How The Carolina Hurricanes Can Author A Historic Stanley Cup Title Defense

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn ImagesStephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn ImagesSep 29, 2026 8:37 PMPublished Sep 29, 2026 8:37 PMThe Carolina Hurricanes had a dominant run to its second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. Most of the group is back for another run, but what does GM Eric Tulsky have to do maintain his team's status as a Cup threat?As NHL fans understand, winning a Stanley Cup is difficult to achieve, and winning back-to-back Cups feels impossible. In the past decade, three teams – the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers – have managed to win consecutive championships. If you can stay healthy, have a bit of puck luck on your side and build the right group, it's possible to run the table two straight years.This brings us to the current defending champions, the Carolina Hurricanes. Considering that they are essentially bringing back the same group of players, it's safe to assume they'll be competing for top spot in the Metropolitan Division once again before positioning themselves for another deep playoff run.But how the Canes get there, under the guidance of GM Eric Tulsky, will be intriguing to follow.Tulsky locked up goalie Pyotr Kochetkov to a two-year contract extension last week, and in combination with Brandon Bussi, the Hurricanes now have their netminding tandem signed through the 2028-29 campaign. That's just enough term to keep both of them feeling secure, but not long enough that Tulsky would worry about ever regretting. That's a great move, but he's going to face some sort of adversity during the season, and that's why his expert salary cap management is going to help him adapt to in-season issues.With $8.4 million in cap space, Tulsky has the flexibility to deal with whenever a problem bubbles to the surface. The Hurricanes were relatively fortunate last season when it came to injuries, so if that luck changes for the worse, Tulsky will have to funnel money toward a high-quality replacement for someone sidelined by the injury bug. For example: Could Carolina's decision to cut ties with veteran goalie Frederik Andersen be a factor in their success this year? Goalie depth is important, but Andersen buckled near the end of the Hurricanes' Cup run, and Bussi replaced him as the starter. You can understand why Tulsky went in a different direction, but there's still a potential hole there if Kochetkov or Bussi end up sidelined.The other factor — the last bit of business for Tulsky right now — is RFA defenseman Alexander Nikishin. The 24-year-old posted 22 assists and 33 points in 81 games while logging an average of 18:11 of ice time in the regular season. However, Nikishin's usage in the playoffs changed dramatically, playing under 12 minutes in two of their last three Final games. Head coach Rod Brind'Amour clearly leaned on his veterans when the games mattered most, and that’s probably at least one of the reasons why Nikishin has requested a trade. There should be no shortage of interest in Nikishin’s services, but Tulsky is under no real pressure to yield to his demands. The Canes have the leverage right now, and Tulsky is using it.That said, there's still lots to like about the Hurricanes. With Brind'Amour, they’re coached by a perennial Jack Adams Award candidate, and they're as fast and slick as any team in the league. Although, the Metro is going to be more competitive this season. While Carolina is still a heavy favorite to do serious playoff damage, they may not be quite as dominant as they were last season.Like every other team that has won back-to-back championships, it would still take a minor miracle for the stars to align for Carolina. That doesn't mean it can't happen, it just means the road will be much harder than the first time.For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.