Hurricanes’ Brind’Amour calls winning Stanley Cup as coach “just as awesome” as winning as player

Not many people get the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup twice in their careers, and even less so across different roles, but Rod Brind’Amour did just that on Sunday night.

With his Carolina Hurricanes winning Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final by a score of 3-0 over the Vegas Golden Knights to win the Stanley Cup, Brind’Amour has now earned his second Stanley Cup in his career, doing so as both a player and coach. And according to the Canes’ head coach, the feeling of winning behind the bench is just as good as on the ice.

“I’ve been asked that a lot here now, it’s still awesome,” Brind’Amour said during his post-game media availability. “It’s just as awesome. But as a player it was a little different because I’d worked and dreamt about winning the cup my whole life. It was like a piano came off my back.

“This time around, I wanted it for the group. I wanted them to feel what it’s like and I wanted it so bad for them. So to watch them finally get it and when I’m grabbing it, just to see the look on their faces, it’s worth it. It’s priceless because you know how happy they were for me. And it was the other way around for me, and I’ll never forget that.”

Brind’Amour wins his first Cup as a coach after his eighth year behind the bench in Carolina, and his 16th season as a staff member of the Hurricanes (one as director of player development, seven as an assistant coach). He previously won it with the Hurricanes in 2006 as captain of the team.

With the win, Brind’Amour becomes the 14th person to win the Stanley Cup as both a player and a head coach (not including those who were a player and head coach simultaneously). He is the first to do so since Larry Robinson won as head coach of the New Jersey Devils in 2000 after winning six as a player with the Montreal Canadiens. Brind’Amour is also the fourth to win a Cup as a captain of a team and as a head coach.