Hurricanes built their NHL Stanley Cup-winning roster through patience and trust

With the Carolina Hurricanes winning the 2026 Stanley Cup on Sunday, teams around the league will be taking notes on what the Hurricanes have done right to reach this goal.

Several decisions and methods factor into the accomplished journey of the Canes this past season, but GM Eric Tulsky has a big say in any additions that were made in the past two years, including the acquisitions of K’Andre Miller, Nikolaj Ehlers, Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall, and others.

However, what can’t go unnoticed about the Hurricanes’ organization is its commitment to its top players and head coach, despite multiple campaigns highlighted by disappointment in the Eastern Conference final.

In recent years, the conference final hasn’t been kind to Carolina. In 2024-25, the Florida Panthers eliminated them in five games. In 2022-23, they were swept by the Panthers. And in 2018-19, they were swept by the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference final.

In between those defeats in the conference final, the furthest they’ve advanced was to the second round.

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Throughout all those years that ended on a sour note, Rod Brind’Amour was the head coach of the Hurricanes, and they were led by a core of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Jaccob Slavin and even Jordan Staal, who has been a big piece of the team in terms of leadership.

And while there was plenty of turnover in the roster since 2018-19, including a trade that sent Martin Necas away for 13 games in exchange for Mikko Rantanen, Brind’Amour, Aho, Svechnikov and Staal all remained on the roster.

Questions were raised regarding their status on the team, mainly the head coach, as well as Aho and Svechnikov’s services in the playoffs. However, the organization never turned its back on that trio, keeping Brind’Amour behind the bench for the past eight seasons, and Aho and Svechnikov since they were drafted in 2015 and 2018, respectively.

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Brind’Amour has been able to get his team to buy into his coaching philosophy and system. It’s a system that sometimes prevents star players from shining, but Aho and Svechnikov were solid for the Canes in the Stanley Cup final, when they were needed most.

Aho recorded five points in the six games against the Vegas Golden Knights. Meanwhile, Svechnikov had three goals, including a huge two-goal performance in Game 5’s 4-2 win for Carolina.

If the organization got impatient with the lack of progress in the post-season and decided to either fire Brind’Amour or move off another core member of the team, who knows if they ever get their hands on the Stanley Cup?

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