Hurricanes’ Brind’Amour gets 100% real about winning Stanley Cup as a coach

It was a journey 20 years in the making, but for the first time since 2006, the Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions. They defeated the Vegas Golden Knights by a 3-0 score in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday evening, winning the series in six games and returning to the mountaintop for the first time since 2006.

Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour, who took his current position ahead of the 2018-19 NHL season, captained the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup with their thrilling seven-game series victory over the Edmonton Oilers in 2006, and his joyous expression when he finally once again got his hands on the famed trophy was just as exuberant as it was two decades prior.

Speaking with ESPN’s Emily Kaplan after the game, he explained that while his desire to win the Stanley Cup as a player was strong, it remained so as a head coach.

“I don’t even know what to say right now,” he said via Bleacher Report Open Ice on X. “I’m so happy for these guys, you know. I wanted it as a player, I really wanted it. But I wanted it for these guys as a coach, because it means so much. To see how happy they are, I’m an old guy now. But I had my one, trust me I’m happy we got another one, but it’s for these guys. It’s what it’s all about.”

The Hurricanes, who experienced several painful losses in the Eastern Conference Final in recent years, stuck with the process that Brind’Amour knew would eventually break them through.

“It’s sticking with it, we knew what we had here,” he said. “I did for sure, and the guys believed in it. That’s the thing. It’s all about leadership. I’m so happy for Jordan Staal. People got to see what I’ve known forever, what kind of player and leader he is. Here we go, he’s finally rewarded.”

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