This year felt different. It felt special.
The Canes stormed their way through the 56-game regular season, assembling one of their best seasons in franchise history and securing first place in the Central Division, the team's first division title since 2005-06 and fourth since arriving in North Carolina.
They won 36 games. They earned 80 points. They made their third appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
They were likely going to have to go through the defending Stanley Cup champions to make a deep run - and that's exactly the match-up they drew in the Second Round - but why not? Why not the Canes?
"I'm always proud of these guys. That's the thing that's great. You come to the room, and you have a group of people that leave it out there," Brind'Amour said. "We're obviously disappointed. This is not we started out to have. We wanted to win it all. It's tough. I think everyone is disappointed right now, but I'm always proud of the group. When we started this three years ago, it was to get relevant and expect to win, and we do now."
The 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs felt like a fever dream. The Canes made a seemingly improbable run to break their decade-long playoff drought. They knocked off the defending champions and swept a series before the magic dissipated in the Eastern Conference Final.
The 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, in all their uniqueness and weirdness and improbability, were a learning experience. The Canes asserted their dominance and swept their way through the Qualifiers but, for the second straight year, were ousted by the Boston Bruins.
The 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs - after a season that was one-of-a-kind, challenging, a whirlwind, a roller coaster, a thrill - were supposed to be different. The Canes had earned it, and then they had to prove it, but they fell short.
"We had, in our minds, something different than this. I thought we were ready to take the next step. The next step is to be the best, right?" Aho said. "A lot of good things. I'm proud of the effort. I'm proud of the group. I really enjoyed this year with these guys, but at the same time, it's not a step forward because we didn't get the ultimate goal."