A year ago, Brandon Bussi was barely a name in Carolina. The Hurricanes had claimed him off waivers in the final stretch before setting their roster last summer, and for most fans, he was just another goalie buried in the shuffle. Now he enters this season with a very different label attached to him: pressure point.
Bussi’s path to Raleigh started with him blocked in Boston’s system, which pushed him to sign with the Florida Panthers. He didn’t crack that camp roster, and the plan was to head to the Charlotte Checkers.
Instead, Carolina changed everything. He was still headed to North Carolina - just not in the way he expected.
Once Pyotr Kochetkov went down, Bussi got his opening. He made his NHL debut in Carolina’s third game, stopping 16 shots in a 5-1 win over the Sharks.
Early on, he bounced in and out of the press box as the third goalie for the first 20 games, appearing only five times but still collecting four wins. Around Thanksgiving, though, he finally forced the issue and earned a real run.
What followed was one of those stretches that takes on a life of its own. Bussi kept winning, and the wins kept coming with record notes attached.
A shootout victory in D.C. in December matched a franchise mark with his ninth straight win. His performance against Buffalo on MLK Day stood out, too.
By the Olympic break, he was sitting at 23-3-1 with a 2.16 GAA.
The second half wasn’t nearly as sharp. Bussi was still getting results, but the dominance faded.
Over his final 12 starts, he went 8-3-1 with an .865 save percentage and a 3.16 GAA. Even with that dip, he finished with 31 wins, tied for fourth in the league and tied for eighth in franchise history.
His first postseason only added to the oddity of his rise. Frederik Andersen got Carolina to the Stanley Cup Final, but Bussi took over in Game 3, jumping in while the team trailed 4-0 and helping fuel a comeback that still ended in double overtime.
The loss clearly stung, because he helped swing the series back Carolina’s way after that. The Hurricanes won Games 4 and 5, then Bussi closed the season with a 22-save shutout in Game 6 to bring home the Cup.
Now comes the harder part: doing it again.
Carolina barely changed after winning the Stanley Cup, and goaltending is the one area that still carries questions. Bussi and Kochetkov form the least experienced goalie tandem of Rod Brind’Amour’s tenure, and Bussi looks lined up to start on Opening Night as the 1A.
Last season’s run had the feel of an Andrew Hammond-type surge, though with far more playoff success attached to it. This year, the story resets. The pressure is on Bussi to prove the breakout wasn’t a one-off, because in this league the goalie is always under the brightest spotlight.
Ideally, Bussi lands somewhere between 45 and 48 starts if everyone stays healthy. Since 2018-19, only two goalies have started more than 45 games, and Kochetkov is one of them. If Bussi’s second-half form from last season shows up again, the reaction from the fan base won’t be hard to imagine.
In Other News...
Carolinas Alexander Nikishin Standoff Just Put The Hurricanes In A Bind
Alexander Nikishins situation has quietly turned into one of the more awkward early storylines around Carolinas training camp. The restricted free agent defenseman is still waiting on a contract resolution, and the Hurricanes have already made it clear they are not going to keep talking publicly about it. For a team that has invested in adding blue-line talent, the hold-up is a reminder that not every roster issue gets settled neatly by the calendar.
Nikishins leverage is limited by his NHL service time, which leaves Carolina in control of his rights even as the standoff lingers. The tension now is less about whether the Hurricanes can force the issue and more about how long both sides are willing to wait before something finally gives. For the moment, the team appears content to be patient, but the longer this drags on, the more it hangs over a group trying to get its camp into a normal rhythm. [Read more 🡒]
Bradly Nadeau Is Bringing A Different Edge Into Hurricanes Camp
Bradly Nadeau heads into Hurricanes camp next year with a much different feel around his game than when he first started pushing for a bigger role. After splitting last season between Carolina and Chicago, he already has a taste of both levels, including three goals in 12 NHL games and a productive stretch with the Wolves that helped carry them deep into the spring.
Nadeau also comes in with some valuable playoff mileage and a clearer sense of what the pro game demands, especially after spending time under coaches who helped shape his approach. The next step is turning those lessons into a more consistent impact at the NHL level, where the margin for young scorers gets thinner and every shift asks for a little more detail. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Still Face One Crucial Roster Question After Latest Deal
The Hurricanes have already taken one major step toward stabilizing their roster by keeping captain Jordan Staal in place on a one-year contract extension, a move that helps preserve a familiar voice in the room as the club heads into another important stretch of team-building. Even with that settled, general manager Eric Tulsky made it clear the work is not finished, saying discussions are ongoing with other pending unrestricted free agents as Carolina continues sorting out its next round of decisions.
What makes the picture more interesting is that the roster puzzle is not just about who stays, but who can handle new responsibilities if the lineup shifts. Seth Jarviss expected absence leaves an opening up front, and Bradly Nadeau is one candidate who could be asked to step into a top-six role. Elsewhere, prospect William Hakansson has been loaned to Sodertalje in Swedens Allsvenskan for more playing time, a reminder that the Hurricanes are trying to manage both the present roster and the longer development track at the same time. [Read more 🡒]