Retired Justin Williams of Hurricanes trying to decide what to do ‘when I grow up’
Justin Williams hasn’t decided on his future but says not to count out hockey.
As if anyone would be doing that.
Williams, the former Carolina Hurricanes captain, said in an interview that will air Friday night on the NHL Network’s “NHL Tonight” that the game had been too good to him for him to leave it. Williams, 39, announced his retirement from the NHL earlier in October, and it’s probable he will have some role with the Hurricanes in coming seasons.
“If you ask my wife, I probably have too many hobbies, but I think that’s good, I keep my mind occupied,” Williams said in the interview. “I’m coaching both my son and daughter’s hockey teams. I’m trying to sharpen up my golf game; I’m playing a lot of tennis. I’m seeing what I want to do when I grow up, and I think I’ve got some time to do that right now and just chill out and see what comes my way.
“Listen, I’m sure I’ll be involved in the game of hockey. That’s all I know and everything I have is because I played hockey. It’s been a great run.”
The “NHL Tonight” interview with Williams will air at 6 p.m. on the NHL Network. Those also interviewed include former Canes teammate Bret Hedican and former Canes president and general manager Jim Rutherford, now with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Williams, in the interview, said he was proud of his accomplishments with the Hurricanes. The winger was a big part of Carolina’s 2006 Stanley Cup championship, then won two Cups with the Los Angeles Kings.
Williams returned as a free agent to the Washington Capitals for two seasons before signing with the Canes as a free agent in July 2017. His goal: make the Canes relevant in the NHL again, he said at the time. And he did.
Named captain by new head coach Rod Brind’Amour in 2018-19, Williams led the Canes back to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. The Canes returned to the playoffs this season after the extended pause caused by the pandemic. Williams had come out of semi-retirement in January to rejoin the team.
“We have to be honest with ourselves. We know we’re always going to be the little brother, we’re not a big market, we’re in Carolina here,” Williams said in the “NHL Tonight” interview. “So we have to take that with a grain of salt. We do a little bit more in Carolina, just to become relevant, to become a team to talk about, and not just what we did there with the ‘Storm Surge,’ it’s everything that encapsulates us.
“We’re little-old Carolina here, we’re obviously not always going to be talked about with teams in the Northeast. But we’re doing our thing here and we want people to not come through Carolina and be like, ‘Oh, OK, just a stop in Carolina. Two points and let’s get out of here.’ It’s, ‘Oh, no, we have to go through Carolina, we’ve got to go through the Tampa Bays, we’ve got to go through those types of teams.’ That’s where we want to get to, and I think we’re on our way.”
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 4:00 PM.
