Carolina Hurricanes agree to terms with head coach Rod Brind’Amour, assistant coaches

Rod Brind’Amour, who players called the “heart and soul” of the Carolina Hurricanes, has signed a new, multi-year coaching contract extension with the team, the team announced Sunday.

NHL insider, ESPN analyst and former Hurricanes goalie Kevin Weekes first reported the news Saturday night.

Brind’Amour, who as team captain helped the Canes win the 2006 Stanley Cup, has taken the Canes to the playoffs six times in his six years as head coach. He was awarded the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 2020-21.

The Hurricanes also announced assistant coaches Jeff Daniels and Tim Gleason received multi-year extensions, as well, as did video coach Chris Huffine and goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder.

Brind’Amour, 53, was ending a three-year contract this season and there was some speculation in NHL circles as the 2024 playoffs began about his future with the team.

Canes center Sebastian Aho and others said it did not create a distraction for the team.

“I never had a doubt in my mind that he wouldn’t be back,” Aho said Sunday.

In a news release, Canes president and general manager Don Waddell called Brind’Amour “instrumental to the success” of the team the past six seasons.

“Rod has embodied what it means to be a Hurricane,” Waddell said in the release. “We hope to keep him a Hurricane for life.”

Brind’Amour has a 278-130-44 record in six seasons behind the bench. The Canes won 52 games this season, becoming one of six teams in NHL history to have three consecutive 50-win seasons.

The Hurricanes, during the 2021 pandemic season, won the newly formed Central Division, then back-to-back Metropolitan Division titles in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

The Hurricanes have own at least one round in the playoffs in all six of Brind’Amour’s seasons — the second coach in NHL history to accomplish that feat, along with Pat Burns.

“He’s the heart and soul of the organization,” forward Seth Jarvis said Sunday.

Coaching confusion

Chatter emerged as the NHL playoffs began that the six-year head coach and the team were at a contract “impasse.”

“I think it’s all but done,” Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon said in a telephone interview with The News & Observer on April 30.

Carolina President and GM Don Waddell declined comment initially, while Brind’Amour told the N&O then via text message that the process was “in Tom (Dundon)’s hands.”

On May 2, Brind’Amour told reporters things had progressed, though nothing had been signed.

“Yeah, I had a great conversation yesterday with Don, and then again this morning,” Brind’Amour said. “I feel really good that we’ll figure it out quickly. Yeah, I’m not concerned.”

That came a day after Waddell said he was “very confident” that the two sides would reach a deal.

“We talk daily about it,” Waddell said in a Zoom call with reporters following the team’s first-round series win over the New York Islanders. “I feel very confident as I’ve said before that this deal will get done. Rod wants to be a Hurricane for life.”

After starting out as one of the NHL’s lowest-paid coaches in 2018, Brind’Amour signed a three-year extension in June 2021 after the Hurricanes’ third straight playoff appearance, but only after securing raises for his staff. Still, Dean Chynoweth left a month later to join the Maple Leafs and become one of the NHL’s highest-paid assistants and was replaced by Gleason, who remained on the staff along with Daniels.

Luke DeCock contributed to this report.

Are the Hurricanes, coach Rod Brind’Amour at a contract impasse? Here’s what we know