RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes have hired retired captain and three-time Stanley Cup winner Justin Williams as special advisor to the general manager.
“The knowledge that he brings just getting off the ice a short time ago is going to be very valuable for us,” team president and general manager Don Waddell said Friday in a virtual news conference.
Williams said it was “just an opportunity to stay within the game” and that his goal “is really to learn as much as I can” about team operations.
“It’s just something that’s already interests me,” Williams said, adding: “Am I going to be good at rating players, at grading players? I don’t know. So I’m just kind of learning of what I need to see in a player because when I went out there, I could just do it. … I’m just going to do my best to learn from the guys that are very, very well-experienced in it.”
The 39-year-old forward announced his retirement in October after 19 NHL seasons and a second stint with Carolina, where he won the Cup for the first time in 2006. He later won the Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014 — winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs’ most valuable player in that second run — while earning the nickname “Mr. Game 7” for his success in those postseason deciding games.
Williams had 320 goals and 477 assists in the regular season.
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