Early years Born in
Ottawa but raised in
Prince Rupert and
Campbell River,
British Columbia, Brind'Amour was drafted by the
St. Louis Blues in the first round, ninth overall, of the
1988 NHL entry draft. He played the next season at
Michigan State University. He became known for
working out constantly, earning the nickname "Rod the Bod". During his time at Michigan State, Brind'Amour would go from a game directly into the weight room, where he would undertake a strenuous workout.
Spartans head coach
Ron Mason said Brind'Amour's workouts became so intense they would turn the lights out on him, and when that failed to work, they would padlock the room to bar his entry.
St. Louis Blues (1988–1991) At the conclusion of the 1988–89
Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) season with the
Spartans, Brind'Amour joined the Blues during the
1989 Stanley Cup playoffs. He made his debut in Game 5 of the Blues' division semifinals against the
Minnesota North Stars, and scored a goal on his first shot. In his first full NHL season,
1989–90, Brind'Amour scored 27 points in the Blues' first 24 games and finished third on the Blues with 26 goals. For his efforts, Brind'Amour was selected to the 1989–90 All-Rookie Team. When the Blues lost team captain and top defenceman Scott Stevens as compensation for the free agent signing of Brendan Shanahan, they suddenly had a big hole on their defense. General Manager Ron Caron targeted Philadelphia Flyers blue liner Murray Baron as his solution.
Philadelphia Flyers (1991–2000) Brind'Amour was traded to the
Philadelphia Flyers (along with
Dan Quinn) in exchange for
Murray Baron and
Ron Sutter just before the start of the
1991–92 season. He spent his years in Philadelphia as an alternate to captain
Kevin Dineen and then
Eric Lindros, filling in as captain when the latter was out of the lineup. It was there he started his reputation of being one of the best shutdown centres of the NHL. When the Flyers faced the
Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the
1997 playoffs, Brind'Amour scored two short-handed goals during a single power play. The Flyers made it to the
Stanley Cup Final, which they lost to the
Detroit Red Wings. During his stint with Philadelphia, Brind'Amour was considered one of the NHL's "
ironmen" with a consecutive games streak of 484 played, a Flyers franchise record. He culminated his career as a Flyer after 633 games with franchise records as the seventh all-time in assists with 366, tenth all time in goals with 235 and ninth overall in points with 601. He was inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame on November 23, 2015, in a game against the
Carolina Hurricanes, with whom he was an assistant coach at the time.
Carolina Hurricanes (2000–2010) Following his return from an ankle injury during the
1999–2000 season, Brind'Amour was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes (along with
Jean-Marc Pelletier) in exchange for
Keith Primeau. Brind'Amour formed one-third of Carolina's "BBC Line", also featuring
Bates Battaglia and
Erik Cole, during the Hurricanes' run to the
Final in
2002. Brind'Amour was named captain of the Hurricanes before the
2005–06 season and led the Hurricanes to win the
Stanley Cup that season, defeating the
Edmonton Oilers in the
Final in seven games. During the subsequent off-season, Brind'Amour signed a five-year contract extension with the Hurricanes. In November 2006, Brind'Amour recorded his 1,000th career NHL point, and in February 2007, he scored his 400th career goal. On February 14, 2008, in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Brind'Amour tore his
anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the first period, ending his
season. However, Brind'Amour would return for the
2008–09 season, playing in 80 games while recording 16 goals and 35 assists as the Hurricanes reached the
Eastern Conference finals. On January 20, 2010, Brind'Amour was replaced as
Hurricanes captain by
Eric Staal, previously an alternate captain. Brind'Amour then served as an alternate captain for the remainder of the season. Following the conclusion of the
season, Brind'Amour retired from professional hockey, having played 1,484 career NHL games, after which he moved into Hurricanes' management as a director of
forwards development. His number 17 jersey was retired in a ceremony on February 18, 2011. The ceremony took place prior to a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, which at the time was coached by
Peter Laviolette. Thus the two teams Brind'Amour spent the bulk of his career with, as well as the coach he won the Stanley Cup with, were present to honour him. It is the third number to be officially retired by the Hurricanes since moving to
Raleigh,
North Carolina, after
Ron Francis' number 10 and
Glen Wesley's number 2. Brind'Amour was among the last few players in the NHL who had also played in the league during the 1980s. At the time of his retirement, he finished his professional career 18th in all-time NHL games played. ==Coaching career==