標籤: Hurricane

Rumors and whispers have been prevalent throughout the NHL season that FanDuel Sports Network is nearing its end, and on Thursday it was made official as the lenders to network owner Main Street Sports Group completed the paperwork to cease operations at the conclusion of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The problem first became apparent in March 2023, when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leading to the departure of several professional sports teams that had used them for their game broadcasts. However, in January 2025, they came out of bankruptcy and immediately rebranded themselves from Diamond Sports Group to Main Street Sports Group.

What broadcast options could the Carolina Hurricanes pursue next season?

Since the Carolina Hurricanes’ first season, they have been broadcast through several iterations of the company, beginning in 1997 when it was still Fox Sports South.

They enter uncharted territory for the first time in Carolina, as they must secure a broadcast plan before the start of next season – which is expected to start earlier than usual as the NHL adopts an 84-game schedule.

The most obvious option they could take would be to broadcast through Victory+ or Scripps Sports, as many teams did during Diamond Sports Group’s bankruptcy saga.

Both Victory+ and Scripps Sports are consumer-friendly compared to FanDuel Sports Network, with Victory+ being a free, ad-supported streaming network and Scripps Sports’ annual package priced at $69.99 USD for only team-specific streaming apps, such as Nighttime+ (Vegas Golden Knights) and Panthers Plus (Florida Panthers), and free over-the-air broadcasts on local stations.

In addition to those two, the Hurricanes could also broadcast through MLB, as the Detroit Red Wings have decided to do.

While it seems almost certain that local fans will have to watch the Storm via a different streaming outlet next season, there is at least hope that it could be more cost-effective than FanDuel Sports Network’s $189.99 annual streaming price tag.

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay

When the Carolina Hurricanes acquired Nicolas Deslauriers, everyone knew he was going to take a beating in his first few games. But, I don’t think many people expected him to fight before he even played his first match.

I highly doubt anyone doubted that the fight would be against a promoter with an equally renowned resume like Mathieu Ollivier. However, when Deslauriers skated past Ollivier during warmups and exchanged a few brief words, it appeared there might be a dust-up.

With the game almost halfway through, the Hurricanes were lifeless and needed a spark, and Deslauriers provided just that.

The clock stopped with 10:22 remaining in the second period as the gloves hit the cold, hard ice in the neutral zone. Deslauriers and Ollivier sized each other up, slowly approaching each other, before Deslauriers made the first swipe, followed by a punch.

From there, fists started flying – exchanging haymakers and yanking each other’s sweaters. Amid the melee, a punch from Hurricane’s enforcer left Olivier’s jaw bloodied, however, the bleeding appeared to be caused by Deslauriers’ broken knuckles.

For Deslauriers, it was the 137th fight of his career, and for Olivier, the 112th. Both held their positions well, and ultimately, neither won nor lost in terms of the war.

However, the spark it provided certainly gave the Hurricanes a momentary advantage, as Andrei Svechnikov scored Carolina’s first, and sadly only, goal of the game before Deslauriers stepped out of the penalty box.

Discussion about dust-up

At the second intermission, Svechnikov was tapped for an interview, where he took some time to share his reaction to Deslauriers’ contributions.

“It feels good, to be honest,” he said. “You know, we haven’t had that in a while, but it feels good. …Yeah, big respect to them.”

After the game, Deslauriers was asked about the fight.

“This is what I live for, you know,” Deslauriers told the media. “I wish I could have scored a goal, but for me these are the moments when, you know, I feel I did something good.

“When you’re in the box – I know sometimes I stay there for a long time – but when we score, and I’m there after my work, I’m as happy as if I’d scored a goal.”

WATCH: Nicolas Deslauriers takes the gloves with Columbus Blue Jackets enforcer Mathieu Ollivier in Hurricanes debut

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay