RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes will raise their Stanley Cup championship banner Tuesday before opening the NHL season against the Florida Panthers at Lenovo Center.
The ceremony celebrates Carolina’s second championship. The game immediately afterward brings another recent champion into the building: Florida won the Cup in 2024 and 2025 before the Hurricanes took the title this year.
The scheduled 5 p.m. Eastern start gives Carolina an early place on opening night’s national television schedule. ESPN will carry the game in the United States, with the celebrations giving way to the first assignment of the Hurricanes’ title defense.
Carolina returns much of its championship group, but it will begin without Seth Jarvis. The forward is recovering from a shoulder injury and is not expected back before late October at the earliest. His absence changes the forward combinations available to coach Rod Brind’Amour at the start of the season.
Monday’s practice offered a look at the likely arrangement, including Eric Robinson alongside Sebastian Aho. Those practice combinations are an indication of the coaching staff’s plans rather than a guarantee that every line will remain together once the game begins.
Florida arrives with changes of its own. Brady Tkachuk and goaltender Jacob Markstrom have joined a group that again includes Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk. Brad Marchand remains unavailable following surgery, leaving the Panthers short of their full complement of forwards.
Aho led Carolina with 80 points last season, while Andrei Svechnikov scored 31 goals. The Hurricanes also finished with a power play converting at 24.9 percent, giving them an established source of offense as they begin another campaign.
Captain Jordan Staal enters one point short of 500 with Carolina, adding an individual milestone to an evening centered on the team’s achievement.
The new 84-game schedule begins with the banner ceremony and a familiar opponent. Carolina will have time to recognize what it accomplished before the points available in the new season become the priority.
Sources: Hurricanes; Hurricanes2.
Related: NHL opening-night TV guide.
