If you happened to be too sick with Knicks fever last week to watch the Stanley Cup Final, you missed what The Alligator’s own Max Bernstein dubbed “the best Stanley Cup Final EVER.”
Spoiler alert: The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Golden Knights in six games, finally getting to the top of the hockey mountain for the first time since 2006.
They had fallen short in the playoffs each of the last seven seasons, including three trips to the Eastern Conference Final in that run. But by winning just one game total in those three appearances, they had built a reputation for crumbling when the lights were brightest.
They were led by head coach Rod Brind’Amour, who captained the team when they won the Cup in 2006. He is now the fourth person in NHL history to captain and coach the same organization to a Stanley Cup, joining Montreal’s Toe Blake, Toronto’s Hap Day and Boston’s Cooney Weiland.
While most teams would’ve made significant changes to the coaching staff and roster after eight years of disappointment, Carolina stayed the course and kept the core together.
Brind’Amour was hired in 2018, making him the third-longest-tenured head coach in the NHL behind Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper and Colorado’s Jared Bednar. Jordan Staal has captained the team since 2019 with Jaccob Slavin and Jordan Martinook as his alternates. Sebastian Aho, who was drafted by the team in 2015, was added to the leadership group in 2021.
Besides Captain Staal, who won with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009 and William Carrier, who, ironically, won with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023, every member of the Hurricanes will have their name engraved on the Cup for the first time in 2026.
Staal also became the oldest winner of the Conn Smythe trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the playoffs, after his record-tying five-game goal streak in the Cup Final. He also set the record for the highest face-off percentage in a Cup Final series at 68%.
While the Hurricanes have largely kept their core of players together, they’ve been no stranger to blockbuster drama.
In 2024, they made a trade deadline deal to acquire Pittsburgh Penguins star Jake Guentzel, who would be sent to Tampa Bay the following offseason.
In January 2025, they stunned the hockey world by trading for then-Colorado Avalanche superstar Mikko Rantanen before shipping him to Dallas less than two months later for a package including 22-year-old Logan Stankoven, who would contribute 11 goals and five assists in this year’s playoff run. Rantanen played just 13 games for the team.
This season’s big ticket acquisition was former Winnipeg Jet winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who signed a six-year, $51 million contract with Carolina in free agency. He contributed 18 points in the playoffs, including the empty-net goal that clinched the Cup for Carolina in game six. The Hurricanes also added defenseman K’Andre Miller in a sign-and-trade deal with the New York Rangers.
Ehlers and fellow Dane goaltender Frederik Andersen became the first Danish duo to win the Stanley Cup in the same season.
Thirty-six-year-old Andersen, the NHL’s first Danish goaltender, was the anchor in net for Carolina for most of the playoffs. He won 13 of 15 games, posting a .910 save percentage, a 1.89 goals-against average and three shutouts.
In game three of the final series, Andersen allowed four goals in the second period. A rare lapse in an otherwise stellar playoff run paved the way for Brandon Bussi to enter the game in relief.
The 27-year-old Bussi had been Carolina’s regular starter during the season. He lit the league on fire, winning 31 of 39 games after being acquired on waivers from Florida just before the season started.
Despite Bussi’s regular-season performance, Brind’Amour opted for Andersen’s veteran experience in the playoffs, but Bussi picked up where he left off in game three.
Entering the game in the third period, Bussi didn’t allow a goal until Vegas’ game-winner in double overtime. His performance earned him the start in game four, and he continued his elite play in each of the final three games en route to the Stanley Cup. He capped off his epic 2026 story with a shutout in the Cup clincher.
Then there’s Taylor Hall, the 2010 number one pick, 2018 Hart trophy winner and five-time all-star playing for his seventh team. At age 34, Hall finally gets to hoist Lord Stanley’s cup.
Defenseman Jaccob Slavin, drafted by the Hurricanes in 2012, finishes the 2026 season as a Stanley Cup Champion and Olympic gold medalist.
Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere became the second player born in Florida to win the Cup.
It’s not unbeknownst to me that Gainesville is not exactly a hockey town. But then again, neither is Raleigh, North Carolina, and that town just won hockey’s greatest prize.
Whether it was Carolina or Vegas who had won, the fact of the matter is the NHL is putting out an unbelievable product right now. The game is growing more than ever before and for great reason.
It’s because of stories like the Hurricanes that we love sports. A 20-year drought expired. A coach and a core of players who were believed-in from day one and never given up on. Adversity was overcome through unwavering faith.
There are many new hockey fans today because of what this team accomplished. Love them or hate them, the 2026 Carolina Hurricanes are undeniably a worthy champion.
Contact Brayden Schultz at bschultz@alligator.org. Follow him on X @schultzbrayden9.
