Canes season ticket holders had early access to Stanley Cup seats. It didn’t help
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- Canes season ticket holders had early access to purchase Stanley Cup tickets.
- Many presale buyers found only resale tickets, with some options priced over $1,000.
- Several watch parties will be held for home and away games, including in downtown Raleigh.
Carolina Hurricanes season ticket holders had a three-hour window Saturday to purchase tickets to Stanley Cup Final games before everyone else could buy seats.
Even with the early access, though, some season ticket holders weren’t able to buy tickets at face value. Those seats had already sold out.
Instead, when fans finally made it to the front of the virtual line and could select seats, many of them only found resale tickets, at prices reaching into the thousands.
As of Monday afternoon, the cheapest seats available for Game 1 against the Las Vegas Golden Knights were priced at $900 each on Ticketmaster — and that’s for a seat in the 300 level. Standing room only tickets were more than $600.
Only resale tickets were available for Thursday’s game, too. Except those are even more expensive, starting at $1,100 for seats in the 300 level.
The Canes haven’t won the Stanley Cup in 20 years. And over the past few weeks, the team has had a historic run —first sweeping the Ottawa Senators, and then the Philadelphia Flyers.
Issues with Ticketmaster sale
Some fans are willing to pay the high prices to watch the Canes battle the Golden Knights in person. But others aren’t.
Cary resident and season ticket holder Susan Hessen had two tickets to Game 1 for her and her husband, but she wanted to purchase two more tickets to Thursday’s Game 2 for her adult children, she told The News & Observer in an email.
Around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, she entered the Ticketmaster presale code multiple times before it worked. When she finally joined the queue, still before noon, there were 22,000 people ahead of her.
Hessen waited 40 minutes before she was able to select seats to purchase. The cheapest options she saw were $1,200 each in the 300 level. She didn’t buy those.
Then, she joined the queue for Game 1 and again had to wait. Once she was able to view available tickets, it was the same story. The cheapest options cost $1,200 and were in the upper level.
Hours later, around 3:40 p.m., she called it quits, with no tickets for her children.
On Monday, Hessen ended up buying two seats in the standing room only section for about $635 — better than the resale ticket prices, but still not ideal, she said.
It’s not the Canes she’s upset with, Hessen said. It’s Ticketmaster.
“We love Hurricanes Hockey and we have had great experiences with our season ticket member rep but as soon as Ticketmaster was put in charge things went south fast,” Hessen said in an email.
Because the resale tickets were instantly available, Hessen said she thinks the tickets were purchased by bots or “unauthorized users.”
“So many fans want to attend and support our team but these prices will eliminate many from attending,” Hessen said.
What the Canes and Ticketmaster are saying
The N&O reached out to the Carolina Hurricanes to ask about the ticket sales process.
In response, the team sent an emailed statement from Canes CEO Brian Fork: “We have a limit of four tickets per purchaser for each game, and diligently monitor the sales process to ensure that tickets are securely purchased by fans.”
The N&O also asked Ticketmaster about the sale and has not heard back as of 5:30 p.m. Monday. However, the ticketing platform wrote in a 2025 blog that it uses queues with “advanced security measures to block bots and monitor traffic.”
Canes watch parties
Canes fans have other opportunities to watch both home and away games with other supporters in the Triangle.
The City of Raleigh and the Downtown Raleigh Alliance are organizing watch parties in Moore Square, starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. The games begin at 8 p.m.
The Lenovo Center is hosting watch parties during games 3 and 4, which will be in Las Vegas. Parking for these watch parties is free. Event tickets are $10, and the proceeds will benefit the Carolina Hurricanes Foundation. Same deal for Game 6, if necessary.
This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 5:42 PM.
