In the Hurricanes locker room following a workout at the RecZone in Raleigh recently, defenseman Aaron Ward, who was sucker-punched in the cheek bone by enemy-turned-teammate Scott Walker,
wanted to "resolve"
their ugly history right then and there.
"Hey, Walks, you want to come over here?" Ward said, according to newsobserver.com. "Let's resolve this right now."
So as expected, Walker stood up from his locker and made a beeline for his new teammate.
As Walker approached the veteran defenseman and former Bruin, he reached out his hand and offered a smile. The two teammates — mortal enemies just months ago — are now able to laugh off their ugly history and be friends.
"Nothing personal," the Canes' veteran forward said. "We're good."
Even teammates were getting in on the fun.
"Drop the pads and fight," Ray Whitney jokingly chimed in.
In fact, the jokes were flying all around the ice and locker room Monday during the informal Canes workout. Ward and Walker have been able to put the ugly incident — which led to Walker being fined by the NHL — in the past as both have taken the professional route realizing that in this physical game, these types of things happen.
"That's hockey. Guys get hit, little slashes people don't see," Walker said. "Mine was more in the public eye, and I'm sure he didn't appreciate it … but it was nothing personal. We've been skating for about a week now, but it was over long before."
Ward was traded back to the Canes earlier this summer in exchange for Patrick Eaves. Fans and teammates were curious to see how the two would cope as members of the same club, but Ward said it didn't take very long for the two to put their past behind them and concentrate on the success of the team.
"He called me that day and then we later talked for 20 minutes," Ward said of Walker. "Honestly, it's fun being with him in the locker room. It all passed by quickly."
