You’d think that his name comes up when the Hall of Fame selection committee meets each year, the rugged two-way center having scored 1,184 points (452 goals, 732 assists), with another 111 (51 goals, 60 assists) coming in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He captained the Hurricanes to their 2006 Stanley Cup win and twice, in consecutive years, won the Frank J. Selke Trophy voted as the NHL’s best defensive forward (2006, 2007).
Now in his seventh season as coach of Carolina, Brind’Amour brings a .658 winning percentage (311-150-48) into the game Tuesday. The Hurricanes have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of his six seasons, going 38-36 and advancing to the Eastern Conference Final in 2019 and 2023. He enjoyed good numbers against the Canadiens (57 points; 19 goals, 38 assists in 75 regular-season games) and was better than a point per game during the playoffs (13 points; six goals, seven assists) in 12 games.
Brind’Amour played 38 NHL games in Montreal, 13 at the Forum before March 16, 1996, and 25 at Molson/Bell Centre (35 points; 13 goals, 22 assists). He skated six games against the Canadiens in the 2002 and 2006 playoffs and had six points (four goals, two assists) in the first-round win that set the Hurricanes toward their Stanley Cup victory.
