The problem with the Canes has been winning. After the trip to the Finals, the town was all behind them, but then they backed it up with such a lousy campaign that they lost all momentum, then, followed by ANOTHER lousy campaign made it worse. I went to a Blue Jackets/Canes game last season which the Canes lost 3-0, and found it one of the most boring if not THE most boring game I ever witnessed. I found myself just pulling for Zherdev and Nash. It doesn't help that clowns like Caulton Tudor from the N&O despise hockey and know nothing about the sport and that fool seems to deride it every chance he gets, which doesn't help popular opinion.
However, I believe that if this team can keep playing well, fans will come back. They have a solid but small rabid following, which continue to support them, and if they can just spread the word that this is an exciting team to watch now, I think the fans will come back.
About Charlotte, they would support the team probably worse than Raleigh. Charlotte is a bigger town, but they don't seem to have as rabid of a fan base. NFL football attracts fans from around the state. It's only once a week and the games are always on Sundays. I have several friends that go to see several games a year from Raleigh, so don't get the impression that the Panthers' fans are only from Charlotte. NFL football in the States is like NHL in Canada. It'll have a good draw no matter how good or bad the team is.