Sebastian Aho and Rod Brind'Amour now sit inside a new Amazon streaming setup that will cost Hurricanes and NHL fans more.
The NHL and Amazon Prime Video have expanded their broadcasting partnership, adding six regional NHL markets to the platform ahead of the new season.
The Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets and Anaheim Ducks are all part of the new arrangement.
Fans inside those teams' regional territories will get access to regular-season games, along with pregame, postgame and other team programming through Prime Video.
But the biggest part of the announcement isn't simply where the games will be available. It's what fans in four markets will have to pay.
Carolina, Minnesota, St. Louis and Columbus viewers will need a separate regional subscription priced at $19.99 per month or $99.99 annually.
Dallas and Anaheim fans get a much different deal. Their regional broadcasts will be available at no added charge for viewers who already have a standard Amazon Prime membership.
Amazon pushes deeper into NHL broadcasting
That difference creates an immediate divide. Stars and Ducks fans already paying for Prime gain another way to follow their teams without another regional bill.
Hurricanes fans aren't getting that break. Carolina enters the arrangement as the defending Stanley Cup champion, putting one of the NHL's highest-profile clubs behind the separate regional package.
The move also shows how aggressively NHL viewing is shifting toward streaming platforms. Traditional regional television is no longer the only route for clubs trying to reach local audiences.
Amazon's NHL presence keeps expanding, giving the league another major distribution partner while changing how several fanbases will watch games throughout the season.
There are also questions surrounding regional broadcast crews and production employees as more games move away from established sports networks and onto streaming services.
For fans in Carolina, Minnesota, St. Louis and Columbus, the bottom line is simple: access is expanding, but following every game now comes with another price tag.
Has watching your favorite NHL team become too expensive?
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