Hurricanes Nearing Extension With Rod Brind’Amour

Rod Brind’Amour’s contract situation in Carolina has been a discussion point for a good chunk of the season.  However, he appears to have his new deal in place as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the bench boss has inked a three-year contract extension worth around $1.8MM per season.  The agreement comes on the three-year anniversary of his initial hiring to the position.  TSN’s Frank Seravalli somewhat contradicts that report (Twitter link), saying he was told by the team that the deal is not done yet.  Having said that, Friedman having the terms suggest it’s all but done at this point which he reiterated in a follow-up tweet following the denial.

Over that stretch, the Hurricanes have become a consistent threat.  The team made the playoffs in each of his first two seasons behind the bench after missing the postseason in nine straight years.  In his first year behind the bench, they made it to the Eastern Conference Final while they were ousted in the first round a year ago after being the Rangers in the Qualifying Round.

This season, Brind’Amour has helped take Carolina to a higher level.  Entering play today, the Hurricanes currently lead the league in points with 80 in 54 games, a pace of 121 over a full 82-game season.  They’ve clinched the Central Division title and are in the top ten in goals scored (eighth) and allowed (fourth) despite dealing with some key injuries up front and between the pipes as the presumptive starter at the beginning of the year in Petr Mrazek has only been able to play 11 times.

If the deal gets finalized at the terms that Friedman reported, it’s definitely a below-market price tag as veteran head coaches have been able to command twice that much or more in recent years.  While Brind’Amour – who has led Carolina to a 120-64-20 record – doesn’t have quite the track record that coaches like Mike Babcock, Alain Vigneault Claude Julien, Barry Trotz, Todd McLellan, and Peter Laviolette all had at the time of their hires (where they received at least $4MM), it stands to reason that he could have commanded considerably more had he hit the open market.  Instead, it appears he’s going to stay where he is and is willing to take a discount to do so which is great news for the Hurricanes.