The Carolina Hurricanes Have Some Fun in Charlotte with Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Hurricanes got support from The Carolina Panthers last year in the playoffs, so the boys went to support them this weekend.

Remember last year when Luke Kuechly almost broke the Carolina Hurricanes’ siren sounder during the playoffs? Good times. Well, the boys thought it would be a great idea to caravan down to Charlotte, shifting lanes in unison, to support the Panthers this weekend.

Sure we didn’t get the result we wanted against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, and it was a bit of a let down. Then, Sunday mid day, a wonderful surprise from our beloved skaters came rolling in on the twitter feed.

Here is some wholesome content of the boys all wearing Christian McCaffery Jerseys at the game. The kind of stuff you didn’t know you needed, but deserved today.

https://twitter.com/MSmithCanes/status/1191151453450252289

A couple of non-hockey related notes about these pictures that need to be stated: When are Andrei Svechnikov and Dougie Hamilton not together? Tom Dundon is THE man, and Brock McGinn’s hair is my spirit animal.

On a serious note, it was amazing to see the Panthers come to Raleigh during the playoffs and support the Canes last season. It is even more amazing to see the players interacting and the Canes reciprocating the in state love.

Let’s get down to business and talk about some of the underlying meanings of this visit. Ever since Tom Dundon took over as the Canes majority owner there have been some changes to the organization.

A big one is the focus of the market of the Hurricanes. For the past couple of years there has been a very big emphasis on “One Carolina” throughout the professional organizations In North and South Carolina. Over this summer something huge was done to amplify this.

The Canes acquiring the Greenville Swam Rabbits as their ECHL affiliate might have been one of the best marketing moves ever. Now the entire Carolina Hurricanes organization is in both North and South Carolina, also having the Charlotte Checkers for the AHL.

The focus on “One Carolina” is more than a marketing gimmick for Dundon and the Canes. This sense of the two states being represented by the one organization is genius. It has allowed a greater sense of community across all of the Carolina’s. Everywhere you go within the Carolina’s you can find mutual Canes fans, new and tenured.

Hockey is fun again for the Canes fans, and not just in Raleigh. Dundon has built a persona that you can visit anywhere in North or South Carolina and be greeted by a “Go Canes!” The Greenville Swamp Rabbits acquisition was the finishing touches to this muilti-state, tight nit community plan to get everyone bought in to the Canes.

Now let’s touch on what we gathered from this in state visit to the Panthers, that could help us on the ice.

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The chemistry among the Canes players is unmatched. A majority of them are here and having fun with each other. Everyone gets along, includes each other, and respects each other.

Now, a glimpse in to the near future: We need Jordan Martinook back on the ice. Obviously his injury is coming along nicely as we can see in the above video. Martinook is a special teammate that brings a much needed positive locker room vibe. Naming Martinook the second alternate captain was the complete right choice. Nobody on this team provides more positive energy than him.

All said and done, our Canes going to visit the Panthers was a pleasant surprise after a tough Saturday. Only positive vibes, came from this visit, something you love to see.

Question for CC readers: How many hours out of the day do you thing Dougie and Svechnikov hang out?