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.

Brent Burns

On his future: Nothing has really changed. You know, I tried not to think about it too much this year. The year previously, I had an injury that kind of bugged me all year. Had surgery at the end of the year, so it was tough both physically and mentally that year. Obviously, I knew coming into this year that it was my last year on the deal, so I just wanted to see how I bounced back and how I felt physically. And I felt great. Body wise, I felt really good. I tried to just enjoy it. It's been talked about just how special of a group it was. You don't win, so it's obviously disappointing and not successful, but it's still so hard to get to that point. You hear from teams of just how hard it is to make the playoffs alone, get through the first round, second round... It's hard at this point to feel good about that, but I do know from previous years, those are the years that you do look back on and you just think about that group and how much has to go right to get to that point. This group just works so hard every day and pushes every day, so yeah, it's hard. I think at these points you're like... it's very easy to be so negative about it. But, you know, I think... you know... it's tough. I think, to get to that spot, there's a lot of stuff that has to fall into place. I think there's a lot of stuff that goes through the mind in these, these last couple days. So yeah, we'll see. I don't know. I think for me, I there's a lot that goes into that too. Obviously, a lot goes into it from a family standpoint. There's two edges to that sword. It's so special that I've got older kids that have kind of come through this with me, and it's hard because you miss a lot of things, but I have fun every day at the rink. Every day it  takes a lot of work. It's a lot. You see what these guys do every day, learning from them. It's tough to see the amount of work I do when I take my shirt off next to Svech. That's tough, because you don't get those results like that. But it's such a great group and it's a lot of fun. So yeah.

On having to play a more defensively demanding role this season: It was definitely a different challenge. In the past, offensively, I was counted on a lot more. And you're playing against top guys those nights too, but I think when you're... Slavo obviously is the best in the world at shutting guys down, but playing against those guys every night, if you make one mistake, it's a grade-A and it's a solid chance that they're scoring. So, the mindset definitely shifts to obviously trying not to give up anything, because if you do, it's gonna be scary. So, yeah, that affects the offense a lot. It was a great challenge. I loved it. It was fun. A little different, but it was a great challenge.

On his desire to remain in Carolina: This is a really special place. I've said it before and I think I've said it every year, because it's true. I was really blessed to play in three great places, but Raleigh is really special. Obviously, I've got a family, we've got kids, so everything outside of the hockey part is great. We love living here. The people are very special. It's crazy, because you feel like you're in a like a small town, but you're in a big city. You're never missing for anything. Rarely traffic. I've got my drive down to the rink to 30 seconds, 45 seconds. Doesn't matter. Red lights or not. It's just a special place and all those things kind of come into play, I think. Especially for me, having a strong routine. [Manager of Team Services Mike Brown] can attest to the bus times here. I don't like being very late. That affects everything. And that's outside hockey. I'm not even talking about the hockey part, which is obviously incredible here. The group here is really special all the way down. Playing for a guy like Roddy and our coaching staff, it's amazing. I've always talked about the way he motivates and his daily speeches and seeing him in the gym. [Assistant Coach Tim Gleason] being our guy on the D side and our conversations every day. So all that's been amazing. Then the guys. The work, the laughs, everything like that. Obviously, the young kids coming in are special. I don't spend too much time on that, but you always see it's near the top for the young guys coming in. You see this year with Blakey. Just the way he came in and, shit, just every day, the little things he can do. That's how the group keeps getting better and staying staying near the top. We've loved our time here. It's a special place. I really haven't spent any time thinking about... I think you get into this time of the year, everything goes out the window. So you don't really think about what's to come. Until you've had that time, then it's like, 'Oh shit. I've gotta get new tires.' There's a whole bunch of stuff. Kid's graduation. There's a whole other set of issues. I've been driving the kids around the last couple days, and taking stock of that side of the issues. We'll see what happens, but we love it here and would love for it to work out.

On the defensive group this season: There's been a lot said about it. About how special those guys [Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce] were and how they were big parts of the team. I think every year, you never really know how it's going to gel together and how guys are going to be missed, how guys are going to add. From a player standpoint, I don't think we really think too much about that stuff. You've got so much to worry about and taking care of your own game and doing all that. So we just miss the laughs at dinner and on the airplane. That's kind of what we're thinking about, for the most part, I think. But I think we still came in and we still felt good about our group. We pushed right from the start. I think guys still feel good about the group. You never know. A lot of things have to go right just to even get into what Roddy talks about as the second race. Getting into the playoffs is not easy. And we had our ups and downs throughout the year. A lot of people, for sure, second guessing it. So from a player standpoint, I don't know if you can even afford those thoughts. You're probably scrambling about everything else. About yourself and getting ready. Every year you're always going to miss certain guys and have different guys come in. I think it just has to be a special group to get this far, you know? If you're not, it's not happening. I've got a son that's older that loves hockey, so we're watching hockey at home, and you're looking at other series and your own series and, I mean, you look at the match ups. There's a lot of good teams that went home early. Really good teams that go home early. And then in the next round, there's more good teams that go home. So you have to have a special group of guys and a special thing going on, because there's a lot of special groups that don't end up going that far. I've always said that there's got to be a lot of things that go right, a lot of things that have to align.

On the impact to the blueline due to playoff injuries: It was a huge thing. As players, the mindset is just next man up, eat a little more on on the plate just to help out. I think as a group, you try to help the other guys feel good. Obviously [Alexander Nikishin] you know, with the language and trying to help him. Just saying, 'I don't care if you don't know the words in English, just yell. Say something. So as a partner, you know where you are and we'll figure it out.' Especially in our system, if you're switching, just yell. Just scream something and we'll figure it out. So you're trying to help those guys kind of step in and that ain't easy. For him and [Scott Morrow] to come in at that time, it's extremely difficult. I don't know how they did it. Obviously it was an unbelievable job from them. And yeah, it's tough to lose those guys. I think [Sean Walker] was playing great, Obviously [Jalen Chatfield's] speed is incredible. So you miss those things. That's kind of what makes it so much more fun to get to these points because you just look around the room and you see guys grinding. It's super tough to lose those guys and you see how hard it is on those guys to be out and for the guys stepping in, it's extremely difficult too.

On his relationship with Rod Brind'Amour: I know I've said it every year and it's because it's the truth. He's such a special coach from so many standpoints. Like the automatic respect that he demands from everybody, the buy in he gets from everybody. He's just a special leader. And that's such a gift that not everybody has. I've had a lot of special coaches and they're all very, very different with the way they approach everything. But he's just a guy that's been through it. So like anything he says, you know it's coming from a player standpoint. He knows. Even like mistakes. I just love how he's always like, 'I know what you were thinking on this play,' because he does. He's been through it. From somebody that never played, it's very easy sometimes — even on certain reads or certain plays that you make. Say I make a insane rim — which happens. It's very easy to look at it and say — because my son says it to me all the time. 'Dad, what the heck were you doing?' And I'm like, 'Well, buddy, I think the same thing 300 times when you're playing.' Because maybe you saw something two seconds before when you took a look and then it changes. It's the same with Gleas. He's been through it, so he knows. So from a player standpoint, it's easier to take that criticism because they know what's going on and they're just great communicators, motivators, leaders. They're definitely very special with how they do it and our relationships have been great.

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2024-25 Exit Interviews

Jordan Staal
Sebastian Aho
Jaccob Slavin
Jordan Martinook
Jalen Chatfield
Sean Walker
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Frederik Andersen
Seth Jarvis
Andrei Svechnikov
Alexander Nikishin
Scott Morrow
Logan Stankoven
Eric Robinson
Dmitry Orlov
Rod Brind'Amour and Eric Tulsky

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