Canes’ home opener set for Oct. 28

Carolina Hurricanes fans will have to wait until Oct. 28 for the team’s home opener to the 2016-17 season.

A confluence of the World Cup of Hockey and the N.C. State Fair will cause the Canes to play their latest home opener, in a non-lockout season, since 1999-2000. The game at PNC Arena will be against the New York Rangers.

The World Cup, an international competition set Sept. 17-Oct. 1 in Toronto, is causing the NHL to push back the start of the regular season. The Canes annually have a scheduling conflict with the State Fair, which will be held Oct. 13-23 this year.

The Winnipeg Jets announced Monday that they will host the Canes on Oct. 13 in their home opener. While the full NHL schedule will be released Tuesday, the game against the Jets will be the Canes’ season opener, and Carolina will play on the road the first two weeks of the season.

It will be the latest home opener for the Canes since 1999, when PNC Arena – then the Entertainment and Sports Arena – was completed and Carolina played its first games in Raleigh after two seasons in Greensboro. The Canes faced the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 29, 1999, in the inaugural NHL game in Raleigh.

This story was originally published June 20, 2016 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Canes’ home opener set for Oct. 28."