Hurricanes’ Roberts Knows What’s at Stake

The team comes first. Players in the NHL learn to say it early and many actually believe it.

Amid the swirl of a locker room Sunday evening, after a 3-1 victory over the Mighty Ducks, Carolina’s Gary Roberts keeps his priorities in order.

“We’re fighting for a playoff spot and we’re showing a lot of character right now,” Roberts said.

Look up character and dedication. That might give you a better idea of what Roberts is all about.

“We’ve played five games and he has five goals,” Hurricane Coach Paul Maurice said of Roberts, who has 14 goals and 36 points. “He’s had a broken foot for the first six months [of this season], he’s had a pulled ab, he’s had a hole in his stomach, he’s had asthma and that has nothing to do with the neck problem that caused him to retire.”

It was a retirement party to remember in 1996. A few colleagues, some respected members of the business and a nice piece of hardware to say thanks for all the hard work.

On that June evening in Toronto, the NHL said goodbye and good luck to a tearful Roberts, who was leaving the game because of a serious neck injury. He thanked those in the audience and those watching on TV in Canada and the United States, and then announced he could no longer play.

By receiving the Bill Masterton Award, given to the player who exemplifies perseverance and dedication to the game, Roberts had been given his salute.

Time to go.

Then came surgery, rehabilitation and a re-examination of his life.

Time to come back.

“I’ve always appreciated the game, but definitely being away from the game for a year gave me a whole new perspective,” said Roberts, whom the Calgary Flames traded to Carolina before this season. “I enjoyed the time with my wife [Tamara] and daughter [Jordan, 7]. We all appreciate the game more.”

The Hurricanes have been the punchline in search of a joke this season, having left Hartford for fewer fans, less respect and less media attention. To gain more credibility in the market, the team even tried to get Sergei Fedorov.

The Red Wings ended all that by matching the Hurricanes’ offer sheet to the free agent. But the bid to get Fedorov lifted the spirits of the Hurricanes, whom Kevin Dineen said were judged unfairly this season.

“We traded Andrew Cassels for a Gary Roberts. Andrew was our most consistent and probably our best player last season,” Dineen said. “When you trade your best player, you usually get their best player in return.”

That Roberts, 31, was a risk at best made the Hurricanes seem more laughable. But Dineen and the Hurricanes are certain the trade has been a winner, not a joke.

“Gary played so well for us at the beginning and then was struggling the first 20 games with broken foot,” Dineen said. “I don’t think it was really fair to judge this team until he’s in our lineup and healthy.”

Maurice would like to see him healthy but he’ll take Roberts, in his first season with Carolina after nine in Calgary, in the lineup just the same.

“Every day he’s glad to be here. He works hard and he has fun,” Maurice said. “I think because he retired, he now has a great appreciation for his job and he just loves to come to work. He knows how easy it is to lose that.”

That appreciation is rubbing off on the Hurricanes, a patchwork unit of players who began elsewhere and are trying to prove people wrong by winning in Carolina.

Keith Primeau is showing leadership skills few saw in Detroit and Martin Gelinas is thriving away from the slate gray skies of Vancouver and the gloomy stare of Coach Mike Keenan.

This team is a piece of work all right, and Roberts is enjoying being a part of it.

“Definitely with the team winning right now, it makes it pretty enjoyable,” said Roberts, who scored his team’s third goal Sunday night. “You just learn to deal with the down days a lot better. I still go through times when you start to feel sorry for yourself because things aren’t going as well as you would like.

“And then you just shake your head and say, ‘Well, I’m here now. Let me think back to eight months or a year ago when I was retired,” he said. “I wasn’t having a lot of fun back then.”