The Carolina Hurricanes are taking their entrance song “Rock You Like a Hurricane” a little too seriously.
The team released a video of head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s post-game speech on Sunday following their 3-2 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers, where he gave away a special award for the player of the game. Sebastion Aho was the, uh, lucky player, and Brind’Amour tossed something to him.
“It’s a rock,” Brind’Amour explained simply.
And a rock it sure was. Like, literally, it was just a random rock that looked like it had been picked up from outside on the way in, or snagged from a door it was holding open.
The defending Stanley Cup Champions must’ve blown their season budget on their cup rings –which featured the mantra engraved on their bling.
The rock’s debut was a hit online, prompting quite the response from fans (who had fun replying with SpongeBob and Peanuts GIFs). Some even came up with enlightened theories for the interesting item choice, comparing it to the rock of Sisyphus (a Greek figure who was condemned to push a boulder up a hill for eternity, only for it to always roll back down, making the task impossible).
The practice of a “player of the game” award, which is just a random item that usually only makes sense with a lot of context, is popular across the league, with nearly every team having their own version. But not every award is created equal, and some are just insane (like, you know, a literal rock. Alright, Charlie Brown).
NHL teams’ weirdest post-game awards
Edmonton Oilers- A literal toilet plunger (2023-24)
Edmonton handed the “Plumber” award to its best defensive player — the guy who did the dirty work — while the best offensive player got a beret and paint brush as “The Painter.”
Florida Panthers — “Spacey in Space” hoodie (2015-16)
Probably the weirdest cultural artifact of the bunch: Florida’s player of the game wore a blue hoodie featuring Kevin Spacey’s disembodied head floating through outer space. Even the players refused to explain what it meant. Perhaps they just liked puns a little too much.
Minnesota Wild — Redwood tree hat (2025-26)
Bill Guerin gave the team a metaphor about redwood roots intertwining and teammates relying on one another. The players’ response was essentially: Okay, then we need a giant Indiana Jones-looking tree hat with feathers.
Montreal Canadiens — The “Golden Nut Sack” (2023–24)
In 2023-24, Montreal reportedly had two postgame awards, including an actual trophy labeled the Golden Nut Sack, alongside a helmet with antlers. Naturally, the award was given to the most “ballsy” player of the game.
New York Islanders — Rubber chicken (2024-25)
Their player-of-the-game prop was literally a rubber chicken. They later graduated to a remote-controlled Iron Man helmet, which somehow made the whole evolution funnier. The Islanders themselves acknowledge the chicken as one of their previous awards.
Ottawa Senators — A large tree branch (2024-25)
This one apparently came from a branch that fell on Tyler Kleven’s head during a team dinner in Dallas. The Sens decided it should become their postgame award — and then, fittingly, lost it during a night out.
Seattle Kraken — Davy Jones pirate hat
Jerry Bruckheimer had a movie-quality Davy Jones-style hat made for the Kraken, and it became so elaborate that the team travels with it in its own 15-pound case.
St. Louis Blues — “Weenie of the Game” hot dog hat (2011-12)
The Blues have had an incredible rotating collection: rubber work boots, an old Carhartt cap, Bobby Plager’s gloves, Keith Tkachuk’s giant old Jofa helmet — and, yes, a “Weenie of the Game” hot-dog hat.
Washington Capitals — “Honest Abe” top hat and beard (2014-15)
During Barry Trotz’s first season in Washington, Capitals players handed their postgame player-of-the-game winner an Abraham Lincoln costume: a black stovepipe hat and fake beard. The honor was officially dubbed the “Honest Abe Players’ Player of the Game.” Brooks Laich was the first winner, earning the outfit after a 4-0 win over Boston in October 2014; Tom Wilson and Jay Beagle were among the players who later had to dress as the 16th president, too, “as punishment, I guess.”
The Capitals have had quite a few different awards throughout the years, including some gems that — while insane — are more understandable
During the 2020-21 season, they turned coronavirus quarantine binge-watching into a locker-room tradition thanks to Peter Laviolette.. After getting hooked on Cobra Kai, Laviolette began awarding a Cobra Kai headband to the Capitals’ top offensive player and a Miyagi-Do headband to the top defensive player after wins.
The next season, Peter Laviolette apparently found inspiration with a new TV show. After watching Vikings, he replaced the martial-arts headbands with an actual Viking axe and shield, again splitting the honors between Washington’s offensive and defensive players of the game.
The Hershey Bears have also carried on a similar tradition, handing out a very on-brand bear head after games.
