The Carolina Hurricanes once again fell short of their goal, losing in six games to the New York Rangers in the second round of the NHL playoffs.
Now the Hurricanes enter the offseason with a lot of work ahead of them with core players needing new deals and question marks surrounding how this team will look in the future.
Carolina head coach Rod Brind'Amour and general manager Don Waddell spoke to the media for their end-of-season availability to address some of those questions.
Opening Statement:
[Waddell] Thank you for joining us on this lovely Monday morning. Obviously, as everybody knows, this was not the way we wanted to finish, but you've got to deal with it at this point. We were excited yesterday to finally, publicly, announce Rod's contract extension which has been sitting there for a bit. But we were just waiting on timing. As everybody knows, Rod's been in this franchise for a long time as a player, as an assistant coach, as a head coach and so the number one priority for us was to make sure that we got Rod taken care of. And Rod's got a great team that he picked as coaches and it was important for Rod and for myself, to make sure that we have them all under contract moving forward. So the whole coaching staff will be back and we're excited about that.
On what it means to not only have himself extended, but his staff too:
[Brind'Amour] I think that was probably one of the most important factors to the whole thing. I think what makes us go and be successful as a group is that I really believe we're a family in there. It's not about me. Everybody has a role whether it's a coach, and I see our trainers back here, like, we're all in this together and that's the little, you know, for me, the little thing that's made us successful. We have great players, and we have great commitment and that's a big deal, but it's that that other stuff. So it certainly helps, with me, knowing that we got everything covered from top to bottom in there and got the best guys doing their jobs and it makes my job really easy, to be honest.
On how he evaluates the systems the team has in place:
[Brind'Amour] Well, I think it's definitely to block out the noise. There's a lot of stuff being said, and you see it, you hear it. You try not to. A lot of it is just totally inaccurate, you know, on the perception of our group. I believe in this group. I believe in the way we do things. I just look at even this year. We had a great year. We got to play the best team in the league and we were going toe to toe with them. And yeah, can we do things better? Of course. In that series, there were things that we didn't do well or we could talk about the power play. The power play was great all year and for four games, it stunk. Is that the difference? No, not really. If you really break it down, there's a little a couple other things that were glaring to me that popped in. I don't think it had anything to do with how we were playing. And so you know, we're knocking on the door and I can tell you what, I'd rather be knocking on the door than be two houses down, which is where we were for a long time. I think if we can just keep the mindset, block out the noise and yes, we have to be better at certain things. The year before, we were talking about the power play. Well, I think it was in the top five going into the playoffs. So that was a priority for us. Now it's okay, what tweaks can we make? I don't really want to change a bunch of stuff because I don't know what we could change to be better. Like I'm looking at our group and I'm not sure. I believe in way we do things and the best thing about it is the guys in there believe it. So we're gonna be sharper and we're gonna try to obviously continue to get better, but I don't think we need to change a bunch of things and that's the hard part. Really, that's the hard part for management because how do you keep all these guys because I think we are knocking on the door. I like where we're at.
On his contract and if the staff's contracts align with his own:
[Brind'Amour] Sort of. I'll just leave it at that. It's a multi-year deal and we're going to be around for a while. That's kind of how I want to leave it, to be honest.
On the team's upcoming UFAs:
[Waddell] We'd like to sign them all. I mean, as Rod said, we've got something good going here and we'd like to keep it going. There's just this thing called the salary cap that won't allow us to do that. Rod and I have talked, we haven't sat down and really prioritized player by player, but we know that we'd like to try to keep as much of our D together. We think we've got one of the best D corps in the league and we'd like to keep them together. With Jake [Guentzel], I think he played a good role here. I know Sebastian [Aho], talked about how much he liked playing with him, so, you know, we have gotten into those talks and we'll talk to him also. When the season ends like this, that's something that everybody really wants to talk about? Now, in the next few days, I know I'm gonna hear from all the agents and we'll start discussing where these players are at and what they expect. Players play for a long time to get this point where they become unrestricted where they can find out what the marketplace is going to pay them. So we're hoping that we can lift that a little bit with few of the guys, but certainly, there's gonna be guys going to unrestricted free agency, that's for sure, on July 1.
