Mandatory Image Credit: Candice Ward – The Associated Press

After two months of playoff hockey, the 2025-26 NHL Season has officially come to a close. One team stands alone among the rest, your 2026 Stanley Cup Champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.

First off, congratulations to the Hurricanes organization. Not only was this season an incredible run, but over the last decade, Carolina has been about as worthy of hoisting Lord Stanley as any. After years of playoff shortcomings, they finally got the job done, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in six games.

Captain Jordan Staal was the recipient of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, largely due to his performance in the Final. He scored in each of the series opening five games, as well as setting a record for faceoff percentage, with a success rate above 70%. While Jordan has already won a Cup before (2009 with PIT), he and his brother Eric now join an exclusive club of brothers to win for the same team (Eric won in 2006).

Coach Rod Brind’Amour called hockey “the ultimate team sport” following the win, and he could not be more right. This team had contributors from all throughout the lineup, it takes a village. Other standout players from this postseason include the entire Hall, Stankoven, Blake line, shutdown defenders Slavin, Miller and Chatfield, and 2025 free agent signing Ehlers.

The first line heading into the playoffs, Aho, Svechnikov and Jarvis all saw their production drop in the playoffs, but all delivered when called upon in this series. Jarvis had the crucial overtime winner in Game 2 to avoid a 2-0 series deficit. Aho himself had a game winning goal, along with four assists in the series and played big minutes against Vegas’ top players. Lastly, Svechnikov had a huge two goal performance in Game 5 to shift the series in the Canes favour. Not every team has a superstar to count on for scoring, and in the games where Carolina’s supposed ‘top players’ could not contribute, their teammates had their backs.

There was a bit of a debate for which goalie was going to start in Game 1 against Ottawa, as neither Frederik Andersen or Brandon Bussi fully emerged as the number one over the course of the season. The team chose to go with the veteran Andersen, and it proved to be the right decision through the first three rounds. But the Canes knew they always had Bussi in their back pocket. He took over the net in Game 3, and played well enough to man the crease the rest of the way. Bussi capped off the season with a 22 save shutout in the Cup clinching game. However, Freddy was still the first person to receive the Cup after Staal, showing the brotherhood and lack of ego in Carolina.

Brind’Amour made some interesting comments when asked about considering this being his time to step away from coaching and it seems possible that the bench boss is satisfied after finishing the job he set out to complete and goes off to enjoy retirement. The vacancy would certainly be the top coaching job as the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, but whomever steps in would have big shoes to fill. Something to follow this offseason.

Just like that the season is over, the offseason begins, and all 32 teams have work to do. I had a blast covering my first full NHL season on NJTHockey.com and now I look forward to the fun storylines the offseason brings. Keep an eye out for prospect profiles, analysis of major signings and trades, and more. Whether this is your first article, or you have been here all season, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read what I have to say.