Is there a dynasty in the Carolina Hurricanes' future?
Maybe yes, maybe no.
There are the mixed reactions in random polling of hockey people who have experience in Stanley Cup Playoff competition.
"The Hurricanes will be a handful again next season," Ottawa Senators coach Travis Green said in an email about two months after the Senators were swept by the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference First Round. "The Canes are for real -- for sure."
Neil Smith, general manager of the 1994 Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers, said, "To become 'dynastic,' a team must have several superstars, or at least one."
Even with a championship roster, the Hurricanes do not have a Connor McDavid or a Nathan MacKinnon. Their core does include Jaccob Slavin, Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis, further embellished with the additions of Nikolaj Ehlers and K'Andre Miller.
Although Bobby Holik, a two-time Cup champion with the New Jersey Devils (1995, 2000) said "it's too soon to talk dynasty for Carolina," Eric Zweig, author of "The Toronto Maple Leafs: The Complete Oral History" said in an email that the Hurricanes are "a team without top stars, but a team that well resembles their coach, Rod Brind'Amour."
The Maple Leafs became the first to win the Stanley Cup in three consecutive seasons (1947, 1948, 1949) before winning again in 1951. Remarkably, no skater was named to the NHL First or Second All-Star Team in 1946-47 or 1948-49.
"We won," said Conn Smythe, owner of those Maple Leafs championship teams. "First because of Hap Day's coaching; second because of our veterans of past championship teams, and third the play of the kids who wanted to be champions."
The only Maple Leafs All-Star in that dynastic period was goalie Walter "Turk" Broda in 1947-48. Broda was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1967, 20 years after the first of Toronto's three consecutive Cup victories.
Unlike the Maple Leafs, who leaned on Broda, the Hurricanes required help from an undrafted goalie named Brandon Bussi, who stopped 81 of 87 shots after replacing Frederik Andersen in Game 3. Bussi went 3-1 with a 1.60 goals-against average and .931 save percentage, including 22 saves in the Cup-clinching 3-0 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6. Whether he's capable of carrying them long term will remain a moot point until next season.
The Hurricanes of today and the Maple Leafs of the late 1940s were similar in leadership, Carolina captain and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jordan Staal a latter-day version of Syl Apps, Toronto's captain and role model who at age 32 was considering retirement when the Maple Leafs won the Cup in 1947.
"Syl was invaluable," Day said.
The turning point of the 1947 Stanley Cup Final was Apps' goal in Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens.
"The 1-1 game went into overtime," remembered historian Kevin Shea, author of "The Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club: Official Centennial Publication."
"Finally at 16:36 of sudden death, Apps cradled the puck behind the Montreal goal and, on a wraparound, tucked it between the legs of goalie Bill Durnan."
The Maple Leafs upset the defending champion Canadiens in six games.
Staal's goal at 6:32 of the third period in Game 4, a 5-3 win that tied the best-of-7 series 2-2, was a turning point. Bussi made 18 saves in his first NHL playoff start and the Hurricanes never lost again.
Staal had 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 19 playoff games. At 37 years and 227 days, he's the oldest to be voted MVP of the postseason.
"Jordan was a beast," Carolina forward Taylor Hall said. "He scored in all our games. He didn't take penalties, didn't get rattled, never yelled at the guys or at the referees."
Leading thousands of celebrants in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday, Staal and his teammates were more focused on the current euphoria than thoughts about a second consecutive championship or a potential dynasty.
"I know from experience that winning two in a row is a challenge," Holik said. "Next season the Canes could lose the edge, lose the same drive and fail because of fatigue. Every team will be playing harder against them because they're champs.
"A dynasty is a long shot. A very long shot."
