Struttin' Stormy: Why?

RALEIGH, N.C. - Buoy, Gritty, Stanley C. Panther - eat your heart out.

When the Carolina Hurricanes revealed their new road uniforms on Wednesday, a multitude of layers stood out, but perhaps none more than the object gracing the right shoulder. A mark that began as "a fun retail activation" years ago had proven to be so popular with fans, it had now made its way, or strutted its way, rather, onto the ice as a part of the team's paraphernalia.

"We did an audit of every NHL team's shoulder patches, and we saw that there weren't a lot of unique marks there. There wasn't a lot of creativity," Canes VP of Marketing Matt Sutor said. "And so, we thought, how can we branch out? How can we be a little different than your standard NHL team?"

Placed upon merchandise over the last several seasons, the success of Struttin' Stormy products "stared in the face" of the Canes' business staff as they worked their way through the year-long creative process of coming up with new white sweaters.

Melding their out-of-the-box desires with an ability to pay homage to the collegiate nature of the triangle, the inclusion of the collegiate-esque ice hog became a no-brainer.

"Whether it's Duke, UNC, NC State, ECU, you go down the list, and everybody has one of these old monikers," President Doug Warf reasoned at the team's media availability inside Carolina Pro Shop. "(The logo is) one we came up with as just a 'let's see how it plays.' Fans have loved it, and I think that's what we've heard a lot. Any time we put it out, it's, 'When is it going to make an appearance on a jersey?' And I think this is the perfect time."

Flanked opposite a red-based North Carolina state flag, which has become well-liked as a patch on the team's black sweaters, Struttin' Stormy even garnered a little consideration of being the main crest on the new release before the team ultimately went with the logo revealed for the 2023 Stadium Series in Raleigh.

"We knew from the jump that the Stadium Series mark is where we wanted to go," Sutor said on The Adam Gold Show. "We knew we had this Struttin' Stormy mark, and we said, 'Where does this fit?' We knew that this was a dynamic thing. We knew it was something we wanted to play with."

Landing on the shoulder as the best location, the inclusion has generated its share of buzz over the last 24 hours.

"I think it's important for us to keep things fresh, keep things modern, always look to innovate, always look to engage our fans and look to improve on what we're doing," Sutor continued. "Our job, as an organization, is to engage our fans and keep them interested in what we're doing. I think uniforms are a big part of that. It's a way for our fans to connect with the players on the ice... 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 the on-ice connection."

Set to hit the ice later this month as the Canes begin exhibition play, the team's first meaningful game in the new sweaters will be Tuesday, October 14 in San Jose.