Carolina Hurricanes: Where Will the Motivation Come From?

RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 15: Warren Foegele #13 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates during the team Storm Surge following a victory over the Edmonton Oilers during an NHL game on February 15, 2019 at PSNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 15: Warren Foegele #13 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates during the team Storm Surge following a victory over the Edmonton Oilers during an NHL game on February 15, 2019 at PSNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
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RALEIGH, NC – FEBRUARY 15: Warren Foegele #13 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates during the team Storm Surge following a victory over the Edmonton Oilers during an NHL game on February 15, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC – FEBRUARY 15: Warren Foegele #13 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates during the team Storm Surge following a victory over the Edmonton Oilers during an NHL game on February 15, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)

Over the course of an 82-game season, teams look to things to help motivate them to get through the grind of it all. We take a look at what three things can help motivate the Carolina Hurricanes through the 2019-20 campaign.

The Carolina Hurricanes had plenty of things to motivate them last season. The most prominent thing was when Don Cherry called out Justin Williams and the Hurricanes for the storm surge. He referred to the team as a “bunch of jerks,” as most of you already know.

The Hurricanes, however, didn’t back down from the storm surges and embraced being “jerks.” It added a dimension of fun to hockey as well as improve with fan experience at games. The Hurricanes just kept winning and you kept seeing more and more of the surges. The team embraced it and used it as fuel to silence the doubters.

The fun was the key to motivating the Hurricanes. The team was having a good time with each other and the storm surge showed that on the ice. The group got along with each other and were a competitive bunch of jerks. Having fun alleviated some of the pressure off of the team as they had to fight for their playoff lives for most of the second half of the season. And the more they won, the more they had fun.

So what are some things that can help motivate the 2019-20 version of the Carolina Hurricanes?

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