Carolina Hurricanes: 5 best coaching candidates to replace Bill Peters

The Carolina Hurricanes are close to really picking up the quest to find a permanent solution at head coach, after the departure of Bill Peters.

The search is officially on now for the Carolina Hurricanes to find a coaching replacement for their former guy Bill Peters. He opted out of the final year of his contract with the organization that would have taken him through the conclusion of the 2018-19 campaign. Peters seems to have his sights set on the opening with either the Calgary Flames or the Dallas Stars.

The coaching search for the Canes begins with some candidates internally with the organization at this moment. It’d be great to see what the Canes could find from someone who’s already known and established with the fan base. However, the best options can lie outside of that realm of candidates too.

This roster could be ready to make a run to postseason contention as soon as next season. It’s not like whoever takes over in Raleigh inherits a team in a position like the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, or Arizona Coyotes were in last season.

Carolina has not bottomed out during the course of their long playoff drought. The team has been hovering around the playoff picture near the end of the regular season for the better part of the last eight seasons. Nothing has proven to work out in the end though.

Here’s the 5 best coaching candidates the Carolina Hurricanes could bring on board to replace Bill Peters leading up to the 2018-19 regular season.

The good news for the Canes as it pertains to bringing over someone like former Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett is that he brings a long pedigree of success and experience along with him. Yet, it’s going to be tough to shake the reputation of missing the playoffs like he did his last few seasons in Arizona.

Tippett’s coaching career spans over the course of more than 1,000 games, dating back to 2002 with the Stars. In his first decade coaching in the NHL, Tippett found a good amount of success in making the playoffs pretty much every year.

However, his last few seasons with the Coyotes saw a rough end to his coaching career to date. Part of the blame for Tippett’s lack of postseason appearances in his final five years with the Coyotes could be considered a fault of the front office.

The Coyotes were still among the worst teams in the league in 2017-18. Tippett leaving the team didn’t do anything to help them out as they struggled mightily in the first half of the regular season. Tippett’s long track record of success in the league makes him a great option for the Canes.

The best coaching candidate that the Canes currently have, and possibly the favorite to get the job as is, falls to a current assistant in Rod Brind’Amour. Every Canes fan knows that Brind’Amour has what it takes to will his team to the playoffs, and even the Stanley Cup Finals.

Brind’Amour was the captain for the 2006 Stanley Cup winning squad, bringing back the only championship in franchise history. He’d bring a lot more energy to the fold than Peters seemingly did each game. There’s a lot to like about the prospect of Brind’Amour as head coach.

He was originally added to the coaching staff of the Canes shortly after he retired as a player in June 2011. Yet, Brind’Amour has never been a head coach for any NHL team, and that presents a few prospective issues for the Canes too.

The New York Islanders experimented with bringing in a former NHL great (and 2006 Stanley Cup Champion with the Canes) in Doug Weight. Possibly no team in the league finished with a more disappointing result than the Isles. Proceed with caution if the Canes hire Brind’Amour for this role.

Although current Charlotte Checkers head coach Mike Vellucci has never officially coached an NHL game, he does have the makings of an ideal candidate for the position. Vellucci is also the director of hockey operations for the Canes.

He plays a very important role in the Carolina organization as is. Getting the head coaching spot wouldn’t be too much for Vellucci to handle, given his current pedigree. He’s done a great job funneling some top young talent from the Checkers up to the Canes.

If Dundon overlooks a candidate like Vellucci, he’s making a huge mistake. The Canes have rarely promoted internally when searching for a new head coach. Peters and Muller were both outside hires. And, so was Paul Maurice when Carolina brought him back the second time around.

Vellucci has helped prospects like Valentin Zykov, Warren Foegele, Brock McGinn, Roland McKeown, etc., develop through the Canes organization of late. He also guided the Checkers to the Calder Cup Playoffs this season.

The last coaching job that Dan Bylsma held came with the Sabres. This hire would be a similar gamble to that of Tippett. Both Bylsma and Tippett struggled to find really any success with some very sub par rosters. Moreover, the Sabres and Coyotes both are still at the bottom of the NHL standings.

If the Canes are looking into Bylsma, they’ll need to try and tap into the winning records he found in his days with the Pittsburgh Penguins, including a Stanley Cup win in his first full season. Pittsburgh found the playoffs each season Bylsma was at the helm.

The thing that cost Bylsma his job in Pittsburgh was a good amount of early round exits spanning from 2010-2014. He then wound up with the Sabres shortly after the Penguins parted ways with him. That tenure was over after just two seasons.

The ultimate goal for the Canes here would be to make good use of Bylsma’s motivational coaching style, and strong past of regular season success, to make a deep run into the playoffs. Bylsma would be a pretty bland hire, but a safe move nonetheless.