For a team that hasn’t had a sniff of the playoffs since 2009, the longest current drought in the NHL, there seems to be a surprising amount of buzz surrounding the Carolina Hurricanes heading into the 2018-19 season. Maybe it’s the change in ownership that saw firebrand Texas businessman Tom Dundon take over the team midway through last season and toss hockey convention aside in the process. Whether it was his handling of the internal structure of his team — first banishing Hall of Fame player turned GM Ron Francis to the sidelines and then overseeing his departure from the organization entirely — or moving on from head coach Bill Peters or repatriating former Atlanta GM Don Waddell, who had been the head of the business side of the Carolina operation (and still is by the way) as the team’s GM when attempts to lure other candidates fell apart, there has been no shortage of news surrounding the Hurricanes.



Longtime player and assistant Rod...