Canes lifted a cinderblock for 5 years after each workout; How it connects to the Stanley Cup

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The last square was put up on June 14 outside the Lenovo Center, displaying what the world now knows -- the Carolina Hurricanes are the Stanley Cup champions.

The win is the team's second championship in franchise history and comes 20 years after the first. Coach Rod Brind'Amour was the team captain during that win.

In 2018, Brind'Amour was named Hurricanes head coach.

Brind'Amour brought his accountability and work-hard mentality to coaching. During an ESPN interview in 2018, after he was hired, he shared things he thought would help get the team going in the right direction.

ESPN: "There was a lot of talk at the news conference about changing the culture on this team, and two things you said stuck out: First, that the expectations for the franchise needed to be higher than they've been. Did you mean the target in the past was "let's try and compete for the playoffs" rather than "let's win the Cup?"

Brind'Amour: "That's exactly it. This is no knock on the way it was before. They were just trying to be realistic and not set the expectations too high because if it didn't work, it would be seen as a failure. I didn't quite understand it. But I will tell you this: I don't care who you are or what you do, but if the bar is raised too high ... you might not get to it, but you're going to get close. That's just human nature. If you set it for "just make the playoffs," then you're not going to get it. Take a look where we've been every year. That's no way to go. Set the bar high. Push the guys. Expect more out of them."

Brind'Amour's record for the past five seasons shows that he walks his talk. The Hurricanes have set a franchise record by winning at least one postseason series in seven consecutive seasons. In the 2026 season, they posted a 16-3 postseason record.

The Cinderblock Secret

How does a cinderblock lift requirement connect the team to the Stanley Cup?

Rod Brind'Amour, his Strength and Conditioning Coach Bill Burniston and head trainer, Doug Bennett, had a secret mission that involved the cinderblock, which weighed exactly 35 pounds, according to Brind'Amour.

And for the past five years, the players have been required to lift a cinderblock over their head after each workout. They're called 'blue collar presses.'

Just a few days after winning the Stanley Cup, Brind'Amour confirmed this to ESPN's Pat McAfee.

"We've had that cinderblock for 5 years, and I never told the guys what it was preparing them for."

"They (Burniston and Bennett) were trying to figure out how to finish off your day with a lift," the head coach explained. "They put (a cinder block) on the scale, and it ended up being 35 pounds. It just hit them that it was the same weight as a Stanley Cup. So they sent me a picture of it, and I'm like, 'You've got to bring that in.'"

From the day the cinderblock was purchased at Home Depot, each player was required to pick it up and lift it over their head (one blue collar press) after every workout and before leaving the workout room.

"Basically, what we ask the guys to do is one press and think of those blue-collar moments that got them here and someone that helped you get here."

The real reason behind the "blue collar presses" was to prepare them for lifting the Stanley Cup.

And here we are celebrating the Carolina Hurricanes as the 2026 Stanley Cup Champions.

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