The Carolina Hurricanes avoided the dreaded sweep. It was the first time they had won a game in the third round since they won the Stanley Cup back in 2006. When they made the Eastern Conference Final in 2009, 2019, and 2023, they were dispatched by teams far more complete than themselves. Coming into this series, they were 0-12 since winning the Cup, but a Game 4 shutout from Frederik Andersen on May 26 slammed the door shut on the past and changed things.
Some in the media have been reveling in the Hurricanes’ Round 3 shortcomings, suggesting that this core was unable to get over the hump in the third round. They were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who went on to win the Cup in 2009. They were swept by the Boston Bruins, who lost in Game 7 in the Final in 2019. Finally, they were swept by the Florida Panthers two seasons ago, but they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights. It’s unfair to lump all of these together, given the difference in timing.
The 2009 Hurricanes Team
We’re going back 16 seasons to start this, where the Hurricanes had two members of their coaching staff playing. Both Rod Brind’Amour and Tim Gleason were playing in that series. However, this wasn’t a team that should have gotten this far. They just kept playing games and wandered into the final four with a roster that should not have been anywhere near the playoffs. It took Cam Ward posting a .916 save percentage and coming seventh in Vezina Trophy voting for that roster to make it.
When they got into the playoffs, they began against the New Jersey Devils. However, the Hurricanes needed two miracles in that series to get through Round 1. In Game 4, Jussi Jokinen scored with 0.2 seconds remaining in the game to win it and tie the series, going back to New Jersey. Then, the Hurricanes needed two late goals in the final three minutes of Game 7 to get over the line and win. The Shock at the Rock was the second miracle required to get out of Round 1.
Then, they ventured into the Bruins series. They lost Game 1 to the Bruins but won three straight after to take command of the series, but required an overtime winner in Game 7 to beat Boston. When they got to the Penguins in Round 3, they were tired after going to war twice, and Evgeni Malkin devoured the remains of the sixth seed in the East. It wasn’t a match at that point, and the Penguins went on to a rematch with the Detroit Red Wings and won Sidney Crosby’s first Stanley Cup. Peter Laviolette’s Canes just weren’t talented enough. That’s fine, and it’s nothing against the current roster. The only Canes player to play in that Pittsburgh series was Jordan Staal, and he was a Penguin.
The 2008-09 Hurricanes were good, but they had too many holes. They should have been a one-and-done roster, but managed to make it to the Eastern Conference Final. That’s not a criticism of the players on that team; many great depth pieces went on to have significant success elsewhere. However, that roster suffered from the same issues as the current one. There wasn’t enough high-end talent to sustain a deep postseason push. They came up short when they ran into that buzz saw from Pittsburgh, and they couldn’t contain the Penguins’ top guys.
The 2019 Hurricanes Roster
Seven seasons ago, the Canes enjoyed a renaissance. After nine campaigns without a playoff berth, the Hurricanes changed everything. Rookie head coach Brind’Amour was trying to bring the team back to the promised land. They had moved a promising young Finnish player from the wing to center to try and fix the gap they had there. Sebastian Aho led them well, as he had 83 points as the Canes locked up the first wild-card spot. The first season of the “Modern Hurricanes” saw them get back to the dance.
In Round 1, they took on the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals. That was a back-and-forth series that took the Canes to Game 7, and a double-overtime winner was required. They then went on to sweep the New York Islanders in Round 2 before being dispatched in Round 3 by the Bruins, but this was the birth of a young and promising team. Andrei Svechnikov was just 18; there were a lot of holes in the forward core, and changes were coming to Carolina.
In 2019, the Hurricanes were a fresh, inexperienced, and very young team. Carolina did very well to get as far as it did, but the top-end talent of the Bruins made them a brick wall the Hurricanes couldn’t match. Despite the best efforts of guys like Aho, it wasn’t enough. However, the Canes had smashed through their glass ceiling. They made the postseason this year for the first time in ten seasons. They were going to be a postseason team for the foreseeable future.
