For Your Consideration: Raleigh, North Carolina

Every year around TV/Movie awards time, some talent agencies have been known to send out reminders to the voters about their clients nomination; or even locations saying to choose there town to shoot a movie. With Free Agency around the corner, I couldn't resist trying to sell some of the markets that could use a big name player. This installation-- Raleigh, North Carolina and the Carolina Hurricanes.

For a team that has had a Stanley Cup in their history in a post-lockout NHL, there hasn't seem to be too much buzz for the Hurricanes when it comes to the free agent market. Hopefully, this year, that'll change because of the money they have to work with and with the kind of team they can be with the talent they have. And why not, after the reasons I present to you now.

Newly Discovered Hot-Bed: With the All-Star Game last year, the hockey world was exposed to the hospitality and rabid the Hurricanes fans can actually bring. Yes, it's not your usual hockey market, but at the same time-- with the right personnel, this team can flourish. Sure, you'll have some fans who are still learning the lingo and how the game goes-- but every market had to start somewhere.

What's Old is New Again: For some reason, the Hurricanes love having guys on the roster who have had a tour of duty with the team before. Whether it's someone like Erik Cole or the coach Paul Maurice; if you have donned the black and red before-- make sure you know which phone number is GM's Jim Rutherford because odds are he'll be giving you a buzz in the near future to see if you want to come back to play.

Under the Radar Prowess: This reason is one that depends on how you look at it, as the Raleigh area is very enamored with their college basketball, as NC State, University of North Carolina, and Duke University is all in the area. This could be a bad thing if the Canes are doing good and the fans won't come out to see them play because of the routine of getting into basketball; but it could also be good if there are struggles with the squad as the team would get lost in the fold due to the intensity of the ACC.

Arena Rowdiness: With a team name like the Hurricanes, you're going to have a building that'll do all the things it can to be loud and create as much noise as possible. Whether it's from the hurricane warning horn being sounded at the beginning of the game or the fact Ric Flair pops up after every Carolina Hurricane goal......and period open.....and whenever he feels like because he's Ric Flair, dammit (WHOOOOOO!!); the energy that can be create could be a motivator and a deciding factor from game-to-game with this team; and who doesn't like positive vibes when playing at home.

The Canes have to try and act accordingly to keep up with the rest of the Southeast Division, who would are always on the look-out for the the best team there and stockpiling great talent to make sure they move onto the playoffs. If Carolina wants to "keep up with the Joneses", they'll have to be willing to spend a little and convince free agents it's a great place-- which it is.