Acknowledging the veteran’s tireless grind and pivotal playoff performance, the Hurricanes captain honored his netminder’s resilience with the ultimate gesture of respect on hockey's grandest stage.
As Jordan Staal took his lap with the Stanley Cup, all that was on his mind was savoring that moment.
But when he came back to the group, he had a decision to make: Who will next have the opportunity to lift Lord Stanley?
Many thought that perhaps linemate and best buddy Jordan Martinook would get the honor or perhaps one of Sebastian Aho or Jaccob Slavin, the other two longest serving Hurricanes.
But in that moment, the Canes captain made a different decision, opting to instead hand the Cup to goaltender Frederik Andersen.
"He's obviously been grinding the longest," Staal said on Andersen, the second oldest player on the team. "I think he got us going here in the playoffs and it was unfortunate for him to be out of the lineup. I'm sure he wanted to keep it going and couldn't. I just figured he'd be a great start. Just proud of the way he played for us. He gave us some great rest early in the playoffs and a chance to keep moving forward."
Andersen had been the Hurricanes' guy this year, starting in 16 of the Canes' 19 playoff games and picking up 13 wins in that span.
The Danish veteran even battled through immense grief after the passing of close friend, mentor and agent Claude Lemieux, still finding a way to help his team advance to their first Stanley Cup since 2006.
But in the end, Andersen was forced out of the lineup due to injury.
However, even if he wasn't the one to get the team over the finish line, he's still been integral piece of the team for years and deserved the acknowledgement he got.
"A guy that's grinded it out for a long time," said Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour. "Happy for him. Everyone knows he was such a big part of getting us here."
"He deserves it probably more than anybody," Seth Jarvis told Sportsnet. "That guy has grinded his absolute nuts off to be in this position and get us here. So to see him lift the Cup after everything he's been through... I can't say enough good things about him and I couldn't be happier for him."
For Andersen, the honor came as a bit of a surprise to him as he had no idea Staal was going to start with him.
"I was shocked," Andersen said. "I was a deer in the headlights. Yeah, I was not really ready for that, but it was a very cool moment. I think I obviously waited for that a long time and have been dreaming of it for a long time. So yeah, that felt good."
That moment had been a long time coming for the 13-year pro who had dealt with a lot from injuries to heartbreak both on and off the ice, and he made sure to truly savor it.
"I've always heard people say it's heavier than you think, but it didn't feel too bad," Andersen said. "It wasn't too bad. So, yeah, I mean, yeah. It felt good. It felt right."
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