The Carolina Hurricanes’ forward depth carried a lot of weight all season, and the names lower in the lineup ended up shaping the year in a big way. With the offseason already underway and the club staying relatively quiet while others around the league make moves, it’s time to start sorting through the season one player at a time.
This is the first of four parts in a full grade breakdown of the Hurricanes’ regular season and playoff run, with the final mark set to reflect everything from October through June. To keep things manageable, the focus here stays on players who appeared in more than ten games.
Nicolas Deslauriers falls outside that group, though he still logged seven regular-season games, one playoff appearance and one assist. There wasn’t much else to say about his year, though there’s optimism that could change over the next two seasons.
Bradly Nadeau just clears the cutoff, and his season wound up being one of the more interesting small-sample stories on the roster. He played 12 games across three separate call-ups, getting six games in late October and early November, two more before Christmas, and then the final four games of the regular season. That stretch produced the first three goals of his NHL career.
His best opportunity came late in the year, when the regulars were mostly out and he had more room to show what he could do. Nadeau averaged just under 13 minutes per game in his first eight outings, then topped 15 minutes in three of his last four. It’s still a limited sample, but with Seth Jarvis out to open the 2026-27 season, he should have a better shot at carving out a bigger role.
Final Grade: C
Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s season was a different kind of story entirely. He appeared in 42 games, which was enough to put his name on the Stanley Cup, even if the production never really followed. He finished with two goals and nine points, and most of that damage came in the first two months.
After the Olympic Break, his usage nearly disappeared. Kotkaniemi played just six times over the final two months, and five of those appearances came in the team’s last six games.
He didn’t register a point after January 31, his last game came in mid-November against Buffalo, and he was not used in the playoffs. His time with the Hurricanes has likely ended.
Final Grade: D
Eric Robinson’s second season in Raleigh didn’t match the first one statistically, but he still filled an important role. His point total dropped from 32 in 2024-25 to 18 in 2025-26, and injuries played a part in that decline. Even so, he posted a second straight 10+-goal season while spending almost all of his time on the fourth line, bringing speed and physical play every night.
His playoff run started quietly, with just two assists in the first round and no real scoring punch through the opening two rounds. Then he caught fire in the Eastern Conference Finals, scoring a team-high three goals against Montreal and adding an assist. He finished with eight points in 19 games, which was more than his previous two postseason trips combined.
Final Grade: B
Mark Jankowski settled in quickly after joining the Hurricanes in the middle of last season, and his first full year with the team fit the fourth-line identity perfectly. He posted his highest point total since 2018-19, ending the season with 11 goals and 21 points. He also finished strong, scoring six times over the final two months.
The playoffs brought a much steadier role than he had a year ago, when he was in and out of the lineup. This time, he was the Hurricanes’ second-best face-off man in a postseason where the team struggled in the dot.
Jankowski was especially useful in the Eastern Conference Finals, where he handed out three assists. His lone goal came at the biggest possible moment, tying Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Final Grade: B
William Carrier lived up to the “Human Wrecking Ball” label and then some. He finished with a team-high 172 hits, just ahead of the captain, and if not for a brief injury early in the season, he might have pushed past 200. The offense was modest, with 18 points, but seven goals was a little above his usual pace, and that was plenty for the role he was playing.
His postseason production was quiet until the Eastern Conference Finals, but that’s where he made his mark. After going pointless through the first two rounds, Carrier collected three assists against Montreal and helped send the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Final against his former team. He got the last laugh in Vegas, too, winning his second Stanley Cup in four years.
Final Grade: B-
Jordan Martinook opened fast, picking up points in seven of the first 11 games, but he ultimately fell short of 30 points for the first time in a few years and missed out on reaching 200 as a Hurricane. Even so, his season was still a strong one: 12 goals, 29 points and 77 games. Three of those goals came shorthanded, which left him second on the team and tied for seventh in the NHL.
He wasn’t as visible offensively in the playoffs, but he still delivered when the moment demanded it. In Game 2 against Ottawa, Martinook was stopped on a penalty shot in overtime, then got another chance in 2OT and buried the winner to put the Hurricanes up 2-0 in the series. His only other goal came in the Stanley Cup Final, and he wrapped up the postseason with five points in 19 games.
Final Grade: B
Jordan Staal closes out this first part, and the captain’s season was loaded with milestones and big-game impact. He scored his 300th goal early in the year and set the team record for games played when he skated in his 910th contest in November. He also got back to the 20-goal mark for the first time since 2015-16.
Then came the playoffs, where Staal saved his best for the biggest stage. He turned in the most sensational hockey of his career during the Stanley Cup Final, scoring in each of the first five games against Vegas and finishing the series with six goals and seven points. That performance earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy, making him the oldest player in NHL history to win the award.
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