Roderic Jean Brind'Amour (; born August 9, 1970) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

coach and former player who is the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

for the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He was selected in the first round, ninth overall, by the St. Louis Blues in the 1988 NHL entry draft. Brind'Amour has also played for the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

and the Hurricanes, the latter with whom he captained to the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

in 2006, marking the first championship in franchise history.

Playing career

Early years

Born in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

but raised in Prince Rupert and Campbell River,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Brind'Amour was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the first round, ninth overall, of the 1988 NHL entry draft. He played the next season at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

. He became known for working out constantly, earning the nickname "Rod the Bod". During his time at Michigan State, Brind'Amour would go from a game directly into the weight room, where he would undertake a strenuous workout. Spartans head coach Ron Mason said Brind'Amour's workouts became so intense they would turn the lights out on him, and when that failed to work, they would padlock the room to bar his entry.

St. Louis Blues (1988–1991)

At the conclusion of the 1988–89 Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) season with the Spartans, Brind'Amour joined the Blues during the 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs. He made his debut in Game 5 of the Blues' division semifinals against the Minnesota North Stars, and scored a goal on his first shot. In his first full NHL season, 1989–90, Brind'Amour scored 27 points in the Blues' first 24 games and finished third on the Blues with 26 goals. For his efforts, Brind'Amour was selected to the 1989–90 All-Rookie Team. When the Blues lost team captain and top defenceman Scott Stevens as compensation for the free agent signing of Brendan Shanahan, they suddenly had a big hole on their defense. General Manager Ron Caron targeted Philadelphia Flyers blue liner Murray Baron as his solution.

Philadelphia Flyers (1991–2000)

Brind'Amour was traded to the

(along with Dan Quinn) in exchange for Murray Baron and Ron Sutter just before the start of the 1991–92 season. He spent his years in Philadelphia as an alternate to captain Kevin Dineen and then Eric Lindros, filling in as captain and wearing the "C" when the latter was out of the lineup. It was there he started his reputation of being one of the best shutdown centres of the NHL. When the Flyers faced the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

in the first round of the 1997 playoffs, Brind'Amour scored two short-handed goals during a single power play. The Flyers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, which they lost to the Detroit Red Wings. During his stint with Philadelphia, Brind'Amour was considered one of the NHL's " ironmen" with a consecutive games streak of 484 played, a Flyers franchise record. He culminated his career as a Flyer after 633 games with franchise records as the seventh all-time in assists with 366, tenth all time in goals with 235 and ninth overall in points with 601. He was inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame on November 23, 2015, in a game against the

, with whom he was an assistant coach at the time.

Carolina Hurricanes (2000–2010)

Following his return from an ankle injury during the 1999–2000 season, Brind'Amour was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes (along with Jean-Marc Pelletier) in exchange for Keith Primeau. Brind'Amour formed one-third of Carolina's "BBC Line", also featuring Bates Battaglia and Erik Cole, during the Hurricanes' run to the Finals in 2002. Brind'Amour was named captain of the Hurricanes before the 2005–06 season and led the Hurricanes to win the

that season, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in the Finals in seven games. During the subsequent off-season, Brind'Amour signed a five-year contract extension with the Hurricanes. In November 2006, Brind'Amour recorded his 1,000th career NHL point, and in February 2007, he scored his 400th career goal. On February 14, 2008, in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Brind'Amour tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the first period, ending his

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

. However, Brind'Amour would return for the 2008–09 season, playing in 80 games while recording 16 goals and 35 assists as the Hurricanes reached the Eastern Conference Finals. On January 20, 2010, Brind'Amour was replaced as Hurricanes captain by Eric Staal, previously an alternate captain. Brind'Amour then served as an alternate captain for the remainder of the season. Following the conclusion of the

, Brind'Amour retired from professional hockey, having played 1,484 career NHL games, after which he moved into Hurricanes' management as a director of forwards development. His number 17 jersey was retired in a ceremony on February 18, 2011. The ceremony took place prior to a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, which at the time was coached by Peter Laviolette. Thus the two teams Brind'Amour spent the bulk of his career with, as well as the coach he won the Stanley Cup with, were present to honour him. It is the third number to be officially retired by the Hurricanes since moving to Raleigh,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, after Ron Francis' number 10 and Glen Wesley's number 2. Brind'Amour was among the last few players in the NHL who had also played in the league during the 1980s. At the time of his retirement, he finished his professional career 18th in all-time NHL games played.

Coaching career

On June 7, 2011, Brind'Amour was introduced by the Carolina Hurricanes as their assistant coach and development coach, retaining his role in developing the franchise's forwards while also spending time behind the bench in the NHL. Brind'Amour represented the Hurricanes in a ceremony before the Charlotte Checkers' first home game as Carolina's new

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate. On May 8, 2018, Brind'Amour was hired as the Hurricanes' head coach. In his first season as head coach, Brind'Amour guided the team to its first playoff berth in a decade, leading them to the Eastern Conference finals where they were swept by the Boston Bruins. On April 26, 2021, Brind'Amour became the first head coach in Hurricanes history to lead the team to the playoffs in three consecutive seasons. On June 17, Brind'Amour agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Hurricanes. That same day, Brind'Amour was awarded the Jack Adams Award, given annually to the NHL's coach of the year. On December 28, 2024, Brind'Amour became the fastest coach to 300 wins in NHL history, achieving the mark in 488 games, eight games faster than Bruce Boudreau. Brind'Amour and Boudreau are the only NHL coaches to achieve 300 wins in less than 500 games.

Personal life

Brind'Amour was married to Kelle Sullivan Gardner, with whom he had three children. The couple divorced in 2004. On July 10, 2010, Brind'Amour married Amy Biedenbach, the daughter of former

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

basketball standout and former UNC Asheville men's basketball coach, Eddie Biedenbach. The couple have one son together. Brind'Amour's oldest son, Skyler, was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers 177th overall in the 2017 NHL entry draft, and is a member of the

organization.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Head coaching record

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brindamour, Rod 1970 births Living people Athol Murray College of Notre Dame alumni Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey coaches Carolina Hurricanes captains Carolina Hurricanes coaches Carolina Hurricanes players Franco-Ontarian people Frank Selke Trophy winners Ice hockey people from British Columbia Ice hockey people from Ottawa Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Jack Adams Award winners EHC Kloten players Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey players National Hockey League All-Stars NHL first-round draft picks National Hockey League players with retired numbers Olympic ice hockey players for Canada Sportspeople from Campbell River, British Columbia People from Prince Rupert, British Columbia Philadelphia Flyers players St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players Stanley Cup champions