The Carolina Hurricanes will get their championship moment to start the new season. As the reigning Stanley Cup champions, Carolina earns the traditional home opener that comes with the title, and the club has confirmed the Florida Panthers as the opponent for its banner-raising night. The Hurricanes host Florida at Lenovo Center on Tuesday, September 29, with a 5 p.m. ET puck drop.
There is some symmetry to the pairing. Florida missed the 2025-26 playoffs, but the Panthers spent years as a postseason roadblock for Carolina, making them a pointed choice to stand across the ice as the banner goes up. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman called Florida “the right choice for the banner raising,” pointing to two accomplished, confident teams and a genuine rivalry as the makings of a strong opening-night showcase.
The banner itself caps a run Carolina waited two decades to make again. The Hurricanes powered through the Metropolitan bracket past the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers, then eliminated the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Final. In the Stanley Cup Final, they closed out the Vegas Golden Knights in six games, a title that returned Lord Stanley to Raleigh for the first time in 20 years.
