Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour mentioned he was stunned when Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice requested him to not take part of their series-ending handshake line final week and disagreed that it ought to simply be for the gamers.
Maurice has tried to start out a brand new custom within the NHL through which staff coaches and workers do not take part within the handshake line, a decades-old ritual held at heart ice after groups are eradicated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
He requested Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube to face down within the second spherical, and Berube obliged. He requested Brind’Amour to do the identical after the Panthers eradicated the Hurricanes in Sport 5 of the Jap Convention finals in Raleigh. Maurice mentioned he appreciated Brind’Amour agreeing to it.
“There’s this lengthy checklist of individuals in fits and observe fits. We had like 400 individuals on the ice. They’re all actually essential to our group, however not one in all them was within the recreation. There’s one thing for me visually with the digicam on simply the lads who performed. Who blocked pictures and who fought for one another,” Maurice mentioned.
On the Hurricanes’ postseason media availability on Tuesday, Brind’Amour mentioned he understood Maurice’s viewpoint. However he mentioned taking part within the handshake is about “gracious dropping” and he will not proceed Maurice’s custom subsequent season.
“Sitting again on it and reflecting, I’ve had some fairly impactful recollections and moments in that line as a coach going by way of it,” he mentioned.
Brind’Amour famous that the custom provides him an opportunity to have a second with gamers he used to teach, resembling when he shook the fingers of former Hurricanes gamers who at the moment are on the New Jersey Devils throughout Carolina’s first-round win.
“Transferring ahead, I believe I will most likely return to it simply because it is a signal of respect. That is the way in which I have a look at it. We’re not on the market on the ice battling, however we’re proper in there with these guys,” Brind’Amour mentioned. “He received, so I type of went, ‘OK, I will observe your lead in that.’ However I do suppose it is essential, to me anyway, to indicate respect to the gamers.”
Maurice, whose first head teaching job was with the Hartford Whalers in 1995, mentioned workers did not all the time participate within the handshake line and he was making an attempt to reorient the highlight on the gamers.
“Once I first acquired within the league, we’d by no means go shake the gamers. Some coach needed to get on digicam. It was the one factor I can determine,” Maurice mentioned.
“I believe there is a very nice, type of lovely a part of our recreation simply the gamers shaking fingers on the finish. If you consider all the nice competitions on the ice, they don’t seem to be sending Christmas playing cards to one another. This was nasty on the market. And but they shake fingers like that. That is particular,” he mentioned.
Maurice’s reigning-champion Panthers are going through the Edmonton Oilers within the Stanley Cup Remaining for the second straight season. Sport 1 is Wednesday night time.