Once a journeyman, Brandon Bussi backstops the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup championship

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Hours before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, Rod Brind'Amour praised Brandon Bussi while also expressing some measure of relief that the Carolina Hurricanes did not need to turn to their backup goaltender during this playoff run.

“Haven’t had to use him, (and) to be honest, I hope we don’t because something’s gone wrong,” Brind'Amour said.

Turns out the late-blooming goaltender came out of the bullpen after all and backstopped the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup.

“I thought they were really good tonight, Vegas," Hurricanes wing Jackson Blake said. “If it wasn't for Bus, there's no way we're winning that game.”

After Frederik Andersen was in net for every minute of the first three rounds and the start of the final, Bussi came in during Game 3 and finished out the series. He stopped 81 of the 87 shots he faced against Vegas as Andersen’s status was shrouded in mystery; the veteran from Denmark did not dress from Game 4 on because of a knee injury that was only revealed after the final was over.

“Freddie battled," Brind'Amour said. “He got a little nicked up, wasn’t 100%. I felt for him, but he got us here and then Bus took over. This is a team.”

Bussi and Andersen embraced after Game 6 ended Sunday night. Andersen, at 36 the second-oldest player on the team, was the first player captain and playoff MVP Jordan Staal handed the Cup to after getting it from Commissioner Gary Bettman.

“It’s disbelief, really," Andersen said. "I did not expect that. It really beat every emotion I could think of or what I’ve been feeling."

Bussi, a 27-year-old from Long Island, was not an unknown quantity for the Hurricanes because he played in nearly half their games this season, winning 31 of his 39 starts to help Carolina earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference. He got a three-year extension at a bargain-basement $5.7 million price in February.

Before the past several months, he was on track for the career of a journeyman.

Going undrafted, he spend several years in the Boston Bruins' farm system with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL and Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League. Liking what they saw, the astute back-to-back champion Florida Panthers signed him last summer to be their third goalie behind Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov.

Trying to get him to the AHL in Charlotte, the Panthers lost Bussi when Carolina claimed him off waivers. He and fiancée Mary Raclawski were 10 hours into a drive from from South Florida to North Carolina when his agent called to tell him the Hurricanes had claimed him.

“The next thing you know, the following day I’m in Raleigh and I’m on the opening night roster,” Bussi said. "It’s crazy.”

Injuries to Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov thrust him into an important role for a top contender.

Bussi was even more needed in the final. He entered at the second intermission in Game 3 with the Hurricanes down 4-0. He stopped all 18 shots to allow a stirring comeback, and the only goal he allowed was the Golden Knights' winner in double overtime when the puck took a bad bounce off the end boards behind him and Bussi inadvertently kicked it in.

In the Game 6 clincher, Bussi denied playoff-leading goal-scorer Brett Howden, who got in all alone in the first period. He stopped Tomas Hertl on a 2-on-1 rush in the second, much to the joy of family members watching from the stands. Then Bussi robbed Hertl and Mark Stone on quality scoring chances in the final few minutes of regulation.

“Their goalie gives them a really good opportunity in the second part of the series to give them the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup," Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said.

Hurricanes fans in Las Vegas chanted “Buss-i! Buss-i!” on the way to his third career shutout. A journeyman no more, Bussi is now a Stanley Cup champion. So is Andersen.

“This is something everyone dreams of," Andersen said. "You don’t really know what it feels like until you try it, and now we’re here.”

Whyno contributed from New York.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) blocks a shot by by Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) during Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series , Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Carolina Hurricanes left wing Mark Jankowski (77) and goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) celebrate after a win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)

Carolina Hurricanes celebrate goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) starting against Vegas Golden Knights during the first period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

The Carolina Hurricanes celebrates after a win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) stops a shot on goal during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) stops a shot on goal during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) stops a shot on goal during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)

The coach is the same. The system is the same. The core is the same.

That is nothing against Rod Brind'Amour, considered one of the best behind the bench in the NHL, or Jordan Staal, Jaccob Slavin, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, who have been the centerpiece of the Carolina Hurricanes making the playoffs year after year.

