Hurricanes fans pack Raleigh for Stanley Cup parade
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- Rod Brind'Amour, captain of the Hurricanes' 2006 Cup team and current coach, said he was "in shock" and "speechless" at the turnout that packed sidewalks, office-building windows, and multi-level parking decks along the parade route past the State Capitol
- Jordan Staal, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, rode a double-decker bus through the parade and later hoisted the Stanley Cup skyward before a roaring rally crowd on Fayetteville Street
- General manager Eric Tulsky called trade-deadline acquisition Nicolas Deslauriers to the rally lectern to sign a two-year, $1.75 million contract extension before the celebrating crowd
- Jordan Martinook and Andrei Svechnikov were among players who intermittently cranked the team's "Storm Warning" siren — a pregame tradition — during the rally, blending championship celebration with game-day pageantry
- Fans from across North Carolina converged on the capital: Carly Goodman, 35, woke at 5 a.m. for a front-row spot in a Sebastian Aho jersey, while Scott Stiles, 60, and his son Joey drove 2½ hours from Concord starting at 3 a.m., arriving five-plus hours early with lawn chairs on Fayetteville Street
Why it matters: The Hurricanes' second Cup in 19 years validates Raleigh as a small-market hockey city that draws die-hard statewide loyalty — Goodman noted the celebration "breaks down all barriers" between Duke and UNC fans — while Tulsky's in-rally signing of Deslauriers signals the front office is locking in the core roster that just won.