NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Final

In their eighth straight postseason appearance and five days short of the 20-year anniversary of the franchise’s first championship, Jordan Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes capped an historic Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights by becoming champions once again – ending a series of long waits for a title and capping one of the most dominant playoff runs in League history. Staal, who became the first player in NHL history to go 17 years from one Cup to the next, was voted as the 2026 Conn Smythe Trophy winner after his record-setting Final, becoming the oldest to win the award and claiming the first individual honor of his 20-season NHL career.

Hurricanes Blank Golden Knights for Second Stanley Cup

The players that propelled Carolina through each of its first three series-clinching games this year showed up again during their first opportunity to clinch the Stanley Cup as Taylor Hall (1-0—1), Jackson Blake (1-1—2) and Logan Stankoven (0-1—1) all collected a point to go along with a 22-save shutout by Brandon Bussi and another dominant face-off performance by captain Jordan Staal (64.0%; 14-8) to secure their second championship 20 years after their first. The Hurricanes became the first team since the 2018 Washington Capitals to go 4-0 when they had a chance to clinch a series, with the combination of Hall (3-6—9), Blake (4-3—7) and Stankoven (3-3—6) totaling 22 points in those four contests.

The Tale of Two Paths to the Stanley Cup

Two of Carolina’s key performers in Game 6 took drastically different paths to lifting the Stanley Cup for the first time. Taylor Hall, who netted the Cup-clinching goal, became the second player in League history to go first overall in the NHL Draft (No. 1 in 2010) and then play at least 1,000 total games before winning his first Cup, following Alex Ovechkin – who also won his in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Brandon Bussi – playing in just his 43rd career NHL game – secured the ninth Stanley Cup-clinching shutout in the past 50 years and became the second undrafted goaltender ever to post a shutout to win the Cup (after Bernie Parent with the Philadelphia Flyers in both 1974 and 1975).

Staal Becomes Oldest to Win Conn Smythe Trophy

Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal was named the 2026 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, capping a postseason in which he tied the NHL record for longest goal streak in a Stanley Cup Final (5 GP) and became the first player in 70 years to score in each of the first five games of the Final. Staal (8-4—12 in 19 GP) collected more than half of his playoff point total during the Final, posting 6-1—7 (6 GP) to set a franchise record for goals in any series and equal the League benchmark for goals by a player age 37 or older in a single Final. Staal, the longest-tenured player in team history, posted the highest face-off percentage on record in the Final (68.0%) and at age 37 became the oldest Conn Smythe Trophy winner. It was the first individual award of his 20-season NHL career, tied for the longest wait in NHL history for a player to win his first individual award (Doug Weight: 2010-11 King Clancy Trophy).

Wire-to-Wire Stanley Cup Champions

In a playoff spot the entire season, coached by the captain of their last championship team, backed by an undrafted first-year netminder, anchored by a gold medal-winning American blueliner, supported by a No. 1 pick – the list of storylines is long for the 2026 Stanley Cup champions. Carolina lost only three games in the entire postseason – the second fewest under this format – and Jaccob Slavin was key to that, becoming the second American to win both an Olympic gold medal and Stanley Cup in the same season (Ken Morrow of the “Miracle On Ice” team and 1980 New York Islanders). Head coach Rod Brind'Amour has been part of all but two playoff wins in Hurricanes history and achieved a feat last done 70 years ago.