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Thomas Dundon

East Notes: Hurricanes, Jaros, Koekkoek

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The Hurricanes have taken defensemen in the first round in three of the last five drafts (Haydn Fleury, Noah Hanifin, and Jake Bean) and have amassed plenty of depth at that position in recent years.  Speaking with Lauren K. Ohnesorge of the Triangle Business Journal (subscription required), team owner Thomas Dundon indicated that the team will not be drafting blueliners with their top picks as long as he’s in charge:

“We won’t be drafting defense in the first round as long as I’m here. I’ve got to have more offense. I want to lose 5-4, not 2-1. If we lose 5-4, I’ll have fun at least.”

Considering Carolina’s defensive depth, it’s certainly understandable that they wouldn’t be looking to take a rearguard early on for a few years at least but it’s rare that anyone would come out and make a proclamation regarding draft strategy like this.  It will be interesting to see if the Hurricanes instead look to stockpile some extra picks later in the draft to use on defenders or if they simply look to fill those spots through trades and free agency down the road.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • It appears that Senators defenseman Christian Jaros will be staying up for the rest of the season as he indicated to Craig Medaglia of the teams’ website that he has been told to find a more permanent place to stay and move out of the hotel he had been staying at since being recalled in October. The 22-year-old has been with Ottawa for most of the season, playing in 23 games thus far while averaging a little over 13 minutes a night on their third pairing.
  • Although Lightning defenseman Slater Koekkoek hasn’t played in nearly a month, the team doesn’t plan to ask him to go for a conditioning stint, notes Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription required). The 24-year-old, who was previously made available for a trade, can’t go to the minors on a full-time without clearing through waivers, a risk Tampa Bay clearly doesn’t want to take but a conditioning stint of up to two weeks is allowed if the player agrees to it.  With Anton Stralman nearing a return from his lower-body injury, Koekkoek’s path to playing time will likely get even tougher so it wouldn’t be surprising if the team has a change of heart on a conditioning stint sooner than later.

Carolina Hurricanes Hire Paul Krepelka As VP, Hockey Operations

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Thomas Dundon and the Carolina Hurricanes still don’t have a GM in place, but have hired a new VP of Hockey Operations. Paul Krepelka, a former player agent with the Orr Hockey Group, has been announced with duties revolving around contract negotiations. According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, Rick Olczyk had previously dealt with contract talks for the Hurricanes and will likely be “reassigned.”

Krepelka has plenty of experience in hockey, playing professionally in the ECHL before becoming an agent. He co-founded the Orr Hockey Group and worked there for 13 years before becoming the director of player personnel for the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL. It will be interesting to see if there is a shift in contract negotiations going forward for the Hurricanes.

McKenzie also adds that there is a game of “cat and mouse” going on between head coach Bill Peters and Dundon, who both seemingly want the relationship to end. Peters has an opt-out clause in his contract that expires tomorrow, but would be giving up the final $1.6MM of his contract should he leave for greener pastures. McKenzie believes that Dundon wants to replace him, but likely wouldn’t fire him as he prefers “reassigning” which we’ve already seen with Ron Francis’ recent “promotion.”

We’ll get an answer on Peters soon enough, but it’s clear that Dundon is putting his mark on the Hurricanes front office.

Bill Peters’ Out Clause Expires Friday

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It’s been widely reported that Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters has an out clause in his current contract, that could allow him to take another coaching job around the league instead of returning for the final year of his deal. The details of the clause though were unclear until now. Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer reports that Peters has until Friday to make a decision, and that he currently has a $1.6MM salary.

Though Peters has the clause and could remove himself from the situation in Carolina, new Hurricanes owner Thomas Dundon was also non-committal while talking about his coach’s future and acting GM Don Waddell told Alexander that his boss “has options too.” Teams have already been calling to interview the bench boss, though Alexander gives no answer for whether the Hurricanes have allowed it.

