Brind'Amour signs multiyear contract to remain Hurricanes coach

Rod Brind'Amour signed a multiyear contract to remain coach of the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.

The 53-year-old coached the final season of a three-year contract he signed June 17, 2021. Carolina has made the Stanley Cup Playoffs and won at least a round in each of his six seasons following a nine-year postseason drought.

"It's hard for me to envision doing this anywhere else, that's the bottom line," Brind'Amour said Monday. "What makes it important to me is the people I'm around because I know their commitment and I see it. So when I ask the players to care about what they do, your boss has to care about it. So if I was to go somewhere else, I don't know how I could be that same coach because I don't have that commitment, I don't have that background, I don't have that love for the guys I have here."

Hurricanes assistants Jeff Daniels and Tim Gleason, video coach Chris Huffine and goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder also received multiyear contracts.

"The number one priority for us was to make sure we got Rod taken care of," Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said. "And Rod's got a great team that he picked as coaches. It was important for Rod and myself to make sure that we have all of them under contract moving forward." 

Brind'Amour was named coach May 8, 2018, replacing Bill Peters after seven seasons as a Hurricanes assistant (2011-18). He was confident about a new contract following discussions with Waddell at the beginning of May.

"What makes us go and be successful as a group is I really believe we're a family in there," Brind'Amour said. "It's not about me. Everybody has a role. We're all in this together. We have great players and great commitment, and that's a big deal. It certainly helps me know that we've got everything covered from top to bottom in there."

The Hurricanes (52-23-7) eliminated the New York Islanders with a 6-3 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round, making them the first team to advance at least one round for six straight seasons since the Detroit Red Wings from 1995 to 2000. The No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan Division, Carolina was eliminated from the second round by the New York Rangers with a 5-3 loss in Game 6.

"I think he has a special relationship with a lot of guys," Carolina defenseman Brent Burns said. "I think it’s definitely a great thing to get to play for a guy like that. Every day, you never know what you’re going to hear. For him, he’s been through a lot. He’s won, he’s been through that grind for a long time. But it’s more than that; it’s his personality, it’s his energy that you can’t make up. It oozes out of him. That’s a special thing for a team."

Brind'Amour is 278-130-44 in the regular season and 36-32 in the playoffs. He's coached the Hurricanes to three consecutive seasons of at least 50 wins and won the 2021 Jack Adams Award voted as NHL coach of the year after Carolina went 36-12-8 and won the Central Division, its first division title since 2005-06.

"We're knocking on the door," Brind'Amour said. "And I can tell you what: I'd rather be knocking on the door than be two houses down, which is where we were for a long time. It's now, OK, what tweaks can we make? I don't really want to change a bunch of stuff. I don't know what we could change to be better. I believe in the way we do things, and the best thing about it is the guys in (the locker room) believe it."

Brind'Amour had 1,184 points (452 goals, 732 assists) in 1,484 regular-season games for the St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers and Hurricanes from 1989 to 2010. He played 10 seasons in Carolina and was captain when it won the Stanley Cup in 2006.

“The guys know what ‘Roddy’ is all about and what he means to the organization and really the person he is,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said.

NHL.com independent correspondent Kurt Dusterberg contributed to this report