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.