The day we have been patiently, or impatiently, waiting for has finally rolled around. The Carolina Hurricanes will play hockey on Thursday night and, this time, it'll actually matter. The Canes embark on their 2025-26 campaign by welcoming the New Jersey Devils for a season-opening Metropolitan Division tilt.
Though many of the same pieces remain in place, the Canes are sporting a few new faces in the lineup to begin the season. The biggest of them is Nikolaj Ehlers, the team's prize signing during free agency. We'll also get our first look at K'Andre Miller, and Alexander Nikishin is expected to make his regular season debut after playing his first games in the playoffs.
Otherwise, it's business as usual for the Canes, who welcome back most of their roster from a year ago. Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven each earned long-term deals, while Taylor Hall, Eric Robinson, and Frederik Andersen each earned smaller contracts to keep them in Raleigh. The rest of the core remains in place, led by Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, and Jaccob Slavin.
On the Other Side: New Jersey Devils
The injury bug caught the Devils at the worst possible time last season. By the time they were eliminated in the 1st round by the Hurricanes, they were without the Hughes brothers, Brenden Dillon, and Jonathan Kovacevic, putting New Jersey in an unenviable position against a dangerous Carolina team. They won't have those same issues on Thursday night.
While Kovacevic likely won't play until 2026, both Jack and Luke Hughes are good to go, as is Brenden Dillon. There were concerns that Brett Pesce wouldn't be ready, but all signs indicate that he will be fine, too. The same can't be said for Stefan Noesen, who is nursing a groin injury and will start the season on IR.
After a 3rd-place finish a season ago, they're in for a tough fight at the top of the division. They didn't do anything massive this offseason, adding Evgenii Dadonov, Connor Brown, and Luke Glendening to their forward group. Otherwise, this will be a similar team to the one they faced four times last season. Jacob Markstrom, unsurprisingly, will get the nod in the net for the Devils' opener.
Last season: The sides met four times during the regular season, splitting the decisions with the home side prevailing in each. They were finished by the end of 2025, leaving almost four months before they met again in the 1st round. The Canes won the series in five games, taking all three contests in Raleigh, which ended with Aho's 2OT winner in Game 5.
Devils to Watch
Jack Hughes: New Jersey's trajectory took a massive hit when Jack Hughes went down with a season-ending injury in March against Vegas. Now, he is playing his first meaningful game in months. I'm expecting Hughes to come out of the gates amped up and flying around the ice faster than he usually does.
Brett Pesce: While it won't be Brett Pesce's first game back in Raleigh, it's perfect that the stars aligned for this game. Thursday night marks the 700th game of his NHL career, 627 of which came with the team that drafted him. Pesce might be on the other side for this game, but I'd expect him to get a warm reception from the Caniacs in acknowledgement of this moment.
Hurricanes to Watch
Logan Stankoven: For as much as the second-line center position has been scrutinized for years, Logan Stankoven is the next man to step into the spot. He did an excellent job during the preseason, but this is when games start to matter. He'll be centering a great line with Andrei Svechnikov and Jackson Blake, and they were the team's most dangerous in the preseason finale.
K'Andre Miller: An injury lingering from the end of last season prevented K'Andre Miller from playing in the preseason, so this is the first time we'll see him in game action with the Hurricanes. He was another of their big additions, coming over in a sign-and-trade with New York. Like many on that team, it was a disappointing campaign last year, so we'll see how things go in his Canes debut.