Brandon Bussi Leads Hurricanes One Win From Stanley Cup
Brandon Bussi is one win from the Stanley Cup after the Hurricanes’ 3-2 win on Thursday night gave them a 3-2 series lead over the Golden Knights. The 27-year-old goaltender picked up his second consecutive win and now has Carolina on the edge of a title chance Sunday night. For a former Bruins prospect who never played a minute in Boston, the path has landed in the Cup Final.
Bussi And The Carolina Net
Bussi is 6-foot-4 inches and reached this point after a winding route through the Bruins system and beyond. Boston signed him as a college free agent in the spring of 2022, when he was viewed as insurance for Providence behind Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman.
He delivered a 22-5-4 record in his rookie professional season with Providence, then said in the summer of 2023, “I’m hoping at some point to play my first NHL game,” and “That’s the dream you choose.” Those words fit the gap between promise and opportunity that followed him out of Boston, because he never played a single minute for the Bruins before leaving as a free agent last July.
From Providence To Free Agency
The Bruins’ goaltending depth changed around him as Michael DiPietro moved ahead in the developmental chain and Joonas Korpisalo also became part of the picture. Bussi still never got his NHL chance in Boston, and the next move came last summer when he signed a two-way deal at league minimum worth $775,000 with the Panthers.
That contract included a $400,000 guarantee if he spent the full season in the minors, while Sergei Bobrovsky remained the No. 1 goalie in Sunrise at $10 million per season. The financial setup showed exactly where Bussi was projected to fit, even as his current run has pushed him into a much larger role with Carolina.
Carolina’s Cup Chance
The Hurricanes now carry a 3-2 series lead and a chance to clinch the Stanley Cup on Sunday night. They are chasing the second Stanley Cup in franchise history, and Bussi’s second straight win has put him in the middle of that push rather than on the outside of it.
For Carolina, the next step is simple: win once more and finish the series. For Bussi, the leap is sharper, moving from a goaltender who had not appeared in an NHL game for Boston to the player in net when the Hurricanes can close out the championship.
