Confirmed with Link: Brind'Amour named head coach

[tarheelhockey]

So, in retrospect perhaps there's something to be made of this article being posted at 9:33am:

Commence meltdown.

Hurricanes assistant, former captain Rod Brind'Amour reaches deal to become next head coach :: WRALSportsFan.com

These comments from Rod posted at 10:25am:

So, from the GM thread:

And this editorial being posted at 11:05am:

Solid article by Luke:

Underestimate Hurricanes' Rod Brind'Amour at your peril

Brind'Amour was responsible for the power play, yes, but was still operating under Peters' direction. He could communicate with the players informally, but managing the locker room and handling the captains was Peters' job, and for Brind'Amour to interfere would undercut the head coach's authority. As was the case under Francis, some of Brind'Amour's unique talents were impinged under Peters by the nature of his role.

So yes, there are risks here. Brind'Amour is an easy choice for new owner Tom Dundon, someone willing to take the job on the owner's terms, still without a general manager in place. But that does not mean he is the wrong choice.
...
It's fair to question whether Brind'Amour is the right choice for coach, but underestimate him at your peril. When given the responsibility to lead, and the autonomy to do it his way, he has yet to fail.

And this from Justin Williams at 3:27pm:

Now I'm no pro journalist, but I infer that there was a simmering issue here which people didn't feel at-liberty to speak about until May 8th 2018, at which point everyone wanted to vent. The fact that it was so clearly top-of-mind to people close to the team (unless Luke is one hell of a fast writer/researcher) says something about the level of tension and frustration that was being kept under the lid during the Peters era.

A lot of the negative reaction in the first few pages of this thread stemmed from the idea that there was no real shakeup on the way, just a recycling of internal country-club members. As outsiders, we wouldn't have known the degree to which Rod was undermined by a "make nice with the players and keep your mouth shut" approach to his role on the coaching staff.

 

[Chrispy]

So, in retrospect perhaps there's something to be made of this article being posted at 9:33am:

A lot of the negative reaction in the first few pages of this thread stemmed from the idea that there was no real shakeup on the way, just a recycling of internal country-club members. As outsiders, we wouldn't have known the degree to which Rod was undermined by a "make nice with the players and keep your mouth shut" approach to his role on the coaching staff.

In our defense, I think many of us could imagine former Hurricanes players who would take a "make nice with the players and keep your mouth shut" role on a coaching staff.

Brind'Amour is the last former player I would expect to accept such a role, and I suspect others would have been surprised then to hear he was muzzled and he accepted that role.

But yeah: I was 100% wrong. Rod changed the culture, and somehow made it simultaneously more player-friendly (not hard after Peters, we would later learn) and more accountable. That's a difficult combination to pull off.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

In our defense, I think many of us could imagine former Hurricanes players who would take a "make nice with the players and keep your mouth shut" role on a coaching staff.

Brind'Amour is the last former player I would expect to accept such a role, and I suspect others would have been surprised then to hear he was muzzled and he accepted that role.

But yeah: I was 100% wrong. Rod changed the culture, and somehow made it simultaneously more player-friendly (not hard after Peters, we would later learn) and more accountable. That's a difficult combination to pull off.

There isn’t anything to say he shut up and listen. He could have gone to Peters every time he disagreed but Peters didn’t listen. Rod seems really straight forward and much like myself can’t control the face when he doesn’t like something. Williams could tell when Rod didn’t like a direction given because of his face even if Rod was pushing the message.

Rod actively disagreeing with Peters in front of the guys isn’t the way to be successful.

i can’t tell you how many times I have gone to my boss with “
‘Wtf?’ Some listen some don’t. If the decision remained, I had to leave the office and go that direction no matter how much I disagreed. That is how it is. I don’t have that much money to walk out.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

i've been on hfboards for over 15 years and this is somehow the worst take i've ever seen on here. even worse than blackhawkswincup stating that duncan keith doesn't have an nhl future (iirc he said it was because keith "skates like a giraffe") in 2005.

When I first read this post, I was thinking “who the f*** are you?” Then I checked username history and thought “wow, I’m actually honored.”

the profile picture should have given it away, but there are still a number of Antons around so it threw me off.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Really like how Rod broke the mold of good players being shit coaches.

I'm also prepared for some brutal negotiations, dirty laundry getting leaked, etc. Rod has his family here, his wife is from here, and really the only other place I can see him coaching is Philly- not a chance Dundell doesn't use that leverage to it's fullest. A deal will get done regardless.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Really like how Rod broke the mold of good players being shit coaches.

