The NHL season is still in its infancy, yet, not 15 games in, the Carolina Hurricanes look to be among the NHL Elite. It is in understanding how they got there, that makes this season so incredibly intriguing.
The world of professional sports is predicated on the ability of a team to overcome opposition and become greater than the sum of its parts. This goal is often equipped with a sense of drama; a narrative that produces memorable moments, irreplaceable characters, and incredible memories for those who experience them.
These sports stories have the power to transcend time, to live on in future generations of fans. People who are willing to appreciate these stories, as rare as they appear, often engage with these teams so deeply that the team becomes a part of them.
This year, there may be no greater sports story than that of the Carolina Hurricanes. This isn’t only about how the Canes have played through the first moth of the year, but how they got there.
The narrative has been building steadily, and to truly appreciate the story of these Hurricanes is to understand who they used to be. This isn’t about one player, one coach, or one circumstance that built these Carolina Hurricanes; this is about an organization who changed their culture from the inside out, and from the top down.
This narrative is in its climax, what the Canes do from here could go in any number of directions. As fans, this is the time to reflect on our past, look toward our future, and cheer on the individuals who have gotten us this far.
The first person that needs to be mentioned, the individual who set this transformation in motion is undeniably the head of this entity…