Brind'Amour had hard time letting Philly go

RALEIGH, N.C. - The date was Jan. 23, 2000, one that Rod Brind'Amour will never forget.

More than 11 years after the day the fan favorite was traded by the Flyers with Jean-Marc Pelletier and a second-round pick to Carolina for Keith Primeau and a fifth-round pick, Brind'Amour still isn't exactly sure how he got through it.

Brind'Amour, who had just returned from a broken foot when he was dealt, was so eager to fit in with his new team that he played the remainder of the season after re-breaking his foot shortly after he arrived in Raleigh.

He turned out just fine.

Brind'Amour's familiar No. 17 will be retired to the RBC Center rafters tonight in a special ceremony prior to the Hurricanes-Flyers game, less than a year after retiring last June.

Brind'Amour, 40, played parts of nine seasons with the Flyers and 10 with the Hurricanes, captaining them to their only Stanley Cup, which came under the guidance of current Flyers coach Peter Laviolette.

The Hurricanes decided to wait until tonight, to retire his number with the Flyers, with whom Brind'Amour racked up 591 points and helped them to the 1997 Stanley Cup final, in town.

"The day I got traded from Philadelphia was one of the worst days of my career," Brind'Amour recalled in a conference call earlier this week. "Up until that point, I bled orange and black. It was an extremely tough time for me to leave that place because I loved it so much. They've got tremendous, loyal fans there. They keep you on your toes and they keep you honest, but they're always there for you."

Brind'Amour said that there are "certain players" that do really well in Philadelphia - and it was his grit, tenacity and work ethic that made him that perfect mold for fan favorite.

Brind'Amour, who once scored 97 points in a season with the Flyers, was a two-time winner of the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward. He took great pride in being not just a defensive guru but also a scorer at the same time.

The Ottawa native played a Hall of Fame-worthy 1,484 games over the course of his career, racking up 452 goals, and 732 assists for a total of 1,184 points. He is currently 55th all-time in goals, 44th in assists, 46th in points and 16th in games played.

The Hurricanes haven't exactly been able to get rid of "Rod the Bod," known for his ridiculous off-ice training regimen and physical fitness. He is their director of forwards personnel, where he tries to impart his 21 seasons worth of knowledge on Carolina's youngest crop of forwards.

Few respect Brind'Amour more than Laviolette, which is impressive considering the rocky start to their relationship in Raleigh.

"When he first got here, our relationship wasn't that good," Brind'Amour said. "He didn't know any of the players, he was new to the area, it was just a tough time. Then we had the lockout year . . . and our relationship blossomed from then on. He named me captain and gave me basically every opportunity you could have as a player."

Laviolette almost glows when talking about Brind'Amour and impact on their Stanley Cup team.

"Rod embodied the consummate professional athlete," Laviolette said. "He was dedicated, hard working, talented and passionate. He had a relentless desire to win. His leadership, accompanied with his play, is a direct link to the championship banner that hangs at the RBC Center."

Starting tonight, Brind'Amour's No. 17 banner will hang next to that one. Forever.

"It couldn't have been better timing for me ," Brind'Amour said. "They're the team I played the other half of my career with. I had a lot of great memories with the Flyers, and hopefully I'll be able to have enough time that I can thank the right people with the Flyers who really helped me to get to the point of having this night."

The game is an 8 o'clock start instead of the usual 7 o'clock, to keep the players in their usual pre-game routine rather than rush Rod Brind'Amour's jersey retirement ceremony.

The ceremony will begin at 7 o'clock and pre-game warmups will commence at 7:30 for the 8 p.m. start time. It's something the players on both teams can appreciate.