RALEIGH \u2014 Now that the last piece of confetti has fallen, the final bits of trash collected and, just maybe, the Hurricanes themselves have passed peak celebration after Saturday\u2019s Stanley Cup celebration, who\u2019s opposed to running it back next June?<\/p>\n
Certainly not the Hurricanes or the Caniacs, who don\u2019t want to wait another 20 years to fill the streets of downtown Raleigh with 150,000 people for a Cup parade<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t we do it again next year?\u201d defenseman K\u2019Andre Miller said Saturday from a stage on Fayetteville Street<\/a> to the roaring approval of an ocean of Caniacs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Twenty years ago, after their first Stanley Cup championship in 2006, the Hurricanes failed to sustain success. They didn\u2019t even make the playoffs in the 2006-07 season.<\/p>\n These Hurricanes are far better positioned to hoist the Cup again. No one \u2014 not the owner, the coach, the captain or the general manager \u2014 is backing down from those elevated expectations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe question for us every summer is how we can make the team better,\u201d Hurricanes General Manager Eric Tulsky said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to be in a position where we have a championship team that\u2019s almost all under contract already. But we\u2019re still going to be looking for ways to make the team better.\u201d<\/p>\n Tulsky made his first offseason move at the post-parade party, signing trade deadline acquisition Nicolas Deslauriers \u2014 a reserve forward, but top-line teammate \u2014 to a two-year contract. Deslauriers was one of just three unrestricted free agents who played for the Canes during its playoff run.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to get better than what we are,\u201d owner Tom Dundon said. \u201cBut that\u2019s the job.\u201d<\/p>\n The biggest pieces are in place.<\/p>\n Franchise icon Rod Brind\u2019Amour, the most important person in the organization who is entering his ninth season as head coach, said Saturday<\/a> that the joy the team has brought to so many people is \u201cgoing to be the motivation to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI promise you we\u2019re going to try to do it again,\u201d Brind\u2019Amour said Saturday.<\/p>\n WATCH: Videos from the Hurricanes\u2019 Stanley Cup celebration<\/a><\/p>\n Dundon said Brind\u2019Amour can coach the franchise as long as he wants \u2014 and winning the Cup just may extend that stay.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason he\u2019s so good at it \u2014 because he cares so much \u2014 is also the thing that could cost us over time, right?\u201d Dundon said Saturday. \u201cHow long can you go through that? I think this helps keep him happy for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n Captain Jordan Staal<\/a>, who at 37 became the oldest player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, said he wants to win another Cup. Staal is signed through next season.<\/p>\n Nearly everyone else signed for even longer.<\/p>\n After the 2006 Cup win, the Hurricanes missed the playoffs in the next two seasons and 11 of the next 12 \u2014 a stretch that stunted the team\u2019s momentum in the market and eventually led to a 2018 sale to Dundon. This version has reached the playoffs eight consecutive years<\/a> under Brind\u2019Amour and is the betting favorite to win the title next season.<\/p>\n Carolina hopes to be the fourth team to repeat since 2016, including Florida which won in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cThe team should be just as good, maybe better,\u201d Dundon said. \u201cIf that\u2019s the case, based on what just happened, we should have a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n Tulsky has shown a willingness to take big swings. His stated goal is to improve all the time. Before this year, Carolina added forward Nikolaj Ehlers as a free agent and traded for Miller before signing him to a long-term contract. The two played key roles in helping the Hurricanes win the Cup.<\/p>\n The Hurricanes have about $11 million in space under the NHL\u2019s $104-million salary cap after signing Delauriers.<\/p>\n Veteran goaltender Frederik Andersen, who went 13-2 in 16 playoff starts but was coming off his worst regular season, is the only player who played in the Stanley Cup Final who is an unrestricted free agent. The Hurricanes have Cup hero and regular-season sensation rookie goaltender Brandon Bussi along with Pyotr Kochetkov signed for a combined $3.9 million for next season and could roll with that tandem in net. Bussi signed a three-year extension<\/a> during the season.<\/p>\n Defenseman Mike Reilly, who played two games in the playoffs, is an unrestricted free agent. Defenseman Alexander Nikishin is a restricted free agent.<\/p>\n The Hurricanes have several prospects, notably winger Bradley Nadeau, who could push for a role in Raleigh next season.<\/p>\n