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Carolina Hurricanes: Bryan Bickell to Retire

By John Woodcock

Apr 8, 2017; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defensemen Justin Faulk (27) and forward Derek Ryan (33) and forward Brock McGinn (23) and defensemen Jaccob Slavin (74) and forward Bryan Bickell (29) stand for the National Athem before the start of a game against the St. Louis Blues at PNC Arena. The Blues defeated the Hurricanes 5-4 in a shoot out. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 8, 2017; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defensemen Justin Faulk (27) and forward Derek Ryan (33) and forward Brock McGinn (23) and defensemen Jaccob Slavin (74) and forward Bryan Bickell (29) stand for the National Athem before the start of a game against the St. Louis Blues at PNC Arena. The Blues defeated the Hurricanes 5-4 in a shoot out. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Carolina Hurricanes had a sad but hopeful announcement that Bryan Bickell will retire.

The Carolina Hurricanes won big yesterday. No, it was not in the box scores. If you do go look there, you will find a shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues. Rather it occurred that morning at an MS Walk Event when the team arrived to support teammate Bryan Bickell at the event.

Bickell was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis back in November of last year. That sidelined him from action as he had to deal with the consequences of the nerve disease. He attempted a comeback, but decided last night that he would retire from the game at the rapidly approaching end of the season.

That was hours after the team showed in their ‘Bickell Brave’ shirts to make this particular MS Walk memorable for everyone who was there for it. They had already learned of his intention to retire back on Thursday.

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Bickell will be in the starting lineup for one more game, the home season finale against the Philadelphia Flyers later today. He has received the Steve Chiasson award (a Hurricanes team award) for players who shown unusual grit and determination in dealing with circumstances.

Bickell’s impact on the club is unusual since he was with the team such a short time. He was part of three Stanley Cups in Chicago before being traded to the Hurricanes. His symptoms revealed themselves soon after and kept him off the ice until he felt comfortable to try a rehab stint with the Charlotte Checkers. Now he will play his final game in front of the Raleigh crowd.

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The Hurricanes have little else to play for at this moment. The club has done the unusual. They will finish with a winning record, but they have a large number of overtime losses. Ultimately those fifteen overtime losses held the team back from making a playoff run, but it means that the Hurricanes could be well positioned to make such a run next season.

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