Aarif Deen
The Stanley Cup Final wrapped up on Sunday night, with the Carolina Hurricanes taking home their first Stanley Cup in 20 years.
What a run — what a season for Rod Brind’Amour and his team. They earned it.
I’ve compiled some thoughts on the Stanley Cup Final, most of which relate to the Colorado Avalanche’s disappointing ending to what was otherwise a dream season. What can the Avs learn from the Hurricanes? I dive into some of that below.
4 Takeaways.
1. Goaltending tandems are not a bad thing. We already knew this and saw the Avalanche take advantage of it in 2022. But what the 2026 Avalanche needed to do was deploy their goaltending a little bit better. Perhaps Vegas, too.
This goes back to something we discussed after Game 2 of the WCF. Head coach Jared Bednar needed to turn to Mackenzie Blackwood more quickly. By the time he went to him in Game 4, it was too late. You could argue that he should’ve shifted to Blackwood as early as Game 2, after the bad goal in Game 1 to Dylan Coghlan.
Coaches have to make tough decisions sometimes, and there should’ve been more thought that Wedgewood needed a break. Blackwood was very much motivated at that point, and the change needed to happen sooner.
Carolina made that decision in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, and it ended up paying off immensely. Frederik Andersen was 12-1 heading into the Cup Final and finished 13-2. Brind’Amour still had no issue pulling him.
You could argue the Vegas Golden Knights could’ve benefited from a goaltender change of their own after Game 4. They could’ve, and probably should’ve, switched to Stanley Cup champion Adin Hill.
The goals were 16-6 in favor of the Hurricanes after a fresh and rested Bussi was handed the reins in the third period of Game 3 as Carter Hart continued to struggle.
2. You can almost always see a series getting away from a team. Once that happens, it’s hard to get it back. In the SCF, the Golden Knights looked like they were heading to a 2-0 series lead on the road. The Hurricanes fought back, won Game 2, and even forced OT in Game 3 after trailing 4-0 in the third period.
That four-goal comeback felt like the start of the shift, and losing that game in OT didn’t get in the way. You can just see things pile up for Vegas at that point. For starters, they had lost all their goaltending magic. Hart was struggling and looked nothing like the guy who went on a six-game heater in the second and third rounds.
They also started to battle injuries. They had guys playing hurt like Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin, and they also lost William Karlsson in Game 5. It’s hard to really put into words just how important that player is for that team.
On top of that, their superstars were starting to fade. Mark Stone and Mitch Marner combined for one goal, one assist, and a -8 rating in the last three games of the series.
As I said, it’s a lot like what led to the Avalanche’s demise. Some would say it was a bad week.
3. I wrote earlier about the Eastern Conference winning another Stanley Cup. I wanted to touch on that a little bit more here.
Is it easier to go through the Eastern Conference to win a Stanley Cup? Sure feels like that was the case this year. Carolina earned the No. 1 seed in the East and the easiest route. That’s always how it should be, even if the playoff format doesn’t always make that a reality.
They benefited from the Florida Panthers’ poor season, and not having to see them in the third round again. The Panthers eliminated the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final in 2023 and 2025. They were also fortunate that teams like the Washington Capitals or New York Rangers — veteran teams who have been on long runs — didn’t qualify as the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the Metropolitan Division. Instead, it was the young upstart Philadelphia Flyers and the surprise Pittsburgh Penguins.
4. I am very happy — almost relieved — that a coach who has had his role for eight years, defeated a coach who took over with just eight games remaining in the regular season. It’s not that I wanted Brind’Amour to win and John Tortorella to lose. It’s that coaching changes already happen far too frequently in this league. I don’t want teams to normalize it even more. The NHL is a copycat league and more teams could learn a thing or two from what the Hurricanes have with their head coach.
Brind’Amour sticking with it and the Hurricanes sticking with him paid off. It meant so much more when they reached the pinnacle of hockey in Game 6.