With opening night for the NFL, the Carolina Panthers playing the Denver Broncos and another light early September day in terms of Carolina Hurricanes news, here is  a quick light-hearted look at the translating Carolina Hurricanes players into Carolina Panthers players.

Justin Faulk as Luke Kuechly – Both are the young cores of good and improving defenses.

Ron Hainsey as Greg Olsen – Both are wiley veterans arguably past their prime but still very capable players.

Eric Staal as Julius Peppers – Both played their prime years in superstar roles for the local teams but left at a young enough to contribute elsewhere too.

Rod Brind’Amour as Sam Mills – Both are heart and soul leaders respected by teammates and loved by fans.

Chuck Kaiton as Mick Mixon – Mixon has a long way to go to match Kaiton in terms of longevity, but both bring a distinctive voice and style that make the teams’ radio broadcasts unique and distinguishable.

The 2001-02 Carolina Hurricanes as the 2003 Carolina Panthers: Both teams made it to the finals only to fall just short of the championship but still successfully putting relatively new teams on the North Carolina sports map.

Ron Francis as Steve Smith: Though their styles are a bit different, both players were long-time stars during the early stages of the franchise. When Smith retires and becomes eligible, he should also match Francis as a hall-of-famer.

Peter Karmanos as Jerry Richardson: Both teams feature long-time iconic owners.

Paul Maurice as John Fox: Both long-time coaches who were once one of the faces of the franchise came really close to winning a league title but came up short. Both also built strong enough resumes to find work elsewhere after departing.

Certainly there are Carolina Panthers fans out there who have many more. If you ping me on Twitter or post in the comments, I will update here.

Is there anything close to a Carolina Hurricanes comparable for the unique Cam Newton? Certainly someone has to match up with Jeff Skinner. Right? Are there current Panthers comparables for the legion of young guns on the Hurricanes?

Go Canes! And Keep Pounding!