Rod Brind'Amour helped the Carolina Hurricanes win the only Stanley Cup championship in franchise history while serving as team captain in 2006. He guided the club to the Eastern Conference Final three times in his first seven years as its head coach but was unable to get them any further.
The 2021 Jack Adams Award winner, Brind'Amour is now four victories away from accomplishing a rare feat in the NHL.
Brind'Amour hopes to become the seventh person in league history to win the championship as both a player and head coach with the same franchise as his Hurricanes take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2026 Stanley Cup Final. The series begins Tuesday at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. The Hurricanes are in the Cup final for the third time overall and first since lifting Lord Stanley's Cup in 2006, while the Golden Knights are making the third appearance of their nine-season existence and first since winning the trophy in 2023.
Fans who want to wager on the 2026 Stanley Cup Final need to see the latest BetMGM promo code.
The 55-year-old Brind'Amour can join Lester Patrick (New York Rangers), Frank Boucher (Rangers), Cooney Weiland (Boston Bruins), Hap Day (Toronto Maple Leafs), Joe Primeau (Maple Leafs) and Toe Blake (Montreal Canadiens) as the only individuals to win the Stanley Cup as both a player and head coach with the same organization. Blake was the last to accomplish the feat in 1956, when he won the first of his eight championships while behind Montreal's bench.
Carolina has cruised to the final with a 12-1 record this postseason as it swept the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in the first two rounds before knocking off the Canadiens in five games in the conference final. The Hurricanes are the first team to enter the final with fewer than two losses since all four playoff rounds became best-of-seven series in 1987.
The line of Taylor Hall (16 points), Jackson Blake (15) and Logan Stankoven (nine goals, 12 points) has carried Carolina offensively, while Frederik Andersen has been excellent in the crease and is a top candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy. The 36-year-old Danish goaltender leads the NHL in goals-against average (1.41) and shutouts (three) in the postseason while ranking third in save percentage (.931).
Vegas defeated both the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks in six games before pulling off a huge upset by sweeping the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference final. The Golden Knights have gone 19-4-1 overall since John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy as head coach in late March and won 11 of 13 games since being down 2-1 against Utah in the opening round of the playoffs.
Mitchell Marner leads all players with 21 points this postseason and Jack Eichel is second with 18, including a league-high 16 assists. Meanwhile, Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden are tied for first with 10 goals apiece and Carter Hart is fourth in save percentage (.924).
Eleven players on Vegas' current roster were members of the 2023 championship team -- including Howden, who is tied with Stankoven with a league-high three game-winning goals. Dorofeyev and defenseman Kaedan Korczak saw some action with the Golden Knights during the 2022-23 regular season but did not appear in the postseason and don't have their names on the Cup.
The Hurricanes and Golden Knights are meeting in the playoffs for the first time. Vegas won both encounters during the 2025-26 season, defeating Carolina 4-1 at home on Oct. 20 and 6-3 on the road eight days later. Eichel scored three goals and set up another over those two games, Dorofeyev also netted three tallies, Ivan Barbashev recorded a goal and three assists and Marner notched four assists. Sebastian Aho led the Hurricanes with two points (one goal, one assist) while Andersen struggled in net, allowing eight goals on 59 shots en route to two losses.
Use the latest DraftKings promo code to wager on NHL postseason games.
The NHL betting odds at the major sportsbooks see the Hurricanes as the favorites in the Stanley Cup Final, with futures betting odds in the -150 to -155 range. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are priced from +125 to +130. Most of the top betting sites have Carolina winning in seven games as the favored outcome with odds from +375 to +425. Learn how to read betting odds here.
STANLEY CUP FINAL WINNER
TEAM
DRAFTKINGS
FANDUEL
CAESARS
BETMGM
Carolina Hurricanes
-155
-154
-150
-150
Vegas Golden Knights
+130
+128
+125
+125
STANLEY CUP FINAL OUTCOME
DRAFTKINGS
FANDUEL
CAESARS
BETMGM
Hurricanes in 4
+1000
+1000
+1000
+1100
Hurricanes in 5
+450
+460
+450
+450
Hurricanes in 6
+450
+430
+390
+450
Hurricanes in 7
+425
+400
+375
+390
Golden Knights in 4
+1900
+1800
+1800
+1900
Golden Knights in 5
+900
+850
+760
+900
Golden Knights in 6
+550
+500
+480
+500
Golden Knights in 7
+550
+500
+525
+575
Pick: Golden Knights in 6 (+550, DraftKings)
While my heart wants to pick the Hurricanes to win, as I've been a huge fan of Brind'Amour since his playing days with the Philadelphia Flyers, my head is telling me the Golden Knights will prevail. The main reason for this line of thinking is experience.
Brind'Amour himself appeared in three Stanley Cup Finals as a player, but only three members of the Hurricanes' roster have done so. Captain Jordan Staal won the championship with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, William Carrier was a member of the Golden Knights for both of their previous two trips to the final (2018, 2023) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who has yet to suit up this postseason, was with the Canadiens when they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021.
Bet on the NHL Stanley Cup Final with the FanDuel promo code.
As mentioned earlier, 11 current members of the Golden Knights were on their Cup-winning team three years ago. One of them is Barbashev, who also won the championship in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues, and veteran left wing Brandon Saad captured the Cup twice while with the Chicago Blackhawks (2013, 2015). In addition, Tortorella coached Tampa Bay to its first title back in 2004.
Vegas goaltender Hart is in uncharted waters, but he has the luxury of leaning on backup Adin Hill. The 30-year-old Hill took over for an injured Laurent Brossoit in the second round of the 2023 playoffs and helped lead the Golden Knights to the championship.
To the surprise of many, Andersen has put up some mighty impressive numbers this postseason. But he has allowed soft goals in the playoffs in the past, and he surrendered five tallies by Montreal in the conference final opener -- something Hart has yet to do. Yes, the 27-year-old Hart gave up four goals on four occasions over the first three rounds, but Vegas won two of those games, and Carolina has four or more goals in only four of its 13 contests. Two of those were against the Canadiens, and Montreal's spirit appeared to be broken in those final two games following back-to-back overtime losses. The Habs also might have been feeling the effects of their seven-game battles against the Lightning and Buffalo Sabres.
Marner has collected 24 points in 22 career games against the Hurricanes, and Eichel has registered 20 in as many contests. Tomas Hertl, who has landed on the score sheet in five of his last seven outings after having gotten off to a slow start offensively this postseason, has recorded 20 points in 22 matchups versus Carolina.
Seth Jarvis (eight points), Andrei Svechnikov and Aho (seven each) have been either inconsistent or ineffective thus far this postseason. Unless those top offensive players rediscover their touch in the final, I believe another parade down the Las Vegas Strip will be taking place in a few weeks. I like the Golden Knights to win the series in six games.
Bet on NHL futures odds, including Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights, with the latest Caesars Sportsbook promo code.
Add CBS Sports on Google Join the Conversation comments
