Do Canes players buy tickets for family & friends to watch the Stanley Cup?

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.

Local ‘Caniacs’ know that tickets to this year’s Stanley Cup, featuring the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights, are hard to come by. Season ticket holders and regional fans are fighting with bots for tickets priced at $1,000+. But what about the players?

Article 20 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and the Player’s Association specifies that every team is required to make two free tickets available for every player at every home game.

Additionally, each player is allowed two tickets for purchase for home games. The agreement also states that these tickets have to be at least lower bowl seats.

The rules change when it comes to away games. Players are not entitled to free tickets on the road, but home teams are required to provide two tickets for purchase for each player. The Vegas Knights could be duking it out with the rest of us for tickets to the game.

If players want more tickets than allotted, they are stuck with the resale market like everyone else. There has been growing outrage with prices for the finals, The News & Observer has reported. Fans have taken to social media to discuss the cost of the usually affordable Lenovo Center tickets.

In 2022, The News & Observer reported that for second round playoff tickets, the Hurricanes instituted a policy restricting ticket purchase directly from the team to only residents of North and South Carolina and Southern Virginia. This allowed regional fans a leg up in the ticket race.

A Redditor posted a picture of a paper ticket from 2006. The price? $300 for Game 7 in the finals. This year, a center-ice seat retails around $2,500.

Games will be shown live on ABC and online at ABC.com, though you will need to share your TV provider and login. You can also stream on ESPN+.

Games 1-4 are Tuesday, June 2; Thursday, June 4; Saturday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 9. Games 5-7, if necessary, are Thursday, June 11; Sunday, June 14 and Wednesday, June 17.

All games are scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. EST.

This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline “Do Canes players buy tickets for family & friends to watch the Stanley Cup?.”