Brandon Bussi Stole the Crease — and the Hurricanes Finally Have Their Cup

The Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions for the first time since 2006, and the road to the title went through an unexpected mask switch.

Brandon Bussi, a 26-year-old who began the postseason as the third-string goaltender, closed out the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 with a shutout at T-Mobile Arena. He took over for starter Frederik Andersen midway through Game 3 and never looked back. The Hurricanes lost just three games all postseason — the fewest by any Cup winner since Wayne Gretzky’s 1988 Oilers.

But when captain Jordan Staal accepted the Stanley Cup from Commissioner Gary Bettman, he didn’t hand it to Bussi first. He gave it to Andersen. That moment — the veteran netminder getting the first touch — tells you everything about how this locker room views its goaltending tandem.

Frederik Andersen and the strange path to his first Cup

Andersen was originally drafted by Carolina in 2010 — 187th overall — but couldn’t agree on a contract and re-entered the draft two years later. Anaheim took him, Toronto traded for him, and he spent years as a reliable but ringless NHL starter. He returned to Carolina before the 2021-22 season and signed extensions to stay.

Now he’s a champion. And the moment has left him searching for words.

“I’ve still got to figure out if I’m dreaming or not,” Andersen told Chris Johnston after the game, via X.

His career numbers — 324-149-58, 2.58 GAA, .913 save percentage, 28 shutouts — have long suggested he could win it all. But until now, the Cup had always been just out of reach. Bussi’s emergence made this run possible, but the franchise made sure Andersen’s name would get etched into the Stanley Cup right alongside his teammate.

What this means for Carolina’s future

The Hurricanes have built one of the deepest rosters in hockey, and this title only strengthens their case as a model franchise. They’ve drafted well, developed internally, and managed goaltending by committee without fracturing the room. That’s harder than it sounds — Bussi could have demanded the net after his Game 3 heroics, but the team handled the transition with the kind of clarity that wins championships.

For Andersen, the journey came full circle. A player who couldn’t sign with the team that drafted him became the first Hurricane to hoist hockey’s holy grail. If that sounds like something out of a screenplay, well, the goaltender himself can’t tell the difference.