Before diving into draft week blogs with trade possibilities and draft options, I will offer my quick thoughts on Bill Peters being named the Canes head coach.
Shortly after the season ended, I voted to part ways with Muller and try someone else. My thoughts on the Peters hiring stem mostly from where I think Muller might have been deficient. Kirk Muller was every bit the type of player and leader that you could picture being successful as a head coach. And he was a highly touted assistant coach at the NHL level which had him near the top of the list of people soon to find themselves in NHL head coaching jobs. But in retrospect the glaring hole on his resume was a complete lack of head coaching experience at any level. Not only had he not been a head coach at the NHL level, but he had virtually zero head coaching experience. His experience included 24 games (a full season) as a head coach for Queen's College and about 6 weeks as head coach of AHL Milwaukee. At times, I think it showed. During some down stretches, Muller looked a bit like a deer in the headlights seemingly short on answers or changes to help right the ship before it went too far off course. He also seemed to struggle in getting the most out of his players and/or helping them bounce back from slumps. I think Muller's inability to help proven veteran players find their way out of slumps is ultimately what cost him his job.
So my pick for a replacement was Kevin Dineen. More than anything I liked his track record that included significant experience and some success as a head coach both at the AHL and NHL level. He went 5 for 6 making the playoffs in the NHL and took his team into the 3rd round 3 times. He also went 1 for 2 taking the Panthers to the NHL playoffs. That is 8 seasons of head coaching experience, very good success at least making the playoffs and decent success once in them.
So while I know mostly what I read about Bill Peters, that is my starting point for evaluating his qualifications. He brings 3 years of AHL head coaching experience, 3 years of WHL head coaching experience and 3 years as an assistant in a good organization in Detroit. He made the playoffs in a respectable 4 of 6 seasons and has a WHL championship to go with 3 early playoff exits. While I would give the slight edge to Dineen in terms of experience and playoff production, the resume is decent for Peters especially when compared to Muller.
In addition to experience as a head coach, 2 other things make a favorable 1st impression:
1) 3 years under Mike Babcock in Detroit. The string of playoff experience in Hockeytown shows that they know what they are doing.
2) His emphasis on hard work as a starting point. In this article HERE is from the Canes web site, work ethic is the primary theme. I know it is obvious, but it is important to start there and not lose track of it.
I am on board with letting Muller go to get a fresh start and despite him being a little less known than some other options, I am on board with giving Peters his shot.
With both the head coach and GM gone, the Hurricanes franchise officially enters a new chapter in its history. Hopefully this one sees more playoff appearances than the others.
Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63
Go Canes!