Hurricanes and Golden Knights Show Multiple Paths to the Final

Vegas acquired Mitch Marner less than a year ago and he immediately leads all playoff scorers.

Drafting versus Dealing

Carolina selected six current roster players in the draft, including only two first-rounders in Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis. The remaining four—Sebastian Aho, Jaccob Slavin, Alexander Nikishin and Jackson Blake—arrived outside the top 30 overall. This core supplies the foundation while aggressive additions fill gaps.

Vegas drafted just two active players, Pavel Dorofeyev and Kaedan Korczak, both outside the first round. Trevor Connelly remains the lone first-round selection in the system. Instead, general manager Kelly McCrimmon secured prime-age talent through trades and free agency.

Carolina traded for defenseman K’Andre Miller last offseason; he leads all Hurricane blueliners with eight playoff points. Vegas added Noah Hanifin from Calgary in 2024 and Rasmus Andersson in 2026; the pair ranks second- and third in postseason ice time.

Eric Tulsky assumed the Carolina general manager role after the 2023-24 season and maintained the draft-first philosophy while supplementing via trades. McCrimmon continued his cutthroat approach, prioritizing immediate contention over long-term picks.

Coaching and Patience Tested

Rod Brind’Amour has coached Carolina since 2018-19. The team reached three conference finals in seven seasons before advancing to the Cup Final, testing organizational patience.

Vegas cycled through four head coaches during the same span. The club dismissed Bruce Cassidy with eight games remaining in the 2025-26 regular season and installed John Tortorella, whose guidance-counselor style produced the necessary postseason results.

Tulsky retained Brind’Amour after the repeated conference-final exits. The decision delivered the franchise’s first Final appearance.

McCrimmon’s latest coaching change aligned with a roster already stacked with recent acquisitions, including Jack Eichel and captain Mark Stone, who posted 10 points in 11 playoff games.

Depth Additions Complete Both Rosters

Carolina signed Nikolaj Ehlers to a six-year, $51-million contract on July 3. Additional free-agent signings of Frederik Andersen, Sean Walker, Shayne Gostisbehere, William Carrier and Taylor Hall created one of the league’s deepest groups.

Vegas integrated Marner, who leads playoff scoring, and Eichel, second in points and recognized as one of the top two-way centers. The combination of homegrown depth and high-salary veteran additions produced a balanced attack.

Both rosters reflect deliberate choices rather than imitation of a single successful template. Carolina leaned on internal development; Vegas maximized short-term windows.

The contrasting methods reached the same destination in May 2026.