It’s a bittersweet ending to the 2024-25 season for the Carolina Hurricanes as they lost Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final 5-3 to the Florida Panthers. What turned out to be a season of exceeding expectations is one that the Hurricanes and the fanbase can hold their heads high as they proved that to never count this team out of some playoff magic. They went farther than what anyone expected, and it makes the 2025-26 season that much more exciting. However, before we get into looking at the offseason and the next season for the Hurricanes, what were the two big takeaways from Game 5?
Takeaway #1: Sebastian Aho & Seth Jarvis Made Meaningful Impact
Two guys who really stepped up to give the Hurricanes a chance to win Game 5 were Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis. Aho scored the first two goals of the game for the Hurricanes, which saw the team up 2-0 after the first period. These were big goals from Aho, who fans wanted to see have a takeover game in the ECF. He ended up finishing the playoffs with seven goals and 15 points in 15 games, the last two giving some hope of the Hurricanes forcing a Game 6. However, the Hurricanes fell short of that, but Aho gave the team and the fans some hope with his performance.
During the postgame, Aho stated, “To me, you either win or lose the series. It doesn’t matter if you lose in four or seven, whatever, you lose the series. But it’s something to be proud of that the guys show up for work and never quit, and that’s a great thing, but at the end of the day, we weren’t able to push through. That’s a great hockey team. One team has beaten them in the past three seasons, right? So we knew it was going to be a big task to try to beat them, and we truly believe that we have what it takes, but we obviously fell short yet again.”
Aho does give some positives to the playoff performance for him and the team despite losing the series in five games. Got to give credit to the Panthers for how they played. However, it shows that there is no quit in the Hurricanes as they fought until the end. Even with his two goals, Aho wished he and the team could do more. There will be some big needs to be taken care of for the 2025-26 season, but rest assured that “Seabass” will be ready to take this team into another deep playoff run again.
Related: 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals Hub
Regarding Jarvis, what a playoff run for him. He finished with six goals and 16 points (team lead). He also led the team in assists (10) while being an over a point-per-game player. In Game 5 alone, he had the other of the two multipoint nights for the Hurricanes with a goal and an assist. His goal was the one that made it a 3-3 game in the third period for his sixth of the playoffs. He was the most noticeable player in the game, just like in the whole series. In 23:10 of ice time, Jarvis had the two points along with four shots on goal, one blocked shot, and four hits. Essentially, Jarvis was a one-man wrecking crew for the Hurricanes in Game 5. He was all over the ice trying to make an impact in the game, which he did without a doubt. Jarvis has become an underrated superstar player after a stellar fourth season in the NHL. What he did in Game 5 to help this team back into this one needs to be stated more.
During the postgame press conferences, Jarvis stated when asked about the power play going 0-for-6 in Game 5, “I thought we had looks. We had a couple of bobbled pucks, but for the most part, I didn’t hate how we were looking. Near the end, I think we got a little bit more urgent, obviously. We were putting more pucks to the net. We could have done that a little earlier. Obviously you need to score in games like this. They did and we didn’t. That’s kind of the result of it.”
It does give some indication that the Hurricanes hoped to have a power-play goal in the game, with six chances. However, that’s just the nature of the playoffs, one team can get a man-advantage goal and the other can be snake bitten. Despite the loss, Jarvis had the biggest impact in the series and was one of the main cogs in Game 5 for the Hurricanes. He will no doubt be one of the cornerstones of this franchise for a long time.
Takeaway #2: Fought Until the End
While they did lose in heartbreaking fashion, there is still a lot to be proud of for this Hurricanes team. They more than exceeded expectations for a team that some viewed as missing the playoffs or being a wild card team. Instead, they were the second-best team in the Metropolitan Division and made it to the Eastern Conference Final. That is something to be proud of if you’re within the organization and the fan base. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour said postgame, “All the guys. I’m watching 40-year-old Brent Burns out here playing… I don’t know how many minutes he played, and we’ve got two rookies back there, four in the lineup. That’s a lot to ask and we were hanging right in there. I think there’s a lot to be positive about. The guys we brought in and adapted to it were big parts of it, too. And a lot of them are young guys. So it looks good moving forward.”
There is something to be proud of when you get a roster this late in the playoffs, where you were able to force Game 5 with four rookies in the lineup. Also, to have guys like Jarvis, Logan Stankoven, Jackson Blake, etc., who aren’t “tall players” be able to make the impacts that they had in the playoffs while being 6-foot and under. To have a great, young core of guys who will always hound for the puck, that gives any coach some confidence knowing he has guys in all shapes and sizes who will fight until the end.
Related: Panthers Eliminate the Hurricanes in Game 5 Winning 5-3
Later in the postgame, Brind’Amour was asked about this team exceeding expectations. He stated, “Thank you. Everybody seems to… like it’s the craziest thing. We’re this far and all we’re hearing is negativity from everybody. When I walked in this summer, with the pieces that left this organization, I was like, ‘I don’t think we’re making the playoffs.’ I was that worried about it. Because it was such a mass exodus of good players in free agency. We were able to find good players to fill in, but I was like, ‘I don’t know if they’re that good.’ But they hung in there. I have nothing but pride for this group. Yeah, we didn’t love this series, but that’s the standard right there. You’re not giving Florida enough credit.”
It says a lot when even this team exceeded their own coaches’ expectations after losing so many key guys during the summer of 2024. To be able to get to the ECF with a group that probably wasn’t the strongest in the Brind’Amour era, these guys should be given a ton of props for getting themselves there. What they did in the ECF should give this organization a boost to loading up in the offseason with almost $30 million in cap space and draft capital to move.
It’s Onto the Offseason for the Hurricanes
That being said, the Hurricanes will be holding exit interviews over the next week at the Lenovo Center. After that, they will turn their sights onto the 2025 NHL Draft, and following that, July 1 for the start of free agency and the re-sign phase. There will be a lot of work to do for general manager Eric Tulsky and the front office. Expect a busy offseason for the Hurricanes as they gear up for the 2025-26 season.
