By Kurt Dusterberg
When the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 to win the Stanley Cup on June 14, players and fans finally could exhale. After winning at least one round in the postseason for eight straight years—including four trips to the Eastern Conference Final— hockey’s silver chalice finally made it back to the Triangle.
The Hurricanes’ run was historic. They finished the regular season with a conference-best 53-22-7 record, then raced through four best-of-7 series with a 16-3 record—the second-best playoff mark since the format began in 1987.
Beyond the on-ice performance, however, there were endless storylines that made the spring special. After the Hurricanes lost two elite players who were unwilling to re‑sign in recent years, they made trades for former Hart Memorial Trophy (NHL MVP) winner Taylor Hall and 22-year-old spark plug Logan Stankoven. Together, they teamed with budding second-year star Jackson Blake to form the most dominant line in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Veteran goaltender Frederik Andersen carried the Canes to the final, but when his game faltered, Carolina turned to Brandon Bussi, who authored one of the greatest stories of the NHL’s regular season. Bussi, a career minor leaguer, was claimed off waivers by Carolina and fashioned a 31-6-2 record before jumping in to finish off Vegas with three straight wins.
The most remarkable stories, however, came from two people with the deepest ties to the team. Captain Jordan Staal, who has played the most games in Carolina history, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. At 37, he is the oldest player ever to win the award.
But if you ask Hurricanes fans, most will point to coach Rod Brind’Amour as the biggest factor in bringing the Cup back to Carolina. After all, he did it once before. In 2006, he put the Hurricanes on the NHL map, serving as the team captain for an improbable run to the Stanley Cup in the team’s ninth season in Carolina. With this second championship exactly 20 seasons later, Brind’Amour has secured his legacy as the face of the franchise.
