Brind'Amour not planning to skip handshake lines moving forward
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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour plans to return to the handshake line between teams at the conclusion of a playoff series, coming after Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice convinced Brind’Amour the coaches should sit out after their Eastern Conference final series.
Maurice has said he believes long-running hockey tradition should be solely between and keeping focus on the players. That led to an animated discussion between Maurice and Brind’Amour as players went through the on-ice line after Florida’s clinching Game 5 win at Carolina last Wednesday, which sent the reigning champion Panthers back to the Stanley Cup Final for a rematch with Edmonton.
Speaking at his end-of-season news conference with general manager Eric Tulsky, Brind’Amour said he “wasn’t expecting” Maurice’s position “but I understood his point of view” after an explanation.
“So I get his point, that it is about the players,” Brind'Amour said Tuesday.
“Moving forward, I think I’ll probably go back to it just because it’s a sign of respect – that’s the way I look at it,” Brind’Amour added later. “We’re not out there on the ice battling, but we’re right in there with these guys. So that that’s my take. I think you’re entitled to whatever one you want. He won, so I kind of went, ‘OK, I’m going to follow your lead in that.’ But I do think it’s important, to me anyway, to show respect to the players.”
Brind’Amour pointed to the Hurricanes’ first-round win against New Jersey, which featured former Carolina players like Brett Pesce, Dougie Hamilton and Stefan Noesen. Notably, when Brind’Amour reached Pesce — who rose from Carolina draft pick to play nine seasons with the Hurricanes reaching back to Brind’Amour’s time as an assistant coach -- the two had a hearty hug and amiable chat.
Maurice has stressed throughout these playoffs that he believes the handshake line should be for players only and expressed that belief to Brind'Amour as the two coaches shook hands in front of the benches.
“I don't believe that the coaches should shake players' hands at the end,” Maurice said after his team advanced to their third straight Stanley Cup Final. “There's this long list of people in suits and track suits. We had like 400 people on the ice. They're all really important to our group. But not one of them was in the game.”
Maurice also thanked Brind'Amour for taking a risk in agreeing with him to allow it to be players only.
“There's something for me visually, with the camera on just the men who played, blocked shots, fought for each other, it's end of one's season, it's excitement for the other,” Maurice said. “The last thing that a player on the Carolina Hurricanes deserves is 50 more guys in suits, they have no idea who they are and that's not a negative. There's something really kind of beautiful about just the camera on those men who played shaking hands. And we should respect that.”
Maurice had said he wasn't sure when coaches joined the post-series handshake line and wondered if it was someone looking to get more TV time. Brind'Amour shrugged that off with an inadvertent quip and nod to his often-animated reaction to officiating calls.
“For me, I’m not thinking about a TV moment,” Brind'Amour said. “I get enough of that every time there’s a penalty.”