Downtown Raleigh was transformed into a sea of red and black on Saturday as an estimated 150,000 fans turned out to celebrate the Carolina Hurricanes’ first Stanley Cup championship in 20 years, according to The News & Observer. The crowd is believed to be a record-breaking turnout for the city.
Head coach Rod Brind’Amour, who also served as team captain when Carolina won its only other Stanley Cup back in 2006, was visibly overwhelmed by the size of the crowd greeting the champions.
“I’m in shock,” Brind’Amour said following the parade through North Carolina’s capital city. “It doesn’t happen very often, but I’m just kind of speechless.”
Thousands of fans arrived well ahead of the parade’s start time, staking out spots along the route and near the stage where a post-parade rally would be held. Players rode through the streets on double-decker buses while Brind’Amour waved to the crowd from a truck traveling the same route.
Supporters dressed in Hurricanes jerseys and waving team flags were still riding high on the team’s Cup victory over the Vegas Golden Knights the previous weekend.
Captain and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jordan Staal said he tried to prepare his teammates for what to expect — but the reality still exceeded his expectations.
“I was trying to explain to the fellas what I knew was going to happen,” Staal said. “And my expectations were so high because I know these Caniacs, I know what they’re all about, and I was still blown away. I couldn’t even describe how amazing that was.”
At the rally stage, Staal lifted the Stanley Cup above his head to a roaring crowd. Players Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Martinook took turns sounding the “Storm Warning” siren — the same one that blares when the team hits the ice before home games in Raleigh.
Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon admitted the massive turnout caught him off guard as well.
“I did not expect that, for sure,” Dundon said. “Like, I didn’t know. That’s a lot of people. I was surprised. It’s, also, you know, seeing all the little kids, my guys up there with water guns, and all the little kids in front, thinking about how many people have this connection now and what that’ll mean for the future, is kind of what kind of will hit me.”
Even amid the festivities, the organization found time to conduct some business. General manager Eric Tulsky used the occasion to officially sign forward Nicolas Deslauriers to a two-year contract worth $1.75 million. Deslauriers, who had joined the team at the trade deadline, had been set to become an unrestricted free agent.
