The Carolina Hurricanes celebrated the franchise’s second Stanley Cup title in Raleigh on Saturday, but still managed to take care of some business during the festivities.
While addressing the crowd at the rally, general manager Eric Tulsky referred to veteran forward and soon-to-be free agent, Nicolas Deslauriers.
‘Player after player kept telling me: ‘Thank you for bringing me here,’ Tulsky told the crowd. ‘One of the players who said that is a free agent, Nic Deslauriers. We gotta take care of this right now. I got contracts.’
And with that, the 6ft 1in, 218-pound Quebec native materialized at the podium, signed his name and screamed to the crowd: ‘Two more f***ing years!’
Compensation details have not been revealed, but the veteran did earn $1.75 million in 2025-26.
The decision was well received, both at the rally and online, where several fans referred to the beloved grinder as a ‘rock star.’
Nicolas Deslauriers got a new two-year deal in Carolina during Saturday’s parade in Raleigh
Delauriers, a 6ft 1in, 218-pound Quebec native signed and yelled: ‘Two more f***ing years!’
Hurricanes parade proceeds during the Stanley Cup Championship celebration in Raleigh
Thousands of fans arrived hours early to line sidewalks for the team’s victory parade on Saturday in Raleigh.
The team boarded double-decker buses to start the parade, which was set to weave by the State Capitol building. And the Hurricanes players were greeted by fans screaming, chanting, waving flags and wearing Carolina jerseys, still buzzing from the franchise beating the Vegas Golden Knights last weekend to win the Cup for the second time, the other coming in 2006.
Carly Goodman, 35, of Raleigh, was hard to miss in the front row behind barricades in front of the stage where the parade would end with a rally. She sported a red Sebastian Aho jersey, waved a large Hurricanes flag and was blinged out with a silver ‘Stanley Cup’ chain necklace.
She was drinking from a ‘beer skate,’ the novelty mug shaped like a Hurricanes skate that sold out immediately during Game 1 of the second-round series against Philadelphia. She got up at 5 a.m. — ‘Let my dogs out, they were mad to get up,’ she said — and made sure to head straight downtown hours in advance to ensure a prime spot.
One fan paid tribute to the team’s Connecticut roots by wearing a Hartford Whalers jersey
A young fan holds up a sign honoring Hurricanes star Logan Stankoven on Saturday
‘It’s been something special ever since 2006,’ Goodman said. ‘Raleigh’s a small market. We’ve got college sports, but this is epic. It’s a team that everybody can get behind. It breaks down all the barriers. Everyone just comes together and smiles, no matter if you’re a Duke fan, Carolina fan, whatever — it doesn’t matter.’
It was a longer trek for Scott Stiles, 60, and his son, Joey, 24. They weren’t about to miss the celebration even though they live in Concord, a city outside of Charlotte known for its ties to NASCAR and other motorsports. So they hopped in the car around 3 a.m. to make the 2 1/2-hour drive, arriving more than five hours before the parade was scheduled to start and finding fans like Goodman already waiting closer to the City Plaza stage.
The duo — Scott in an Andrei Svechnikov jersey, Joey wearing a Seth Jarvis one — had chairs plopped in the middle of Fayetteville Street straight back from the stage, their spot marked by a giant Hurricanes flag.
‘When’s the next time they’re going to win a Cup?’ Scott said, pausing as a ‘Let’s go Canes!’ chant wrapped up. ‘They might win it again next year, who knows? But we wanted to be a part of it.’
