Takeaway 5: Carolina should stick with Brind'Amour and his system for now
There are fans and pundits around the league who believe Rod Brind'Amour should be fired after losing again in the conference final. While failing to reach the cup final in seven tries is not a great look, Carolina is where they are in the league as a borderline contender, largely because of Brind'Amour. Firing him after a season in which the team overachieved would be nonsensical.
The players and organization as a whole all buy into what Brind'Amour has brought to the Hurricanes. His system has produced seven playoff appearances in seven seasons, something that no one would ever have thought possible in 2018 after a near-decade-long playoff drought. While Rod's system has received criticism in the past, the defending Cup champion Panthers play a very similar style of hockey to the Hurricanes. The difference at the moment is the skill gap on the roster.
While Rod has accomplished great things behind the bench, there are adjustments he needs to make regarding lineup decisions and the power play. The special teams' failure, the decision to play Morrow over Nikishin in Games 1 and 2, and swapping Andersen for Kochetkov in Game 3 were not the right calls. While these things did not fully cost Carolina the series, it is decisions and coaching mistakes like that where Brind'Amour needs to improve as a coach if he wants to take his team to the next level.
Despite the mismanagement of some things against the Panthers, Brind'Amour is still the right guy behind the bench for now. Considering what he has built and where this team finished compared to what the roster makeup was, Rod still did a good job this season with the Hurricanes.
If Carolina finds themselves with a cup-contending roster and high expectations next season, Brind'Amour will, rightfully, be under pressure to take the next step with this team and do better with his decision-making in the playoffs. As of right now, he is still firmly the head coach for the Hurricanes moving forward.