The Carolina Hurricanes unveiled their new road uniforms on Wednesday, which most notably feature a two-tone logo and a Struttin' Stormy shoulder patch.

Hurricanes President Doug Warf and Vice President of Marketing Matt Sutor met with the media at Lenovo Center Wednesday afternoon to discuss the process and philosophy behind the new uniform.

Here's what they had to say:

Matt Sutor - VP of Marketing

On the new uniform: We're really excited about our new road uniforms. Inspired by the Stadium Series uniform and sort of a road take on it. So from a black base to a white base, but still using that two-tone primary mark that our fans really took to. We got a lot of good feedback from that two years ago and we decided to carry that over and really hep modernize our road uniform. The former road uniform, with the diagonal letters, that's sort of seen in throwback or nostalgia unforms from the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, even the Tampa Bay Lightning had a version of that in the mid-2000s that they sort of went away from. So this is a nice, bold, clean take on our new road uniform that still infuses that Stadium Series look that our fans really responded to a few years ago.

On the shoulder patches: So the flag patch has become a staple of our uniforms. We've seen that in a lot of iterations of our uniforms over the last few years and we really like it. Obviously a nice homage to the state of North Carolina. Then you add in the Struttin' Stormy patch and I think that's what a lot of fans have gravitated to. That's a really nice homage to the collegiate nature of the Triangle. Not just NC State, but UNC has a ram version of that, even Duke has a Blue Devil version of some of these throwback mascots. So we saw that a few years ago when we introduced that to our merch line and then that was sort of staring us in the face when we thought about how we can make the uniform more unique. We even did an audit of all NHL team shoulder patches and saw that there really wasn't a lot of unique marks there, not a lot of creativity. So we thought, 'How can we branch out? How can we be a little bit different than your standard NHL team?' and Struttin' Stormy was right there staring us in the face.

On the decision to change the road uniforms: I think it's important for us to keep things fresh, keep things modern and always look to innovate, always look to engage our fans and always look to improve on what we're doing. Our job as an organization is to engage our fans and keep them interested in what we are doing. I think that uniforms are a big part of that. It's a way for fans to connect with the players on the ice. You can wear a 'Svechnikov' jersey, you can wear a 'Aho' jersey. You can wear what they wear on the ice with the authentic ones. So for us, as we push forward as an organization, as we push forward as a brand, uniforms are a major part of that because of that on-ice connection.

On the decision-making process: It's really collaborative and I'm saying that honestly. I think there are a lot of people that get to determine what we do and when we do it, but when you look at a decision like this, it's about how do we push forward as a brand and how do we push forward as an organization. Unforms are at the forefront of that.

On if team owner Tom Dundon approved the design: Tom has an approval of it, but I wouldn't say it's the final one. We don't take things to him unless we believe in them. So what Tom sees and what we discussed with Tom is still all collaborative in nature.

On the timeline for implementation: So we worked on this jersey starting last summer. The way that it works is that the NHL has certain deadlines of when jerseys need to be submitted so they can work with Fanatics on production, prototypes and etcetera. So this design happened last summer, so we've been sitting on it for a year, making tweaks and figuring out which color helmet we wanted to unveil with it. So that's typically how that works.

On if the organization took in player feedback: It is important, but at the end of the day, we're going to do what we feel is for the best of the organization. Player feedback is important, but their job is to go out and win hockey games and our job is to position the brand as best as possible. So really when it comes down to it, they don't really see the uniforms until well past the deadline that the league has set. They'll see it a few weeks before our fans do. We had Jaccob and Andrei and Chatty all model these for us and that was their first time seeing the uniform. It's important what they think and we want them to look good out on the ice, but our duty is to the fans and the brand.

On the social media response so far: We always look at social through a certain lens. I always say the first five minutes are the most important to me. The reason for that is because that's before it gets to the national scene, before fans from other teams get involved. The first five minutes are what Hurricanes fans think and those first five minutes were super positive. Fans were excited to see it, excited to see the Stormy patch, excited to see the return of the Stadium Series logo which is exciting for us. Universally speaking, that changes a little bit. But I'm not terribly interested in what a fan of the Boston Bruins thinks. I'm not terribly interested in what a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs thinks. I'm really interested in what fans of the Carolina Hurricanes thinks, because that is what our duty is, to serve our fans as best as possible and I think we did that really well.

On if there's any subtle or hidden design elements: Nothing that really sticks out like some of those. The big flagship unique portion of this jersey is Stormy. That's not something you see on a typical NHL jersey and not something you see on a lot of sports jerseys in general. So that's sort of the big thing for this one.

On the two-tone logo: It's a mark that we feel strongly in. It's a mark that we believe has resonated with our fans. After the Stadium Series, we kept that mark around and used it on t-shirts and various items throughout the store and they sold well. So that's an indication that our fans like that. It's a bold mark and a modern take on our primary that we've had since the inception of the team. So using that mark was a nice opportunity for us."

On incorporating the Stadium Series look into the new jersey: The Stadium Series was a tentpole event for the organization. There's no question about it. I think it either reminded people that hockey belongs in North Carolina on a national stage or introduced them to hockey in North Carolina on a national stage if they were a newer fan. Showing that we can fill a football stadium and that we can throw a party too. So reminding fans that that's what our roots are, that we're a tailgating fanbase, that we have fun and that we play really good hockey. It's a good reminder that, hey, we went out and won that game 4-1 in front of 57,000 people, went to the Conference Final that year. This team is built to last and the Stadium Series was an important part of our history. But what we can take from that is still pushing us forward too.

Doug Warf - Team President

On the new uniform: Anytime you get to unveil a new uniform set, it's an exciting day. This is the fourth iteration of our road jersey and it lasted six years just like the previous ones before it. I think that is what's fun. You get to spice it up and maybe change things up. It's a new look on our brand, which is a fun thing to introduce on a new season.

On incorporating the Stadium Series logo: When you look back on the Stadium Series, 2023, that was a seminal event that a lot of our fans still remember. I think a lot of our fans look back on that and we also loved that jersey. We always loved that mark on the front, the two-tone look that kind of gives a new look to our 27 year old primary mark. I  think it's a fun way to reintroduce a mark that's been around for the entire time of our organization."

On the shoulder patches: So the two shoulder patches are the fun part of this. You've got the state flag which is one we've used a good bit lately. Leaning into those North Carolina roots. We kept this two-tone just like we did with the primary logo. What we call Struttin' Stormy is a big homage to our collegiate atmosphere here. Whether it's Duke, UNC, NC State, ECU, you go down the list and everybody has one of these old monikers and it's a mark that we've used a handful of times years ago. Credit to our creative team, and our former VP of Marketing Dan LaTorraca for pushing forward with this logo. It's one we came up with just to see how it played and the fans have loved it and that's what we've heard a lot of. Anytime we've put it out, it's 'When is this going to make an appearance on a jersey?' I think this is the perfect time to put it on the shoulder.

On the NC State flag patch: What I love about our team is that when we started, we were a Triangle based team and it was a very regional piece. Now, it's statewide and truly the Carolinas. When you go statewide, from our efforts in Asheville last year where we donated $1 million, all the way to the coast of Wilmington . It's a statewide team and we love putting it on the jersey.

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