Rod Brind'Amour announced his retirement from the NHL on Wednesday, ending a career that spanned a remarkable 21 NHL seasons.
The native of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada played his collegiate hockey in the CCHA, as a member of the Michigan State Spartans, for just 1 season, in 1988-89. At the end of that college season, Brind'Amour appeared in 5 playoff games for the St. Louis Blues.
He would spend 3 seasons in St. Louis, before moving to the Philadelphia Flyers, where his legacy would begin to grow. He would top 100 points in a season twice in his career, both with Philly, but became a Carolina Hurricane in the trade that sent Keith Primeau to the Flyers in 2000. Primeau was unhappy in Carolina, and according to Brind'Amour, Carolina wasn't exactly on his mind upon his arrival. Yet, as time wore on, and Brind'Amour became more entrenched in the community, and the organization, leaving to go elsewhere simply wasn't going to happen.
In the end, Brind'Amour will best be remembered as the guy that got to hoist the Stanley Cup first in 2006, a vision that every Hurricanes fans has burned into their memories. He will also be remembered as the Frank Selke Award winner in back-to-back seasons while wearing Hurricanes colors.
Most of all, Brind'Amour will (and should be) remembered for being the unquestioned leader of an organization that was looking to make its mark. All due respect to Ron Francis and his incredible career, Brind'Amour is the face that helped NHL hockey take a firm hold in the Carolinas. He never complained. He never battled management over contracts. He never showed up to camp out of shape.
He showed younger players the ropes. He set the standard for conditioning in the dressing room, basically being the benchmark for the rest of the team. He won face-offs. He played both ends of the ice.
Most of all, he recognized when his time was coming to an end. He graciously relinquished the captain's "C" to Eric Staal, accepting the alternate's "A" for his sweater, knowing that you can only outskate Father Time for so long. He leaves the game in better shape, having given 21 years of his life to it.
I was lucky enough to see Brind'Amour wear all 3 sweaters in his NHL career, and can honestly say, I didn't like him as a player when he played against my team. I loved and admired his ability and work ethic, however, every single time he hit the ice.
Congrats on a Hall of Fame career, Brindo. You'll be hearing from Toronto sooner than you think.
Mike Solarte
FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER! www.twitter.com/MikeSolarte
Showing posts with label Carolina Hurricanes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carolina Hurricanes. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
6:51 pm tonight, ESPN did it.
It is Super Bowl week. As my partner in crime, Jason Brown alluded to in the day's earlier post, it's time to crank up the hype machine.
Tonight, at 6:51 pm, ESPN's Sportscenter ran the first of what will likely be many stories of how important this particular Super Bowl is to the city of New Orleans.
Look, I get it, ok? I understand that Hurricane Katrina changed that city and its residents forever. I understand that New Orleans went through the most devastating natural disaster ever. We all saw the images from the news coverage. People stranded on rooftops. The markings on the buildings showing inhabitants, and the deceased. It was horrible. We saw the looting. The lawlessness.
We then saw New Orleans come back from all that. The first game played inside the refurbished Super Dome. The Saints beat Atlanta. It sent chills up my own spine. That game was bigger for New Orleans than what will transpire in Miami on Sunday night. This game isn't for the city now. This game is for the city's fans. The city has shown more fortitude, and guts than anyone could have imagined when the aftermath of Katrina was still unfolding.
We need to remember how the people of New Orleans survived, and overcame that back then. This Saints team, with all due respect to the good folks of New Orleans, is trying to win this game for the franchise. Yes, it's a celebration that will be like none other, should the Saints win, of course. I personally would love to be on Bourbon Street Sunday night after a Saints win. Still, this game isn't about Katrina. It's not about the rebuilding that has taken place. That was taken care of when the Dome reopened. I'm not trying to be cold here, but let's move on, folks.
Elsewhere in the world, Peppers Watch 2010 is back on, in full force. Julius Peppers' agent says he is convinced Peppers will play elsewhere next season, citing a communication gap between the Panthers and his client.
The only reason this is news, is because the agent broke the silence in the media. The Panthers never play the game in the press. N-E-V-E-R. Carl Carey saying things to the media at the Pro Bowl, and wrapping up his comments with a thank you to Peppers' supportive fans has an odor to it. A similar odor to 2009. Make comments to the media, hope the Panthers bite, player gets paid. Carey is trying to force the hand. Newsflash, the Panthers don't have to do anything until Feb 11. And they have 2 weeks in which to do something from then. All this is going to do, in my opinion, is make some folks unhappy about the situation. We'll watch this unfold, and given the uncertain nature of the 2010 season (capped or uncapped), it's anybody's guess how it will all play out.
