The Carolina Hurricanes announced on Monday that captain Justin Williams is taking a break from hockey.

Whether this means Williams has played his last game is up in the air. We saw Tim Thomas take a year off from the NHL at 38 years old as well (though when he did return, he wasn’t really the same goaltender). What we do know is that if this is it for Williams, he’s left fans with a lot of moments to remember him by.


MR. GAME 7

One of the most notable parts of Williams’ career has been his ability to rise to the occasion when a season is one the line. In nine career Game 7s, Williams is 8-1 and holds the NHL record with 15 points. The result: he has been dubbed “Mr. Game 7” – even if Williams himself doesn’t like the nickname.




THREE STANLEY CUPS

Williams is one of the few players who’s been able to win not one, not two but three Stanley Cups in the Salary Cap Era. During his first run with the Hurricanes he was part of the 2006 Cup-winning team, which he won in the midst of his best NHL season, where he scored 76 points. Upon moving to Los Angeles, Williams won two more Cups in 2012 and 2014, also taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy as a 33-year-old in the process.




AGELESS WONDER

He’s missed just three regular season games in the last eight years. What’s wild about this stat is that dating eight seasons back, Williams was turning 30 years old, meaning he’s managed to maintain his health (and production) through his 30s. He’s scored 50+ points in three of the last four seasons and finished last season second in goals and third in points on the Hurricanes.




RETURN TO CAROLINA AND CAPTAINCY

Williams returned to Carolina after eight-and-a-half years, capped off by two unsuccessful playoff runs with a stacked team in Washington. Just before the start of the 2018-19 season, the Hurricanes named Justin Williams as the organization’s 16th captain. Williams led the Hurricanes to their first playoff appearance in 10 years, as the Hurricanes reached the Eastern Conference Final.

If this is it for Williams, he’ll walk away from Hurricanes as one of the team’s most beloved and respected players ever.



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