Raleigh, N.C. – Glen Wesley had played 1,480 regular-season and playoff games without being on an NHL champion.
He had been with the Hurricanes from the moment the franchise moved to North Carolina, surviving the seasons of commuting to Greensboro while the RBC Center was under construction, and even learned to roll with the teasing from those who ridiculously portrayed his new professional home as one big NASCAR pit crew – or Gomer and the gang at Wally’s Garage.
On Monday night, Wesley – who began his career as a Ray Bourque teammate with the Boston Bruins – got to understand what Bourque felt when the Avalanche defenseman got to raise the Stanley Cup after Colorado’s Game 7 victory over New Jersey in the 2001 Finals.
“You know, it was never, ever about me,” Wesley said after the Hurricanes’ 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Finals at the RBC Center, with his wife and three children standing behind him. “I truly believe that. It was about every guy in the locker room, and it wasn’t about every guy in the locker room, and it wasn’t about one individual.”
He said that as he was trying to sleep Monday afternoon, his wife had the kids watch a movie to keep them quiet.
They watched “Rocky.”
Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said that watching his veterans raise the Cup first was “probably the greatest feeling of my life.” He added that “long after” holding the Cup himself, “I will remember where this team came from, how hard they fought for each other.”
Tough loss to take
Edmonton center Shawn Horcoff said the Oilers’ surprising playoff run as the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed wasn’t much consolation.
“Not right now, it’s not,” he said. “Let’s be honest. You come all this way, you want to win the Stanley Cup.”
Weight unable to play
Veteran center Doug Weight, who suffered a shoulder injury in Game 4, took the morning skate with the Hurricanes on Monday, raising some hopes that he might be able to return to the lineup. But he didn’t suit up, after all. The Hurricanes did make one change from Game 6, scratching center Josef Vasicek and inserting center Chad LaRose. Vasicek had played in Games 4, 5 and 6, taking La- Rose’s spot.
Champs on parade
The Hurricanes will be honored at a parade and celebration today at the parking lots between the RBC Center and North Carolina State’s Carter- Finley Stadium. NHL folks will reconvene later in the week in Vancouver for the league’s awards ceremony at the Centre for the Performing Arts on Thursday night and the entry draft at GM Place on Saturday.