Tar Heel fans, I may have more faith in your team than you. Thing is, you may be right. I am not a fan, but an observer, and I was stunned to see the Heels get smoked by Virginia on Sunday night. Admittedly, I didn't watch the game start to finish, but I was still stunned by what I saw. Carolina isn't playing it's best ball right now, and there is concern that their best may not be good enough to get them into the NCAA tournament. This is a young team, and they will get better. They may run out of time to get into the dance, though. Again, time will tell.
Went to Raleigh on Saturday and checked out the Carolina Hurricanes game as they hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Yes, I had a rooting interest, so I went as a fan. Wonderful hockey game, Hurricanes won 4-2. Chicago looked tired at the end of their 16 day road trip. Afterwards, I was able to catch up with members of the Hurricanes staff, players and coaches, plus I met several of the Blackhawk players as well. Only drawback to the evening was the drive through the Snowpocalypse.
Feels like I'm rambling, so I'll shut this one down. More during the week as we approach kickoff to the final NFL game of the playoffs.
Mike Solarte
Follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/MikeSolarte
Tonight, at 6:51 pm, ESPN's Sportscenter ran the first of what will likely be many stories of how important this particular Super Bowl is to the city of New Orleans.
Look, I get it, ok? I understand that Hurricane Katrina changed that city and its residents forever. I understand that New Orleans went through the most devastating natural disaster ever. We all saw the images from the news coverage. People stranded on rooftops. The markings on the buildings showing inhabitants, and the deceased. It was horrible. We saw the looting. The lawlessness.
We then saw New Orleans come back from all that. The first game played inside the refurbished Super Dome. The Saints beat Atlanta. It sent chills up my own spine. That game was bigger for New Orleans than what will transpire in Miami on Sunday night. This game isn't for the city now. This game is for the city's fans. The city has shown more fortitude, and guts than anyone could have imagined when the aftermath of Katrina was still unfolding.
We need to remember how the people of New Orleans survived, and overcame that back then. This Saints team, with all due respect to the good folks of New Orleans, is trying to win this game for the franchise. Yes, it's a celebration that will be like none other, should the Saints win, of course. I personally would love to be on Bourbon Street Sunday night after a Saints win. Still, this game isn't about Katrina. It's not about the rebuilding that has taken place. That was taken care of when the Dome reopened. I'm not trying to be cold here, but let's move on, folks.
Elsewhere in the world, Peppers Watch 2010 is back on, in full force. Julius Peppers' agent says he is convinced Peppers will play elsewhere next season, citing a communication gap between the Panthers and his client.
The only reason this is news, is because the agent broke the silence in the media. The Panthers never play the game in the press. N-E-V-E-R. Carl Carey saying things to the media at the Pro Bowl, and wrapping up his comments with a thank you to Peppers' supportive fans has an odor to it. A similar odor to 2009. Make comments to the media, hope the Panthers bite, player gets paid. Carey is trying to force the hand. Newsflash, the Panthers don't have to do anything until Feb 11. And they have 2 weeks in which to do something from then. All this is going to do, in my opinion, is make some folks unhappy about the situation. We'll watch this unfold, and given the uncertain nature of the 2010 season (capped or uncapped), it's anybody's guess how it will all play out.
Tar Heel fans, I may have more faith in your team than you. Thing is, you may be right. I am not a fan, but an observer, and I was stunned to see the Heels get smoked by Virginia on Sunday night. Admittedly, I didn't watch the game start to finish, but I was still stunned by what I saw. Carolina isn't playing it's best ball right now, and there is concern that their best may not be good enough to get them into the NCAA tournament. This is a young team, and they will get better. They may run out of time to get into the dance, though. Again, time will tell.
Went to Raleigh on Saturday and checked out the Carolina Hurricanes game as they hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Yes, I had a rooting interest, so I went as a fan. Wonderful hockey game, Hurricanes won 4-2. Chicago looked tired at the end of their 16 day road trip. Afterwards, I was able to catch up with members of the Hurricanes staff, players and coaches, plus I met several of the Blackhawk players as well. Only drawback to the evening was the drive through the Snowpocalypse.
Feels like I'm rambling, so I'll shut this one down. More during the week as we approach kickoff to the final NFL game of the playoffs.
Mike Solarte
Follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/MikeSolarte
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