A record-breaking 150,000 Caniacs flooded downtown Raleigh, shattering attendance milestones as the city transformed into a sea of red to celebrate the franchise's second Stanley Cup title.
The Carolina Hurricanes have certainly come a long way.
20 years ago, when the Hurricanes won their first Stanley Cup in 2006, the team held their victory parade in the parking lot of the (at-the-time) RBC Center, drawing around 30,000 fans.
Well, the 'Caniacs' blew that number out of the water this year, with an estimated 150,000 descending upon downtown Raleigh on Saturday to celebrate the Hurricanes' second Stanley Cup championship.
That number easily set the record for the single largest single-day event in the city's history and represents nearly a third of the entire population according to the 2025 census data.
"I'm in shock," said Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour, who remembers well the 2006 days. "It doesn't happen very often, but I'm just kind of speechless. I did not expect that. I mean, it was just wave on wave on wave of enthusiastic people. That's why we do this. It meant so much to so many people and you get to really see it. It was such a turnout and I'm so happy that we were able to do this everyone because clearly they were excited about it."
The day began with a parade through downtown Raleigh, with fans lining up for it before the sun had even peeked over the horizon.
The streets were absolutely packed with fans by the time the parade actually got started around 11 a.m. and as the different vehicles made their way through the route, from team staff and hockey ops personnel on trailers to the coaches in pickups trucks and eventually the players on the buses, the crowd just got more and more electric.
"If you walked that parade... We were the last bus and so we got to see behind us and it was unbelievable," said Jaccob Slavin. "So many people... The city's amazing and we were just so glad to be able to share this with everybody."
The players certainly were taking the moment in as the team was divided across four double-decker buses all emblazoned in championship insignia.
A few of the groups went "tarpless" as had become a tradition for the team's playoff run this year and you can bet that quite a few beverages were consumed along the way.
"It's amazing," said Seth Jarvis. "That was better than I could have ever imagined. Just to see the looks on people's faces and share this moment with them is incredible."
The crowd continued to grow as the parade went along, with the fans at the start of the route even joining in on the procession as it went past them.
"I was trying to explain to the fellas what I knew was going to happen and my expectations were so high because I know these Caniacs and I know what they're all about and I was still blown away," said captain Jordan Staal. "I couldn't even describe how amazing that was. What a showing, what a day and what a moment."
"To be quite honest, I did not expect this," said Sebastian Aho. "Jordo had been saying how awesome it was going to be and I knew it was going to be awesome, but this is something else. I guess that was my bad not taking his word because he's always right."
Following the parade, the team gathered in City Plaza on Fayetteville Street for a rally, with a majority of the players getting on the mic to thank the fans.
It was an incredible environment, with fans spilling into the street and it was virtually impossible to see any breaks in the crowd from the stage.
Caniacs had been waiting 20 years for another reason to party and boy did they make the most of it.
"I just feel a lot of gratitude for all that support," Brind'Amour said. "Like, I knew it was there, but in that capacity, it just kind of blew me away. It was just more and more fans just going crazy. This meant a lot to them. You get in your own little bubble for months and months and months and we're not as in tune with what's going on, but this run, I think, really brought this community together in a way that I'll never forget."
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