Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour is one of a handful of head coaches around the NHL that are in the final year of their respective contracts. Carolina has certainly shown considerable improvement under his watch over his two-plus seasons there and not surprisingly, they have started talks regarding an extension, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported in a recent Insider Trading segment.
Given how strong the Hurricanes have been – they’re 96-58-13 since Brind’Amour was promoted to the position back in 2018 – the 50-year-old is well-positioned to land a sizable raise. Many recent deals handed out to proven head coaches have been in the $3MM to $5MM range though to be fair, a lot of those came before the pandemic and the economic environment is much different now.
Having said that, Carolina has been a team that has been a bit stingy when it comes to their off-ice personnel, instead opting to concentrate its financial resources on its on-ice talent, a strategy that has worked so far. But there are undoubtedly teams keeping tabs on this situation, LeBrun notes, and if Brind’Amour was to make it to the open market, he would get interest from elsewhere. In his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link), Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon expressed confidence that an extension will get done and Brind’Amour in the past has said that he only wants to coach in Carolina. Until that deal gets done though, he remains their most intriguing pending free agent.
I try not to be wrong, but I try to admit it when I am…
I got Dundon and the “Thrasher retread” he hired wrong. Still think firing Francis was a mistake as he built their core, but they’ve made (mostly) all the right moves since…starting with the hiring of Brind’Amour.
They still need to find a legit Cup caliber starter to take the next step, though.
He’s perfect for this team. Lock him up!