Getty Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour
The Carolina Hurricanes exited the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday, May 16, and the franchise has already transitioned into offseason mode by signing their head coach to an extension.
Two days after falling 4-2 in their second-round matchup against the New York Rangers, the Canes are seemingly on the verge of announcing the extension of coach Rod Brind’Amour and his staff, according to ESPN’s Kevin Weekes.
**Breaking News** 🚨 📰
I’m told HC Brind’Amour and the coaching staff have agreed multiyear extensions with @Canes #CauseChaos #HockeyX #HockeyTwitter
“I’m told HC Brind’Amour and the coaching staff have agreed multiyear extensions with @Canes,” Weekes wrote on social network X, formerly known as Twitter, on May 18.
TSN’s hockey insider Darren Dreger added some information to Weekes’ initial report. He confirmed the extension of Brind’Amour and specified more accurately the members of the coaching staff getting extended.
Rod Brind’Amour has agreed to a multi year extension with @Canes. His assistant coaches have also been extended. @KevinWeekes reported first.
“Rod Brind’Amour has agreed to a multi year extension with
@Canes,” Dreger wrote on X. “His assistant coaches have also been extended.”
Rod Brind’Amour Has Coached the Hurricanes Since 2018
The Hurricanes have not officially announced the extension as of early morning on May 19. The head coach’s contract with the franchise runs through July 1, 2024.
The Hurricanes named Brind’Amour head coach for the first time ahead of the 2018-19 season. Before taking that job, Brind’Amour spent a few years as an assistant coach with the franchise. He held that role from 2011 on, getting promoted to head coach seven years later.
During his time at the helm, the Hurricanes have built a strong team culture while putting together fantastic regular-season results.
The Canes have posted winning seasons every year following Brind’Amaour’s appointment. The team’s production regressed a bit following an extraordinary 46-win season in the coach’s 2019 debut, but other than in 2020 (.596 points percentage) Carolina has gotten at least a .677 PTS% in each of the past four seasons.
Carolina has racked up 116, 113, and 111 regular-season points from 2022 through 2024, and the Canes only failed to win the Metropolitan Division once (this season) in the past four years.
Under the guidance of Brind’Amour, the Hurricanes have posted a 278–130-44 record in 452 regular season games. On a personal level, the coach won the Jack Adams Trophy award as the NHL’s best head coach in the COVID-shortened (56 games) 2021 season.
Rod Brind’Amour Steadily Struggling in the Playoffs
Despite Brind’Amour’s success as a regular-season coach, constantly putting the Hurricanes atop the league standings, the Stanley Cup Playoffs have been an entirely different story.
Brind’Amour’s teams have never reached the Stanley Cup Final, and the furthest the Canes have gone with him on the bench is to the conference finals (twice, in 2019 and 2023) although Carolina has yet to win a third-round game.
The Canes’ playoff record in the six seasons with Brind’Amour stands at 38 wins in 74 games following another early exit in 2024.
That said, the Hurricanes have won at least one playoff round in five of Brind’Amour’s six seasons, only failing to do so in the 2020 Bubble playoffs after sweeping the Rangers 3-0 in the Qualifying Round.
Rod Brind’Amour Won the Stanley Cup Playing for the Hurricanes
While Brind’Amour is building a strong reputation as a winning coach, his 20-year playing career yielded even better results and saw him win the Stanley Cup with the Canes.
Brind’Amour appeared in bulky 1,484 career games (regular season) scoring 452 goals, dishing out 732 assists, and racking up 1,184 points for an average of 0.80 points per game.
He also won the Selke Trophy award given to the NHL’s best defensive forward in back-to-back seasons (2006 and 2007) coinciding with the Stanley Cup win in the 2006 season with him handling the captain role of the team.
Brind’Amour split his career into nearly even halves in Carolina and elsewhere. He started his professional tenure in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues in 1990. Then, he played for the Philadelphia Flyers from the 1992 season on. Ultimately, the Flyers traded him to Carolina midway through the 2000 season.
With the Canes, Brind’Amour tallied 174 goals and 473 points in 694 regular season games. He led the franchise to its lone Stanley Cup in 19 postseason appearances through 2024, something he’ll keep trying to replicate from the bench.