Williams inducted into Hurricanes team Hall of Fame

RALEIGH, N.C. -- You can't have a Carolina Hurricanes Hall of Fame without the man they call "Mr. Game 7."

Justin Williams was inducted into the Hurricanes Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony before the team hosted the Los Angeles Kings on Monday afternoon.

“Today was pretty great,” Williams said. “I thought I would be fine up there, then you look at the people and you see all these players and everybody is saying nice things about you. Then you get rolling in the wrong direction and it gets a little emotional.”

He is the fifth player inducted into the team's hall of fame, alongside Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour, Ron Francis, Cam Ward and Glen Wesley.

Williams, who won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006, had 316 points (128 goals, 188 assists) in 449 regular-season games with the Hurricanes over parts of eight seasons (2004-09, 2017-20) and added 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 47 playoff games with the team. He retired after the 2019-20 season and said he is comfortable with leaving his hockey identity behind.

"The quicker you can realize that you're not an NHL player anymore and that no one really cares about you anymore, that's the best way to move on," Williams said. "You're just Dad, you’re just Justin. It's fine. It’s just the evolution of playing hockey."

Williams, who spent eight of his 19 NHL seasons in Carolina, also won the Stanley Cup 2012 and 2014 with the Kings. He finished his career with 797 points (320 goals, 477 assists) in 1,264 games.

Williams second stint with Carolina began one season before Brind'Amour, his teammate on the 2006 Stanley Cup-winning team, took over as the Hurricanes' coach. Brind'Amour immediately named Williams captain prior to the 2018-19 season, and the Cobourg, Ont., native led the team to its first Stanley Cup Playoffs in 10 seasons.

“It was really important, for me especially,” Brind’Amour said. “Having him as that guy, I could go and bounce everything off of him that we were trying. The relationship we had made it real easy for me. He was instrumental in kicking us off how we wanted to build this team moving forward. I think you see that the way he did things, that’s the way we’re still trying to do things. He had a lot to do with it.”

The first-time captain warmed up to the role quickly.

"I really felt honored," Williams said. "A little scared, but at the same time, you go out there and do what you do.

“The longer you play, people will start to look at you. You can’t shy away from it. All of a sudden you look around the dressing room and you’re one of the oldest guys in there. You’ve got to pick up the leadership qualities a little bit and pass that along because this organization is very important to me, and it’s very important that this team is good for a long time.”