The city of Raleigh, NC, came out in droves to experience the Carolina Hurricanes parading the Stanley Cup in a grand celebration on a bright, sunny Saturday, June 20. The moment in time happened after the Canes won the coveted title for the second time by beating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 last weekend.

Over 180,000 Hurricanes fans were out in force in Raleigh to catch a glimpse of the players holding the Stanley Cup, as per the report published on the NHL website. The fans of all ages of the franchise made their way to the parade route, with some arriving in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

After two decades of waiting for the big one, they jammed downtown Raleigh when the players and staff were moving in multiple double-decker buses along the parade route.

ESPN reported that some of them were partying while standing in spots around the sidewalks, the windows of their office buildings, and the parking garage floors. They also alluded to more than a third of Raleigh’s population (506,306) showing up for the parade, according to the U.S. Census estimates for July 2025.

Following the completion of the parade, the Carolina players and staff made their way to the rally stage, where they spoke about the enormity of it.

“My expectations were so high because I know what these Caniacs are all about, and I was still blown away,” said Canes captain Jordan Staal.“I couldn’t even describe how amazing that was, and I know everyone else was blown away, too. What a showing, what a day, what a moment.”

Staal scored 12 points (8G / 4A) in 19 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including six goals, five in five games in a row, and one assist in the final. He was honored with the Conn Smythe Trophy for becoming the most valuable player in the playoffs.

“I’m kind of speechless; I did not expect that,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour, who captained the Hurricanes to their first-ever Stanley Cup title in 2006.

“It was just wave on wave of people. This is why we do this. It meant so much to so many people. You get to really see it. I’m so happy we were able to do this for everyone. Clearly, they were excited about it.”

Brind’Amour actually rode solo and stood on the back of a pickup truck as part of the parade.

Carolina Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky had Nicolas Deslauriers sign a contract extension on the rally stage

On the rally stage after the conclusion of the parade in Raleigh, Carolina Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky got some business done in front of thousands of fans in attendance.

After pumping up the Canes faithful, he brought winger Nicolas Deslauriers, 35, to the rally stage, where he signed a two-year contract extension valued at $1.75 million. He had joined the franchise in a trade deal from the Philadelphia Flyers on March 6 of this year.

Jordan Martinook, the Hurricanes alternate captain and winger, grabbed the hot mic to get the massive crowd in attendance to have a go at their iconic “Storm Surge” celebration. The players had done it to acknowledge their fans after winning Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights last Sunday at T-Mobile Arena.

He and teammate Andrei Svechnikov cranked up the siren for it on multiple occasions while enjoying their time on the rally stage. Moreover, winger Taylor Hall was completely drained after spending a lot of time partying at the parade and rally stage.

“I’m done after today,” Hall said. “I don’t have much left in me. Partying is a skill. You’ve got to be a good partier. But it’s easy to party when that Stanley Cup is around.”

Will the Carolina Hurricanes be able to successfully defend the Stanley Cup title next season? Tell us your prediction in the comments.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Ankita Yadav