After the Florida Panthers eliminated the Carolina Hurricanes in five games in the Eastern Conference Final, there was something quite noticeable missing from the ceremonial handshake line: the coaches.
Anyone who follows the Hurricanes knows just how much Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour enjoys the opportunity to show his respect to the opponents, talk with former players and just share in the moment.
But after the series ended, he did not take part in the line due to a request from Florida coach Paul Maurice.
"It's a personal belief, and I really appreciate what he did, because I understand that there's a bit of a risk," Maurice said after Game 5 in Raleigh. "The story goes like this. I don't believe that the coaches should shake players' hands at the end. I don't. 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.
"There's something for me visually, with the camera on just the men who played, blocked shots, fought for each other. It's the end of one season, it's excitement for the other. 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 should be something beautiful of just the camera on those men who played, shaking hands and we should respect that.
"I appreciate the risk that [Brind'Amour] took, because he's concerned that someone here is going to be upset that he didn't shake our players hands, but I asked him not to and he understood it."
It wasn't the first time that Maurice had had the coaches skip the handshake line, as he also did it in this year's second-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"Talked to Craig Berube on the ice in Toronto and figured if I could sell it in Toronto, and he understood it because he's played and Roddy's played, so they both kind of get it," Maurice said. "I don't know where it changed. When I first got in the league, you'd never go shake the players hands. Some coach wanted to get on camera, that's all I can figure out on it. Maybe they wanted to shake Wayne Gretzky's hand. I don't know what changed but I don't think it's right. All the great competitions on the ice are hard. Going after each other and yet they shake hands. That's special. They're not sending Christmas cards to each other. It's nasty out there."
But it also appears to be a new philosophy for Maurice as he had shaken the hands of players for years previously, including this very postseason as he shook hands with the Tampa Bay Lightning in round one.
Hurricanes Share Special Moment With Former Teammates In Handshake Line
The Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the New Jersey Devils in five games Tuesday night at Lenovo Center thanks to a <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/shortUrl/ur7XwlJ" target="_blank">5-4 double overtime win</a>.<br><br>As always following the conclusion of a series, the two teams met at center ice for the ceremonial handshake line, a show of respect between the clubs.<br><br>But it was an even more special moment for the Canes as they finally got to drop the masks with a few long-time teammates, but most notably Brett Pesce.
While Brind'Amour might have understood Maurice's intentions, it's not something that's going to catch on with him.
"Yeah [it was hard], but I understood his point of view," Brind'Amour said when asked about skipping the handshake line. "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."
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Photo Credits: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images