How does the Canes’ Justin Williams rate his comeback?
No one knew how it was going to go.
Justin Williams didn’t know. Rod Brind’Amour didn’t know. The Carolina Hurricanes players didn’t know.
The assumption was that Williams, after sitting out the first three months of the season, would easily transition back into the Canes’ lineup after his decision to return in January. Throw his gear in the locker room, get in a few practices, jump back into the lineup and pick up where the veteran forward left off last season, albeit without being the team captain — a team leader, for sure, but not the captain.
How has it worked out?
“As soon as he came back he was so familiar with us,” forward Warren Foegele said. “He brings that leadership and he brings that ultra competitiveness to the ice. He’s super competitive, super smart and super skilled. We knew what he could bring and it was like adding a forward a little bit earlier than the trade deadline.”
And Williams’ report card on himself?
“It’s been fine,” he said. “I feel like myself out there. I mean I wish I could be able to contribute a little more offensively but I know if I keep pushing and I keep trying and I keep working those things will come.
“I need to be more of an impact offensively. I know that. And I feel like I can be. I feel fine on the ice. It’s just a matter of getting more chances.”
Asked if the comeback, at age 38, was tougher than he expected, Williams said, “No, about what I expected. Definitely what I expected. Ups and downs and now I’m just looking for an up trend here and I can push that through the playoffs.”
That’s what the Canes want and a big reason Williams returned: another shot at the Stanley Cup playoffs. A year ago, the Canes got their first taste of postseason since 2009, reaching the Eastern Conference finals, and did not want it to be a one-and-done thing.
During a February appearance on a Canes Corner broadcast, Williams told host Mike Maniscalco there would be some really good teams not make the playoffs this year, adding, “But it’s not going to be us.” That was a week before the Canes lost defenseman Brett Pesce and goalies James Reimer and Petr Mrazek to injuries against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Hurricanes (35-24-5) are 0-2-1 in their past three games and might have been 0-3 had Williams not redirected a shot for a goal Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens. The Canes, after trailing 3-0 in the game, tied the score 3-3 on Williams’ goal with 1:17 left in regulation but then lost 4-3 in overtime.
While the Canes Bash was being held Sunday night at PNC Arena, the annual fund-raiser for the team’s charitable foundation, the Columbus Blue Jackets put up four third-period goals for a 5-3 comeback win over the Vancouver Canucks. The Blue Jackets held a three-point lead over the Canes for the second wild-card playoff spot, although Carolina has three games in hand on Columbus.
“I’m confident in our group ... as long as we remember how hard you have to work to get there,” Williams said. “There’s no yellow brick road that you just waltz down to get to the playoffs.”
That message, that kind of positive reinforcement, is to be expected from a three-time Stanley Cup winner, the first with Carolina in 2006. It’s a reason Brind’Amour’s first decision as a head coach last season was to make Williams the captain, why Brind’Amour urged his old friend and former Canes teammate not to retire and to take a few months off before making a decision on this season.
Brind’Amour named Jordan Staal the captain just before training camp began. But he stayed in constant contact with Williams, who spent a chunk of the fall coaching his son, Jaxon, in youth hockey.
Then, he came back. Williams on Jan. 7 signed a one-year, pro-rated $700,000 contract that can include up to $1.3 million in bonus money. He has earned the $150,000 bonus for playing more than 10 games and could pick up $250,000 should the Canes reach the playoffs again.
Through 16 games, Williams has three goals and three assists. He’s getting 13:24 in ice time per game -- he averaged 17:27 in 82 games last season, when he had 23 goals and 53 points -- with a high of 16:10 against the New York Rangers on Feb. 21.
“I think he’s just getting more and more comfortable as we move along here,” Brind’Amour said. “I think his play has been really good and obviously we need that to continue.”
The beginning, for Williams, was pure storybook. Williams had the shootout winning goal in his first game, Jan. 19 against the New York Islanders, then two goals in his second game and another shootout winner in the third. Brind’Amour called him “clutch” and he was.
“Willy is a gamer and he knows how to play,” forward Teuvo Teravainen said.
But Williams went the next seven games without a point. After a two-assist game against Nashville on Feb. 18, he was without a point the next four games as the Canes went 6-5-1 in that 12-game stretch.
There were questions if the adrenaline burst of the first few games had worn off and Williams was beginning to feel the effects of the inevitable grind of practicing and playing. Joining the lineup past midseason -- Williams missed the first 48 games -- can’t be easy at any age given the speed and competitiveness of the games, regardless of how fresh you might feel.
“It felt like starting the season, for me, with everybody else a couple of steps ahead,” Williams said. “Just playing catch up, putting the work in, was the only thing I needed to focus on.”
Williams, with a smile, did say there was one challenge to making a comeback months into the season. Jaxon now is old enough to critique his father’s play, and does.
“He’s always asking when I’m going to score again, so that doesn’t help,” Williams said, laughing.
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 3:30 PM.
