In case you haven’t heard, the Carolina Hurricanes have won the Stanley Cup. That’s super cool for a number of reasons. For starters, their general manager, Eric Tulky, used to write for this very website (broadstreethockey.com), which rocks. But on top of that, a whole bunch of former Philadelphia Flyers are living their dream of being a Stanley Cup champion. Shayne Gostisbehere, Sean Walker, and, of course, head coach Rod Brind’Amour are all relishing in the glory of winning the greatest trophy in sports.
But so is our old friend Nic Deslauriers.
Deslauriers had an interesting tenure with the Flyers. Signed to a four-year, $7 million contract in 2022, Flyers fans were not overly thrilled about his arrival. While he was known around the NHL as one of hockey’s best fighters, his actual play left a whole lot to be desired. Deslauriers played in 195 games as a Flyer, but logged a grand total of just 20 points in those outings. Not exactly anything to write home about.
But despite his on-ice limitations, Deslauriers was always a favorite in the locker room. And when the Flyers traded him to the Hurricanes ahead of the March trade deadline, he carried that reputation with him en route to a championship.
Deslauriers only appeared in one game during the Hurricanes’ run to the Stanley Cup, and he earned just 3:09 of ice time in that outing. Still, he’s as much of a champion as anyone on the Hurricanes roster, and he’s taking full advantage of it.
Deslauriers has established himself as the Hurricanes’ chaos agent during the club’s Stanley Cup celebrations. For one, he silenced an entire Las Vegas nightclub to reaffirm he and his teammates’ status as champions of the world before using all of his lung capacity to blow into a vuvuzela.
Since then, things have only gotten better for Deslauriers.
During the Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup parade in Raleigh, Tulsky called the 35-year-old to the podium and signed him to a two-year contract extension in real time. On stage. In front of thousands of fans.
Deslauriers responded the only way he should’ve.
“Two more fuckin’ years!”
What a beauty.
None of this should come as much of a surprise. Flyers fans have known Deslauriers was a different animal from the start. His aura is truly unmatched, and this was only confirmed when footage surfaced of Deslauriers living his absolute best life at Elbo Room in Fort Lauderdale.
Deslauriers’s brand of hockey may not be popular among fans, but Deslauriers himself is perfect. An absolutely flawless specimen who should be celebrated until the end of time.
