Ron Francis was one of the most popular players on the team, and held nearly every significant offensive record in the franchise's history, both in the WHA and NHL. The trade, which was savagely condemned by fans, was made even more painful when Francis and Samuelsson promptly led the Penguins to two consecutive Stanley Cup titles.

On May 3, 1999, after the Hurricanes were eliminated from the playoffs in Boston and returned to Raleigh, Steve Chiasson wrecked his pickup truck on the way home from a team party at the home of Gary Roberts and was killed on impact. There is a sculpture garden created in his honor with life-size bronze portraits of his children playing around a pond and a plaque in his memory in Millennium Park, Peterborough, Ontario, the town where he was raised. The Stanley Cup was brought to this spot on July 27, 2006, by former Flames teammate Cory Stillman, after Stillman won the Cup with the Hurricanes that season.

In the 2002 playoffs, the Canes' second-round matchup was against the Montreal Canadiens, who were riding a wave of emotion after their captain Saku Koivu's return from cancer treatment. In the third period of Game 4 in Montreal, down 2-1 in the series and 3-0 in the game, Carolina would tie the game and later win on Niclas Wallin's overtime goal. The game became known to Hurricanes fans as the "Miracle at Molson" and spurred Carolina on to win the next two games by a combined 13-3 margin over a dejected Habs club to take the series.

He became known for working out constantly, earning the nickname "Rod the Bod". During his time at Michigan State, Brind'Amour would go from a game directly into the weight room, where he would undertake a strenuous workout. Spartans head coach Ron Mason said Brind'Amour's workouts became so intense they would turn the lights out on him, and when that failed to work, they would padlock the room to bar his entry.

In 1985-86, Torrie Robertson set a franchise record with 358 penalty minutes. At the time of his retirement, he was the team's all-time penalty minutes leader with 1,368.

Carolina drafted three future All-Stars in the 2010 draft: Jeff Skinner (1st round), Justin Faulk (2nd round), and Frederik Andersen (7th round). Unable to come to terms with the Hurricanes, however, Andersen was selected again in the third round of the 2012 draft, 87th overall, by the Anaheim Ducks, with whom he spent the first few years of his NHL career.

On January 20, 2010, Eric Staal was named team captain, replacing Rod Brind'Amour, who was named an alternate captain. Staal became the fifth captain since the team relocated to the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, from Hartford.

Hurricanes goaltender Artūrs Irbe was picked to be a member of the "World" NHL All-Star team in 1998-1999, where he allowed only two goals on 16 faced shots and became the first goalie to record an assist in an NHL All-Star game.

On 31 January 2017, 19-year-old Sebastian Aho scored his first career hat-trick in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

During his rookie campaign in 2005-06, Cam Ward not only became the first starting goaltender to win the Stanley Cup as a rookie since Patrick Roy in 1986, he also became the first rookie goaltender to both play and record a shutout in the Finals since Roy, tied the rookie record for wins in the playoffs (15), previously held by Roy and Ron Hextall, and became the first rookie goalie to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (Stanley Cup playoffs MVP) since Hextall in 1987.