Carolina Hurricanes: This Season is the Garnish on Justin Williams’ Hall of Fame Career

Five games into his return home and Mr. Game 7 has been a spark for a stalling Hurricanes team. Whatever comes of this season will only enhance the legend of one of hockey’s great winners.

The Carolina Hurricanes came into the 2019-2020 season with high expectations. Coming off of an incredibly successful season which saw them play for a spot in the Stanley Cup final, and provide invaluable experience to their rather young core of talented playmakers.

Consistency seemed to finally find the franchise. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour was still the man in charge behind the bench, and the front office had been unchanged from last seasons. The sky was the limit for this group, and the continuity, continued development, and overall cohesion gained from the trenches equated to the greatest start in franchise history.

The one glaring difference from last season’s exceptional year was the missing of number 14 in the locker room. The captaincy had been handed over to veteran Jordan Staal, and these young Carolina Hurricanes were left without the one player who was the driving force of the teams greatest season in a long time.

Justin Williams, one of the franchise greatest players, and one the best captains in all of hockey last season, had decided to step back from the game he loved. The team, facing the questions of their ability to move forward without their forefather, would begin to fall victim to hockey’s best division in his absence.

For most of the year the Hurricanes where without Williams and his leadership. They thrived, then struggled, and had maintained a place as one of hockey’s middling teams. It was when they may have needed him most that  Williams was ready to make his return to Raleigh, and make another run at the Cup that already bares his name

Early January, when the playoff hunt was just beginning to take shape, Williams began preparing with the team for his return to the ice. What is interesting to consider, however, is the dynamics that remain at play for the Hurricanes organization and their adopted son.

This season is one of expectation and hope for the Carolina Hurricanes. They have talent, great coaching, and experience; now is the time for them to come into their own. This team needs Justin Williams; for the near 20 year veteran, however, there was nothing left to prove.

Whatever happens this season, whether it be a successful second half for Williams, or a successful second half for the team, it will only serve to boost what is a near incomparable legacy that the Captain has left behind.

Williams is at the inevitable crossroads for which every athlete will eventually arrive. The questions of whether or not one should step away from the game is a question Williams took this season to answer. He decided to wait, and when the game called him back, he believed he was ready.

The question is, was he? Should he have stepped away? Should Williams accept the fate of father time, and ride off into the proverbial sunset? The answer is simple; it shouldn’t matter.

If he were to fail in his return- which his 3 points in 5 games seems to refute- would the writers of hockey history even expect greatness from the now 38-year-old winger who has proven his own greatness time and time again?

The reality is that Williams is a multiple time Stanley Cup winner. He is an All-Star. He has a Conn Smythe trophy on his mantel. He has over 300 goals in over 1200 games. He has scored over 100 goals for two different franchises.

He excelled as a player and then excelled as a Captain; leading a young and inexperienced Carolina Hurricanes team to the Stanley Cup playoffs after a 10-year postseason drought. His name will forever be attached to the rejuvenation of this market. The Carolina legend has earned his place among the best to ever don the Hurricanes sweater.

Whatever happens this season, both for the team and for Williams, can only add to what has been a remarkable, and Hall of Fame worthy career. Mr. Game 7 has been the constant dynamic goal scorer, ruthless competitor, and unrivaled teammate every year since he was a teenager.

Not only will Justin Williams go down as one of the best clutch players in hockey history, he remains one of the most important players in Los Angeles Kings history and will always be spoken of as a Mt. Rushmore figure for hockey in the Carolina’s.

PNC Arena may not yet be a building decorated with banners of past triumphs, but the process will get us there; and when it does, it will be the house that Williams helped to forge. This season may help build on that legend, but it will not decide his fate.

Justin Williams is already a Hockey Hall-of-Famer.

Question for CC readers: Will Justin Williams performance this season impact your perception of him?