RALEIGH, N.C. — As the Stanley Cup Final approaches between the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes, the contrasting philosophies that built these championship contenders have come into sharp focus.
Speaking before the series, one general manager outlined his team’s approach to roster construction. “We want to be aggressive off the ice,” the GM explained. “When you have a chance to add really high-end players, we never want to miss out on it.”
Surprisingly, those words came from Carolina’s Eric Tulsky, whose organization has traditionally been viewed as more cautious in their moves. Meanwhile, Vegas under Kelly McCrimmon has built a reputation for pursuing every elite talent on the market.
Since Tulsky assumed control two years ago, the Hurricanes have become more aggressive, though his challenge remains identifying players who mesh with coach Rod Brind’Amour’s intensive system. The Golden Knights have continued their pattern of adding marquee names in their quest for a second championship in their brief franchise history.
Only one strategy will conclude with a Cup celebration.
“It probably should be more fun than we appreciate in the moment,” McCrimmon reflected. “We have made a lot of big decisions over our time in the league — very bold. I always say that to be big or bold is one thing. You’ve got to make good decisions, and I think that we’ve collectively through our hockey ops have done a good job of that. It’s exhilarating to win.”
Carolina’s roster features six homegrown players who came through their development system, including top defenseman Jaccob Slavin, key forwards Seth Jarvis, Sebastien Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, plus emerging winger Jackson Blake.
Goaltender Frederik Andersen joined as a free agent, while secondary scorers Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven arrived via trades. Tulsky, who holds a Harvard degree and Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley, apprenticed under former GM Don Waddell before completing the roster construction on his own.
McCrimmon praised Waddell’s influence and commended his opponent for shrewd drafting and trading decisions.
“They’ve consistently been building their team, and they’ve done it different ways,” McCrimmon observed. “Looking at it from the outside, they’ve been aggressive in their way of doing that. They have an idea what they want it to look like, the type of players that their organization will make good use of and they go out and get those guys.”
Not every acquisition succeeds. Tulsky made a significant wager in January 2025, trading young forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury in a complex three-team deal that brought big winger Mikko Rantanen and veteran Taylor Hall to Carolina.
When Rantanen showed no interest in extending his contract, Tulsky pivoted and dealt him to Dallas in exchange for young Logan Stankoven and draft picks.
“Sometimes it doesn’t go the way you hoped, and you’ve got to be ready to figure out how you’re going to move forward from there,” Tulsky acknowledged. “One of the strengths of our organization is we’re not afraid to take those swings, but we’re confident that if we just keep staying aggressive, some will work out, some won’t (and) we’ll end up ahead of where we would be if we just stayed passive the whole time.”
Stankoven, free-agent addition Nikolaj Ehlers and other newcomers like Eric Robinson and Mark Jankowski have seamlessly adapted to Brind’Amour’s system. Tulsky, who began as a hockey blogger before entering management, applies analytical thinking while relying on his scouting staff for talent evaluation suited to their coach’s demands.
“We’ve really focused on finding people who fit the way we want to play,” Tulsky explained. “We ask players to play a very distinctive style, and our scouts have done a great job finding players who can come in and look their best playing the way Rod needs them to play.”
Vegas was constructed for immediate success from inception. Original GM George McPhee maximized the expansion draft, selecting talent from all 30 existing teams while negotiating additional deals to acquire even more assets.
That initial group delivered a shocking Final appearance during the franchise’s first season in 2017-18, anchored by goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and featuring forwards William Karlsson and Reilly Smith plus defensemen Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb. Karlsson, Theodore and McNabb have remained throughout the franchise’s existence, while Smith returned after a short departure.
Throughout their history, McPhee and McCrimmon have embraced blockbuster transactions. They’ve acquired Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin through trades, signed Alex Pietrangelo in free agency, and completed a sign-and-trade for Mitch Marner.
“We appreciate how George and Kelly operate,” McNabb said. “They’re always trying to build a winning team, and they’ve done a great job for the nine years.”
The Golden Knights have reached the playoffs in eight of their nine seasons, captured the Cup in 2023, and remained consistent championship threats.
“It’s a privilege,” McCrimmon stated. “We don’t take it for granted. We work real hard. You have to get lucky along the way at times, also. That’s kind of been our objective right from the opening season.”
McNabb believes McCrimmon is fulfilling his responsibilities. Players have no objections to Vegas constantly pursuing elite talent.
“I don’t know if he’s in on every player, but he’s trying to make the team better and that’s what you want and you appreciate,” McNabb noted. “You want to be on a team that’s trying to get better and have the best team going into playoffs and performing in playoffs.”