But the difference this year came from all the new talent general manager Eric Tulsky added over the past 17 months to get over the hump. It added up to the franchise winning the Stanley Cup for the second time and first since 2006.

Tulsky took a big swing by acquiring elite winger Mikko Rantanen from Colorado in January 2025 and also got veteran Taylor Hall from Chicago as part of the three-team blockbuster. When Rantanen didn't want to be part of Carolina's long-term future, Tulsky traded him to Dallas and received center Logan Stankoven and two first-round picks, one of which became part of getting defenseman K'Andre Miller on July 1.

Two days later, the Hurricanes won the bidding competition to sign top free agent Nikolaj Ehlers, the speedy winger who gave them just what they needed after seven consecutive postseason appearances without a trip to the final. Falling one goal short so many times in key situations, Ehlers, Stankoven, Hall and Miller put an end to the rite of spring of wondering where that would come from.

All of them fit in with Brind'Amour, who requires his players to commit to a demanding brand of hockey that isn't for everyone.

“We’ve really focused on finding people who fit the way we want to play,” Tulsky said. “We ask players to play a very distinctive style, and our scouts have done a great job finding players who can come in and look their best playing the way Rod needs them to play.”

Trading for Rantanen was a huge risk. It involved sending talented forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury to the Avalanche in a gamble that the big Finnish winger was the missing piece.

Rantanen had six points in 13 games with Carolina, and it became clear it was not a good fit. Discussions with Toronto involving Mitch Marner did not lead to him waiving his no-trade clause, and he instead wound up in Las Vegas and was key to the Golden Knights' run to the final.

Rather than letting the situation play out with the likelihood he would depart in free agency, Tulsky flipped Rantanen to Dallas for Stankoven and a pair of first-round picks. One went to the New York Rangers for Miller, whose presence shored up depth on the blue line.

“We never want to get worried about the what ifs,” Tulsky said. “That being said, sometimes it doesn’t go the way you hoped, and you’ve got to be ready to figure out how you’re going to move forward from there.”

Stankoven led the team with 11 goals during this dominant run of 16 victories in 19 games.

It was the same old story every time. The Hurricanes weren't just a great regular-season team that failed in the playoffs. They won at least one series in six of Brind'Amour's first seven years as coach, including three trips to the East final.

Tulsky, a former scientist who got into the sport by blogging about it as a fan and was promoted to succeed Don Waddell two years ago, didn't blow it up. But he didn't stand pat, either.

The changes — including claiming goaltender Brandon Bussi off waivers from back-to-back champion Florida just before opening night in October — worked out swimmingly. Playing in the NHL for the first time at 27, Bussi won 31 of 39 starts during the season, then stepped in during the final in place of Frederik Andersen and backstopped them the rest of the way, including a shutout in the Game 6 clincher Sunday night.

“We have the confidence in Bus,” Brind'Amour said. “He makes a ton of big saves. Even when there’s breakdowns, we trust him back there, gives us tons of confidence to play our game and just be aggressive all night.”

Aggressive is the Golden Knights' way, going after every big-name free agent or trade candidate, and it led to the Stanley Cup in 2023 and three runs to the final in their first nine years of existence. But Carolina has also become that team.

“Fundamentally, we want to be aggressive,” Tulsky said. “Rod has the team playing very aggressive on the ice. We want to be aggressive off the ice, too. And when you have a chance to add a really high-end player, we never want to miss out on it.”

Carolina did not miss on Ehlers, who turned out to be key and scored the empty-netter that sealed the title. Getting him, Stankoven, Hall, Miller and others also made longtime holdovers like Staal and grinding forward Jordan Martinook believe they could get the job done.

“When your team is trying to get better all the time, it’s something that you can get behind,” Martinook said. "Obviously, we took a run of Mikko, it didn’t work out, but look what we got from it. Stanks and Key, those are two of the pieces that we got from it. Hallsy was part of that, too. Those are three incredibly important pieces to our team. It just shows that they’re ready to take chances all the time."

AP Sports Writer Aaron Beard in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Carolina Hurricanes right wing Jackson Blake, second from right, celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) stops a shot on goal during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Carolina Hurricanes right wing Jackson Blake (53) is hugged by teammates after scoring during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)