Carolina is still in the midst of a GM search, one that Waddell claims he is not a candidate for despite his interim title. The team had several high profile candidates remove their name from consideration, though since the search seems to be drifting into the offseason, one could expect several of them to resurface. The team is building a new organizational structure, and it’s unclear if Peters wishes to be a part of it going forward.

No Decision Made On Carolina Coaching Staff

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Nothing Thomas Dundon has done since taking over the Carolina Hurricanes could be called business as usual, and today he continued his hands-on approach, conducting the season-ending press conference by himself. Dundon also conducted the exit interviews with players according to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer, something that Ron Francis had done when he was GM.

Part of the need for Dundon to take over these duties is that the Hurricanes’ search for a new GM is still ongoing, while there has been no decision yet on whether Bill Peters will be back as head coach. Dundon seemed to give Peters a vote of confidence earlier this season, but has always maintained that everyone would be evaluated at the end of the year.

Peters has been the head coach of the Hurricanes for four seasons now, and Dundon confirmed that the coach has an option for the final year of his current contract. Four consecutive years out of the playoffs would put any coach on the hot seat, and Dundon admitted that he still needs to think about it and talk to Peters about the future and how they want to run the organization.

Don Waddell is serving as “interim GM” according to Dundon, and will handle the day to day operations at the moment, but one can assume there will be changes in Carolina before the start of 2018-19. That makes the Hurricanes a team to watch over the next few months, especially as the draft and free agency closes in.

More On The Carolina Hurricanes Front Office

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Yesterday, when the Carolina Hurricanes’ new owner Thomas Dundon decided to move Ron Francis out of his role as GM and into that of President of Hockey Operations, many were confused at what exactly that meant. In the press release, the team announced that they would start a search for a new GM who would report directly to Dundon, leading some to believe that the owner would have final say in basically every aspect of the organization, including hockey transactions.

Today, Dundon sat down with two of hockey’s most respected insiders to explain. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet both released interviews with Dundon, that essentially say the same thing. The new owner doesn’t want to have to make every decision, but felt he and Francis had different styles and ways of going about things. Dundon is quoted in Friedman’s piece:

I want to use Ron’s experience and knowledge with a different style and structure. He is a valuable resource. But our styles couldn’t be any different. It is no more complicated than that.

On Sportsnet today, Doug McLean explained that Francis has one more year on his current contract, but was still puzzled by the timing and explanation the Hurricanes gave. In Dundon’s explanations, it seems more like Francis will take over in a more advisory role, much different than the responsibilities usually given to President of Hockey Operations. A new GM, as Dundon explains to LeBrun, will need to fit into the way he does things and be focused on “relationships with other teams and agents and really challenging everything we do and really focusing on the player side” instead of worrying about all aspects of the organization.

It’s an interesting move from an owner just a few months before an important offseason. If the Hurricanes miss the playoffs once again, they’ll extend their league-leading drought to nine seasons and need to make some bold moves to correct it. With a ton of restricted free agents including Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin, and extension candidates in Jeff Skinner and Teuvo Teravainen, the team has huge decisions to make on whether to keep the core in tact or shake it up looking for more success. A new GM will have to make those decisions quickly, especially if Dundon waits until after the season to hire someone.

Also on The Athletic today was a look from James Mirtle (subscription required) at the huge number of GMs that could be out of a job in a month or two. If the Hurricanes are eyeing one of the experienced names as their next leader, or at least want to explore that option, Francis (or Dundon himself) may still have to lead the team through the draft process in June. Dundon certainly hasn’t been slow to act so far, but hiring the next GM of the Hurricanes is no small task.

Carolina Hurricanes “Won’t Lose Players We Want For Five Percent More Money”

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For years, the Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the league’s lowest spenders. This season, they rank 30th in the league in terms of payroll, only ahead of the penny-pinching Arizona Coyotes. With the recent sale to Dallas billionaire Thomas Dundon, many Hurricanes fans would hope that would change, at least partially.

