Tuesday, Sept. 29 vs. Florida Opening night. The banner goes up. Yes, a midweek 5 p.m. ET start time is weird. The league has done it to start the season the past few years. Lenovo will be rocking regardless. Carolina has won five of its last six season openers on home ice.

Friday, Oct. 2 vs. Washington Alex Ovechkin, the league's all-time leading goal-scorer, comes to Raleigh for the #Canes' second game. The two teams will then square off again at Lenovo Center on Oct. 13. That matchup's 6:45 p.m. start is presumably for the NHL's Frozen Frenzy.

Saturday, Oct. 17 - Saturday, Oct. 24 The annual State Fair Road Trip takes the team through Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, and St. Louis. The five-game trek will also serve as the team's longest run on the road this season.

A list of Monday-Saturday games with standout start times that could be tabbed as national broadcasts when the NHL announces that information later this summer: Tuesday, Oct. 27 vs. Boston - 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7 vs. Chicago - 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11 vs. Minnesota - 7:30 p.m.

More weekend afternoon starts! 🙌 There will be SIX at Lenovo Center. Sunday, Nov. 1 vs. WPG - 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21 vs. EDM - 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13 vs. BOS - 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21 vs. NYR - 1 p.m. Sunday, Mar. 7 vs. UTA - 1 p.m. Saturday, Apr. 3 vs. NJD - 5 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 12 & Saturday, Nov. 14 Going global! The #Canes and Kraken will battle at Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki. Nov. 12: 7:00 p.m. local time | 12:00 p.m. ET Nov. 14: 8:00 p.m. local time | 1:00 p.m. ET

Saturday, Dec. 5 vs. Toronto The Toronto Maple Leafs, potentially including the first overall selection in the 2026 NHL Draft, Gavin McKenna, visit Lenovo Center.

Monday, Dec. 21 & Sunday, Jan. 17 The Canes wrap up a road trip in Vegas for a Stanley Cup Final rematch as the team's final contest before the holiday break. The two sides will then meet again less than a month later in Raleigh.

Thursday, Jan. 28 - Saturday, Feb. 13 Carolina's longest home stretch of the season, five games, comes sandwiched around the All-Star break. The league's mid-season event takes place February 5-6 at UBS Arena on Long Island.

Speaking of home cooking... 23 of Carolina's 41 games at Lenovo Center this season will take place on either a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. That's a massive win.

The most home games in a single month for the team? Eight in January. The most games (home + road) in a single month? 15 in March.

Although the schedule moves up to 84 games for the first time since the 1993-94 season, the #Canes have just 12 back-to-back sets this season. That's down from last year's 15. 👍

Saturday, Apr. 10 @ Florida After starting the season against each other, the #Canes and Cats then dance again in the final game of the regular season. It's a fun idea, in theory, but it could also be a game featuring a bunch of players out with undisclosed injuries.

Monday, Apr. 5 vs. Philadelphia A 2 p.m. ET start on a Monday in Raleigh? There are about a dozen of these games league-wide this season, in an initiative to get prime time slots in Europe.

Some notes and thoughts about the #Canes' 2026-27 schedule, in a thread: 🧵

The #Canes have signed defenseman William Håkansson, their first choice in the 2026 NHL Draft, to a three-year, entry-level contract.

A box office matchup for opening night! 🍿 The #Canes will start their 2026-27 regular season on Tuesday, September 29, at Lenovo Center against the Florida Panthers. The game will begin at 5 p.m. ET, and before puck drop, Carolina will raise its second championship banner.

Okay, one more… The NHL will announce 2026-27 opening night matchups next Wednesday, July 15, just before 8 p.m. ET. The full regular season schedule will be announced next Thursday, July 16, at 1 p.m. ET.

Now that we’re past the busy point of the offseason, it’s time for a few days off. What a year. They did it. Thanks to the group for memories that will last a lifetime. And thank you, yes, you, for your trust and readership. My hope is that you felt informed the whole way. 🤟🏼

The #Canes have signed goaltender Zach Sawchenko to a one-year, two-way contract ($850K AAV). Sawchenko, 28, was previously with the organization for the 2022-23 season, backstopping Chicago (AHL) in 41 games.

William Carrier: Two-time Stanley Cup Champion Willis Carrier: The inventor of the first modern electrical air conditioning system Grateful for both today.

Forward Givani Smith has signed with the KHL's Shanghai Dragons. The 28-year-old had a great training camp with the #Canes last year, earning himself a contract, but unfortunately was banged up for a good chunk of the season, appearing in just 25 games with Chicago (AHL).

With Frederik Andersen signing in Edmonton, the #Canes move forward with Brandon Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov under contract. For Bussi, next season will be the first year of his three-year extension. For Kochetkov, it'll be the last year of his four-year extension that he signed in 2022. At (1/3)

The on-ice portion of #Canes Development Camp concludes this morning. This is not a revelation, but 2025 second-rounder Charlie Cerrato is so fun to watch. He just looks like a young man who has "it." Now fully healthy after a banged-up spring, he's going to be a thrill to keep tabs on as (1/2)

On the eve of a new free agency period, I find myself thinking about July 1, 2024. The #Canes' first UFA signing of the day? Eric Robinson. 1 x $950K. It wasn't earth-shattering. After an up-and-down year with Columbus and then Buffalo the year before, including some AHL time, he quickly (1/2)

The #Canes have some big boys on the blue line at this week's Development Camp. Their pre-event listings: Roman Shokhrin: 6'5" | 205 lbs. William Håkansson: 6'4" | 216 lbs. Timur Kol: 6'4" | 205 lbs. Kurban Limatov: 6'4" | 192 lbs. Noel Fransen: 6'1" | 194 lbs.

When asked specifically for his thoughts on being selected by the #Canes, William Håkansson had a great response... "I mean, they won this year, so I couldn't be more excited." 🙌

It was a pleasure getting to chat with the #Canes' first choice in this weekend's draft, William Håkansson, at Development Camp today. Listed at 6-foot-4, 216 lbs., he's as big as advertised, and he skates well too. Expectedly, he said his past few days have been "hectic," but he was all (1/2)

The #Canes have issued qualifying offers (QOs) to seven players. Four players did not receive QOs, making them unrestricted free agents. Details » www.nhl.com

#Canes Development Camp is underway! Here's who will be taking the ice this week at Invisalign Arena in Morrisville.