Hurricanes turn attention to free agency — and signing Rod Brind’Amour to a new contract
Not long after Vincent Trocheck’s shorthanded shot was stopped by Andrei Vasilevskiy, the realization began to sink in: the Carolina Hurricanes would not be beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in their playoff series.
The Canes’ season would be ending Tuesday at PNC Arena, which had been a huge home-ice advantage for Carolina all year but not against the Lightning. For the third straight season, the Canes would find a playoff opponent that was too tough, too good for them to handle.
The past two years, it was the Boston Bruins. The Lightning, the 2020 Stanley Cup champion, offered an even sterner test with a blend of experience, savvy, scoring, special teams. And with Vasilevskiy, the best goalie in the world, in net.
The Canes had Trocheck and Nino Niederreiter back in the lineup Tuesday for Game 5, but having the two forwards come off injuries and play wasn’t enough. The Lightning won 2-0 to end the second-round series in five games, a sour end to what had been a special season for the Canes team that won the Central Division with a 36-12-8 record,
“We obviously had a strong season,” Canes captain Jordan Staal said. “We had a solid playoffs. We just couldn’t quite pull it together here at the end.
“We had a lot of fun this year and we did a lot of good things. It’s great to see our young guys grow and become elite players. It’s only going to get better here in Carolina.”
The handshake line after the game was prolonged, as the players paused to speak and patted each other on the chest. Brind’Amour took several moments speaking to Vasilevskiy.
“I’ve been around a long time and I’ve seen a lot of goalies that are good, but he’s as good as anybody I’ve ever seen,” Brind’Amour said. “And how he affects the team and how they can play. That’s kind of what I told him. And it’s true.”
The Canes scored four goals on Vasilevskiy in Game 4, which made him uncomfortable, but lost 6-4. The 2021 Vezina Trophy finalist -- and likely favorite -- was back on his game Tuesday.
“He makes it look easy,” Brind’Amour said.
The unflappable Vincent Vasilevskiy
Vasilevskiy’s save on Trocheck at 3:18 of Tuesday’s second period was a game-changer. Had the Canes broken through shorthanded for the first goal of the game, PNC Arena would have erupted and the Canes could have played from in front.
Instead, Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point scored on the power play. And he did it with a crafty little move, faking a forehand, toe-dragging the puck and then lifting a backhander past goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who Brind’Amour gave the start after Petr Mrazek started the two games in Tampa.
When Ross Colton scored in the third period, with Vasilevskiy unflappable in net and the Lightning limiting the Canes’ offensive chances, Tampa Bay was able to ruggedly lock it down. It’s on to the NHL semifinals for a team capable and talented enough -- with Nikita Kucherov in the lineup -- to make it back-to-back titles.
The Canes were left badly disappointed. Center Sebastian Aho, ever competitive, took the series loss hard and refused any notion of the Canes taking a “step forward” this season.
“It doesn’t feel like that right now,” Aho said. “We had, in our minds, something different than this. I thought we were ready to take the next step. The next step is to be the best, right?”
Aho had no problem pinpointing a key to the Lightning winning the series: Tampa Bay scored on a lot of their power plays and the Canes did not. That, and Vasilevskiy.
“It’s such a small margin,” Aho said. “Games could go either way. But if I had to say one, it’s got to be the special teams. Today they got a power-play goal and that was the game-winning goal. We didn’t get any. That’s the game.”
As the Canes shook hands with the Lightning players and staff after the game, one had to wonder: which of the Canes players would not be with the team next season? Some will be unrestricted free agents, headed by defenseman Dougie Hamilton, and could leave in free agency. Others could be traded.
Rod Brind’Amour needs a new contract
And what about Brind’Amour? He’s essentially a free-agent head coach, his three-year contract ending this season. Will the Canes and Brind’Amour finally hammer out a new contract, as many expect, or could an NHL team in a bigger market, offering more money, possibly lure him away?
Asked after Tuesday’s game if he would be the Hurricanes coach next season, Brind’Amour said, “Yeah, I hope so.”
Brind’Amour often has said he wants to stay with the Canes and continue to live in this community, but there must be an agreement that fits both sides’ needs.
There’s much to be done before the 2021-22 season begins and there will be some uncertainty. But everyone can agree that beginning a full, new season in a more normal setting, with fans in the arena on opening night, with an outdoor game likely being played, is an exciting thought after the challenges and limitations of the 56-game pandemic season.
“This team was a great team all year and people didn’t get to watch us until the end,” Brind’Amour said. “This would have been an unbelievable year. We were one of the best teams in the league the whole year and nobody could come see us play. They missed out on that.
“Hopefully we can replicate that and create that excitement, and people have a lot of fun around here. Because that’s what I’m hoping that we can provide.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2021 at 7:30 AM.