I'm also prepared for some brutal negotiations, dirty laundry getting leaked, etc. Rod has his family here, his wife is from here, and really the only other place I can see him coaching is Philly- not a chance Dundell doesn't use that leverage to it's fullest. A deal will get done regardless.

If anyone was going to do it, it's probably one that didn't really have a particular skillset or level of skill that was so far beyond what most players on his team could imagine.

Gretzky's like "and then once you enter the offensive zone, it's simple, you just turn your head one way and make a no-look pass in completely the opposite direction through this tiny little window to the winger streaking in" and Jordan Martinook is just nodding his head like "oh, yeah? Gee, wish I thought of that, ok yeah lemme do that from now on."

The attributes that Brind'Amour valued throughout his career are entirely accessible by anyone from top liners to healthy scratches. I think that's why so many tweeners and meh players become such good coaches. They don't have the skill so they essentially have to learn everything that a coach could actually teach in order to hang in there.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Last night's press conference was really interesting. Sara asked him what he knew after win 100 that he didn't know when he started, and he basically said that being the guy in charge was super stressful and, direct quote, "this can't be good for you."

I don't think Rod is the coach because he loves coaching. I think Rod is the coach because he loves the Hurricanes and feels responsible for returning them to glory, because he knows he can do it and would be disappointed with himself if he didn't.

Which means I don't think he'll actually leave. Ever. I think he'll demand to be paid what he's worth as a matter of respect, and I think Dundon will give it to him because he makes the team win -- and when he quits the bench one day, he'll become part of the Borg.

 

[MinJaBen]

Last night's press conference was really interesting. Sara asked him what he knew after win 100 that he didn't know when he started, and he basically said that being the guy in charge was super stressful and, direct quote, "this can't be good for you."

I don't think Rod is the coach because he loves coaching. I think Rod is the coach because he loves the Hurricanes and feels responsible for returning them to glory, because he knows he can do it and would be disappointed with himself if he didn't.

Which means I don't think he'll actually leave. Ever. I think he'll demand to be paid what he's worth as a matter of respect, and I think Dundon will give it to him because he makes the team win -- and when he quits the bench one day, he'll become part of the Borg.

I can see all of that. The bigger take I got from his revelation is that he won't be in the job for very long. If he were to win the Cup this year, I could see him just hanging it up. He righted the ship and then sails off into the sunset, so to speak.

 

[tarheelhockey]

In our defense, I think many of us could imagine former Hurricanes players who would take a "make nice with the players and keep your mouth shut" role on a coaching staff.

Brind'Amour is the last former player I would expect to accept such a role, and I suspect others would have been surprised then to hear he was muzzled and he accepted that role.

But yeah: I was 100% wrong. Rod changed the culture, and somehow made it simultaneously more player-friendly (not hard after Peters, we would later learn) and more accountable. That's a difficult combination to pull off.

From the sounds of things, Rod wasn't particularly muzzled. The friction was just kept behind closed doors until after the transition was made.

We could all tell something was a little off during the Peters regime, from "make a ****ing save", to the bizarre tri-captain scheme, to physical altercations with at least two players, to the general feeling that guys like Skinner and Lindholm were being mismanaged, to apparently having poor relationships with his coaching staff. The way Dundon came in and obliquely criticized the management culture was another red flag. But from a fan's point of view that stuff was all either unknown at the time, or played out slowly within the fog of war where baseless chatter is the majority of what we're exposed to.

To me it says a lot that within just a couple of hours of the announcement, DeCock and Williams went public with comments on how Rod had been virtually powerless under Peters. That suggests, rather strongly IMO, that Rod was kicking up plenty of dust within team circles and that there was an appetite for him to have more influence. If we had known that prior to May 8th, there would probably have been widespread calls for Rod to be given a chance, and the announcement would have been interpreted very differently.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

I can see all of that. The bigger take I got from his revelation is that he won't be in the job for very long. If he were to win the Cup this year, I could see him just hanging it up. He righted the ship and then sails off into the sunset, so to speak.

I read that quote that way as well, especially given some of his past allusions to no coaching role being forever and whatnot.

I read that as "the culture needed a facelift, once I'm done giving it a facelift according to my definition, I'm out. I'll stick around in case they need my advice on stuff but y'all can handle it from here."

 

[NotOpie]

Whew. There are a lot of pissed off people in this thread! Lol

Funnily enough, Adam Gold was right about RBA.

Edit - I didn’t see anything from me. How does one search a thread for comments?

You know what they say....even a blind pig finds a corn cob every now and then....

 

[Chrispy]

There isn’t anything to say he shut up and listen. He could have gone to Peters every time he disagreed but Peters didn’t listen. Rod seems really straight forward and much like myself can’t control the face when he doesn’t like something. Williams could tell when Rod didn’t like a direction given because of his face even if Rod was pushing the message.

