‘We’re right in there with these guys’: Brind’Amour on Maurice’s viral handshake moment
After almost a week, we’ve finally heard Rod Brind’Amour’s side to the handshake line story.
Headlines were made when the Carolina Hurricanes head coach was seen talking with Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice after the conclusion of their respective teams’ Eastern Conference Final matchup. While it was first thought to be a heated argument based on the happenings of the series, Maurice revealed later that he was telling Brind’Amour that he wanted to leave the handshake line for the players.
However, we had yet to hear Brind’Amour’s thoughts on the matter, something we finally got on Tuesday during the Hurricanes end-of-season press conference.
“Yeah [it was hard], but I understood his point of view,” said Brind’Amour. “He explained it to me. I wasn’t expecting it, but I understood what he said and why. It is the players. Of course it is. Those guys are the ones that are battling out there and we’re just sitting back there. Not along for the ride though. We invested a ton into it. So I get his point. It is about the players.
“I guess my take on it now, sitting back on it and reflecting, we talk about gracious losing and I’ve had some pretty impactful memories and moments in that line as a coach going through it. Even in this playoff run with the Devils, I had four or five guys that were Hurricanes and I still think of them like that. So it meant something to me to go through there and shake their hand.
“For me, I’m not thinking about a TV moment. I get enough of that every time there’s a penalty. So that’s not in it for me. I think moving forward, I’ll probably go back to it just because it’s a sign of respect. That’s the way I look at it. We’re not out there on the ice battling, but we’re right in there with these guys.
“So that’s my take. I think you’re entitled to whatever one you want. He won, so I kind of went, ‘Okay, I’ll follow your lead. But I do think it’s important, to me anyway, to show respect to the players.”
Brind’Amour helped the Canes to their third Conference Final appearance during his seven-year tenure as head coach. While they still lost the series, it was the first time they weren’t swept since 2006, when Brind’Amour was captaining the team to their first and only Stanley Cup in franchise history.
While the disappointment in the East Final will look bad to outsiders, the Hurricanes’ performance as a whole this season outperformed internal expectations, as the significant roster turnover from last season led to lower expectations from the team. Despite all that, they finished second in the Metropolitan Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 47-30-5 record, and won two playoff series.