When the NHL comes to Carter-Finley, there’s only one Canes opponent that makes sense
Amid the tremendous elation surrounding Saturday night’s news that, yes, finally, improbably and triumphantly, the Carolina Hurricanes will host a Stadium Series outdoor NHL game at Carter-Finley Stadium next February, there remains one very large unanswered question.
Who’s the visitor?
Or, more to the point, who should be the visitor?
The opponent remains undecided within the Byzantine hallways of the NHL, despite the Washington Capitals’ protestations to the contrary, coming so quickly on Saturday they belied the insecurity that lay behind them. Besides, everyone knows the Chicago Blackhawks have to say no first before anyone else can be invited.
Washington does make sense, a geographic rival with recent playoff history, a Hall of Fame star and the equivalent of TSA PreCheck from NBC. The Nashville Predators have the same geographic appeal, but were the visitors at the Cotton Bowl last month. The Boston Bruins have the same recent postseason history, but there really isn’t much of a rivalry between the teams.
Then there’s the Tampa Bay Lightning or Florida Panthers, with their old Southeast Division ties, making it a truly Southern outdoor event. The Bolts make more sense, given their position in the standings and the likelihood they’ll be there again 12 months from now, perhaps even as defending Stanley Cup champions. Both would presumably have less appeal to NBC, but like the Hurricanes they’re both among the six teams yet to play in one of these games.
Hurricanes fans of an older vintage might appreciate a visit from the Montreal Canadiens, the opponent in two incredibly heated playoff series in 2002 and 2006. There would be a lovely symmetry in having the NHL’s most historic franchise appear in its most unlikely outdoor game, a pairing that captures the broad expanse of hockey in the 21st century. Again, NBC probably isn’t interested in a Canadian team, although the Habs would give the game some juice on the other side of the border it might lack otherwise.
No, for all that, there’s only one team that makes real sense. Only one team that actually deserves to be part of this event. The team with not only the greatest player of his generation, but the general manager who built the foundation of the franchise the Hurricanes are today. Let Jim Rutherford share in these moments he helped create by nursing the Hurricanes through their difficult early years, and let Sidney Crosby draw the spotlight to this important moment as only he can.
“We’d be excited to do it if we’re invited,” Rutherford said Saturday night.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are not only the best choice, but the only choice. The stories would tell themselves. Rutherford perhaps more than anyone knows how staggeringly unlikely even the possibility of this game was two decades ago, when even something as relatively mundane as the draft wasn’t even a glint in the back of anyone’s eye. This is truly historic, and no one would appreciate it more than Rutherford.
“I think we could have done it before this, but 20 years ago when we brought it up, we couldn’t rely on the weather and things like that,” Rutherford said. “We have the technology now. … And, of course, the growth in the Triangle will only make it easier to have the game now, with the population and all the Hurricanes fans. It’s really exciting.”
The problem: The Penguins have played in five of these outdoor games and as recently as 2019, which makes them a sort of Blackhawks-lite. But there’s enough meat on these bones, for the NHL and NBC, to make it an obvious choice.
Still, let’s be clear: The venue is the important part. Like the All-Star Game in 2011, this is a chance for the Triangle to show itself off as a hockey market, which it truly has become, and remained even during that long decade in the wilderness. Just about any NHL team would be welcomed as part of this showcase.
As long as it’s not the Buffalo Sabres.
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