Carolina Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis has a nearly perfect track record, and holding onto Rod Brind’Amour is amongst his best decisions.
On May 7, 2014, the Carolina Hurricanes overhauled their coaching staff. Just one week into his reign as general manager, Ron Francis cut ties with head coach Kirk Muller and assistants John MacLean and Dave Lewis.
The lone assistant that wasn’t sent packing was Hurricanes legend and recent North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame inductee Rod Brind’Amour.
This was a decision that was met with largely positive views. Brind’Amour had become a household name across the NHL community after a Hall of Fame-worthy career, and his leadership as a player and coach has been something that has noticeably impacted the organization in a very beneficial way.
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Francis determined that Brind’Amour, a then third-year assistant, was not a reason for the team’s failures, saying “Roddy really didn’t have, in my estimation, a prominent role on this staff.”
While hockey, like all professional sports, is a business, it’s hard to believe that personal ties didn’t play some kind of role. They were teammates from January 23, 2000, through Ron Francis’ last day as a Hurricane on the ice on March 9, 2004. The two legends were members of the leadership team that led the Hurricanes to their first Stanley Cup Finals berth in 2002.
Carolina Hurricanes
Without Francis and Brind’Amour, the franchise in North Carolina could have failed very quickly, but it didn’t. On their broad shoulders, the Hurricanes thrived early on and established an unforeseen relevance on the ice. The same can now apply to their work off the ice.
Rod Brind’Amour now runs the team’s powerplay unit, a unit which has seen its fair share of ups and downs since the beginning of Bill Peters’ run as head coach entering the 2014-2015 season. That being said, it’s tough to place a lot of blame on the captain of the 2006 Stanley Cup team.
A lack of skilled players is a fairer place to put said blame. Underperforming stars and lack of depth in the forward unit can make running a powerplay a very daunting task, but Brind’Amour has handled it well and has set up a formula that can have success with the right players.
In 2014-2015, Carolina’s powerplay found relatively good success, converting on 18.3% of their opportunities with a struggling Jeff Skinner, declining Eric Staal, and a defensive core that didn’t have a plethora of talented puck movers outside of Justin Faulk and Andrej Sekera, who was dealt away at the trade deadline.
This past season didn’t render the same results. The Hurricanes capitalized on just 16.8% of their chances, good for 25th in the league in that category.
The faltering of the special team unit in 2015-2016 can be attributed to many things.
The team’s anticipated powerplay quarterback James Wisniewski sustained a season-ending knee injury in the opening minutes of the regular season. Justin Faulk went down with injury late in the year after a hot start. The team dealt away the likes of Eric Staal, Kris Versteeg and John-Michael Liles at the trade deadline. Ryan Murphy didn’t provide the offensive upside that he was expected to provide. And the Hurricanes were relying on the support of the youngest defensive core in the entire NHL.
Next season will likely be a very different story. Wisniewski and Faulk should be at 100% in regards to their health. Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, and Elias Lindholm will be a year older and will be expected to contribute heavily offensively. Jordan Staal will be in a primary role if he can use his body to his advantage like he did in the latter half of last season. Noah Hanifin and Jaccob Slavin will be prominent forces on the back end in powerplay situations. The team will likely add a number of pieces that can contribute offensively this offseason. And Sebastian Aho may make the jump to the NHL at some point.
Like the rest of the team, the power play appears to be on the upswing, and with capable talent, Brind’Amour will be able to implement his system in a way that is successful.
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Rod Brind’Amour was a fearless leader and natural motivator on the ice. He is a winner, and now he is in a role that allows him to share that same work ethic and leadership with young players, which bodes well for the organization going forward.