Rod Brind'Amour reveals the frightening reason his players did not touch the Prince of Wales Trophy.

Anyone that has followed sports for any length of time knows that professional athletes can be incredibly superstitious creatures, and for that reason it came as no surprise on Friday night when the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes refused to touch the Prince of Wales Trophy after being crowned kings of the NHL's Eastern Conference for the 2025-26 season.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly presented the trophy and the Hurricanes quickly gathered around both the trophy and Daly, but all of the Hurricanes kept a healthy distance between them and their prize.

Rod Brind'Amour Reveals Why The Hurricanes Didn't Touch The Trophy

Following the presentation of the Prince of Wales Trophy there was little doubt that Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour would be asked about his players' decision not to touch the prize, but what no one could have expected was the hilarious answer they would get from the normally ultra-serious Brind'Amour.

When asked if he had influenced the decision, Brind'Amour at first denied having anything to do with it.

"Not really, not really," said Brind'Amour with a straight face.

Brind'Amour didn't keep the facade up for very long however.

"I had a few guys asked me what I thought and I said 'Do what you want....but don't touch it,'" said Brind'Amour eliciting a roar of laughter from members of the media.

I don't blame the Hurricanes one bit for giving in to the wishes of their head coach, I wouldn't want to get on the bad side of a guy known as "Rod the Bod" either.

Will Superstition Pay Off For The Hurricanes?

Brind'Amour has good reason to be superstitious as he has personally witnessed superstition become reality during his time as a player in the NHL.

All the way back in 2002 the Hurricanes were crowned Eastern Conference Champions and following their victory, Ron Francis would famously hoist the Prince of Wales trophy. The Hurricanes would fail to achieve their ultimate goal just one round later, falling to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final.

Just four years later, the Hurricanes would once again be crowned Eastern Conference champions and this time their captain, a young Rod Brind'Amour, would refuse to touch the Prince of Wales Trophy. Brind'Amour, who had scored the game-winning goal to send the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Final, and the Hurricanes would finish the job this time around, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in a thrilling 7 game series to be crowned Stanley Cup champions.

The 2026 version of the Hurricanes are clearly hoping superstition will hold true for their head coach once again.