As the Hurricanes wait to see who will join them in the Eastern Conference Finals, ice hockey analyst Don Cherry continues to double down on that "bunch of jerks" comment he made earlier in the season. On Saturday, Cherry, while sporting a Star Wars-themed sports jacket, called Canes fans 'front-running' fans.
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Meantime, the Canes locker room is split about the ongoing 'Bunch of Jerks' debacle.
Justin Faulk said, "We're gonna come in here either which way, and we don't care if someone calls us a jerk or not. But I think the fans love it and eat it up quite a bit."
Andrei Svechnikov smiled, "No, I just don't think about that, we come out and play our game."
Asked to for a nickname to put on his own T-Shirt, Sebastian Aho said, "Probably not jerks."
Faulk added, "That's not the name that comes to my head, if that's the answer you're looking for."
Still 18,000 shirts have been sold, and Don Cherry hasn't made a penny. No matter what their rally cry is, these guys just flat out enjoy playing together.
"Not always does every personality seem to fit into the room or fit in smoothly," said Faulk. "But we don't have a guy in here who doesn't fit in with our group and what we're trying to do."
Aho agreed, "We care a lot about each other, and we work really hard.
Head coach Rod Brind'Amour gave the team two days off to relax and heal up.
Brind'Amour said, "Anytime you can get a mental break is as important as the physical, so hopefully we'll see dividends."
Whether the Canes get Columbus or Boston, this "bunch of jerks" knows the playoff grind is only heating up.
Brett Pesce explained, "It's cool. It's obviously an accomplishment in itself but at the same time we're not close to done."