Carolina Hurricanes sign Bill Peters to two-year contract extension

With most of the team’s free agents now under contract for next season, Carolina Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis turned his attention Wednesday to extending the contract of the man behind the bench.

The team announced Wednesday morning that coach Bill Peters has signed a two-year contract extension that keeps Peters in Raleigh through the 2018-19 season. Peters’ original contract, a three-year deal signed in 2014 upon his initial hire, runs through the end of the 2016-17 season.

"We are happy that [Peters] has made a commitment to the Hurricanes, and that he will be a major part of the team continuing to grow," said Francis in a statement.

Peters won the gold medal with Canada at the 2016 World Championship, and will also serve as an assistant coach for the Canadian team at the World Cup of Hockey beginning in September. The thirteenth coach in Hurricanes franchise history, Peters has guided the Canes to a 65-72-27 record in his two seasons behind the bench, with a fifteen-point improvement between the two seasons.

The press release from the team is below.

CANES SIGN BILL PETERS TO CONTRACT EXTENSION
Peters and Francis available to media today at noon at PNC Arena

Ron Francis, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has signed head coach Bill Peters to a contract extension through the 2018-19 season.

Peters, 50, was named the Hurricanes’ head coach on June 19, 2014, becoming the 13th person to serve as head coach in the franchise’s NHL history. In 2015-16, Peters led the team to a 35-31-16 record, the team’s highest points total (86) since 2010-11, and a 15-point improvement from 2014-15. The Hurricanes have gone 65-72-27 in his two seasons behind the bench.

In May, Peters served as head coach for Team Canada at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship, guiding his home country to its second consecutive gold medal at the event. The Three Hills, Alb., native was an assistant coach for the 2015 Canadian squad that claimed World Championship gold in the Czech Republic. This September, Peters will serve as an assistant coach for Canada at the World Cup of Hockey.

Prior to joining the Hurricanes, Peters was an assistant coach for three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. From 2008-09 through 2010-11, he was head coach of the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Rockford IceHogs, where he coached eight players that went on to win the Stanley Cup with Chicago in 2010 and 2013. Before coaching at the AHL level, Peters led the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs for three seasons, and guided the team to the 2008 Memorial Cup as champions of the Canadian Hockey League.