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Hurricanes put drama, jokes aside with donation to Canadiens charity

The Hurricanes and Canadiens are temporarily putting their beef aside for the greater good. (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Hurricanes and Canadiens are temporarily putting their beef aside for the greater good. (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Despite being enthralled in the NHL’s pettiest rivalry, the Carolina Hurricanes broke character on Saturday with a nice gesture toward the Montreal Canadiens to celebrate World Kindness Day.

The Canes’ Twitter account announced on Saturday afternoon that the team made a donation to the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation.

“The Hurricanes may battle teams across the league on the ice, but improving communities throughout the U.S. and Canada is a goal everyone can get behind,” a statement on the team’s website read.

The Canadiens and Hurricanes have traded jabs both on and off the ice for the better part of two years, ever since Montreal attempted to snag Carolina star forward Sebastian Aho with an offer sheet on July 1, 2019. The Hurricanes chose to match, and even repaid the favour when they signed Jesperi Kotkaniemi by way of an offer sheet this past off-season.

Habs general manager Marc Bergevin decided against matching the one-year, $6.1-million deal and accepted the compensation of a first- and third-round pick in the 2022 draft.

The Hurricanes further antagonized the Canadiens when they dispatched them 4-1 at the Bell Centre on Oct. 21, which included Kotkaniemi’s first goal in a Hurricanes jersey. Following the game, the team posted a link to a website called “didthehabslose.com”, on which they were selling Aho and Kotkaniemi t-shirts for $20, using promo code “OUI”.

Amidst all the bad blood, it’s nice to see that the teams are keeping their feud on the ice, and keeping it classy off it.

“The Canes encourage all fans to make a donation to the Carolina Hurricanes Foundation, the Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation, or the foundation of any other NHL team as we aim to spread kindness throughout the NHL community,” the statement also said.

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