Seconds after Jesper Fast deflected the puck past Akira Schmid to clinch his team’s spot in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals his teammates were jumping over the boards to celebrate. Surrounded by cheering Caniacs Fast found himself at the bottom of a dogpile that would be fatal to any mere mortal. I didn’t have a chance to ask Jesper but I’m sure there was nowhere else he would rather be in that moment.
Elsewhere inside PNC Arena, home of the Carolina Hurricanes a member of the team’s social media staff opened their device and hit send on a draft post that was years in the making. If you logged on to social media to celebrate the team’s second second-round win over the New Jersey Devils you would have been greeted by a Cameo video the Hurricanes commissioned earlier in the week to celebrate a possible victory over the New Jersey Devils.
Cameo is a website that allows fans to pay for personalized videos from celebrities around the world. Carolina’s social media team decided to poke fun at their vanquished foes using celebrities from the Garden State. “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Giudice, “Jersey Shore” star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, New York Jets superfan ‘Fireman Ed’, “Cake Boss” star Mauro Basano, as well as Victor Curatola and Federico Castelluccio from “The Sopranos” all congratulated Carolina for advancing in the playoffs. It’s unclear if they knew they were talking about the team facing off against the Devils.
“We have a pretty strong level of trust internally,” said the Hurricanes’ Vice President of Marketing Dan LaTorraca Thursday night. “Our social team did a great job executing this.” A plan that originated during the team’s ‘bubble’ playoff run in 2020 was finally kicked into motion on Monday. Of the ten requests made by the Hurricanes, only six celebrities appear in the final video. Another three didn’t respond and one declined the opportunity. It’s possible they knew what Carolina was planning.
LaTorraca knows how to mess with New Jersey because it’s his home state. “Nobody knows how to troll New Jersey like people from New Jersey,” he said. Thursday night’s posts were viewed millions of times within three hours.
Being viral isn’t new for the Hurricanes’ social media team. In the last five seasons, they’ve captured the hockey and wider sports world’s attention numerous times. Creating a culture of ‘fear of missing out’ in their local market. Failing to check in could mean missing out on the latest banner joke aimed at another southern hockey team. Maybe you thought you didn’t need to pay attention during the offseason. Well, you just missed the team playing an Uno reverse card to provide Jesperi Kotkaniemi with an offer sheet.
I’d be lying if I said I knew what’s going to happen to the Carolina Hurricanes in the next round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, I can tell you without a doubt that Carolina’s social media team will be good for a couple of laughs and even a few bittersweet moments deep into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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