Ward won three Stanley Cups, but one rated ahead of the others

Hurricanes

Ward won three Stanley Cups, but one rated ahead of the others

By Tim Hall

Aug 25, 2010

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Aaron Ward has decided to hang up the skates. The defenseman was fortunate enough to win three Stanley Cups in his career. Not many players can say that. He won two with the Red Wings and one in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Ward joined Adam Gold and Joe Ovies on 99.9 The Fan on Tuesday and vowed that this will be the only retirement. After all he has a "bucket list".

"I'll be laying somewhere in a ditch after I told my wife I'm retired, if I make an announcement I'm coming back."

So since we'll never see Ward on the ice again in the NHL, we have to know which of his Stanley Cup wins has the most meaning.

Gold asked him if his 2006 title rates above the other ones because of the valued role he played on the team as well as his choice to make the Triangle his home.

"It does. It does because...and I don't want to sound like a pompous idiot on the radio, but the first ones always great. And you get an opportunity to win a second one and I'm grateful for both those," Ward said. "But the fact that I had a son and my daughter was born five weeks after that and she was in the cup and there were things about me that were so different from when I was 24."

"I appreciated it more. I wore a pink tie to every single game in the playoffs because I had a baby daughter that I thought would bring me good luck."

There were a number of reasons that led Ward choosing to retire after 17 seasons. He mentioned timing, lack of an ideal situation and time away from family. But he also regretted not doing something last season.

"I made a big mistake in September of last year of not getting a knee surgery that needed to get done," Ward said. "Carolina's doctor [William Isbell] told me that I needed to get it done and I thought it was in my best interest to tough it out and when I did so I hurt myself more in terms of both career and physically."

Ward has already worked as a TV analyst for Versus and TSN and hopes to do more. He said he believes there is an opportunity there.

Most Recent Comments

RE: Ward won three Stanley Cups, but one rated ahead of the others

Wow - it's so refreshing to hear a player say he wore a pink tie because he had a baby daughter and he thought it would bring him luck; his family is very important to him. It sounds like he matured a lot after winning the first two Cups and appreciated winning the third with the Canes more than the first two. Great guy, great player. I wish he'd find a job withint the Canes Organization.

RE: Ward won three Stanley Cups, but one rated ahead of the others

I'm happy for Ward. Sounds like he could take on a role like Bill Cowher has done. Have more free time for family. And still travel and be an analyst.