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I'm not big on this sentimental stuff but, this is something I've wanted to say for a long time. This will be a long post so if you want to read it later, bookmark it.
I had my doubts at times but, I never lost faith.
I know I was at times critical of Rod Brind'Amour. I had my frustrations because I knew what he and the team were capable of.
On the 28th of December in 2024, I made a post that generated some controversy.
It was widely misinterpreted by many, including some in the media as me saying things like "Rod is out of ideas" and that "Rod is holding the team back." Some even speculated that I wanted Rod fired, and even asked me in the comments why I "wanted him fired." Nothing could've been further from the truth.
From the day Rod was hired back in 2019, well before I started The Warning Take, people in my hockey circles asked me what I thought about it. I gave them answers along the lines of "The team will have a significantly better culture, they'll ultimately play much better. Justin Williams will be captain now." and things of the like. All of it comes back to "In Rod We Trust", a saying that is almost synonymous with the words "Carolina Hurricanes" themselves.
I know I'm ultimately a nobody when it comes to the Hurricanes. At the end of the day, I'm just someone who has loved the game, because of this team, since I was six years old. My opinion doesn't really carry weight. But, the biggest fear for me was that the three photos of Rod holding the cup up on Sunday night never occurring. What drove a lot of my frustrations was that I couldn't stand the thought of them not winning a cup with him at the helm after he saved this franchise, figuratively and literally carrying it on his back as a player, a captain, and ultimately a coach. I knew this team had it in them. It was never a matter of "if" to me, it was almost a matter of "when" even with thought of "what if" in the back of my mind. This was by far his best season as a coach and the results speak for themselves.
The only time I've ever cried over a hockey game was when the Canes beat the Devils in Game 81 back in 2018-2019 when the drought ended as John Forslund called how much time was left in the game and the score between the Capitals and Canadiens simultaneously while calling the Hurricanes game. I didn't shed any tears the other night as I thought I would. That game left no doubts in my mind. I was convinced basically from the first shift that the Canes were there to win and they would not be denied. Watching them play was like watching eighteen Brind'Amours play, it was most certainly the watershed moment of everything he built, cultivated and created over the last eight seasons.
I can tell you that the next time I might shed a tear is when Rod decides that he's going to walk away from coaching. I hope he doesn't yet because I think this team hasn't made it's last run. There is not, and there never will be, anyone like him for the Canes.
I had my doubts at times but, I never lost faith.
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