New-look Hurricanes take the ice for training camp in arena with a new name

There were two unveilings of sorts on Thursday, both at the arena that now has a new name.

The Lenovo Center was officially christened in a ceremony that had Gov. Roy Cooper sharing the stage with Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, N.C. State athletic director Boo Corrigan, Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour and Philip Isley, chairman of the Centennial Authority.

Brind’Amour had just come from the first unveiling: of his team for 2024-25. It held its first on-ice practices of preseason training camp at the arena, both sessions ending with some heavy skating that had several of the players exhausted, bent over at the waist or looking for a seat.

“The guys, they all came ready to go.” Brind’Amour said of the first day. “They work so hard in the offseason that it’s almost like a regular practice day.

“It will take a while for the new guys to understand exactly what’s going on, but I felt like it was real positive. There’s a lot of opportunity and a lot of expectation, and I think everybody just wanted to get going.”

The training camp roster has been divided into two groups — the veterans going first early Thursday, then a group packing a lot of the young prospects. A portion of the arena’s lower bowl began to fill during the second session as many Lenovo employees came streaming in to get an up-close look, both at the Canes players but also at all the new signage in the building and on the ice.

Lenovo will pay $60 million over the next 10 years as part of a naming-rights agreement approved last week by the Centennial Authority, which oversees the arena. The technology company, which has a global headquarters in the Triangle, has held a sponsor agreement with the Hurricanes since 2010 and the “Lenovo” decal has been on the players’ helmets the past few seasons.

“As a long-time supporter of the Hurricanes, it’s only fitting that they take this next step and go ahead and slap their name on the center,” Gov. Cooper said.

After it stopped raining, it was time to officially pull away the coverings outside the arena on Thursday and display the larger signage. Ryan McCurdy, senior VP and president, Lenovo North America, said the plan was to use the company’s technology to make the Lenovo Center “one of the most innovative arenas in the country.”

“To get a big brand to be your partner, and to partner with us and the town and N.C. State, it’s a privilege and we’re really fortunate,” Dundon said. “Having something where a company of this size and this kind of success puts their name along with you, I think really it’s a privilege.”

Adding a new name is just part of the changes due for the building, which opened in 1999 and is the home to the Canes and Wolfpack men’s basketball. There will be a $300 million renovation of the arena. There will be a $1 billion entertainment and mixed-use district to be built outside the arena.

“I think when you drive up, other than the game, there’s no reason to be excited,” Dundon said. “It would be great if you thought about this area, the Lenovo Center and the things around it, and it was interesting, right? So I think more than anything it was how do we make this experience more interesting besides when we win a game or N.C. State wins a game?

Dundon, who became the team’s majority owner in January 2018, said his first thought when walking up to the arena was: “That’s a really big parking lot.” Dundon said he was told early that “something” like the entertainment district was “always the plan” but was never really pushed by former team owner Peter Karmanos.

“Really, I should have pushed it faster,” Dundon said. “I’m just relieved we’re getting started.”

Since Dundon bought the Canes, it has been a team that has spent to the NHL salary cap. Dundon believed that was necessary to be highly competitive in the league — that is, you get what you’re willing to pay for.

Dundon quickly hired Brind’Amour to be the head coach, and the former captain of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup champions has taken his teams to the playoffs each of his six seasons. Carolina has won three division titles and twice reached the Eastern Conference final, but has not played for the Cup.

The Canes have sold out season tickets, and the 2023 Stadium Series game at Carter-Finley Stadium was a big success by any measure.

But this year’s team has a different makeup to it. Many familiar faces and lineup fixtures — Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, Teuvo Teravainen among them — left in free agency after last season, which ended in the second round of the playoffs. Eric Tulsky replaced Don Waddell as general manager. That was a promotion for Tulsky, but it’s his first shot at being a major-league GM.

“It was hard. It was hard for everyone,” Tulsky said Thursday of the departures. “The players, the coaches, we all had relationships with those guys, and it’s hard to see good people leave.”

It was especially hard for Brind’Amour, who said Thursday, “That’s the nature of the business. You have a little mourning period and then you move on.”

For Tulsky, moving on included signing defenseman Jaccob Slavin and forward Seth Jarvis to long-term deals, He re-signed forward Martin Necas, avoiding salary arbitration. He brought in free agents such as forward William Carrier and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.

Dundon’s assessment of Tulsky’s work?

“He’s done great,” Dundon said. “Look, you don’t know until you start playing, but everybody thinks they’re going to win right now, right? You don’t know ‘til it’s over, but right now I think we’re fine.”