The Hurricanes won their first crown in 20 seasons last June, defeating Las Vegas four games to two in the Stanley Cup Final, and return most of the same lineup in their back-to-back bid.
"We're on a new journey," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour, looking ahead to a campaign that opens at home against Florida, the 2024 and 2025 NHL champions.
Brandon Bussi came off the bench when goaltender Frederik Andersen was injured in the final after a 13-2 playoff run and went 3-1 with a 1.60 goals-against average to secure the Cup.
Bussi is the starter this season as Andersen departed for Edmonton.
Before they move forward however, the Hurricanes will celebrate what was, and after getting their Stanley Cup rings on Monday, they'll celebrate ahead of their season opener on Tuesday, raising the Stanley Cup banner in the presence of the back-to-back 2024 and 2025 champion Panthers.
For the first time since 2006, the Hurricanes will raise another banner to the ceiling at the Lenovo Center, with Brind'Amour playing a key role in both of those, becoming arguably the most important figure in franchise history. During their run to the Cup, Carolina took down the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens and Vegas Golden Knights, with back-to-back sweeps to start the post-season showing just how good that team was.
This year, they've returned many of the same pieces, and with many of their stars still in their 20's, this could be the start of a very successful period in 'Canes history.
Ultimately though, they're in a very tough Eastern Conference, and given how hard it will be to go back-to-back, fans will definitely be taking in the celebrations on Tuesday as Carolina celebrate the 2025/26 season before the puck drops on a completely new campaign.