The Carolina Hurricanes are quickly becoming one of the New Jersey Devils' biggest rivals. While they will never hit the heights that the Hudson River Rivalry hit, the Canes and Devils keep facing each other in high-intensity environments, and it's building to an intense rivalry between fans.
If you're on social media, you've likely seen the vitriol of Hurricanes' fans. They are ruthless with their insults. They've been known to even go too far, but that's a very small (but very loud) percentage of the fanbase.
This rivalry has been getting more intense with the Canes knocking the Devils out of the playoffs twice in a row. This past postseason, the Canes beat the Devils in five games, but the Devils had a list of excuses. They had injuries to most of their defensemen, and Jack Hughes missed the entire season after shoulder surgery. Still, give the Hurricanes credit for taking care of business.
We expect this rivalry to continue to grow with these two teams with the best cores in the Metropolitan Division. They should battle for years to come. However, there's one thing that might get in their way.
The Atlanta expansion could ruin the Devils-Hurricanes rivalry
The NHL has been talking about expanding to 34 teams in the near future. Gary Bettman loves those expansion fees, and as you see above, Atlanta has a buyer interested in trying this again. This would be the third different franchise in Atlanta after the Flames moved to Calgary and the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg.
Maybe third time is the charm. The last time an Atlanta team was in the NHL, it changed how the divisions were aligned. The Devils were in a five-team division called the "Atlantic Division." They were joined by the two New York City teams, and the two Pennsylvania teams. Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes and Atlanta Thrashers were in the Southeast Division with the two Florida teams and the Washington Capitals.
Would that be how it shapes out again? Or could the NHL revamp the Atlantic Division again to add Atlanta to a division that has to travel to Montreal, Ottawa, and Boston?
It's always been strange that the Florida teams basically fly over seven teams to play their in-division opponents, but it's worked out from a rivalry standpoint. But the NHL wants to build rivalries for this new team, and the Hurricanes make the most sense. The two Florida teams are building a great rivalry. They don't need another one. Yet, the Hurricanes could be the new rivals of the Atlanta team.
The Canes are looking for someone to be their main focus. They tend to creep up on other teams, but can anyone say the Hurricanes are their biggest rival? The Rangers fans hate Canes fans. Islanders fans are in the same boat. Devils fans want in on the hate fest. Yet, nobody claims the Hurricanes as their biggest rival. An Atlanta team could change that.