The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun recently broke down what coaches are on expiring deals, and what fans can expect them to do next. He most notably broke down Rod Brind’Amour’s next contract, expressing confidence that the long-running head coach will stick to his word of wanting to stay behind the Carolina Hurricanes bench. This is despite Brind’Amour only making around $2MM in salary, a number that would certainly go up if he became a free agent.
Even though his priorities are focused on the ice, there’s no doubt that Brind’Amour is deserving of a raise. Per CapFriendly’s tracking of coaching salaries, $2MM would rank among the lowest-known salaries in the league – on par with Toronto’s Sheldon Keefe and Chicago’s Luke Richardson. Brind’Amour falls in this category despite recording a fantastic 226-107-37 record in his five years as Carolina’s head coach. He’s also walked the team closer and closer to the Stanley Cup Finals, as the Canes worked their way to the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals before being swept by the Florida Panthers.
Brind’Amour has spent 22 years with the Hurricanes franchise, including the final 10 seasons of his playing career and now 12 seasons on their coaching staff. It’s clear he’s found a home in Raleigh and isn’t expected to be moving on any time soon.
More notes from around the league:
- Calgary Flames forward Jakob Pelletier suffered an injury in Tuesday’s preseason action, getting run over by Seattle’s Marian Studenic, who received a game-misconduct boarding call for the hit. Pelletier was holding his left shoulder after the hit but was able to leave the ice on his own, after being checked out by a trainer. The winger recorded an assist on the game’s opening goal, before going down.
- The Washington Capitals have shared that defender Joel Edmundson will not partake in the team’s daily activities, following an injury he suffered during a scrimmage. However, the Capitals have gotten Trevor van Riemsdyk, who left an earlier preseason game with an injury, back to practice.
As a long-time Canes fan, it would be heartbreaking to see RB coach anywhere else. A “Jacked” Adams award winner, he’s the only coach in the NHL who can out-physical 95% of the players. The fans love him, the players love him, he’s a fierce competitor and brilliant coach. Let’s hope he’s destined to stay the Canes’ coach for many years to come.
Rod is not in it for the money, but—good grief—give the man a BIG raise. He certainly deserves it.
And the money doesnt count towards the cap either, so there is no good reason to not pay him fairly. I have a feeling TD wont let him go anywhere regardless.