Brind'Amour's Coaching and Playing Triumph
Rod Brind'Amour Leads Carolina Hurricanes to Stanley Cup Victory as Head Coach, Completing Rare Double
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Rod Brind'Amour has done something almost no one in NHL history has done. He won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes as a player — and now he has won one as their head coach. The Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 on June 14, 2026, ending a 20-year championship drought for Raleigh The Washington Post.
The victory makes Brind'Amour one of only four people in NHL history to captain and coach the same franchise to a Stanley Cup. He joins Toe Blake, Hap Day, and Cooney Weiland in that rare group The Washington Post. "I don't just wear this hat, take it off and wear someone else's the next day," Brind'Amour said AP.
A Waiver-Wire Goalie Steals the Final
Brandon Bussi was not supposed to be here. Carolina claimed the 27-year-old goaltender off waivers from the Florida Panthers in October 2025 Daily Independent. He barely played all season. Then starter Frederik Andersen got hurt in Game 3 of the Final — and Bussi took over.
Bussi delivered. He stopped 81 of 87 shots in the Final for a .931 save percentage Daily Independent. In the clinching Game 6, he turned away all 22 Vegas shots for a shutout CBS News. Carolina's coaching staff had spotted something in him. The data backed it up.
GM Eric Tulsky's Bold Trades Paid Off
General manager Eric Tulsky made a risky call early in 2025. He traded star winger Mikko Rantanen — then pivoted and sent him to Dallas for prospect Logan Stankoven and first-round picks AP News. Many fans were furious. The move looked like a step backward.
It wasn't. Tulsky then added defenseman K'Andre Miller and signed elite winger Nikolaj Ehlers in the summer of 2025 Daily Faceoff. The rebuilt roster went 53-22-7 in the regular season, good for 113 points and the top seed in the Eastern Conference Hockey-Reference. Carolina finished the playoffs 16-3 — the third-best postseason record in the salary cap era NHL.com.
Brind'Amour Built Eight Straight Playoff Runs
When Brind'Amour took over as head coach in 2018, Carolina had missed the playoffs for nine straight years. He changed that immediately. The Hurricanes made the playoffs every season after — eight consecutive appearances The Hockey News. They won at least one round each time, a run matched only by Pat Burns in NHL history.
On March 14, 2026, he coached his 600th game. He holds the NHL record for most wins — 366 — in that span NHL.com. Carolina swept the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers to open the playoffs 8-0, then beat the Montreal Canadiens in five games to reach the Final WRAL.
Raleigh Has Grown — And So Has Its Hockey Identity
Raleigh is not the same city it was in 2006. About 250,000 people have moved there since the last Cup win Carolina Journal. Many of them had never seen the Hurricanes win a title. That changed on June 14. Governor Roy Cooper called the win proof that North Carolina is "a premier sports destination" News & Observer.
NC State professor Mike Edwards said the title strengthens the Triangle's "civic identity" and brings together fans who are usually divided by college rivalries NC State University. Lenovo Center had sold out more than 150 straight home games heading into the playoffs Visit Raleigh. The city's wait is over — and it celebrated like it.
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