Peter Koutroumpis (@pksport)
LAS VEGAS, NV – The Carolina Hurricanes became the 2026 Stanley Cup champions, following a 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final series played at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday.
The Hurricanes capped off their run through the 2026 NHL playoffs with a 16-3 record, led by captain Jordan Staal who was voted the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, as the most valuable player in the playoffs.
Fueled by goals from Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake, and Nikolaj Ehlers and a 22-save shutout performance from goaltender Brandon Bussi, the Hurricanes won the Final series 4-2 overall – raising The Cup for the second time in franchise history, twenty years after winning the first.
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour became the fourth individual in NHL history to captain a Stanley Cup winner (2006) and then lead that club to a championship as head coach.
Notables: Staal became the oldest Conn Smythe Trophy winner and claimed the first individual award of his 20-season NHL career. Staal completed 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 also became the first player in NHL history to go 17 years from one Stanley Cup to the next, adding to a championship he won with the 2009 Penguins…Bussi, who closed out the championship series with a shutout and a 3-1 record through four appearances (1.60 GAA, .931 SV%, 1 SO), became the first goaltender since 1975 (when the Preliminary Round was introduced) with a title-clinching win after not appearing in any of the previous three rounds. Bussi was also the second netminder in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1968) and eighth in League history with a Cup clincher after not starting during Game 1 of the Final.
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