RALEIGH, N.C. — His role hasn’t changed all that much. Be physical. Be present checking. Win puck battles.
Do all the dirty work expected from fourth-liners.
That was William Carrier for the Vegas Golden Knights all those years and is again now for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Carrier’s present team meets his old one in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night at Lenovo Center.
Carrier is an Original Misfit of the Knights, acquired during the 2017 expansion draft from the Buffalo Sabres.
He was there when the Knights fell to Washington in a Cup Final that first season and there when they won it all in 2023. There to understand how much losing could hurt and how much euphoria came with claiming a title.
“(Carrier) is a winner, he’s a champion,” Carolina center Mark Jankowski said. “Ever since he came to our team, he has been a huge addition. He is built for this time of year, for playoff hockey.
“It’s his type of game. His strength down low on the puck is second-to-none in this league. He can create so much space and O-zone time for us. It’s really special to play with someone like him.”
Carolina bound
Following seven seasons with the Knights, Carrier signed with Carolina as a free agent in July 2024, inking a six-year, $12 million contract.
Lots of forechecking. Lots of backchecking. Lots of energy needed. Exhibit a simple game and make plays when the opportunity exists.
The Hurricanes picked Carrier for all of it and he picked them.
He said things might be more nostalgic had this Final taken place just one year after departing Las Vegas. But it has been two now and he is fully immersed with all that is Carolina.
He does know one thing, however. The standard by which Vegas operates hasn’t changed.
“They want to win every year,” Carrier said. “They’re playing hockey in June again. It’s a lot easier to play for a team that wants to win. It’s the same here. When you go from a culture of winning one place to another the next, it’s a special thing. That’s what they do here — bring in people with high expectations.
“Some might not (like the Knights) but that’s only because they’re good every year. They’re good for hockey. Nobody thought it was going to work out there and it did.”
He is still an avid fisherman, still an expert handyman, still a skilled carpenter. You want it built or fixed, he’s your man.
He doesn’t foresee having any advantage playing the Knights. He might know some of their tendencies, but they do for him as well.
Carrier does remember one thing in particular: T-Mobile Arena.
“That building is special and will always be special,” he said. “They lost a Cup there, won a Cup there. It means a lot to me. Played a lot of games there with some great memories. Skating there and playing there will always be special.”
He wants more than anything for his Carolina teammates to experience what he already has — a championship. To know the feeling when skating around ice and holding aloft a Stanley Cup.
To be the last team standing as a season concludes.
“There’s a lot of guys here who need their name on that Cup,” said Carrier, one of three Hurricanes to have won it all. “It’s magical in a way. I’m trying to do it for them and bring them up and get them to know that same winning feeling. If I can share that with these guys, it would be great.”
His role hasn’t changed all that much.
William Carrier now is every bit as William Carrier then.
