RALEIGH — The Carolina Hurricanes’ latest postseason breakout star: a skate-shaped beer mug.
If you’re hoping to get one at Monday’s Game 2 against Philadelphia or during the rest of the Canes’ playoff run, you’re out of luck. The Hurricanes sold out of the beer skate on Saturday, selling 4,687 of them — more than a quarter of the total attendance — during the Canes’ dominant 3-0 win.
And they will not have any more for the rest of the postseason.
“It was a way bigger hit than we ever expected,” said Adam Hoffman, vice president for food and beverage at Lenovo Center.
The plastic mug, which holds 27 to 28 ounces, sold for $19 without beer or $12, plus the cost of beer, for one filled with cold suds. The beer stakes are already listed for more than $180 at online resale sites.
The staff had 2,000 on hand, but decided to bring 1,000 more from their warehouse when a social media post promoting the beer skate went viral. The post has more than 4.8 million views on X. Before the game, they sold 300 at the plaza party. When it became clear the beer skates were going to be a huge hit, members of the operations team made a run for the final 2,000 skates.
BEER SKATES ARE HERE 🚨
Get yours at any bar, select stands, and carts TONIGHT at the @LenovoCenter. pic.twitter.com/DbKTdpb1p9
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) May 2, 2026
They sold out before the start of the third period with the team and arena holding a couple hundred for various purposes, including fundraisers, the team’s foundation and a few for ESPN’s NHL studio. Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said Monday that he wanted to get his hands on one.
“It looks awesome,” Hurricanes forward Jackson Blake said. “That’s a good thing for the fans, I think. Pretty cool souvenir.”
In hindsight, Hoffman said that he wished they’d ordered more. But there are significant upfront costs and no guarantee that they’ll take off. Previous specialty items, such as a Zamboni and a beer stick, sold about 1,500 during their first games. The beer stick has had some staying power with fans, Hoffman said.
“There’s a difference between people being excited about it online and pulling out their Visa card,” Hoffman said. “We did something the fans really enjoyed. It was very cool for us.”
Can confirm Beer Skates were a hit pic.twitter.com/DkPdyygWbn
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) May 3, 2026
Outside of the social media posts, the team and arena did nothing to promote the beer skate.
It was a hit months in the making.
The Hurricanes and Lenovo Center were looking for a new souvenir item in the offseason when they hit on the idea of a boot or skate. Lenovo Center and the Hurricanes work with Whirley for souvenir food and beverage products.
“People have been drinking beer out of boots for hundreds of years,” he said. “It kind of felt like it made sense.”
They placed the order in October from a factory in China. The on-again, off-again fight over federal tariffs delayed the process. By the time the beer stakes arrived it was too late to roll them out for the Hurricanes’ first-round playoff series sweep against Ottawa.
The design is not exclusive to the Hurricanes, but the team is the first to order and sell the skate. Expect other teams to follow suit next season.
The reaction has been remarkable. The Athletic featured the beer skate in a story. ESPN reached out.
“As a team that’s regularly kind of told we’re a small market team,” Hoffman said, “ we didn’t feel like on Saturday.”
#Canes are undefeated in the playoffs and so is the Beer Skate. Youre going to get more Canes playoff hockey, but no more Beer skates. They are sold out for the postseason. Check out @murphsturph story. And I asked players about it this morning https://t.co/vQUAfdSVqx pic.twitter.com/sJTWKtQ6ri
— Pat Welter WRAL (@PatrickWelter) May 4, 2026
