Brind’Amour, Waddell talk Hamilton, Svechnikov and the rest of the Canes’ to-do list

Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s new contract was the hottest topic Thursday when he and Canes GM Don Waddell answered questions from the media at a hastily called news conference.

But Brind’Amour’s new deal wasn’t the only thing discussed pertaining to the future of the club, though it was a constant theme.

Amid repeated references to the culture to the team being a big draw for his return, Brind’Amour stressed that any player movement or addition would be made with an eye on that culture.

“One of the other reasons I feel like I’m blessed, I do have a good relationship with Don,” Brind’Amour said, “and we talk about players … if (a player) scores 30, but he doesn’t fit our group, that’s not a guy we’re really interested in, and I think that’s one of the things I love about the job I’m doing, is that’s the kind of relationship we have, and the communication that we have that goes on. We’re trying to build a culture here, we want 20 guys that get it, that fit, and if that guy doesn’t fit, we don’t want him. We’re getting close, and that’s pretty special.”

Waddell and Brind’Amour also addressed the contracts of two of the Canes’ bigger offseason free agent priorities: Dougie Hamilton and Andrei Svechnikov.

Recently, the Canes gave Hamilton permission to speak to other NHL teams about his impending free agency, which officially kicks in on July 28.

“We’ve had discussions with Dougie, and with his representation,” Waddell said. “There’s a difference of opinion right now, so we said, we can either wait until July 28 (the start of free agency), and if we’re unable to sign him, he can walk away for free. So we said, maybe if he finds out that there is something out there that makes sense, we can trade him, and pick up an asset, or we’ll have the opportunity to sign him.”

One thing Waddell made clear, though, is that the team likes Hamilton, and would welcome him back into the fold.

“We love Dougie,” Waddell said. “Dougie has been good for this franchise, and we’re certainly all hoping he comes back, but we also didn’t want to wait until July 28 to figure that out, so we got a little head start on it.”

Svechnikov is in a different scenario as a restricted free agent, coming off his entry level deal. The Canes are able to give Svechnikov a qualifying offer. If he refuses that offer, other teams can sign him to an offer sheet, but the Canes will still have the ability to match that sheet, like what happened with Sebastian Aho two summers ago.

“We just had some discussions very recently,” Waddell said. “I think we’ll be talking every day. The goal from our end is to get him signed, make sure we don’t miss anything this summer and be ready for the start of the season. I think the goal on the other side is the same, it’s just negotiation. There’s no deadline.”

Hamilton and Svechnikov are now both veteran players with playoff experience, something Brind’Amour pointed out Thursday as a key element as the team continues to mature and chase its Stanley Cup dream.

“The margins are so tight,” Brind’Amour said. “Teams that win the Stanley Cup aren’t making mistakes, they’re comfortable when the game’s uncomfortable, and being able to stick with what you’re doing, and I think we got away from that a little bit.”

“We’re still a bit of a young group in a lot of ways,” Brind’Amour said. “Jordan Staal is a great leader, and he’s not a young guy, but the other guys are still kind of learning that, and from this year especially, we kind of learned that lesson.”

Other nuggets from Thursday’s news conference:

▪ Owner Tom Dundon wants to win — Waddell was adamant that the Hurricanes are committed to winning, beyond the financial bottom line, and Brind’Amour bristled at the notion that there was anything less than full commitment.

“A lot gets said, but here’s what I know,” Brind’Amour said. “(Dundon) wants to win. That’s the kind of guy you want to work for.”

▪ Gardiner, Martinook health concerns — Like with any team completing an NHL grind, the Canes had a few players banged up to complete the year, including Jake Gardiner and Jordan Martinook.

“(Gardiner) is going through some MRIs done recently, it’s in discussion with him and the doctors regarding his next move,” Waddell said. “I don’t really have an update other than he did an MRI the other day. Other than that, Martinook had his cleanup the other day. Other than that, I think we’re in pretty good shape going forward.”

▪ Ongoing evaluation with an eye on team improvement — The process for building next season’s team has already begun.

“We’re going through pro meetings, starting today for the next few days,” Waddell said, “go through our team, go through seven unrestricted free agents, and we’ll go through the league, see what free agents are potentially going to be out there. We’re going to talk about the expansion draft. Now, it’s more all focused on players, how do we make our team better, which moves we need to make, which guys we need to sign. Decisions will start happening in the near future.”

▪ One last comment on the Lightning and the salary cap — Waddell continued to take the high road with regard to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s salary cap situation, having placed Nikita Kucherov on the long term IR, only to have the superstar forward return for the playoffs.

“I don’t think it had an effect for any of our players at all,” Waddell said. “Everybody’s aware of the situation, and they didn’t break any rules. Whether those rules need to be looked at is something I’m sure will be talked about this summer. I’m sure they’d like to have their best player for a whole season. He was able to have surgery and come back for the playoffs. There’s so many things that happen in the league that maybe some people don’t like, but those are the rules, and if they need to be looked at, I am sure the powers that be will do that.”