Hurricanes Honor Former Captain Rod Brind’Amour

By: Frank Iacono

Prior to Friday night’s matchup on February 18, 2011, between the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC, the Canes officially retired Roderic Jean “Rod” Brind’Amour’s No. 17 in front of a thunderous crowd. Brind’Amour, who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes, captained the Canes to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship on June 19, 2006.

Before the game during warm-ups players from both teams honored Brind’Amour by wearing jerseys with his No. 17 and his name on the back. And, before the game, Flyers captain Mike Richards presented Brind’Amour with a crystal Tiffany piece.

During the ceremony Brind’Amour brought the crowd to their feet to honor his brilliant, gutsy career. He was articulate, funny, and touching. On numerous occasions, Brind’Amour wiped away tears from his eyes. After praising many people associated with the Hurricanes organization, he thanked the Flyers for bringing him to Philadelphia at a young age in a trade from the Blues following the 1990–91 season. He also saluted the Flyers fans for “instilling passion” in him. He also said, “I bled orange and black and that day I was traded was the worst day of my life. So it’s special to have the Flyers here for this moment because I had so many great memories in Philadelphia. I’m grateful to the Hurricanes for picking this night.”

However, it wasn’t until Brind’Amour thanked current Flyers coach Peter Laviolette for directing his 2006 team to the Stanley Cup that he received the loudest ovation from the crowd. Brind’Amour reminded Laviolette that “it took you a while to warm up to me – about a year.” But, when he did he watched Brind’Amour score a league-leading 12 playoff goals which culminated with a Game 7 victory over Edmonton in the Stanley Cup final.

During his playing career Brind’Amour, who was originally drafted 9th overall in 1988 by the St. Louis Blues, played in the 43rd NHL All-Star Game held at the Spectrum in Philadelphia on January 18, 1992. Brind’Amour’s best season came during the 1993-1994 season as a member of the Flyers organization when he scored 35 goals and had 62 assists for 97 points. He was honored twice with the Frank J. Selke Trophy award in 2005-06 and 2006-07. This trophy is awarded annually to the NHL forward who best demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game.

After 21 years in the NHL, Brind’Amour retired as a player at the end of the 2009-2010 season having played 1,484 career NHL games. He finished with 452 goals and 732 assists for 1,184 total points. In Hurricanes franchise history, Brind’Amour is second with 299 assists, fourth in points with 473 and fourth in games played with 694.

Brind’Amour has three children from his first marriage: a daughter named Briley and two sons named Skyler and Reece. Brind’Amour was married for the second time on July 10, 2010, to Amy, a native of Raleigh, NC.

During the summer of 2010, when Brind’Amour officially retired from the NHL he said, “I feel very, very, very fortunate to have played as long as I have” but the truth is that the league and the teams in which he played for were very fortunate to have seen him play. Today, Brind’Amour works for Hurricanes team management as a director of forwards development.

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