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Carolina to retire Rod Brind’Amour’s number tonight vs. Philadelphia

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When it comes time to hang it up for a career, it’s rare when a player can be remembered as cult hero and an icon in two different cities, but that’s precisely what Rod Brind’Amour can do. Tonight, Brind’Amour will be honored in Raleigh having his number 17 retired as his old team, the Philadelphia Flyers, are in town to play the Hurricanes.

Brind’Amour spent 18 of his 20 years in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes. After being drafted and playing two seasons with the Blues, he was traded to Philadelphia in 1991 along with Dan Quinn in exchange for Ron Sutter and Murray Baron.

With the Flyers, Brind’Amour would become a cult hero especially during the team’s Stanley Cup final run in 1997 before losing to Detroit. When he was traded in 2000 for Keith Primeau, Brind’Amour quickly became a hero with the Hurricanes helping lead the team to two Stanley Cup finals appearances and captaining the team that won it all in 2006. After seeing it first hand in Raleigh during All-Star Weekend, the love people in the south have for Brind’Amour is incredible. With his number going up to the rafters, Brind’Amour is forever humbled by the honor.

Brind’Amour acknowledges that he will forever be associated with the Hurricanes, something he couldn’t have imagined when he joined the team at age 29.

“After winning that championship, that did it,” he said. “I don’t think there could have been a better way of going out. I think if I had won maybe before in Philadelphia things might have been different.

“But obviously when you win there’s nothing greater than that. And there’s no better way to be remembered.”

Brind’Amour was such a fierce competitor on the ice and one of the most gentlemanly off of it, seeing the Hurricanes pay tribute to him like this and to do it with his old team in the building to witness it is one of the most classy nods we’ve seen an organization make for a player. After all, Brind’Amour said getting traded by Philadelphia was one of the worst days in his career. Having it pay off so well going to a team and community that embraced him so willingly and getting to win the Stanley Cup for them sure makes up for it.