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.

Sebastian Aho

On reflections on the team and the future: There’s a lot to be excited for. I mean, we have young guys like Stankoven and Nikishin. We already know what kind of player Jarvis is, he’s only going to get better, Blake… Like, we have good pieces on the team and obviously I feel like kind of the core or whatever you want to call it, we’ve been through quite a bit obviously. It’s an exciting offseason because we do have cap space and we do have some assets, but I guess time will tell how it’s all going to play out. But last offseason, obviously to be quite honest, I was kind of disappointed how it went because I think we lost a couple of guys that I’d have liked to see us keep. I thought at the trade deadline, we tried to make a push and we do appreciate that the team wants us to get better. So I feel like maybe making the right choices in the offseason and picking up some pieces so maybe you don’t have to try to throw a Hail Mary at the deadline. You can maybe add some depth pieces, for example. But yeah, it’s exciting and I do think we have really good pieces here, but also I think it’s going to be a big offseason for us.

On knowing where the bar is: You try to learn from whatever you experience and obviously [Florida]... I’ve said it before, only one team has beaten them [in a series] in the last three seasons, so they’ve been a really good team for a long time now. Obviously they knocked us out twice in three years so yeah, that’s the standard in this league. That’s a really good team and we’ll try to get there. I’m confident we’ll be able to do that.

On if he’s more optimistic about the team’s direction now then maybe in previous seasons: Every year is a different story. I don’t want to compare them too much, but yeah, I do think we’re in a good spot as an organization. We have the tools to get better this offseason and I know the guys who are in that locker room are hard working guys and everyone is already thinking about how, as a player or as an individual, they can be better. Everyone’s trying to work as hard as they can to be a better person and to help the team win. I think we also have… I’m not too good with the numbers or anything, but everyone keeps saying we have a lot of cap space and we have assets, so hopefully we are able to take that next step in that department too.

On preparing for next season: A lot of games, but you definitely want to play these games. Obviously it’s a privilege to play a lot of hockey and meaningful hockey. Obviously even this year with the 4 Nations. Obviously the Olympics, you go overseas and stuff like that and it’s a little bit longer of an event, but I’m not really trying to think too much ahead. I know obviously a little bit now of what works for me and what type of stuff I need to work on in the summers. But you’re also constantly trying to find a thing or two to make you stronger or faster or more balanced or whatever it is. But we’re probably just going to go back for a week or two just to be back and change diapers and just be there for [my wife]. Obviously it’s awesome and the best thing in the world to take care of your own child. So excited about that, but obviously the work definitely doesn’t stop in terms of working on my craft and trying to figure out how to get better. That’s always going to be there.

'We Didn't Get Near Where We Planned On': Rod Brind'Amour, Jordan Staal, Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis On Game 5 Loss, Elimination The Carolina Hurricanes fell 5-3 to the Florida Panthers Wednesday night in Game 5 at Lenovo Center to cap off their 2024-25 season.

2024-25 Exit Interviews

Jordan Staal
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
Brent Burns
Rod Brind'Amour and Eric Tulsky

Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.