More of this!

First of all, someone give me a medal, because this post isn’t just “ROD BRIND’AMOUR IS A FULL-TIME ASST COACH NOW OH HAPPY DAY!!!!”

I mean, Brind’Amour is a full-time assistant coach now. Oh happy day. But also, Ron Francis is moving up to being VP of Hockey Ops, Cory Stillman is Director of Forward Development, Greg Stefan is returning as a goalie coach, and Tom Barrasso is shifting to being a pro scout.

Francis’s role most likely won’t be changing much from what he did last year; but the other changes are significant. Pretty much everyone within the organization and quite a few people outside of it talked about how good Barrasso was for Cam Ward, but he won’t be in that role anymore; it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s connected to the down year Ward had, and the Hurricanes both not wanting to let Barrasso go, but knowing a change is important. Someone with that much experience with goalies would help the scouting team, too, since Murphy’s out of the system and there’s a hole at backup waiting to be filled, pointing to needing to obtain another goalie sometime in the next couple years (well, technically Boucher’s still there, but raise your hand if you think he’ll have a job with the Hurricanes proper next year).

Overall, I think these are good changes. The Hurricanes are slowly moving to the point where they can make necessary adjustments without sacrificing their “we’re a family” ethos. Brind’Amour reportedly did well as a part-time assistant coach last year; it’s almost entirely due to him that the Hurricanes stopped being so legendarily terrible at faceoffs, for example. And Ron Francis brings a passion to his position that could well see him succeeding Rutherford someday.

Here’s the link to the press release: click. An excerpt:

RALEIGH, NC – Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced changes and restructuring for the team’s hockey operations department.

Several staff members have received contract extensions and promotions. Ron Francis, who is entering his seventh season in the team’s front office, has been promoted to Vice President of Hockey Operations. Jason Karmanos, in his 15th year with the Hurricanes, is now Executive Vice President and Assistant General Manager. Rod Brind’Amour joined the team’s front office in 2010, and will serve as a full-time Assistant Coach in 2012-13. Assistant Coach Dave Lewis and Director of Defensemen Development Glen Wesley also each received contract extensions.

“We feel that the staff we have assembled in our hockey department is stronger than ever,” said Rutherford. “I am very fortunate to have Ron working with me on a day-to-day basis in the front office. With Rod coaching full time and Dave agreeing to an extension, our coaching staff is solidified with a tremendous amount of experience.”

Welcome to the future.

All five people who read this blog know I was rooting for Paul Maurice to get fired. The team was playing terribly in front of him; something had to be done to stop the skid. Additionally, Maurice just isn’t that impressive a coach.

He had a decent run in Carolina, but towards the end dropped from his middling .500 record to a 384-391-145 record with the Canes. His system is virtually nonexistent; he never could develop a defensive strategy other than “Cam Ward can stop pucks”. His special teams were terrible; the PK and PP are good for 21st and 29th in the league. And – perhaps most damning – he sent away and benched younger players in favor of running older, less skilled players into the ground.

Bringing in Dave Lewis was a good step to repair Carolina’s defense, but in the end it wasn’t enough. At the beginning of the year, Carolina was showing signs of actually being able to play defense, but the second things started going badly, they reverted to their old, sieve-like ways. And, more pertinent to Maurice’s performance as a coach, the Hurricanes couldn’t get it together in the neutral zone to save their lives. It’s obvious Cam Ward’s not going to have the greatest year, unless a new coach makes him pull magic out of his rear; but your goalie having a decent save percentage instead of a stellar one shouldn’t tank your team. With as little offensive flash as Carolina have, they should be playing a defense-focused game, and Maurice just didn’t have the ability to engineer that kind of system for Carolina.

Special teams were another huge problem. The Canes’ power play has struggled, and while you can place some of that at the feet of Kaberle, it’s certainly not all his fault. The Hurricanes couldn’t set up plays, couldn’t get shots on net, and when they happened to get them, they couldn’t finish. Skinner and Staal barely worked together; LaRose threw as much hustle as he could at the power play, and still nothing resulted. The power play has been a hot mess all year and Maurice didn’t appear to have the hockey IQ to fix it. The penalty kill is just…well. Carolina leads the league in shorties, but that’s only a plus if you look at it shallowly. If you actually watch the games, the number of shorties just shows the complete and utter lack of a true defensive strategy on the PK.

