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Making the Grades
For general manager Ron Francis and the coaching staff of Bill Peters, Steve Smith, Rod Brind’Amour, and David Marcoux, last season was one in which their respective goals may not have aligned all that much.
For Francis and his staff, last season was about icing as competitive of a team as possible while still remaining mostly fixated on the future that lies ahead of this team with its young core and stable of prospects.
The coaching staff, on the other hand, had to be strictly focused on winning as many games as possible
Francis did his job well. The additions of Teuvo Teravainen, Lee Stempniak, and Viktor Stalberg before the season started made this year’s forward group the most well-rounded it had been in years.
But when it became clear that this team’s chances of making the playoffs were slim, Francis had no problem moving out veteran players for assets.
Stalberg was moved prior to the trade deadline for Ottawa’s third-round pick, a far higher price than anyone really expected Stalberg to command. Francis just recently used that pick to acquire and sign goaltender Scott Darling, so that’s a win by any standard.
He also moved veteran defender Ron Hainsey to Pittsburgh for a second round pick, which was once again a steeper price than most experts were predicting that Hainsey would return.
As for the coaching staff, things were a bit of a mixed bag. In my mind, the best job was done by Steve Smith, who oversaw a fantastic, young, developing defensive unit and was the mastermind behind one of the league’s best penalty killing units.
Peters’s system once again delivered strong results at 5-on-5. The Hurricanes were an above average team by corsi for percentage and expected goals for percentage.
For Brind’Amour, the power play could have been better, but it’s hard to know how much of that was on him and how much was on the lack of star personnel with which he was given to work.
Francis announced that the expiring contract of goalie coach David Marcoux would not be renewed during his end-of-season press conference that you can find below. I’m just going to venture a guess here, but that may have had something to do with the fact that the Hurricanes ranked 29th in the NHL in 5-on-5 save percentage.
Exit Interview
Poll
How do you grade Ron Francis’s 2016-2017 performance?
This poll is closed
-
15%
A - significantly outperformed expectations
-
51%
B - outperformed expectations
-
26%
C - met expectations
-
4%
D - underperformed expectations
-
0%
F - significantly underperformed expectations
Poll
How do you grade Bill Peters’ 2016-2017 performance?
This poll is closed
-
4%
A - significantly outperformed expectations
-
32%
B - outperformed expectations
-
54%
C - met expectations
-
6%
D - underperformed expectations
-
1%
F - significantly underperformed expectations
Poll
How do you grade Rod Brind’Amour’s 2016-2017 performance?
This poll is closed
-
0%
A - significantly outperformed expectations
-
6%
B - outperformed expectations
-
46%
C - met expectations
-
44%
D - underperformed expectations
-
1%
F - significantly underperformed expectations
Poll
How do you grade Steve Smith's 2016-2017 performance?
This poll is closed
-
31%
A - significantly outperformed expectations
-
52%
B - outperformed expectations
-
12%
C - met expectations
-
1%
D - underperformed expectations
-
1%
F - significantly underperformed expectations
Poll
How do you grade David Marcoux's 2016-2017 performance?
This poll is closed
-
0%
A - significantly outperformed expectations
-
0%
B - outperformed expectations
-
6%
C - met expectations
-
32%
D - underperformed expectations
-
60%
F - significantly underperformed expectations