Play honestly, hard, effectively, and don’t give the opposition anything for free. And you don’t need stars to triumph. The motivational words Brind’Amour managed to convey to the team were summed up aptly by defender Shayne Gostisbehere.
“I don’t know if I’d call him a philosopher, but even though you think every pre-match speech will be the same, it’s always something different. It’s never that old cliche where you say: ‘Yeah, coach, we’ll play hard.’”
Brind’Amour’s approach works. Carolina were the second-highest-scoring team in the regular season, but in the playoffs, they transformed themselves and, conversely, had the best defense of all the teams (2.05 goals against per game).
Historic goalie play
Whoever was in goal, the Canes could rely on them. And that’s despite the Hurricanes starting the season with uncertainty. Frederik Andersen was often sidelined, giving undrafted rookie Brandon Bussi a chance – a player the Canes had picked up for free from the Florida Panthers before the season.
Bussi won the mini-battle with Pyotr Kochetkov and, in his rookie season, set an all-time NHL record after becoming the fastest goalie ever to 10 wins, doing so in just 11 games, and also 20 wins. He went on to finish with a jaw-dropping 31-6-2 record.
When the playoffs came around, the Brind'Amour naturally opted for Andersen, who played a major part in the team’s record-breaking runs through the first and second rounds without dropping a game and set a new franchise record for shutouts.
But following a Game 1 and Game 2 in which Andersen gave up a total of eight goals, Carolina were ultimately led by Bussi in the last three games.
Bussi became the fourth rookie goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout in a Stanley Cup Final game, and it came when it mattered the most.
In any case, the goalie duo’s four shutouts in the playoffs are a mark of quality.
The Staal Clan
When Carolina’s players lifted the championship trophy 20 years ago, two names were there just as they are this year: Brind’Amour and Staal. The reliable leader Brind’Amour has become a coach, whilst Eric Staal has been replaced in the winning lineup by his brother Jordan.
Thanks to the efforts of the unbreakable 37-year-old veteran, the Staal hockey clan has added another valuable trophy to its collection.
Over the course of 14 years, Jordan Staal has become the team’s record-holder, having played 1,080 games for Carolina as he became the oldest player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
“No one in our dressing room is more excited than I am right now,” he commented on his return to the limelight at the end of his career.
And it’s not as if he was just playing out his days. Quite the opposite. He led the team with his attitude and, despite his age, managed to score crucial goals. He netted eight in the playoffs, with six of those coming in the Stanley Cup Final.
Having Jordan in the team is one of the hallmarks of success. He won his second Stanley Cup, finally securing it after 17 years.
No one in the league had waited longer for another title; before him, the record holder was Chris Chelios (16 years).
Discipline
The Hurricanes are no pushovers; the team includes a few guys who aren’t afraid to drop the gloves when the going gets tough. But thanks in part to Brind’Amour’s authority, this bunch manages to keep their emotions in check, and their trademark is that their opponents very often rack up more penalty minutes in matches.
Carolina weathered Brayden McNabb’s attacks on Jackson Blake during the tense series against Vegas. There wasn’t even any retaliation for Ivan Barbashev’s clash with goalkeeper Frederik Andersen.
Discipline simply came first. Despite being second in penalty minutes and total penalties drawn, Carolina ranked near the bottom eight of the 16 playoff teams with 4.82 penalties drawn per 60 minutes and 11:37 penalty minutes per game.
“Everything naturally gets more intense at this time of year, but penalties make all the difference,” says the Stanley Cup-winning coach.
It may come as a surprise that the team’s most penalised player is the skillful Andrei Svechnikov. Carolina simply didn’t commit any unnecessary penalties.
Although, of course, you’ll find the exception that proves the rule. Staal kicked off the entire playoff with a winning fight against Brady Tkachuk just three seconds into the opening series against Ottawa.
Special team
The team’s solid performances were also bolstered by Carolina’s ability to make up for their penalties, despite their poor power play.
Their PK unit gave up the fewest goals (6) of any team that played in more than 10 games this postseason, finishing off their Stanley Cup run with an insane 91.5% penalty kill percentage - also the best of any team in the playoffs that played more than 10 game - which was up from their regular season PK% (80.5).
A scientist as general manager
Behind Carolina’s success stands Eric Tulsky, a former scientist and specialist in physics, chemistry, and nanotechnology, who became the team’s general manager somewhat by chance.
He originally got the job at the club because he was a fan and wrote excellent analytical hockey blogs.
However, in May 2024, Don Waddell resigned from the position, and Tulsky turned his temporary promotion into an exceptional success.
It was by no means easy for him. It was during his tenure that trades took place, which initially looked like a loss for the Hurricanes. Jack Drury and Martin Necas were traded to Colorado for Mikko Rantanen. But the Finn didn’t settle in at the club, and after 13 games, Tulsky decided to trade him to Dallas.
In return, he acquired centre Logan Stankoven and two first-round picks, one of which was used to acquire defenceman K’Andre Miller. Carolina certainly has no regrets today. The trade also saw the arrival of veteran Taylor Hall from Chicago, a former number one draft pick who had often been written off.
And we must also mention the signing of Nikolaj Ehlers, the best free agent on the market. All of them fitted perfectly into Brind’Amour’s concept of a physical style of hockey.
“We really focused on finding players who fit the way we want to play,” said Tulsky.
And it worked out brilliantly for him.