Winners and Losers of the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Final
The greatest trophy in sports has been awarded for the 2025-26 campaign.
The Carolina Hurricanes ran through the entire Eastern Conference and outlasted a gritty Vegas Golden Knights squad for their second Stanley Cup in franchise history with a 3-0 Game 6 in Sin City.
We know that the Canes are the big winners and the Golden Knights are the hard-luck losers. But wait ... there's more to it.
Winner: Making a Big, Bold Decision
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Brandon Bussi's insertion into the Stanley Cup Final back in Game 3 completely turned the series.
After being the No. 1 goalie for a significant portion of the regular season, the preseason waiver pick-up steadied a volatile goalie situation with Frederik Andersen previously in goal.
It would have been easy for Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour to stick with Andersen, a veteran who's played in plenty of big games for Carolina. But Brind'Amour made the hard decision and rolled the dice on Bussi, who repaid the faith with three straight wins to win the Cup.
To top it all off, what about a Game 6 22-save shutout to close it out? It's the first road shutout to clinch the cup since 2017.
Not bad for a guy working at Chipotle in 2020.
Loser: Carter Hart
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Over to the other net, where Vegas' Cart Hart struggled mightily in the Cup Final.
After a thoroughly dominant run during the Western Conference playoffs, Hart fell off hard in the Final, surrendering 22 goals and tying a record set by Ron Hextall back in 1987.
Adin Hill, who guided the Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup in 2023, suited up as the backup but was never trusted to be used by coach John Tortorella. In a series where the slightest mistakes were pounced upon, that could have been the difference.
Winner: Scoring By Committee
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A cynic about the Carolina Hurricanes would claim that the team in the past lacked a true superstar in the biggest moments to get them over the hump.
During this postseason, it didn't matter.
In a series where the top line of Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho, and Andrei Svechnikov was held down, it was the Canes' other three lines that carried the scoring against Vegas.
And it was the captain who set the example.
Jordan Staal scored in the first five games of the series. Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake tallied in Game 6. Logan Stankoven was a huge contributor throughout the postseason. And Nikolaj Ehlers proved to be a savvy free-agent signing, with 8 goals in the postseason and 4 in the Final.
It's hard to defend against four lines for 60 minutes, bringing relentless pressure and shooting from all angles.
Losers: Mitch Marner Critics
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You know those criticisms about Marner being a playoff choker in Toronto?
You can put them to rest.
Sure, Vegas didn't win it all. But you can't blame Marner, who carried Vegas throughout the postseason in all facets.
His stats were Conn Smythe-worthy -- 29 points in 22 postseason games -- and he looked like a completely different player than the one under the microscope in years past in Toronto.
It might be a disappointing result for the Golden Knights now, but Marner will get more opportunities in the years to come with them.
Winners: Fancy Stat Truthers
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Hey, maybe there's something to this analytics thing.
The Carolina Hurricanes have been analytics darlings for years under Rod Brind'Amour and have been derided by hockey purists during that stretch. Indeed, they led the NHL in Corsi again, but it has never translated to a Cup. And after all, you can't use advanced stats to win in a sport like hockey where heart, grit, and determination matter most, right?
Well, apparently, you can.
In a sport where the old boys' club of front-office management features a slew of former players, the Canes have Eric Tulskyk as general manager, who holds a PhD in chemistry.
Take nothing away from the man who built the system that won the Cup in Brind'Amour, a hockey man if there ever was one. But it was Tulsky -- and his predecessor, Don Waddell -- who provided the necessary pieces to the coach to get them to the promised land.
Perhaps this might change the thinking around the NHL for prospective general managers who might not take the usual trek into the league.
