The lighthearted moments continued when Staal spoke to the crowd.
“My little guy wants to go ‘tarps off’ for the boys,” he said, as his son quickly pulled his red T-shirt over his head and waved it to the roaring crowd.
Hall, who joined the Hurricanes in a trade last season, told the fans, “You guys gave a jolt to my career I didn’t know I needed. Thank you guys so (expletive) much. I’m never going to forget this moment with you here today. This is for you guys, too. This is awesome.”
Slavin, who won a gold medal for the United States at the Winter Olympics in February, was greeted with cheers of “USA! USA!” but quickly put the two accomplishments in perspective.
“Hey, winning the gold medal, unbelievable. Honored to represent this country,” Slavin said, “But winning the Stanley Cup with this team right here in this city, there’s nothing better, baby!”
Seth Jarvis took the stage and first thanked his brother, then said, “Now, for the 23 brothers I have on this stage … we’re the (expletive) champs!”
Nikolaj Ehlers came to the podium draped in a Danish flag and quickly gave his teammates credit for making him feel welcome in his first season in Carolina after spending the first 10 years of his NHL career playing for the Winnipeg Jets.
“I loved that place, but coming here, the way these guys took me in was exactly what I wanted,” Ehlers said. “I needed a change … I got the Stanley Cup.”
When Andrei Svechnikov took the stage, rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin tore Svechnikov’s T-shirt off.
“Holy cow, guys,” the Russian forward said. “Saturday night in Raleighwood. Let’s go! I’m so grateful for my teammates and my coaching staff. And I want to say one more thing: Thank you so much, guys. I love you. You guys are the best fans in the world. We are champions!”
By the time Jordan Martinook got the mic, he was leading the crowd in what had to be the largest Storm Surge ever celebrated.