On the team's center depth:
[Waddell] What I would say is, we both have talked about this all year long that the depth of our centers is good, but they're all left handed shots. Roddy's been talking about it, and we talked about it during the season, during the trade deadline, throughout the playoffs, that we'd love to get a right-hand shot center to balance our left shots. As we know, there's just not a lot of those guys out there. But the depth of our centers is good. If we could find one of those guys that could win faceoffs on the right side, I think that's what he would like.
On coaching long term:
[Brind'Amour] It's hard for me to envision just doing this anywhere else. That's really the bottom line. What makes it important for me is the people I'm around and because I know their commitment and I see it. So when I ask the players to care about what they do, your boss has to care about it. So it's real. If I was to go somewhere else, I don't know how I could be that same coach because I don't have that commitment. I don't have that background and I don't have the love for the guys that I have here. So when the opportunity to keep coaching here is an option then that's what I'm doing. It's also a little bit the unfinished business thing. The carrot is that we still haven't won. I also go back to my playing days. I remember going to the finals and losing and thinking, this is it. But maybe that was the best thing that happened because there was still that motivation at 35 to keep playing. So there's still that carrot out there for me to help this organization get to where we need to and help these guys that are in there that all want to get it to. So I don't know if I'm answering your question, but I just I know it's the right fit.
On the rumors of Martin Necas being unhappy in Carolina due to comments made by his father:
[Waddell] First, you're telling me something that I don't know because I could care less what everybody says. Regardless of age with parents, I love the parents, but I want to talk to parents about their kids not about their contract. We're gonna deal with this one. He's an exceptionally skilled player that has a lot more to give, in my own opinion, Rod might have a different one. But we'll figure out something with him. I don't have enough toes and fingers to tell you how many players have walked into my office about being traded. We're not opposed always to trading players, but you also have to look at the value of what you're getting back for players. Marty's an exceptionally skilled guy that you're just not going to give up on, that's for sure. So we'll deal with it as the summer progresses. Say hi to his dad for me.
[Brind'Amour] Every parent thinks their kid should be on the power play, by the way. They just don't have a microphone to announce it. The only five parents that are happy are the guys that get the first crack and they're all, 'Ayy, I love you coach' and the rest all hate the coach because the kids not on the power play. That's okay.
On Alexander Nikishin's status:
[Waddell] It's a work in progress. We've spent more time on this player, trying to get him out of Russia, than anybody else. So it's still a work in progress. I'm not gonna say it's dead for this next year. We're still talking with the people that we need to be chatting with so we're hoping something one way or another, I think in the next three, four weeks before the draft, we'll have a good feeling whether he's coming out. The goal is obviously to know before we get to free agency because he could be a big impact for our team. One way or another, we'll probably get him signed, and whether he's got a commitment to stay there or not for next year, that's what we've got to work out yet.
On potentially having to say goodbye to players he's had for a long time:
[Brind'Amour] It's good and bad. I hate that I think of these some of these guys as my kids, because now I realize how old I'm getting. We definitely have a... there's a connection there. Nobody's gone yet, so until that happens... I'm holding out hope that we can figure it all out. Don's right in that the reality of it is there's no way it's going to be able to happen, but I don't like thinking about things that haven't happened yet. But yeah, it's a business and we understand that and there's going to be guys that are not going to be here that we wish we would have been able to keep.
On if he'll have to make system tweaks with so many players potentially leaving:
[Brind'Amour] Well it kind of depends on how many guys we get to keep. But we've done a pretty good job of being able to tweak what we're doing every year based on the personnel we have and still keep the way we want to play, our identity, and that's really the key. Playing to your identity.