The 2023 Hurricanes
In 2023, the Hurricanes limped into the playoffs. Svechnikov had torn his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and was out for the year. Max Pacioretty had torn his Achilles tendon for the second time that season and was done for the year. However, they ventured into Round 1 anyway. In that series against the Islanders, Teuvo Teravainen had his hand broken, and Jack Drury was concussed. It led to a game where MacKenzie MacEachern was on the top line and scoring goals. Andersen missed the first five games of the series. They were decimated by injury. Everyone has injuries in the playoffs, but to lose 25% of the roster is extreme.
However, the Hurricanes dispatched the Islanders in six games and the Devils in five games to set up their previous meeting with the Panthers. Even with all the injuries the Hurricanes had, they forced four one-goal games. Every game was competitive, with Game 1 going to four overtimes, Game 2 going to overtime, and Game 4 requiring a Matthew Tkachuk winner with just seconds left in the series. Carolina was a few healthy guys away from being a threat in that series.
In the 2023 Playoffs, there was more of an understanding because of all the absences. Carolina’s walking wounded did well to make the Eastern Conference Final. That was a run made possible by the herculean effort of Aho and the series where Jordan Martinook turned into the second coming of Wayne Gretzky for five games. Ultimately, they couldn’t answer Tkachuk, and it cost them the Eastern Conference Final. They had a shot to go deeper, but it wasn’t meant to be.
The Original 2025 Narrative
The Hurricanes lost the first three games again this season, going 0-3 in the Eastern Conference Final. An Andersen shutout in Game 4 changed that, as the Hurricanes won an Eastern Conference Final game for the first time in 19 seasons. However, the talking heads had begun to raise concerns about the club. Some suggested that the Hurricanes should tear the framework down and start again due to their inability to win a game in Round 3. That began to fade with the Game 4 win, despite the defeat in Game 5 to end the Hurricanes’ campaign.
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Many wondered about the fate of Brind’Amour, but that was never a question. His job was always safe, and he has openly said he would like to be a Hurricane for life. He’s never missed the postseason, he’s never lost in the first possible series in the postseason, and he manages to extract the maximum out of depth players. While there is an argument that he damages some offensive talents in terms of his system, he gets the best out of what he can with depth.
The Optimistic View
Carolina lost Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, Dylan Coghlan, Stefan Noesen, Tony DeAngelo, Teuvo Teravainen, and Jake Guentzel to free agency last offseason. They then swung for the fences, trading Martin Necas and Jack Drury for Mikko Rantanen. Rantanen then refused to sign an extension in Carolina, so the Hurricanes had to flip him to the Dallas Stars. They got back two first-round picks and two third-round picks, along with Logan Stankoven. They lost the bulk of their core and then had to sell at the deadline.
Even with the departures, the Hurricanes won nine playoff games. They’ve never won more under Brind’Amour. They now have a set roster filled with young talent, enough cap space to go after anyone they want in free agency, and assets to trade for almost anyone. General manager Eric Tulsky has his first whole summer to make his mark on the roster left for him by Don Waddell. This Canes team, in a retooling season, got further than any team since they won the Stanley Cup in 2006. That should be the message taken away from the 2024-25 iteration of the Hurricanes. The future in Raleigh is very bright.
The 2024-25 Hurricanes had a cast of young players. Players such as Jackson Blake, Logan Stankoven, Alexander Nikishin, and Scott Morrow came through. They replaced their departing depth with cheaper alternatives, all of which performed above and beyond the level expected of them. They have emerged to replace the losses. In a year that was supposed to see the Hurricanes take a step back, they roared forward. P.K. Subban ranked this as the worst team in the East coming into the playoffs, and he wasn’t alone. Carolina sold Rantanen at the trade deadline and won as many games in the playoffs as he did in Dallas.
All in all, the 2024-25 Hurricanes are not the same as previous iterations. The 2009 and 2019 teams were two instances where the team had to shatter the glass ceiling. In 2023, they were injured beyond recognition. This year, they were expected to take a step back, but they received performances from their young players that helped solidify them as a force in the Metropolitan Division. They laid the framework for Tulsky to build on. With almost $30 million in cap space, six first-round picks in the next four years, and a long summer ahead, they’re going to be a team to watch going into next season.
