Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell believes his head coach, Rod Brind'Amour, wants to remain with the organization, and he's willing to do whatever he can to ensure that happens.
In an interview with The Athletic's Michael Russo, Waddell remained confident that the organization and Brind'Amour will come to an agreement on a extension prior to his contract expiration this coming June.
"We're going to get it done," Waddell told Russo. "I'm not worried about it. He wants to be a Hurricane for life."
In the midst of an unprecedented year of coach turnover, the situation in Carolina with Brind'Amour has likely raised eyebrows amongst teams looking to fill a bench boss position.
"Rod and I talked today," Waddell said about the contract negotiations. "I don’t ever bother him on game days, and he doesn’t want to be ever bothered on game days. He wants to try to win the hockey game. But we talked today, and I think we’re in a good place and we’ll get it done."
In previous negotiations, the 53-year-old coach prioritized new deals for his coaching staff rather than himself — something Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on the March 16 "Saturday Headlines" segment during Hockey Night in Canada might be holding up the process.
"I understand that remains one of the issues, he wants his assistant coaches to be taken care of and that's what he's waiting for before he signs on the dotted line," Friedman said at the time.
Luke DeCock of the Charlotte Observer reported on Wednesday that sources close to the coach believe Brind'Amour is now unsure about his future with the Hurricanes amidst the contract negotiations.
The Ottawa native has been the head coach of the Hurricanes since the 2018-19 season and has led the squad to playoff appearances each year, including three divisional titles.
He signed a three-year contract extension in June of 2021 and was given the Jack Adams Award as the league's top head coach that same day.
In addition to his Jack Adams Award, Brind'Amour has amassed numerous accolades during his tenure as a player, including two Frank J. Selke trophies for best two-way forward and a Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006 — the organization's only championship. He played for the organization for 10 seasons between 1999 and 2010.
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