Carolina Hurricanes’ Outdoor Game Postponed to 2022-2023

The Carolina Hurricanes have deferred the previously planned Stadium Series game that was to take place in 2021 at Carter-Finley Stadium to the 2022-2023 season. Per Gary Bettman, the Carolina Hurricanes will receive their outdoor game “at some point in the future”, likely yet to be determined.

Don Waddell and the Carolina Hurricanes sent out a press release shortly after the announcement was made, which you can read below:

As much as this might disappoint a ton of Canes fans, I think we should cool our jets a bit. This decision was made not by the NHL, but by the Carolina Hurricanes Organization. The lack of transparency is a tad frustrating, but that’s seemingly how team owner Tom Dundon prefers to operate.

This decision likely wasn’t made yesterday, and it surely would’ve been better to hear from the team first, especially if you’re a season-ticket holder, but the frustration and backlash this has generated online in the hours since the announcement have been largely unwarranted.

The outdoor games that will take place in the 2021-22 season, however, will feature the Canes’ fellow southern small-market hockey franchise in the Nashville Predators (who will be playing the Tampa Bay Lightning), which bodes well for hockey in the south in general. The Minnesota Wild (who will be playing the St. Louis Blues) will also be granted an outdoor game, and the yearly Heritage Classic will be held in March 2022.

The good news is that we still get an outdoor game, even if it is a couple years after we initially were prepared for. The NHL didn’t outright cancel the Canes’ Stadium Series game. Who knows, maybe the extra time until then will give the NHL time to think about who the Canes’ opponents should be instead of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

We’re looking at you, Washington.