Another inexplicable decision Maurice made was benching younger players in favor of giving older players more ice time. Obviously Skinner’s earned his ice time, but players like Boychuk and Dalpe were never given a chance to do so. Dalpe showed quite a bit of offensive promise in the preseason, and was inexplicably placed on the 4th line to start the season. Eventually, Boychuk and Dalpe were both sent back down to Charlotte. While I’m glad they’re getting time in Charlotte, they’re both more than ready for the NHL; they were generating chances left and right at the very beginning of the season. They need to be given a chance. Additionally, Anthony Stewart wasn’t given the opportunity to be top six talent until the team was floundering.

As for Muller? Firstly, he’s known for playing defense-oriented hockey. His biggest claim to fame is probably the fact that he engineered the defense in Montreal in 2010 that led to them defeating both the Penguins and the red-hot, offense-heavy Washington Capitals in the playoffs. Muller’s successful stint in Montreal was while he was working with similar pieces as Carolina has: a good goalie, a few skilled forwards, and a solid, hardworking group of bottom six forwards and defencemen. Muller’s Milwaukee Admirals have the the lowest goals-allowed average in the AHL, and are currently 10-6 for the year.

Muller was always going to get an NHL job; the question was when, and with who. The Hurricanes chose to go with him rather than Jeff Daniels, Ron Francis, or someone else in the Hurricanes’ system. Rutherford has indicated that he’ll be looking to trade D for a forward – most likely a top six forward to slot in with Eric Staal.

The upshot of it is, change is happening for the Hurricanes, and Paul Maurice just didn’t fit in with that. If you want more, check out Canes Country’s post full of links here.

So long.

Per ice_chip: Paul Maurice has been fired. Per Bob McKenzie, Kirk Muller of the Milwaukee Admirals, aka that guy who got the Canadiens to go to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2010, will replace him.

From the Hurricanes, Muller’s bio:

Kirk Muller, 45, was named head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 28, 2011, becoming the 12th person to serve as head coach in franchise history, and the third since the team relocated to North Carolina in 1997.

Muller is in his first season as an NHL head coach, having previously served as a head coach for the Milwaukee Admirals in the American Hockey League (AHL). The Kingston, Ont., native had a record of 10-6-0 with Milwaukee during the 2011-12, after taking the job as head coach for the Nashville Predators’ top minor-league affiliate in July 2011.

Prior to joining the Admirals, Muller spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens, helping the Habs reach the playoffs four consecutive seasons, including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2010. During his second season  behind the bench in 2007-08, Montreal went 47-25-10 (105 points), marking its best record since 1988-89. Muller worked extensively with the Habs’ penalty killing unit throughout his tenure in Montreal, helping it finish in the top half of the League in each season under his watch, including a seventh-place ranking in 2010-11 and a perfect 21-for-21 performance during the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Prior to joining the Canadiens on June 20, 2006, Muller spent one season as head coach with the Queen’s University Golden Gaels in his hometown of Kingston. He also served as an assistant coach for Canada at the 2005 Lotto Cup and the 2006 Under-18 World Championship. Current Hurricanes alternate captain Brandon Sutter was a member of that 2006 Under-18 World Championship team.

As a player, Muller totaled 357 goals and 602 assists (959 points) in 1,349 career NHL games over 19 seasons with the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars from 1984-2003. He skated in 127 career Stanley Cup playoff games, totaling 69 points (33g, 36a), including the Stanley Cup-clinching goal for the Canadiens in the 1993 Stanley Cup Final. He also reached the Final with Dallas in 2000, when the Stars fell to New Jersey.

A six-time NHL All-Star (1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993), Muller posted 30-or-more goals five times in his career, 20-or-more goals nine times, and had seven 70-point seasons. He established career highs with New Jersey in 1987-88 and Montreal in 1992-93, totaling 37 goals, 57 assists and 94 points in each of those seasons. Muller served as captain for both the Devils (1989-91) and the Canadiens (1994-95).

Prior to turning professional, Muller played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for Kingston and Guelph, and represented Canada at the 1984 Olympic Games. He made his NHL debut for New Jersey straight out of junior hockey in 1984, after the Devils selected him second overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, behind only Mario Lemieux. In addition to the 1984 Olympics, Muller also represented Canada at four World Championships (1985, 1986, 1987, 1989) and at the 1984 World Junior Championship.

Muller and his wife, Stacey, have four daughters – twins Brittney and Kourtney, Bryelle and Kira.

Muller’s system will work well with the Hurricanes; presumably Rutherford made it clear that if he can turn the Hurricanes around, they’ll be his team completely. This is cause for celebration.