The Carolina Hurricanes are the 2025-26 Stanley Cup Champions. Details and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
The Carolina Hurricanes blanked the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to win the series and hockey’s holy grail four games to two. It’s their first championship since 2006.
2026 Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes (NHL.com).
Taylor Hall opened the scoring with what proved to be the game-winning goal just 3:47 into the first period. Jackson Blake made it 2-0 in the second period, and Nikolaj Ehlers’ empty-netter with 1:08 remaining in the third period put the game out of reach. Goaltender Brandon Bussi turned in a 22-save shutout.
Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal was voted the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. He had eight goals and four assists for 12 points in 19 games, with six of those goals coming in the first five games of the Cup Final, becoming the first player to score five goals to start a Cup Final since Jean Beliveau in 1956.
The 37-year-old Staal is the oldest player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. He also set a record for the longest time between Stanley Cup Championships (17 years). The first time he won the Cup was in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Speaking of Taylor Hall, he became the first player in NHL history to be selected first overall in the draft, win the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP, and win the Stanley Cup with three different teams. Hall was chosen first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2010, and won the Hart Trophy with the New Jersey Devils in 2017-18.
For Brandon Bussi, his Game 6 shutout capped a whirlwind season that began when he was claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers. He had a record of 31-6-2 in 39 regular-season games, but didn’t make his postseason debut until the third period of Game 3, when he relieved starter Frederik Andersen. Bussi subsequently started the remaining games of this series, winning all three.
As for Andersen, he was surprised to be the first player Staal handed the Stanley Cup to after receiving it from league commissioner Gary Bettman. Andersen started every game in this postseason until Bussi relieved him in Game 3. He revealed that he suffered a knee injury in Game 2 and struggled to play through it in the following game.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Andersen’s solid play was a big reason why the Hurricanes reached the Final. He finished with a record of 13-2 with a 1.89 goals-against average, a save percentage of .910, and three shutouts.
Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin became the second American to win the Stanley Cup in the same year that he won Olympic gold with Team USA. Ken Morrow was the first, winning a gold medal in the 1980 Olympics and the Stanley Cup later that year with the New York Islanders.
The additions of Hall, Bussi and Ehlers last year, along with the rise of Blake and Logan Stankoven, gave the Hurricanes the depth they previously lacked to march to the Stanley Cup.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blake (20 points), Hall (19 points), Ehlers (18 points) and Stankoven (16 points) finished as the Hurricanes’ leading scorers in this postseason. The second line of Stankoven, Hall, and Blake was their most consistent throughout this postseason.
This is the second Stanley Cup championship for Rod Brind’Amour, and his first as head coach. He won his first Cup with Carolina as team captain in 2006.
As for the Vegas Golden Knights, their march to the Stanley Cup Final capped a roller-coaster season that saw them in danger of missing the playoffs until they replaced Bruce Cassidy as head coach with John Tortorella in late March.
Speaking of Tortorella, he’s unsure of his future with the Golden Knights. The club hired him for the remainder of this season. He thanked team owner Bill Foley, team president George McPhee, and general manager Kelly McCrimmon for giving him the chance to coach the team.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’ll likely be a few days before we learn of Tortorella’s fate. After the job he did in reversing the Golden Knights’ fortunes, it wouldn’t be shocking if they sign him to a contract extension.