Hurricanes should be set up for long-term run of dominance in NHL

Even though it had consistently ended in near-misses and playoff frustration, the Carolina Hurricanes have objectively been one of the NHL's most successful franchises since the start of the 2018-19 season. 

Including this season, Carolina's 378 regular-season wins are second-most in the NHL, trailing only the Colorado Avalanche's 380.

Entering this season, their 47 playoff wins were the sixth-most in the NHL over that stretch.

But until they got their names on the Stanley Cup, they were never going to get the recognition they deserved for being an elite franchise, and were always going to be looked at as annual postseason disappointments.

Well, that all changed on Sunday night with their 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, giving the franchise its second Stanley Cup and first since the 2005-06 season. 

Given the way the organization is now set up under the leadership of general manager Eric Tulsky, they may not have to wait another 20 years before the next championship.

Hurricanes are set up to be long-term power in NHL

Not only are the Hurricanes an extremely talented and deep roster, but they are also mostly young and full of players that are either in the prime of their careers, or are just now entering the prime years of their careers.

Their average age of 29.7 during the regular season was 13th in the league, and a lot of that is raised up by 37-year-old Jordan Staal and 36-year-old Frederik Andersen.

When you look at the top contributors on this team, they are young.

Of their top-11 scorers during the regular season, only three of them were over the age of 30, while six of them were age 26 or younger. 

That is significant. 

Even more significant is the reality they have almost no major players due for long-term contract extensions in the coming years.

Andersen is the only major unrestricted free agent after this season, while only Staal and Jordan Martinook have their contracts up after next season.

The main core players on this team are not only signed long-term, but they are also all mostly signed to laughably team-friendly and cap-friendly contracts that will continue to give the Hurricanes the flexibility to keep adding to their roster.

They have a Stanley Cup-winning team and are entering the offseason with over $11 million in salary cap space with almost no major areas to fix. 

They also have four first-round draft picks over the next three years, including two in the 2028 class. That not only allows them to keep adding talent to their prospect pool; those first-round picks are also great trade chips. Having trade chips, along with salary cap space, could make them a factor in trying to acquire almost any player that becomes available. 

They have already been a top-tier team.

Now they have the championship to validate it.

They are also set up to keep dominating with a young team, with money to spend and assets to acquire players. It is simply an outstanding hockey operation from top-to-bottom.