:PROFILE [image:https://cdn.slatesource.com/4/2/9/429c5ee9-1b11-47c8-bbd4-a09d03eb3236.webp] Jordan Staal Captain, Carolina Hurricanes The oldest Conn Smythe winner in NHL history. At 37 years old, Jordan Staal led the 2026 playoffs wi :STATS :JOURNEY Road to the Cup 1 Sweep 2 Sweep 3 Five games 4 Hurricanes win 4-2 :NOTE The Bussi effect. Brandon Bussi entered the 2025-26 season as a waiver-wire claim, the kind of move that appears in a footnote. By June 14 he was a Stanley Cup champion. His numbers after taking over the starting role: 13 wins, 3 losses, a 1.60 GAA, and a save percentage of .931. Rod Brindamour called it the best goaltending he has ever had in a playoff run, including 2006. :NOTE The Staal record. Jordan Staal is the first player in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup with two different franchises 17 years apart. He won with Pittsburgh in 2009 and with Carolina in 2026. Chris Chelios held the previous record at 16 years and 20 days. Staal also became the oldest Conn Smythe winner ever, at 37 years and 277 days, surpassing Tim Thomas of Boston (37 years and 61 days) from 2011. :QUOTE [quotetype:plain, subtitle:Jordan Staal] Twenty years in this league and I have never been part of anything like this group. I told these guys from day one: trust the system, trust each other. They did. This is for Raleigh. :NOTE.half [icon:SHIELD] Brindamour's Historic Double Rod Brindamour captained Carolina to the 2006 Cup as a player and then coached the Hurricanes to the 2026 title. He is only the seventh person in NHL history to lift the Cup as both a player and a head coach for the same team, and the first to do so since 1956. He waited 15 seasons wearing a suit on the bench. | :NOTE.half [icon:CHART] Stankoven Breakout Logan Stankoven, the centrepiece of the trade that sent Jamie Benn to Dallas, led all 2026 playoff scorers with 11 goals in 19 games. The 23-year-old centre formed the most dangerous line of the tournament alongside Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake. His 6 goals in the first two rounds set the tone for the entire run. :LINK https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/carolina-hurricanes-win-2026-stanley-cup-final Carolina Hurricanes official: 2026 Stanley Cup champions :LINK https://www.nhl.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-jordan-staal-wins-2026-conn-smythe-trophy-playoffs-mvp NHL.com: Jordan Staal wins the 2026 Conn Smythe Trophy