Brady Tkachuk marvels at how the Carolina Hurricanes “give you no time and space.” He and the Ottawa Senators were swept by them last spring.
Jamie Drysdale called the 'Canes relentless, and teammate Trevor Zegras remembers wave after wave that “over a series, it wears you down.” The Philadelphia Flyers also got swept.
By the Eastern Conference Final, Cole Caufield figured, “They finally got to a point where they were kind of unbeatable.” He and the Montreal Canadiens won the series opener, then lost the next four.
Mitch Marner calls their style a “full-court press” where an opponent needs three good plays to get one good look at the goal. He and the Vegas Golden Knights led the Stanley Cup Final two games to one before losing three in a row and the series.
Carolina is the envy of the NHL after winning it all, but that does not mean other contenders can follow that blueprint. The NHL is a copycat league, but the Hurricanes play such a demanding brand of hockey under coach Rod Brind'Amour that it is nearly impossible to replicate without years of perfecting it and getting the mix of players just right.
“It takes time to get to that level,” said Tkachuk, who's now in place to challenge them with Cup-favorite Florida. “They play such a hard way and a tough way. ... You try different ways to beat them. But they’re just so good at what they do.”
The Hurricanes play with pressure
Brind'Amour was a grind-it-out center during his two-decade playing career in the NHL, so it's no surprise a guy nicknamed “Rod the Bod” with a reputation for an intense workout regimen expects a lot from everyone he coaches. Predictability is at the center of Carolina making the playoffs in all eight of his seasons in charge.
“We really haven't changed much: little tweaks here and there," top defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. “It’s not a pretty game. It’s just pucks out of your zone into their zone, and it’s just high stress and high compete level.”
It works. Since Brind'Amour took over in 2018, no team has won more games than the Hurricanes.
“They just they have the right guys there,” said Tampa Bay's Jake Guentzel, who played 28 games with them after getting traded to Carolina at the deadline in 2024. “Rod sets the standard at a high level, and you’ve got to buy into the system.”
That means being aggressive and pursuing the puck all over the ice. The idea is to force mistakes and capitalize on them.
“It’s all about the pressure,” said Pavel Dorofeyev, who’s now with the New York Rangers after losing to Carolina in the final with Vegas. “You’re always under the pressure, no matter where you are at in the D-zone, neutral zone, O-zone."
Why the Hurricanes' style is difficult
Guentzel said he enjoyed playing for the Hurricanes, but it's not for everyone. Martin Necas got traded to Colorado in January 2025 despite producing at over a point-a-game clip, and the centerpiece of their return, Mikko Rantanen, was dealt to Dallas five weeks later when it was clear he did not want to sign long term.
Marner and others compare the Hurricanes’ style to that of the Panthers, who beat them in the East final in 2023 and ’25. In ’24, Carolina outshot the Rangers 223-156 in the second round but its goaltenders faltered and Igor Shesterkin shined.
One reason it's not easy to copy? Washington's Tom Wilson pointed out, “A lot of times it’s hard for Carolina to play that style.”
“Maybe against Florida the years prior, they play a team that may be a little bit healthier — (the Panthers) didn’t need to play quite that hard,” Wilson said. “You kind of live and die by the sword.”
The title run last spring showed what happens when everything from the net out comes together.
“They did it the right way,” Caufield said. “Obviously, nobody really plays like them, and I think anybody in the league will say that. But the way they do it, it’s detailed. It’s a certain way, and if they don’t do that the right way I don’t think it goes their way.”
With most of the core back, Carolina looks to be the class of the Metropolitan Division and right there with Florida and Tampa Bay at the top of the East. But the Hurricanes, replicating their own success is a challenge in itself.
“Their toughness is their pressure, their skating,” Wilson said. "But, like, will they be able to repeat it all year again and go into the playoffs and go on another run? Good for them if they can.”
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This story has been updated to correct the game sequence in last year's Cup Final.
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
