:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55176295/2015_11_13_023_X2.0.jpg)
At his end-of-season press conference, Ron Francis would not commit one way or the other to the Carolina Hurricanes’ assistant coaches returning in 2017-18, except for announcing that goaltending coach David Marcoux would not have his contract renewed. On Friday, the team announced that the remainder of the coaching staff, including assistant coaches Rod Brind'Amour & Steve Smith and video coach Chris Huffine, would indeed remain on the staff for next season.
In addition, the Canes announced that L.J. Scarpace would be hired to assist Huffine as an additional video coach starting next season.
The coaching staff will be entering its fourth season together. Brind’Amour and Smith were both named assistant coaches at the same time head coach Bill Peters was hired in 2014, while Huffine begins his 18th season with the club this coming year. Scarpace spent 12 seasons as a video coach at the University of Michigan under recently retired head coach Red Berenson. This is his first coaching position in the NHL. He also played minor-league hockey as a goaltender before entering coaching.
The only remaining position to be filled on the Canes’ coaching staff is the goaltending coach, which remains vacant after Marcoux’s departure. The release from the team follows.
CANES ANNOUNCE 2017-18 COACHING STAFF
Brind’Amour, Smith, Huffine return; Scarpace added as video coach
Ron Francis, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with assistant coaches Rod Brind’Amour and Steve Smith, as well as Video Coach Chris Huffine. Francis also announced that the team has added L.J. Scarpace as video coach. Head Coach Bill Peters signed a contract extension in July 2016, which goes through the 2018-19 season.
“We feel strongly that we have the right people in place to help our young team take the next step this season,” said Francis. “The addition of L.J. Scarpace allows our staff even more capabilities on the video side.”
Scarpace, 41, recently completed his 12th season under Red Berenson with the University of Michigan men’s hockey program, and his third season as the team’s director of player development. Prior to that promotion, he served as Michigan’s video coordinator since 2004, managing the team’s video and statistical systems. A native of Dearborn, MI, Scarpace attended Western Michigan University for two years before transferring to the University of Michigan, where he went 6-2-0 and had a 1.94 goals-against average and .910 save percentage as a goaltender for the Wolverines over two seasons. Following graduation, he played in the ECHL with the Dayton Bombers and Cincinnati Cyclones before returning to Ann Arbor.