Canes Stanley Cup merch is nearly gone at Lenovo Center, but fans lined up anyway

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A Carolina Pro Shop employee cracked the door open to the Lenovo Center’s team store on Monday morning bearing some bad news for the crowd outside.

“There’s not a lot left,” he told the line of dozens of Hurricanes fans who’d been waiting under the hot June sun. “But we still have hats.”

The line didn’t budge.

“That’s ok,” one fan replied. “It’s about being here.”

Just 12 hours earlier, thousands of fans had packed the stands of the Lenovo Center to watch the Carolina Hurricanes make history in Las Vegas with their first Stanley Cup Championship win in 20 years. On Monday morning, many of those same fans returned to get a piece of that history — no matter how small.

“It’s not about the stuff, it’s about the memories,” said Durham resident Dan Jukic.

The line-up of more than 50 Carolina fans had trailed outside the Lenovo Center merch shop before doors even opened at 10 a.m. And as Caniacs trickled in through the morning, the line always seemed to replenish, gaining about a dozen more fans every half-hour.

Jukic headed to the Carolina Pro Shop on Monday morning with the sole mission of picking up some “Tarps Off” merch he had ordered earlier in the series.

But when he arrived, he instead found what he described as a “party” assembled in front of the stadium, with fans still relishing their team’s big win while waiting to buy whatever merch they could get their hands on.

In the spirit of the moment, Jukic said he spent about $1,000 on his pre-ordered merch and a stack of 10 Stanley Cup hats — a price tag he says is well worth the expense to be a part of the defining moment in Canes history.

“Being able to drive down here and hang out with people from across the Triangle – that’s priceless,” he said.

Upon arriving to the team store Monday morning, fans were told Stanley Cup T-shirts had sold out before the store even opened that morning, thanks to purchases after the game Sunday night. But the store promised fans they were anticipating another shipment in the coming days.

Some fans found Stanley Cup merch at other sports shops in the Triangle like Dick’s Sporting Goods. Others settled for whatever they could find at the Lenovo Center pro shop, spending hundreds of dollars on hats, flags, general Canes clothing items and other Stanley Cup tchotchkes as keepsakes from the series.

“They came out earlier and said they only had hats left,” said Raleigh resident Teia Poulin. “But I’m so happy to just have a hat.”

Cary resident TJ Abbott said she made the trip in hopes of buying a Stanley Cup T-shirt. But despite the depleted stock, she didn’t leave empty-handed, purchasing a haul of hats, playoff sweatshirts, and a Game 6 puck totaling about $400 — which included her 20% discount as a season ticket holder.

But to Abbott, that’s a small price to memorialize the Hurricanes’ feat of finally securing the championship title they’d spent two decades vying for.

“It’s hard to put into words,” she said, choking back tears. “I was here when we won in ‘06. And it’s awesome.”

Carly Goodman walked out of the pro shop Monday with a haul of hats, sweatshirts, pucks and flags, putting to good use the $450 she had initially allotted for tickets to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in case the series stretched even further. But since the Hurricanes clinched their Stanley Cup win in six games, she said she decided to put the fund to good use.

“I got all the things,” she said. “I have to create a shrine.”

Goodman said the overwhelming support from fans this season has proved to the NHL and hockey fans everywhere that Raleigh is “different,” with the fan base’s staunch loyalty on display through the tumultuous Stanley Cup series.

The line of fans waiting for their Stanley Cup merch stretched behind her as she spoke, growing longer by the minute.

“We love the Canes,” she said. “That’s what Raleigh is all about.”

This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 5:27 PM with the headline “Canes Stanley Cup merch is nearly gone at Lenovo Center, but fans lined up anyway.”