The Canes’ postgame ‘Storm Surge’ is gone. Or is it?
Carolina Hurricanes captain Justin Williams said Friday it was a team decision to end the popular “Storm Surge.”
Williams also hinted at something else: the Surge might return. Maybe. Some time.
“A hundred percent of our focus needs to be on the game,” Williams said Friday. “We have a couple of things coming up -- Fan Appreciation Day, obviously the last game of the season.
“You know, storm surges are unpredictable at times. You never know when they’re going to come, so ...”
The Canes used the Surge to show appreciation to the fans at PNC Arena, doing something a little different after each win on home ice this season. Baseball, basketball, boxing, a Thor hammer strike, Duck Hunt ... it became a postgame event as much as a light-hearted celebration, keeping fans in their seats.
“It really took off and we enjoyed it as it went on,” Williams said. “The fans enjoyed it as it went on. And it kind of became our thing. It is our thing.”
Don Cherry, the bombastic Hockey Night in Canada commentator, didn’t like it, calling the Canes a “bunch of jerks.” Others, including NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, mentioned how much fun everyone in the arena was having and how it was another, if unconventional way to better interact and connect with their fans.
But the Canes now are trying to secure their first Stanley Cup playoff berth since 2009. Just five games are left in the regular season and two at PNC Arena -- Saturday against Philadelphia and April 4 against New Jersey.
On Thursday, Williams tweeted that the Surge would be coming to an end, catching many by surprise. The Canes later lost 3-2 to the Washington Capitals at PNC Arena.
Williams said Friday the players talked about ending the Surge -- “I’m totally out of it,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Friday -- and becoming a “one focus team.”
Told that it didn’t sound as if he was completely ruling out a Surge return, Williams smiled.
“You never know when they’re going to come,” Williams said. “They’re unpredictable, aren’t they? Isn’t that what meteorologists say?
“We’re proud of it. We had fun with it. I don’t know where it goes from here but as I said in the tweet it was fun muddying up the waters a little bit.”
