Rod Brind'Amour will return to handshake line after respecting Paul Maurice's request

Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers coaches skipped the handshake line after the Eastern Conference Final

Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said Tuesday he plans to rejoin the traditional post-series handshake line in the future after stepping aside at the request of Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice following last week's season-ending loss in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final. While Brind'Amour did not expect the request, he said he respected Maurice's reasoning — even if he didn't fully agree.

"It is the players. Of course it is," Brind'Amour said. "Those guys are the ones that are battling out there and we're just sitting back there. Not along for the ride. 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, reflection, we talk about graciously losing and I've had some pretty impactful memories and moments in that line as a coach going through it."

Brind'Amour said the handshake line still holds personal meaning for him, pointing to Carolina's first-round series win over New Jersey, where several former Hurricanes were on the Devils' roster. 

"I think moving forward, I'll probably go back to it just because it's a sign of respect," Brind'Amour said. "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'm gonna follow your lead.' But I do think it's important, to me anyway, to show respect to the players."

Maurice explained his stance after the series-clinching win that sent the reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers back to the Final, saying he wanted the moment to belong solely to the players. A brief on-ice exchange near the benches caught attention as the coaches shared what appeared to be an animated but respectful conversation about the decision.

"There's something for me visually, with the camera on of just the men who played, blocked shots, who fought for each other, it's end of one's season, it's excitement for the other," Maurice said. "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's something really kind of beautiful about just the camera on those men who played shaking hands. And we should respect that."

Florida faces the Edmonton Oilers in a Stanley Cup Final rematch, with Game 1 set for Wednesday.