Rod actively disagreeing with Peters in front of the guys isn’t the way to be successful.

i can’t tell you how many times I have gone to my boss with “
‘Wtf?’ Some listen some don’t. If the decision remained, I had to leave the office and go that direction no matter how much I disagreed. That is how it is. I don’t have that much money to walk out.

No, he wouldn’t come out and say those things in public. But unlike you or me, Rod doesn’t need this job (and definitely didn’t need an assistant job) for the money. He could have walked.

I’m a little surprised Rod didn’t walk, and I’m very glad he didn’t.

 

[Lempo]

Let's not forget, Dundon paid the NHL 17 dollars extra to honor Rod.

 

[chaz4hockey]

Ranking NHL head coach job security: Whose seats are the hottest?

Interesting opinion article from ESPN today (paywall, sorry for those without a subscription). Basically, they place Rod into the "ice cold" category which given the team's performance is clearly right. What I didn't realize is at $600K how poorly Rod is paid vs. balance of coaches in the NHL: https://hockeyanswered.com/how-much-do-nhl-coaches-get-paid-with-salary-tracker/
or NHL Head Coaches Salaries 2021: How Much Does NFL Coach Get Paid?

Heck, David Quinn of Rangers gets $2.4M.

 

[Tryamw]

Ranking NHL head coach job security: Whose seats are the hottest?

Interesting opinion article from ESPN today (paywall, sorry for those without a subscription). Basically, they place Rod into the "ice cold" category which given the team's performance is clearly right. What I didn't realize is at $600K how poorly Rod is paid vs. balance of coaches in the NHL: How much do NHL coaches get paid? (with salary tracker) | Hockey Answered
or NHL Head Coaches Salaries 2021: How Much Does NFL Coach Get Paid?

Heck, David Quinn of Rangers gets $2.4M.

It's also not including performance enhancers to his salary. not that any of us know what they are.. Do other coaches get them?

 

[chaz4hockey]

^^^^
True, but a good pay for performance package has tremendous upside vs. a meh base salary (of course versus others coaches and not society). We clearly don't know Rod's additional pay but his guaranteed money is unbelievably low vs. the rest of the league.

 

[AD Skinner]

I know its different when its your money and all that, but as a former player Brind'Amour should be set for life unless he's made a lot of unwise financial decisions. He doesn't need a coaching career from a bread winning standpoint, just a competitive one. I don't know the guy personally but I feel like he might say at this point in his life the competitive part of it is more important to him

 

[chaz4hockey]

Agree to a degree.

Job satisfaction is a byproduct/balance of pay, what you do and who you work with.

Having said that, very few of us would be satisfied if we delivered a high performance and was paid substantially less than our peers.

What he has earned before should have no bearing on his present job.

 

[A Star is Burns]

While he was underpaid from the jump, he also had proven nothing as a head coach. You should be at the low end of the pay spectrum at that point. That should be rectified on this next contract to some extent. I still imagine he'll be underpaid if he stays here, but current economics and this market do matter.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I am really not worried about it. I think Dundon knows who his critical pieces are, and knows how to keep them.

 

[sheriff bart]

Rod took a show me deal to be HC. He showed us. Honestly, he wasn't going to get a HC job anywhere else without paying some dues in the AHL or something. He probably wasn't hurting for money, so he could afford to make that bet on himself. Now, it's time to pay the man a decent salary as a HC.

I base my "not hurting for money" based on the fact that for years while he was playing, he drove a Honda Ridgeline where most of the others were sporting expensive rides. I know this because of waiting outside the arena many nights with my kids for autographs. I figure he was fairly frugal. Also, Scotty Walker drove a minivan.

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Also, Scotty Walker drove a minivan

I love that man, and this only makes me love him even more. His interview after his overtime goal in 09 still makes me tear up a bit.

 

[Cynicaps]

Also, Scotty Walker drove a minivan.

At the tail end of his career with the Caps, Walker rode the Metro to and from games (though Bruce Boudreau's mismanagement of him meant he saw little ice time).

 

[HisIceness]

I love that man, and this only makes me love him even more. His interview after his overtime goal in 09 still makes me tear up a bit.

That was one of the "Realest" interviews I've ever seen in the sports world, that goal meant a lot to Scotty. Crazy enough it was the only playoff goal he ever scored in something like 30 career playoff games.

 

[Roboturner913]

I managed to not look like an idiot on this one. The rest of you.......

I was down with it from the start.

Granted, it's probably the only thing I've ever been right about