Happy Thanksgiving Caniacs! I hope you and yours have a joyous and peaceful Thanksgiving Day!

Keeping with the Thanksgiving thing, I am incredibly thankful to have Hurricanes hockey.

I could write a longer article with more details, but all it would do is bury the points. Instead, I will share why I am so thankful for Carolina Hurricanes hockey and do so in a rare fit of succinctness.

In no particular order, below are the three things that I am most thankful for as a Carolina Hurricanes fan.

Reason #1: That we have an NHL team at all

The good years demonstrated that this area can succeed and an NHL hockey market. But by no means is it the only previously hockey-less market that can. To this day, I count the fact that the Hurricanes landed here 21 years ago among my greatest sports blessings.

Reason #2: The memories

No doubt, the organization has underperformed in terms of making the playoffs, and the last decade has been tough at times, but nothing can take away the special memories I have from this team. The 2001 playoffs and 2002 Stanley Cup run are when I fell in love with Canes hockey and branded it on my heart. The 2006 Stanley Cup championship speaks for itself. And the 2010 run was exhilarating in its own right.

Reason #3: Being able to share it with my family

From my earliest days as a sports fan, it has always been something that intertwined with family relationships. All of my early memories of sports include my dad such that they are actually part of our relationship. Fast forward many years later, and Hurricanes hockey is very much a family thing for me.

Reason #4: The Caniac Nation

As an introvert who spends the biggest chunk of his Hurricanes hockey time after hours when many are asleep, I am not always as active in the Canes community as I would like to be. But in this odd world we live in with message boards and social media, I greatly appreciate the connection that I have to the Hurricanes hockey community even if informally and sometimes only online. Keep the faith Canes hockey brothers and sisters.

What say you Canes fans?

What are you most thankful for as a Carolina Hurricanes fan?

Go Canes!