The Carolina Hurricanes are looking to defend their Stanley Cup title as they prepare for the 2026-27 campaign. While the Hurricanes have some questions heading into the season, the team is also one of the favorites to win the Cup.

The Hurricanes have opened the preseason, losing to the Florida Panthers 6-3, but head coach Rod Brind'Amour is ready for the regular season and is making his thoughts clear, per Gino Hard.

“I'd say go to 86 games and 0 preseason. Why waste games on the fans that don't count? Let's play for real,” Brind'Amour said.

The NHL just shortened the preseason to four games per team, down from six games. Training camps also opened closer to the regular season as part of the new collective bargaining agreement that took effect for this year. Also, with the agreement, the NHL went from an 82-game regular season to 84 games.

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The Hurricanes have two games scheduled with the Florida Panthers, and then two with the Nashville Predators before they open the regular season. Still, like pre-seasons in other sports, many stars did not play for the Hurricanes in their first preseason game.

The team was led in ice time by Joel Nystrom, who played just 38 games with the team last year. At forward, the team was led by rookie Justin Robidas, who has a combined four games of NHL experience. Meanwhile, stars such as Sebastian Aho, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Andrei Svechnikov did not see the ice in the game.

For the Hurricanes and Brind'Amour, it is all about winning another Cup. The Hurricanes will host the Panthers on opening night for the NHL on September 29.