Remember when the Canes won the 2006 Stanley Cup? We want your throwback stories
The year was 2006.
Shakira was No. 1 on the charts with “Hips Don’t Lie,” and the animated “Cars” was tops at the box office. President George W. Bush was in the White House, and Google officially became a verb in the Oxford English Dictionary.
And then on Monday, June 19, the Carolina Hurricanes made history. The Canes were entering Game 7 tied in the series with the Edmonton Oilers. Much was on the line. A win would be the franchise’s first championship.
At what was then called the PNC Arena, coach Peter Laviolette and team captain Rod Brind’Amour led the Canes to victory, defeating the Oilers 3-1 for the team’s very first championship.
As the Canes try again for a Stanley Cup — making the finals for the first time in 20 years — Canes fans and Triangle residents are doing the time warp again. Following Friday’s resounding defeat of the Montreal Canadiens, social media feeds surfaced photos and memories of June 19, 2006.
With Brind’Amour now coaching the Canes, the symmetry couldn’t be more perfect.
For an upcoming story, we want to hear your memories from that major moment in North Carolina sports history — and see those photos (early aughts fashion and all). Do you still have merch or championship clothing that you’ve dug up for this moment? Are your young kids now adult fans?
We especially want to hear from the fans who dedicated their hearts (and wallets) to the Canes in the hopes that such memories might repeat themselves.
Fill out the form below, click this link, or email tips@newsobserver.com with your name, phone number, anecdote and photo. Please note whether we have permission to publish the story and the photo.
The deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday, June 4.
This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 7:00 AM.