In the past you’ve said that there’s always a luck element in the playoffs, too. Did the luck finally go your way?
“It’s not the popular way to answer it, but I think, not every year, but we probably had one or two times where the team was definitely good enough and maybe even should have won and didn’t get the breaks. So, usually, I think it would be fair to say that whoever ultimately wins had both talent, and some good breaks. And you need both.”
You mentioned culture, which is also a word Taylor Hall used after Game 5 on Friday. Are you proud of the culture that has been established?
“Yeah, Rod and I had a pretty strong agreement on that. A big part of the reason I hired him is there is a way to treat people and a way to work and a way to go about wanting and needing to win every day, and it’s cliche, but doing it the right way. So, not everyone fits into that. It doesn’t mean they’re bad people. It just means you’ve got to be cognizant of who fits, and then as more people do it right every day, it’s easier for everybody else to do it. So, we’re in a really good spot not just now, but it’s been this way pretty much since I got here.
“You want the players to love being part of it. They’ve got to love each other, and they’ve got to know the coach loves them, and the organization cares about them, and then they can do what they do best.”
Brind’Amour talked Friday about the five players who have been here through all eight seasons – Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Jaccob Slavin. How happy are you for them?
“There’s a reason those five are still here, right? They’re super important to me. They’re super important to the organization. And, yeah, it would be awesome, and Rod it would be awesome for him (to win the Cup).”
