Rachel Barkley
I imagine there are quite a few hockey fans blasting ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’ by Green Day following the announcement of the regular season home openers for every NHL team.
In just 75 days, the Carolina Hurricanes will play their season opener against the Florida Panthers. The NHL released the date and time for every team’s home openers, and just as expected, the Hurricanes will have game number one of the season on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at 5 PM EDT.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN as the start of a triple header and preceded by the championship banner raising ceremony in Lenovo Center.
As for the rest of the NHL’s regular season schedule, that releases at 1 PM EDT. It’s an exciting day in the hockey world, indeed.
(Psst, CHN is currently running a mailbag! If you have any questions, be sure to reach out by 12 PM EDT on Friday! More info and how to contact can be found here!)
William Hakansson Sings ELC with Hurricanes
Less than a month after he was drafted in the second round, 51st overall by Carolina, left-handed defenseman William Hakansson has signed a three-year entry level contract with the team.
For a little more information on Hakansson and his playing style, I wrote about him in the draft analysis piece here at CHN.
Instrumental Figure in Hurricanes’ Arrival in Raleigh Passes Away at 83
Saturday, local real estate developer, E. Stephen Stroud, passed away.
In the 1990s, he alongside North Carolina’s leaders helped to convince the Hartford Whalers’ owner to make the move to the Triangle area of N.C., and went on to oversee the development of the then RBC Center (now Lenovo Center).
The plaza between Lenovo Center and Carter Finley Stadium, E. Stephen Stroud Way, was named in his honor, and served as the location of the watch parties during the recent Stanley Cup Final.
May he rest in peace.
Jordan Staal Speaks on Brady Tkachuk Fight to Start Postseason
Tuesday, Jordan Staal joined the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast to discuss the Stanley Cup run and everything around it. Of course, one of the big points of discussion was the fight with Brady Tkachuk in Game 1 of Round One against the Ottawa Senators, to which Staal gave a very insightful response of that moment compared to previous seasons.
“I think it brought our team together,” he said. “I think those Panthers series, I think we got outmuscled a bit too much and I regret not doing a better job with that stuff. Not really fighting obviously, after that but the way we held our own against a really physical team and a tough team.
“You see a lot of other guys started caring for each other, stepping in in certain situations, there were moments there that I hadn’t seen in the past from our team.”
He went on to say that he was ready to do anything it would have taken to win, jokingly saying, “If I get knocked out, you guys better figure it out.”
The full show is available on Netflix.
NHL News, Trade Talk, and National Hockey Now
Detroit Hockey Now: Yzerman is YzerDONE. Wednesday, the Detroit Red Wings announced that Steve Yzerman was stepping away from his role as General Manager and Executive Vice President of the organization. Kevin Allen has all of the details, including what role he will remain in, while Bob Duff wrote up an analysis of who could take the job.
San Jose Hockey Now: I’m finally getting to talk about video games, haha! NHL27’s cover has officially been released, and at just 20 years old, Macklin Celebrini will be the youngest cover athlete in EA NHL history.
Additionally, in a recent interview, Celebrini expressed his respect for superstar players Sidney Crosby and Nathan McKinnon’s team friendly contracts. It makes for a very interesting topic, with his own contract up next summer.
Austin DeLonge and Sheng Peng with the stories!
ChiCitySports: It’s down to two teams for NHL legend Patrick Kane – and both can be considered home. Chris Chelios reported that it will either be the Buffalo Sabres (in the area he grew up), or the Chicago Blackhawks (where he won three Stanley Cups and the Conn Smythe Trophy).
