Fans Back Rod Brind’Amour as He Displays Disappointment Over Paul Maurice’s Awkward Handshake Suggestion

“They’re the standard, obviously,” admitted the Hurricanes’ head coach, Rod Brind’Amour, after the Florida Panthers defeated his men in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Through the statement, he might have also acknowledged the coaching acument of the Cats’ boss, Paul Maurice. However, it’s not like ‘Rod the Bod’ agrees to every opinion that Maurice holds on other things, and the fans seem to be on board with the Canes’ coach’s views.

After the Panthers eliminated the Hurricanes from the playoffs last week, the two coaches were seen having a lengthy conversation on the ice over a somewhat awkward handshake. Coach Maurice, however, didn’t proceed to shake the hands of the Carolina players. “The last thing that a player in the Carolina deserves is fifty more guys in suits. They have no idea who they are. That’s not a negative. There should be something beautiful of just the camera on those men who played, shaking hands and we should respect that.” However, Rod Brind’Amour doesn’t agree.

The Carolina coach recently made his feelings clear on Maurice not wanting the coaches in the handshake lineup. In a post by B/R Open Ice on X from June 3, Rod Brind’Amour’s POV was shared with the caption, “Rod Brind’Amour spoke about his viral moment with Paul Maurice skipping the handshake line, saying he’s had some “impactful moments” as a coach in the line and will continue to participate in it in the future.”

To elaborate on his perspective, Rod highlighted how he was there on the ice to shake the hands of the Devils’ players after defeating New Jersey in Round 1 of the playoffs. “I had four or five guys that were Hurricanes and I still think of them like that. So it meant something to me to go through there and shake their hand.”

Rod Brind'Amour spoke about his viral moment with Paul Maurice skipping the handshake line, saying he's had some "impactful moments" as a coach in the line and will continue to participate in it in the future. pic.twitter.com/4BEZVekNMP

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 3, 2025

And with that statement, it seems like Rod Brind’Amour has enamoured even those who might believe that Paul Maurice might be a better coach. “Always liked Maurice but skipping the handshake line and expecting others to do so is a clown move. He’s wrong on this one,” one fan cleared their stance on the matter without beating around the bush.

The story is developing…

The post Fans Back Rod Brind’Amour as He Displays Disappointment Over Paul Maurice’s Awkward Handshake Suggestion appeared first on EssentiallySports.