The Carolina Hurricanes' 2024-25 season came to a close earlier this week as the team lost in five games to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final.
On Friday, select players met with the media in Raleigh for their end-of-season interviews.
Jaccob Slavin
On still being unable to get over the hump: It's frustrating. We have all the pieces in the room. These meetings at the end are never fun. It's always a bummer to go through them if you're not going out on top. Especially with the way the last series went. I think we kind of shot ourselves in the foot the first three games and once you go down 3-0 to a team like that, you’ve dug yourself a pretty deep hole that’s hard to climb out of. I wish we gave ourselves a chance from the beginning, but I don’t think we did with the way we played the first three games. That’s something I think we look back on as a group and wish it was different.
On if there’s enough appreciation for what the team has accomplished and the consistency they’ve built: I think so. I know I appreciate it. All the work that’s been done to turn this organization around and Roddy is right there at the helm of that. He’s been tremendous for this organization in turning it around, but you look at what’s been accomplished over the past seven years that we have made the playoffs consecutively, but I think at the same time, that just raises the standard for how we want to be as a team and where we want to be as an organization. So anything short of winning is going to feel like a defeat. I think the standard is there as a team, as an organization that we want to be on top.
On Brent Burns: I mean, Marty and I can both sit up here and say that he’s one of a kind. Off the ice, he’s just a joy to be around, honestly. I think that’s the word that comes to mind. Any day, that guy is going to bring a smile to your face with how he carries himself, how he treats everybody. His love for the game is… I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like it. His dedication and how serious he takes the game. It’s incredible to see. I don’t think you’re 40 years old and still playing in the league at that level without the work he’s put in and continues to put in. Being able to witness that for three years has been awesome and just being able to learn from him and the way he approaches the game is awesome as well. On the ice, he’s just a steady force back there and you know when he has the puck, it’s going toward the net. It’s fun to play with him. He’s always talking on the ice, always wanting to get better. Even at his age, he’s still just always trying to find ways to get better. Just being able to take those little things and learn from him in that way is huge. He’s been a really fun D partner to have over the past few years and hopefully we’ll see what the future holds for him.
On if he will have to prepare any differently knowing the Olympics will be a part of next season: I don’t know if I’ve given it much thought. I guess just taking the rest now while I can. Just regroup, build the muscle back, build everything back that you lost throughout the season. But for right now, it’s just rest. Moving forward, we’ll see what happens.
2024-25 Exit Interviews
Jordan Staal
Sebastian Aho
Jordan Martinook
Jalen Chatfield
Sean Walker
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Frederik Andersen
Seth Jarvis
Andrei Svechnikov
Alexander Nikishin
Scott Morrow
Logan Stankoven
Eric Robinson
Dmitry Orlov
Brent Burns
Rod Brind'Amour and Eric Tulsky
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