RALEIGH, N.C. — Cam Ward played 13 seasons for the Carolina Hurricanes, won a Stanley Cup, started in an NHL All-Star game in Raleigh and soon will be inducted into the team’s new hall of fame.
One thing missing with Carolina: an outdoor game.
Ward had to go to the Chicago Blackhawks, where he spent the last season of his career in 2018-19, to have that kind of unique experience.
The 2019 Winter Classic was at Notre Dame Stadium, played on New Year’s Day before 76,000 fans. The Boston Bruins topped the Blackhawks 4-2, sealing the game with a late empty-net goal, but that hardly ruined the moment for Ward.
“It was one of the coolest experiences of my career,” Ward said Thursday.
The Hurricanes were not an attractive option for an outdoor game for many years, staying competitive but missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for nine straight seasons. The NHL constantly turned to the Pittsburgh Penguins or Boston Bruins or Washington Capitals — or the Blackhawks — for outdoor matchups.
But the 2023 Stadium Series outdoor game will be played at N.C. State’s Carter-Finley Stadium a week from Saturday as the Hurricanes host the Caps. The place will be packed with more than 54,000 fans for a night game in the Wolfpack’s football stadium.
For Ward, finally having a game in Raleigh says a lot about the continued growth of the sport in the Triangle, and its growth as an NHL hockey market.
“I’m really excited for the players who haven’t had an opportunity to play in an outdoor game and I’m really excited for the city of Raleigh and the Caniac fan base,” Ward said. “I think they’re going to put on a great show. It’s going to be a very memorable experience for everyone.”
Ward, with a smile, said he once believed playing in an outdoor game would be more a 60-minute chore than a once-in-a-lifetime thrill.
“Actually, during my time I kind of thought I didn’t want to play in an outdoor game because I was a goalie and I was going to be cold,” Ward said.
But then the chance came with Chicago on Jan. 1, 2019. Ward was given the start. As he entered the stadium with the Notre Dame band blaring, he said it gave him goosebumps.
The temperature, he said, was in the high 30s. He wasn’t cold. The ice was good. Both teams played hard. The only thing missing was a win.
The Canes’ Stadium Series game will be played two days after Ward’s induction into the Hurricanes Hall of Fame. Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour, Ron Francis and Glen Wesley — who all have their jersey numbers retired — earned automatic induction, and Ward was named to the inaugural class in November.
Ward, 38, was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoffs MVP in 2006 when the Canes won the Stanley Cup, in net for Game 7 victories over the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference final and Game 7 against Edmonton in the Cup final.
Ward holds the franchise records for regular-season games played (668), wins (318) and shutouts (27). In the 2008-2009 season, when Carolina reached the Eastern Conference final, he set a franchise mark for wins (39) and then won Game 7s against the New Jersey Devils and Bruins in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
“He’ll always be a part of this organization,” Brind’Amour said when Ward left the Canes in free agency in 2018. “He put his stamp on this place.”
Ward said he has season tickets to Canes games. He and his family will be at Carter-Finley for the outdoor game as interested spectators, and Ward will later play in the team’s Alumni Game at Carter-Finley.
“Carter-Finley is a great setup for an outdoor game and the Hurricane fan base will make it even more of an experience,” Ward said. “It reminds me of when we hosted the (2011) All-Star Game. I can remember how proud everybody was of the way Raleigh embraced that.”
