After struggling in Hartford the Whalers moved to the Carolina changing their nickname to Hurricanes, after the city of Raleigh agreed to build them a new state of the art arena. However, while the arena in Raleigh was being constructed the team would have to play 80 miles away in Greensboro.

In their first season in Carolina the Canes struggled to get acquainted with their new surroundings finishing in last place with a 33-41-8 record. Making matters worse the Hurricanes struggled to draw fans averaging less than 10,000 fans per game.