After the Carolina Hurricanes clinched with a 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, Captain Jordan Staal handed the Stanley Cup to goalie Frederik Andersen—despite Andersen not playing in the last three games. The moment spotlighted how Andersen’s earlier run
When Carolina’s season tightened its grip. the biggest trophy on the ice didn’t go to the goalie making the loudest headlines. In the aftermath of the Hurricanes’ clinching 3-0 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights. Captain and playoff MVP Jordan Staal lifted the Stanley Cup and handed it to Frederik Andersen.
For Andersen, it was something he didn’t even see coming.
“I did not expect that,” Andersen told ABC.
There was a reason the gesture carried extra weight. Andersen didn’t play—or dress—in the last three games as Brandon Bussi started and delivered three consecutive wins. But the Hurricanes’ climb to the final wasn’t built only on this final push. Andersen played a central role in getting them there. going 12-1 in the first three rounds with a 1.44 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.
“He’s the reason we’re here,” Bussi told ABC. “He’s a workhouse. I only got 3 1/2 games. He obviously deserves more of the credit. He’s worked so hard for this and grinded so long.”
That credit mattered not just for what Andersen did on the ice, but for what he endured beyond it. In his fifth season in Carolina, Andersen clinched a trip to the final with a Game 5 win against the Montreal Canadiens soon after the death of Claude Lemieux, his longtime agent.
The final itself also tested both teams’ goaltending in a way fans didn’t necessarily see coming. Both Andersen and Vegas’ Carter Hart had a tougher time in the final than in earlier rounds. Bussi went into the net in Game 3 with the Hurricanes trailing 4-0, an eventual 5-4 double-overtime loss.
By the time Carolina sealed its spot, Andersen’s body wasn’t at full strength. Coach Rod Brind’Amour told ABC on Sunday that Andersen was “a little nicked up” and “not 100 percent.”
Still, Andersen sounded proud of what the team had produced—proud in a way that carried the memory of years of injuries.
“I so proud of the team we have here,” Andersen said. “It’s shown throughout many years, but this year specifically. There’s been so many guys stepping up at certain times and it just really shows how good of a team we’ve been.”
Bussi was one of those “guys.” After his emergence. the Hurricanes also leaned on a familiar lesson from earlier in their history: the team can survive different looks in goal. In their 2006 run. Cam Ward replaced Martin Gerber in the first round. and Bussi’s arrival to the league came later—after he picked up 31 wins at age 27 in 2025-26 when the Hurricanes gave him a chance at his first NHL action.
On the night Carolina clinched, the handoff from Staal didn’t just symbolize Andersen’s past work. It turned into a shared moment between teammates. Bussi hugged Andersen and also Brind’Amour after the clinching shutout win.
Bussi’s gratitude carried a clear personal note.
“He believed in me,” Bussi said of Brind’Amour. “He gave me that shot. I’ll always be forever grateful.”
The sequence on the ice was straightforward: a 3-0 win, a trip to the final, a Cup moment. But the story behind it moved in two directions at once—toward the starter who sealed the clincher. and toward the goalie who didn’t dress in the final stretch yet still held the thread of the postseason together.
Carolina Hurricanes Vegas Golden Knights Stanley Cup Frederik Andersen Jordan Staal Brandon Bussi Rod Brind'Amour NHL playoffs goalie
Wait so the cup went to the goalie who didn’t even play the last games? Kinda weird.
I saw the title and thought Andersen got injured or something. But apparently he was still a huge part earlier?? Idk it still feels off like, shouldn’t it be the one who actually started the final stretch.
Jordan Staal handing it off makes more sense than people are acting. Like sure Bussi finished strong, but Andersen was doing the heavy lifting earlier. Still, I don’t love the “didn’t play last three games” part… I guess the cup isn’t for headlines though.
This is why I don’t trust sports commentators half the time. It sounds like Andersen just sat there but then they’re saying he was the reason. Also the Claude Lemieux mention threw me—like was that the guy who got traded or something? Either way I’m glad they gave credit, just seems messy how it’s described.