More changes could be coming for the Hurricanes

Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour watches play from the bench during the third period of the team’s NHL hockey game against the Ottawa Senators, Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, in Raleigh Karl B DeBlaker AP

Raleigh

It’s hard to imagine a team undergoing a lot more change than the Carolina Hurricanes in the past year or so.

The Canes had a new head coach, Rod Brind’Amour, and newly named general manager, Don Waddell. It had a new captain, Justin Williams. It underwent a sizable personnel makeover, with two new goalies. It reached the Stanley Cup playoffs, which was definitely a change.

But change is still in the air for the franchise. There are a number of expiring contracts, including those of longtime television announcers John Forslund and Tripp Tracy. There could be changes in the scouting staff, Waddell said Tuesday. The same could be true with the front office.

Brind’Amour said the coaching staff would remain the same. He also said he hoped “the group,” the team that played its way to the Eastern Conference finals, also would remain unchanged.

“The biggest priority for me is to get back what we have. We don’t want to lose guys,” Brind’Amour said Tuesday.

That would require the Canes re-sign goalies Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney, both due to become unrestricted free agents on July 1, and Waddell said the team would like to do that.

It also would require Williams to decide to return and sign a new contract with the team, rather than retiring after 18 NHL seasons and three Stanley Cup championships. Williams, 37, said Monday it was a decision he would make with his family after some time for reflection.

Brind’Amour lobbied Williams, a good friend and teammate on the Canes’ 2006 Cup champs, to sign with the Canes two years ago. Asked Tuesday if he might again be a part of Williams’ decision-making process, he said, “I hope I don’t have to. But I may.”

The Canes had one of the lowest payrolls in the league last season and Brind’Amour was believed to be among the lowest-paid head coaches. Waddell noted contract negotiations with center Sebastian Aho and a possible extension for defenseman Justin Faulk could take a bite out of the team’s salary-cap space.

Carolina Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho (20) reacts as time expires and the Hurricanes fall 2-1 to the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com

Aho and the team have expressed the desire for a long-term contract. Waddell said he hoped to get that done sooner rather than later and that talks could begin in the next few days with Aho’s agent.

“We’ll see where they’re at at this point,” Waddell said. “The end goal is we’re going to get him signed and I hope it’s not something we’re still here talking about in August and September.”

And Brind’Amour? He signed a three-year contract last year. Could he be in for an extension and salary increase after such a big first season?

“On the contract, knowing Roddy and knowing how we operate, he’s fine right now,” Waddell said.

In assessing Brind’Amour’s job performance, Waddell said, “The atmosphere, the preparation and what I witnessed in the locker room coming from the coach’s office and particularly from Rod is something I’ve never witnessed before. We didn’t spend a lot of time worrying about other teams. We worried about what we needed to do and how we could be better.”

Two Canes players underwent surgery Tuesday — defenseman Calvin de Haan and forward Jordan Martinook. Waddell said de Haan had right shoulder surgery in Cleveland and Martinook in Philadelphia for a procedure for a core muscle injury. De Haan is expected to need four to six months of recovery time while Martinook could be out four to six weeks, the team said.

Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour works with his team during practice on Monday, May 13, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. The Hurricanes are preparing for Game 3 of their Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Bruins Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com

The Canes went into the 2018-19 season hoping to be a playoff team but with a lot of question marks. As Brind’Amour said again Tuesday, the expectation level will be higher now.

“The challenge, and it’s a good challenge, is we’ve established ourselves as a hard-working team. We’re not going to sneak up anybody,” Brind’Amour said. “The challenge for us is we have to get better. We had a pretty nice year but we barely made it in (the playoffs), right? And we played about as good as we could have.

“The regular season to me was a huge success, the way we got in. That second half of the year was pretty special. And we did it the right way. It wasn’t because we’re over-talented. We just wanted it.”