In his latest 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, Elliotte Friedman shares some of the conversation he had with Dundon about payroll going forward. One thing sticks out, and that’s the new owner’s insistence that they won’t be outbid for current players they want to keep.

Put it this way—we won’t lose players we want for five per cent more money. Now, if someone does something irrational? Losing the players we want will never be because of the money—it will be because someone does something irrational that makes us question the value. I believe we can run the business in a way that will make it work.

That is music to the ears of many Carolina fans, who are starting to see the fruits of a Ron Francis-led rebuild in the standings, with the team just two points out of a playoff spot (despite technically being in last place in the Metropolitan). The team has locked up many of their homegrown assets, and made trades to acquire various pieces at a discount when other teams are in trouble.

Now backed by a more involved owner, who also spoke about increasing investment in analytics and scouting, the team may be able to turn some heads on the free agent market or when it comes to retaining some of their own players. Jeff Skinner, for instance, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019 and is in for an enormous contract if he continues to play well. The 25-year old has 29 points on the season, and is coming off a 37-goal campaign that was generally overlooked by many fans around the league.

Carolina Hurricanes Introduce Thomas Dundon As Majority Owner

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The sale of the Carolina Hurricanes has become official, with Thomas Dundon taking over a majority stake in the franchise. While former owner Peter Karmanos retains a minority stake for the time being, Dundon was introduced to the media today and has already promised to improve several aspects of the team. Just after the press conference with Karmanos and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, the team released a letter from Dundon to fans:

As the opportunity arose to become the majority owner of the Carolina Hurricanes and I began analyzing the organization, the one thing that immediately jumped out to me was that with the collection of young talent already on the team, we can compete now. 

As I spoke to people from across the NHL, they all identified that core of young players, the head coach and the general manager as major assets. I am convinced that the Hurricanes not only have an opportunity to win now, but to be competitive year in and year out going forward.

In the recent months, I’ve spent a lot of time around the team, and we’ve worked to identify areas to better support our athletes and help improve our on-ice performance. Among the changes we can act on immediately will be adding resources for our training and analytical staffs, as well as finalizing a deal for a new state-of-the-art training facility for our athletes.

I’ve also been working closely with the team’s business staff, to increase the entertainment value for our fans at every game. We’ve developed many great ideas and we’re going to be extremely aggressive in our efforts to enhance the in-arena experience. I want PNC Arena to be absolutely rocking every night — a place you love to watch a game, our players love to play a game and our opponents fear.

In only a few months, I’ve quickly realized how much passion there is in this market for this team, and I take very seriously the responsibility to ensure that this community has the team and entertainment experience it deserves. I recognize and share the expectations you have for the Hurricanes, as well as the fact that we have not always met them. My commitment is to meet and exceed your expectations, and that starts now.

While any new owner of a sports franchise says similar things upon taking the reins, here are some things that can be sussed out of his statement. First and foremost, it seems as though Dundon has no intention on changing the roles of either GM Ron Francis or head coach Bill Peters. Both, as he states, are major assets for the club and have proven it recently with the team acquiring plenty of talent and finally competing in the cutthroat Metropolitan Division.

The Hurricanes sit at 20-15-8 on the season, just five points out of second place in the division and ahead of schedule in terms of their young players. The team is set up for several years of success with their young core, though overcoming the rest of the Metro will be as difficult as ever.

Dundon also seems committed to increasing the analytical and sports science programs for the Hurricanes, something that more and more clubs around the league are moving towards. Though obviously there is no clear indication on what impact any changes would have, fans should be impressed with the immediate involvement that Dundon wants to make.

At the press conference, which Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer reported live from on Twitter, Bettman stated that an outdoor game in Carolina is “not out of the question” and that Dundon had already asked about it. Carter-Finley Stadium, home of the NC State football team, is directly across the street from PNC Arena where the Hurricanes play and could be a potential venue for an outdoor game in the future.

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