On if the team is set in goal for next year:
[Waddell] I don't know if anything is a given right now. They all have contracts, but our goal is always to try to improve at every position. If there's something that makes sense for us there, we have to explore it. Everyone's got contracts so they're going to be playing someplace, hopefully, most of them here, but it's our job to make sure that we do explore opportunities and if there's something that we feel makes us better then we have to look at it.
On Jake Guentzel:
[Brind'Amour] Number one, he's a great player. We don't want just good people around, we want good people that are good players and he checked both boxes. I think he's got to want to be here and I think, you know, in the short time he was here, I think he enjoyed it and enjoyed the group and enjoyed the way we do things. So it gives us hope that maybe we can make this work.
On Seth Jarvis:
[Waddell] You can't say enough about this guy other than he does need a new contract so I gotta be careful. But he is something else. I mean, we watch how he plays. Forget about the status of his size, if he's got a chance to go get that puck, it doesn't matter who's going to take him out, he's going to get it first. It's just every game he amazes me. He's got big kahunas there. So he's a guy that you want to continue to build your team around, that's for sure.
[Brind'Amour] I can't say much more than that. I'm not even know if you're allowed to say all that. Anyway, we get the point. He's had a good year. What I like about Seth, is he's just getting better and he's willing to get better. You just see the progression. I think there's still another level for him to get to. So that's a real bright spot for this organization.
[Waddell] I'm worried about the country of Finland this year though. He's going to spend two weeks in Finland and they've never seen a Jarvis. He's got a golf tournament and then he's got [Aho's] wedding so Finland might be a little different when he leaves.
On Evgeny Kuznetsov:
[Waddell] He's part of the program and part of the team, right now. Again, we haven't sat down and assessed every player. We've been doing exit interviews the last couple of days so Rod and I haven't spent much time talking about individual players, but he brings something to the table. He can score and his talent level when he's got the puck, there's no panic at all. I don't worry at all when he's got the puck because his skill level is so high. So just finding the right fit for him, where he fits and let Rod get the best out of him.
On Seth Jarvis saying he's not a doctor:
[Waddell] That's an understatement.
[Brind'Amour] That's a good thing.
On any other major injuries or surgeries on the team:
[Waddell] The only other surgery that we know for sure, is Tony [DeAngelo] with his hand. He's got a little, I don't know, he's gonna get taken off. The other guys, [Jesper] Fast, we're still waiting. He just had more CT scans today, got sent to New York and we'll find out more about that. [Brett] Pesce's gonna heal in time. That should be about it.
On how the relationship with the Chicago Wolves will work:
[Waddell] So the deal we made is that Chicago's ownership, they run the business of the franchise and we run all the hockey departments. Coaches, trainers, equipment, everybody works for us. So that's a big change there. We started to talk to some coaches, actually. Darren Yorke, our assistant GM, is leading the charge in that. He's talked to some guys and we'll get it down like we did before to a small group and then, Rod and I'll jump into it. Things are happening, but don't look for anything to happen in the next few days.
On how he views the goaltending tandem shaking out next year:
[Brind'Amour] I think everything is on the table for next year. Both those guys will come back. I mean either way, I envision those guys splitting time like we had because that obviously worked for both of them. But I can't tell you who I'd say is ahead of the other. We definitely have a lot of faith in [Pyotr Kochetkov] coming in and taking that next step. I think he's shown that he certainly has potential.
On if he thinks the team needs more physical, power forward type players like Andrei Svechnikov:
[Waddell] You always are looking for players that play that kind of role. There's very few players that play with that kind of skill level. You get in the playoffs, and your role players that are tough guys, they just don't play. There's no place for them to play in your lineup. So if you bring in bigger bodies, you have to make sure they can play and be in your lineup. Andrei's a different cast because of everything he does. But certainly, if there's something that makes sense and can fit in our group that could help us win games, that's what it's about. It's about it's about winning hockey games, not just being about physical. But it's something that we certainly would look at.