the fans names, including “front runners”.
Ultimately, it seems that the Carolina Hurricanes success has correlated with the fans showing up. So next year, all canes fans need to pack PNC Arena as much as they can and they might see a better product than this team was able to produce this year.
Question for CC Readers: Will you being going to a game next year?