RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes hired former captain and current assistant Rod Brind’Amour as their coach Tuesday, hoping the “greatest leader” in franchise history can end a nine-year playoff drought.
The team also announced that club president Don Waddell will become the full-time general manager after serving as acting GM.
The team scheduled a news conference for Wednesday to discuss the moves.
One of the team’s most decorated players, Brind’Amour captained the Hurricanes’ only Stanley Cup championship team in 2006.
“Rod is the greatest leader in the history of this franchise, and has earned the opportunity to take charge of our locker room,” Waddell said in a statement.
The two-time Selke Award winner as the NHL’s best defensive forward retired in 2010 and ranks third in club history in assists (299), fourth in points (473) and fifth in games played (694).
He replaces Bill Peters, who opted out of his contract last month following his fourth year and subsequently was hired by the Calgary Flames. He becomes the Hurricanes’ third straight first-time NHL head coach, after Kirk Muller and Peters.
Brind’Amour has been a Carolina assistant since 2011. He spent half his 20-season NHL career with the Hurricanes, leading them to the Stanley Cup finals in 2002 and again four years later.
DEVILS: Forwards Taylor Hall and Patrick Maroon and goaltender Cory Schneider have had surgeries since the playoffs ended for them last month.
Hall and Maroon are expected to be ready for the start of training camp, but Schneider may need five months to recover from surgery to repair a torn cartilage in his left hip.
PREDATORS-JETS: Filip Forsberg, Pekka Rinne and the Nashville Predators showed they aren’t ready for their season to end yet.
Forsberg had two goals and an assist, Rinne stopped 34 shots for his second shutout of the playoffs, and the Predators beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-0 on Monday to force a decisive Game 7 in their Western Conference semifinal series.
“Desperation,” Rinne said after his fifth career playoff shutout. “It just shows that we have a really tight group.”
Viktor Arvidsson also scored twice, including a late empty-netter, and added an assist for the Predators. Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen each had two assists.
After the Jets’ top line combined for eight points in a 6-2 victory in Game 5 in Nashville to take a 3-2 series lead, the Predators’ No. 1 trio of Forsberg, Arvidsson and Johansen did the same when it mattered most.
“It’s the most fun,” Forsberg said. “You can never have more fun than playing these elimination games. … Just try to enjoy it as much as possible.”
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 25 shots for the Jets.
Game 7 in this series in which neither team has won consecutive games is Thursday at Nashville, Tennessee, with the winner advancing to face the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference final.
SHARKS: Joe Thornton tested the free-agent market last summer before ending up back in San Jose on a one-year, $8 million deal.
If Thornton has his way this offseason, he’ll sign with the Sharks again before hitting the open market, even if it has to be on another short-term deal.
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