Carolina Hurricanes win Stanley Cup
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The Carolina Hurricanes are the 2026 Stanley Cup champions. Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
The Carolina Hurricanes have won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 on Sunday night.
Why it matters: It is Raleigh's second-ever championship, the last coming 20 years ago.
The latest: Team captain Jordan Staal won the Conn Smythe Trophy, the award given to the most valuable player in the playoffs.
- He scored goals in the first five Stanley Cup Final games. At 37, he is the oldest player to do so.
- He is also the oldest player to win the Conn Smythe.
The vibe: Raleigh fans were treated to a stunning performance at the sold-out Lenovo Center watch party.
- North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein was in the building.
- Several hundred more watched at tailgates or on the big outdoor screen that's become a fixture this playoff run.
Zoom in: The decibels hit 109 inside Lenovo Center when Taylor Hall broke away for the first goal nearly 4 minutes in.
- They passed 110 when Jackson Blake put the Canes up 2-0 in the second period.
- The roar became deafening when Nikolaj Ehlers made it 3-0, scoring in an empty net as the seconds ticked away in Las Vegas.
State of play: Goalie Brandon Bussi's shutout capped an astonishing year for the 27-year-old.
- The Canes picked Bussi up as insurance when the season was kicking off.
- He'd only ever played in the minor leagues, but when Frederik Andersen began struggling midway through the finals, head coach Rod Brind'Amour subbed Bussi in and never looked back.
- Bussi started the past three games, all wins for the Canes, leaving Caniacs in Raleigh chanting his name as Sunday night's victory sank in.
The big picture: There's a lot of credit to be thrown around for the Canes' dominance, from owner Tom Dundon's rejuvenation of the franchise after buying it in 2018 to the savvy analytics of general manager Eric Tulsky.
- But Brind'Amour has represented this franchise longer than anyone — first as the player who captained the first Stanley Cup-winning Canes team in 2006, and for the past eight seasons as coach.
Stunning stat: Brind'Amour is just the seventh person in NHL history to lift the Stanley Cup as a player and coach for the same team, according to ESPN.
- To underline the rarity of it all, he's the first to do it since 1956.
What they're saying: "This is what hockey's all about," Brind'Amour said after the game. "This didn't just happen tonight. These guys have been working for eight years for this."
What's next: A parade through downtown Raleigh is planned for 11am Saturday.