How Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes were built

The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup for the second time in their history with a 3-0 win against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday.

They defeated the Ottawa Senators in the first round and Philadelphia Flyers in the second round, each in four games, before defeating the Montreal Canadiens in five games in the Eastern Conference Final to advance to the Cup Final.

Carolina won the Cup for the first time since they defeated the Edmonton Oilers in seven games in 2006, when current coach Rod Brind'Amour was captain.

Two players who skated at least one playoff game had won the Stanley Cup previously: captain Jordan Staal with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, and forward William Carrier with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023.

Of the 22 players to play at least one postseason game, eight were signed in free agency, seven were acquired via trade, six were selected by Carolina in the NHL Draft and one was claimed off waivers.

Here's how the roster of this Stanley Cup finalist was built, with background on the coaching staff and general manager:

FORWARDS

Sebastian Aho, C: Selected in the second round (No. 35) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Aho led the Hurricanes with 80 points (27 goals, 53 assists) in 79 regular-season games and had 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 19 playoff games. He has been an alternate captain since the 2021-22 season and is third in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history with 711 points (310 goals, 401 assists) in 756 regular-season games.

Jackson Blake, RW: Selected in the fourth round (No. 109) of the 2021 NHL Draft, Blake had an NHL career-high 53 points (22 goals, 31 assists) in 81 regular-season games and had 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 19 playoff games.

William Carrier, LW: Signed as a free agent on July 1, 2024, Carrier had 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 70 regular-season games and had four assists in 19 playoff games.

Nicolas Deslauriers, LW: Acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on March 6 for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, Deslauriers had one assist in seven regular-season games for the Hurricanes and did not have a point in one playoff game.

Nikolaj Ehlers, LW: Signed as a free agent on July 3, 2025, Ehlers had 71 points (26 goals, 45 assists) in 82 regular-season games and had 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 18 playoff games.

Taylor Hall, LW: Acquired with forward Mikko Rantanen in a three-team trade with the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 24, 2025 for a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, Hall had 48 points (18 goals, 30 assists) in 80 regular-season games and had 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 19 playoff games.

Mark Jankowski, LW: Acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators on March 7, 2025 for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, Jankowski had 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 68 regular-season games and had five points (one goal, four assists) in 19 playoff games.

Seth Jarvis, C: Selected with the No. 13 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Jarvis had 66 points (32 goals, 34 assists) in 71 regular-season games and had 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 19 playoff games.

Jordan Martinook, LW: Acquired in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on May 3, 2018 with a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft for forward Marcus Kruger and a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Martinook had 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) in 77 regular-season games and had five points (two goals, three assists) in 19 playoff games. He has been an alternate captain since the 2019-20 season.

Eric Robinson, LW: Signed as a free agent on July 1, 2024, Robinson had 18 points (12 goals, six assists) in 67 regular-season games and had eight points (three goals, five assists) in 19 playoff games.

Jordan Staal, C: Acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 22, 2012 with forward Brandon Sutter, defenseman Brian Dumoulin and a first-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, Staal had 36 points (20 goals, 16 assists) in 75 regular-season games and had 12 points (six goals, four assists) in 19 playoff games. Staal won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs. The longest-tenured player on the team, he has been captain since Sept. 29, 2019.

Logan Stankoven, C: Acquired in a trade with the Dallas Stars on March 7, 2025 with a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a third-round pick in 2026, a third-round pick in both the 2026 and 2027 NHL Drafts, as well as a conditional first-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft for forward Mikko Rantanen, Stankoven had 44 points (21 goals, 23 assists) in 81 regular-season games and had 16 points (11 goals, five assists) in 19 playoff games.

Andrei Svechnikov, RW: Selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Svechnikov had 70 points (31 goals, 39 assists) in 79 regular-season games and had 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 18 playoff games.

DEFENSEMEN

Jalen Chatfield: Signed as a free agent on July 30, 2021, Chatfield had 19 points (two goals, 15 assists) in 72 regular-season games and had eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 18 playoff games.

Shayne Gostisbehere: Signed as a free agent on July 1, 2024, Gostisbehere had 50 points (13 goals, 37 assists) in 55 regular-season games and had 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 19 playoff games.

K'Andre Miller: Acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers on July 1, 2025 for defenseman Scott Morrow, a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 or 2027 NHL Draft, Miller had 37 points (eight goals, 29 assists) in 72 regular-season games and had nine assists in 19 playoff games.

Alexander Nikishin: Selected in the third round (No. 69) of the 2020 NHL Draft, Nikishin had 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) in 81 regular-season games and had one assist in 17 playoff games.

Mike Reilly: Signed as a free agent on July 1, 2025, Reilly had nine points (one goal, eight assists) in 42 regular-season games and had two assists in two playoff games.

Jaccob Slavin: Selected in the fourth round (No. 120) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Slavin had eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 39 regular-season games and had five assists in 19 playoff games. He has been an alternate captain since the 2019-20 season.

Sean Walker: Signed as a free agent on July 1, 2024, Walker had 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists) in 81 regular-season games and had  three assists in 19 playoff games.

GOALIES

Frederik Andersen: Signed as a free agent on July 28, 2021, Andersen was 16-14-5 with a 3.05 goals-against average and .874 save percentage in 35 regular-season games. He was 13-2 with a 1.60 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 16 playoff games.

Brandon Bussi: Claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers on Oct. 5, 2025, Bussi was 31-6-2 with a 2.47 GAA, .895 save percentage and two shutouts in 39 regular-season games, and finished tied for fourth in the NHL in wins. He did not play until the Stanley Cup Final, when he went 3-1 with a 2.18 GAA and a .931 save percentage in four playoff games.

COACHING STAFF

Rod Brind'Amour, coach: Hired on May 8, 2018, Brind'Amour joined the organization after retiring from the NHL in 2010. He worked for them in player development from 2010-12 and was an assistant with Carolina from 2011-18. Brind'Amour has led the Hurricanes to the playoffs in each of his eight seasons as coach and won the Jack Adams Award, having being voted the NHL's coach of the year, for the 2020-21 season. He is second in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history in coaching wins (378), six behind Paul Maurice, and spent 10 of his 21 NHL seasons with the Hurricanes and was captain when they won the Stanley Cup in 2006.

Jeff Daniels, assistant: Named as an assistant coach on June 11, 2018, Daniels has spent 28 seasons on the staff. He was previously an assistant for the Hurricanes from 2003-08, including serving on the Stanley Cup-winning 2006 staff. He has also worked in scouting (2015-18), as well as coach of Carolina's former American Hockey League affiliates in Charlotte and Albany from 2008-15. Daniels has served in his second stint an assistant coach since Brind'Amour was hired. He played 12 NHL seasons, including five with the Hurricanes from 1997-2003.

Tim Gleason, assistant: Named an assistant on Sept. 2, 2021, Gleason has been in the role for five seasons after serving as defensemen development coach from 2018-21. He spent nine seasons with the Hurricanes from 2006-15.

Paul Schonfelder, goaltending coach: Named goalie coach prior to the 2020-21 season Schonfelder has been in the role for six seasons after serving as goaltending consultant for two seasons for the Hurricanes' minor-league system.

GENERAL MANAGER

Eric Tulsky: Named general manager on June 18, 2024, Tulsky has been in the Hurricanes' organization for 12 seasons, spending time as a consultant and in analytics from 2014-20, before he was named assistant GM in 2020.