Record-shattering goalie Brandon Bussi inks a three-year Carolina extension, ready to chase championships and celebrate big moments in Raleigh.
The Carolina Hurricanes have signed goaltender Brandon Bussi to a three-year contract extension, locking in their potential goalie for the future.
The 27 year old has taken the hockey world by storm in his record shattering first NHL season and now has earned himself a new deal because of it.
Bussi met with the media on Zoom Monday afternoon to discuss his new deal. Here's what he had to say:
Brandon Bussi
On when the deal came together: It's been kind of a long process to get here. I can't exactly pinpoint an exact start date because I try to keep a lot of it out of my hands, but I think once things started to get more serious kind of over the last little bit, it intensified a little bit. Overall, I'm really happy to be a Carolina Hurricane and to be here for three more years.
On Carolina feeling more and more like a home for himself: I love the Raleigh area, I love my teammates and I think we have the potential to do some very exciting things here over the next few years. So it kind of felt like a no-brainer when this became an option to explore and make happen. Obviously it's a big day for me and my family and everyone. We're all super excited.
On how crazy the journey has been for himself over the last few months: It's crazy. You know, if you told me back in October, I'd have been like, 'Yeah, sure. I bet that'll happen.' But I think the hockey world can work in mysterious ways in some sense. I'm fortunate that I got an opportunity and that Carolina sees me the same way I see myself being here. Very happy to say the least that I get to be here for more time.
On if he has a message for other players who've had to bide their time and wait for their opportunity: It's difficult to break into this league. Sometimes different opportunities pop up in different ways and mine happened in a way that doesn't happen for a lot of people, but there's a lot of good hockey players out there and things happen for a reason. That's kind of been my motto. I'm very fortunate that it gets to happen here for longer.
On the organization's donation to the Autism Society of North Carolina: That kind of got added in there a little more toward the end, but obviously it means a lot to me that they were able to do that. Me and my brother's relationship is super tight and I get to honor him as well as the autism community on my mask. So I think that part of it was very sweet. I'm extremely excited that that was part of it.
On if this new deal changes any of his upcoming wedding plans: I'm sure we can look at what we're spending right now and maybe splurge on something a little extra. Thankfully we don't have to lock in those final things until about a month before. I'm sure we're gonna be looking at all the other options and maybe making the wedding a little bigger. It's a great day to say the least.
On deciding to re-up in Carolina: You look at the way our team is set up, it's an exciting time to be a Carolina Hurricanes fan because I think with the players we have in our locker room, we have a great group and we have high goals. In terms of the stability, we have an opportunity to do something here and being able to lock this in, now I just get to focus on hockey and doing what I can to help this team win. That was important to me.
On the goaltending group: We all make each other better. We're able to learn from each other and see what everyone brings to the table and what we can all grow in our game. Having all three of those people [Frederik Andersen, Pyotr Kochetkov and goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder] is extremely important in why I feel like I've had success and hopefully will have success going forward.
On the break: While you want to stay in a rhythm and we've been playing good hockey, I think it's extremely important to take this break with what comes with it. An opportunity to rest your body, an opportunity to rest your mind, because it's a grind. The season's long. I think everyone's hunger is going to be there no matter what when we come back, but it'll be even more so now. We have a stretch of hockey here going into the playoffs here and we have high aspirations of building our game and building it the right way once we get into the playoffs. Overall, I think it was good for all of us to get our bodies rested. Anybody who was banged up or hurting a little bit from any time in the season had some time to rest and now we can go full throttle.
On continuing to prove himself even after securing a new deal: Nothing changes, honestly. You're always proving yourself in this league. If things aren't going well for me and I'm not producing, then I won't be here. So nothing changes. Yes, it's amazing to have this stability and to feel comfortable that I have a home for a few years, but it's up to me to continue to prove what I do. So nothing really changes honestly.
On all the media attention he's started to garner: It's part of the gig of what you sign up for. If you want to be in the NHL, stuff like that happens. I don't feel any different. I don't view myself any differently. I'm a goalie and my job is to stop pucks. But yeah, when you take a step back, you definitely have cool moments that you're going to remember for a long time. While I am a day-by-day person — I don't look too far into the future — I can definitely take a step back and appreciate some of the things that have happened this year.
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