Cam Ward

2023 - 2 - 16

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Raleigh News & Observer"

His name already on the Stanley Cup, goalie Cam Ward is now a ... (Raleigh News & Observer)

Cam Ward to enter Carolina Hurricanes' Hall of Fame after career that included 2006 Stanley Cup run and 13 seasons as team's No. 1 goalie.

Canes captain Jordan Staal was on that Penguins team in 2009 that went on to take the Cup. “There were some tough years, but he was someone you’d pay good money to go watch play, a franchise goalie who had a helluva career. Ward later said being awarded the Conn Smythe, in a way, was both a blessing and a curse. And I mean he tried, but he was so injured. A lot of athletes might have come off the rails but he never did. The Canes were then swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the conference final, a disappointing end after some thrilling playoff victories. 1 job and handled all of that, including an unbelievable amount of work with some teams that were good and some that were not,” Forslund, now the voice of the Seattle Kraken, said this week. “He assumed the No. “I know it’s a cliche to say it’s a dream come true to win the Cup, but it literally was. As the years passed, he became a lightning rod of sorts from some fans who believed the goalie, given a six-year, $37.8 million contract in September 2009, did not deliver as expected. As a 21-year-old rookie, Ward took over from goalie Martin Gerber in the 2006 playoffs when Gerber fell ill. 30 for 13 seasons with the Hurricanes and won the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2006, could be next.

Hall of Fame Mailbag: Cam Ward (BlueJackets.com)

(Please Note: Some questions have been edited for clarity.) How did you overcome the pressure of being a rookie goalie in the playoffs and cup finals and seize ...

It brings me back to when I got the opportunity to start Game 3 there in the playoffs. [our new Verses bottle](https://www.vineyard36.com/product/detail/21V36VS/), we're extremely excited about that. I fell in love with Napa Cabernet and I became a collector. I got into wine basically when I turned pro. Anything really that would've allowed me to be involved in helping kids. I'd like to think it would've been something involved in sports. He was able to teach me a lot about the position and I just like being the last line of defense. He never played at a high level professionally, but he was my biggest role model growing up. And if he didn't end up an NHLer what would you do? Why did you choose to play goalie? It's easy to get caught up in the pressures and you lose sight of just having fun. It was a great experience.

Ward intronisé au Temple de la renommée des Hurricanes (NHL.com)

Le gardien Cam Ward, qui a disputé 13 saisons avec les Hurricanes de la Caroline, a été intronisé jeudi au Temple de la renommée de l'équipe.

Ward a disputé 701 matchs de saison régulière, au 29e rang chez les gardiens dans l'histoire de la LNH. Il est le gardien qui nous a aidés à gagner la Coupe Stanley. Quatre ans plus tard, à 22 ans, il a pris la place de Martin Gerber au deuxième tour des séries éliminatoires et a véritablement renversé la vapeur dans le parcours menant les Hurricanes à leur dernier championnat.

Cam Ward: A legacy, an icon and an inspiration (Canes Country)

As the Carolina Hurricanes prepare to honor former goaltender Cam Ward into its team Hall of Fame, let's remember the legacy of the man who delivered the ...

“When I was done, I knew that I was done,” Ward said. Obviously a world-class goalie and it was just a pleasure to be around him for a few years for sure.” He inspired many to love the game and even got some to play it. I was eight when the Hurricanes won the Cup. “To be able to win the Stanley Cup, it was really a storybook year,” Ward said. “My dad’s motto when I was playing was, ‘The more fun you have, the better you do.’ And it became evident that I wasn’t having that much fun towards the end and I knew that was my time. “It just wasn’t a big deal for us,” Brind’Amour, who was the captain of the team at that time, said. “During that time, I established a lot of great relationships and great memories. “We didn’t really have the best record and nobody was really happy with where we were in the standings, but he was still, every night and every day, putting in that work and there was always that same competitive mindset. “I just remember that he was just a big kid,” said Brett Pesce, who played alongside Ward for three seasons from 2015 to 2018. I think that’s just a good way to be as a person and he was just unreal for the room.” “He handled himself the way you wanted and represented the organization to the utmost.

Canes Hall of Fame honor buffs rough edges off Cam Ward's legacy ... (Raleigh News & Observer)

The Carolina goalie led the Canes to the Stanley Cup title in 2006 and was named playoff MVP. His HOF honor is well deserved, and well timed.

Ward was a natural first inductee, perhaps not quite worthy of joining the three players whose jerseys are retired — Rod Brind’Amour, Ron Francis and Glen Wesley; one in the Hockey Hall of Fame, a second who should be and a third not far out of it — but certainly having earned this. (Full disclosure: I am a member of the Hurricanes’ Hall of Fame selection committee.) That was fitting, and not only because every NHL team has had to sit through a zillion of these ceremonies in Montreal: If it weren’t for Ward’s intervention that spring, they might have 25 Stanley Cups instead of 24. When they made the playoffs he was spectacular — and not only in 2006. Some untimely injuries didn’t help, and there were times when his performance wasn’t good enough, but he also kept some garishly awful teams vaguely respectable, never mind the parade of rank incompetence in net that followed his departure, or the fact that he comported himself with class and grace as he went from rookie to grizzled veteran before our eyes. Many of the same people who wildly applauded those lines once groused about Ward’s inability to get a couple pretty good Hurricanes teams over the line into the postseason, even booed him from time to time as the drought lingered.

Ward honored as 1st member of Hurricanes Hall of Fame (NHL.com)

Goalie Cam Ward, who played 13 seasons for the Carolina Hurricanes, was inducted into the newly-established Hurricanes Hall of Fame before the team's game ...

Make the most of it and take advantage of the opportunity. He finished his NHL career with a 334-256-88 record, a 2.74 GAA, a .908 save percentage and 27 shutouts. When you think of the Hurricanes' history, you can't not think of Cam Ward. "I can now attest to that. "You can't have a hall of fame until you get some history," Brind'Amour said. 25) of the NHL Draft in 2002, wondering how he would survive an outdoor conditioning drill in the summer heat.