The franchise was formed in 1971 as the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association (WHA), then joined the NHL in 1979 as part of the NHL-WHA merger, renaming themselves the Hartford Whalers. The team relocated to North Carolina in 1997 and rebranded themselves as the Hurricanes.

Their first NHL season in 1979-80 looked somewhat promising, with a roster that featured future Hall of Famers Mark Howe, Dave Keon, and Gordie Howe. The Whalers acquired another NHL legend, Bobby Hull, near the NHL trade deadline in 1980. They finished the season with 73 points and a playoff berth, but were swept by the Montreal Canadiens three games to none in the first round of the playoffs. Following the season, Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull both announced their retirements.

Selected seventh overall by the Hurricanes in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Jeff Skinner was the youngest player in the NHL during the 2010-11 season. Midway through his rookie campaign, Skinner was named to the 2011 All-Star Game roster, making him the first 18-year-old NHL All-Star since Steve Yzerman. He finished the season with 31 goals and was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie.

The Hurricanes won the 2006 Stanley Cup over the Edmonton Oilers, giving the state of North Carolina its first major professional sports championship.

Stormy is an anthropomorphic pig, who wears the number 97, shortened for 1997--the year when the Hartford Whalers moved to North Carolina to play their first game. The reasoning behind a hog mascot is the abundance of hog farms in eastern North Carolina and the state's affinity for a vinegar-based pork barbecue.

During their stretch run that season, the Hurricanes gained notice for their on-ice victory celebrations, which they called "Storm Surges." This led Don Cherry of Hockey Night in Canada to call the Hurricanes a "bunch of jerks." The Hurricanes adopted "Bunch of Jerks" as a battle cry, even projecting it on the ice at PNC Arena before and after games.

In 1979-80, Blaine Stoughton tied for the league lead with 56 goals, but embarrassingly missed out on No. 57. "I already had a hat trick and the other team pulled the goalie," Stoughton would later explain. "Their defenseman tried to clear the puck around the boards and the puck was at the blueline. I stopped the puck and made a move and shot the puck and missed the empty net. From just inside the blueline. I would have had 57 goals."

Rod Brind'Amour captained the Hurricanes to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2006. His #17 jersey was retired on February 18, 2011.

On February 22, both of the Carolina Hurricanes' goaltenders, James Reimer and Petr Mrazek, were injured during a game against the Maple Leafs. After signing a one-game contract with the NHL, 42-year-old David Ayres entered the game as an emergency goaltender. He allowed goals on the first two shots that he faced before stopping the next eight shots on goal, along with recording one shot on goal, to help seal a 6-3 win for Carolina over Toronto, the team whose minor league affiliate he worked for as a Zamboni driver and maintenance man. According to Sports Illustrated, he also became the oldest goalie to win a regular season debut and stayed on the ice for 28 minutes and 41 seconds, clocking the longest time in a game for an emergency backup.

In 2013-14, Anton Khudobin won 19 of 34 starts with a GAA of 2.30 and a franchise record .926 save percentage.