Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin gets real on finally making SCF after past failures

The Carolina Hurricanes are in the Stanley Cup Final after defeating the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Finals. Carolina dominated the Habs on Friday night to secure their spot in the Final. For long-tenured Hurricanes players such as Jaccob Slavin, this is an incredible feeling.

Historically, Slavin and his teammates have not had much fun in the East Final. In fact, their Game 4 win over the Florida Panthers in last year’s East Final represented their only win in 17 East Final contests. They have turned that script on its head, though, and Slavin is ecstatic to be in the Stanley Cup Final.

“Excited. It’s been a long road with this group. We’ve been close, we’ve been close, we’ve been close. This was just that last step that we needed to take, but we have a lot of work ahead of us. Pure excited right now,” the Hurricanes star said, via Sportsnet.

The Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in 2006, but it’s been tough sledding since. Carolina was swept in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals by Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, well before Slavin debuted. With the star defender on the roster, Carolina also made the East Final in 2019, 2023, and 2025. However, they were swept in 2019 and 2023 before losing in five in 2025.

None of that matters at this point. The Hurricanes have been the best team in the Eastern Conference all season long. And they are now champions of the East for the first time in 20 years.

Carolina begins its quest for a second Stanley Cup championship when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.

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