Canes Embracing The Target On Their Backs As Defending Champs

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have moved on, or at least tried to move on, from their Stanley Cup victory.

They reached the mountaintop in June, celebrated all summer, and put a bow on things with a banner before opening night.

To them, it's all over now. Last year's success guarantees nothing about the road ahead.

But as much as they want to turn the page, their status as the defending champs isn't something that just goes away.

Every road building they go into this season, there will be some opposing fans who show up specifically because they want to see their team take on the NHL's reigning top dogs. To his chagrin, media in other cities will continue to ask Rod Brind'Amour about it.

And certainly, their foes will need no reminders. To be the best, you've got to beat the best, and it'll be a game that teams need no motivation to get up for.

It's not something that's just going to change.

Every night, from now until April, and then certainly beyond, they'll be on the receiving end of the best effort possible from their opposition.

Challenge accepted.

"I think we're going to see every team's best this year, right? We earned that right. So, we've got to get used to it," Brandon Bussi told reporters following the team's opening night battle against Florida. "But I'm confident in our group."

Already evident from their close contests with the Panthers, Flyers, and Canadiens, no team is going to take the Canes lightly.

Why would they? It's essentially the same roster and the same staff, with the plan of running it back.

"This is the team we won with," Logan Stankoven said with a quiet confidence. "We're the best team in the world for a reason."

It's not as if the success came out of left field, either. Carolina has been perennial contenders across at least the past five-plus seasons, ranking first (306) in combined regular-season and playoff wins during that span.

"Everyone has known how we play for years now. Really, that hasn't changed that much. Everyone has kind of already expected what we're going to bring," Sebastian Aho explained.

Part of achieving that success has been approaching every game like they're going to get every team's A-game, every single night, as they have been throughout the Brind'Amour era. Whether the opponent sits first or last in the standings, the plan centers around three things: forechecking, possessing, and limiting chances.

"You've got to always play with the mindset that the other team is bringing their best," Aho continued. "You're the Stanley Cup Champion. You know from past years when you play that year's Stanley Cup Champion that you know you definitely want to beat them."

That same hunger they had when they were one of the other 31 teams doesn't just go away either.

"When we've played (Stanley Cup-winning) teams in the past, you want to prove yourself," Jordan Martinook shared. "The most recent Cup champion is usually pretty much the standard of what you want to beat. I'm assuming most teams are going to be giving us their best, but I think that can bring the best out of our team as well."

Motivated by being the hunted instead of the hunters, Carolina knows its "stress game" can lead to success, and doesn't plan to stray away from it now.

"We can drag some teams into some tough places, and I think it could be a big confidence booster for our group if teams are throwing their knockout punch at us and we can kind of counter it," Martinook continued. "As a competitor and as a hockey player, you want teams' best. You don't want anybody to take it easy on you. In the end, (facing their best) will help us in the long run."

Strapped in for an 84-game regular season, the Canes understand that there will be no off nights.

"Every team in the league is going to be ready for us. It's going to be a long year," Taylor Hall said. "When you think about the respect that other teams have for us around the league, it's going to be hard games every night. But we're looking forward to that."

Turn the page, remain unsatisfied, and do it all again.

"It's a new year, and we've got to put that behind us and in the past. Every night we're going to expect the other team's best," Stankoven closed. "We have a target on our back. That's just the way it's going to be all year, and we've got to step up to the plate."