Hurricanes Reportedly Threatened to Fire Coach After Disagreement

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Austin Kelly
August 26, 2023 (10:09 PM)

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The Carolina Hurricanes nearly made the decision to fire their AHL coach due to disagreements over a crucial coaching decision, according to a new report.

Hurricanes nearly fired AHL Coach due to playing time choices

According to a report from Tony Androckitis of 'Inside AHL Hockey', the Carolina Hurricanes had threatened to fire then-AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky in 2022, with the team reportedly displeased with his decision to start Veteran Alex Lyon over Canes prospect Pyotr Kochetkov in the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs, with the Hurricanes preferring the youngster get more game time for his development, according to Wolves GM Wendell Young.

The Wolves, which won the 2022 Calder Cup that year, and according to Androckitis' report, the tension between the two sides only intensified, with the Hurricanes wanting the champion Wolves to focus on developing talent for Carolina, where Chicago wanted to once again contend, the two being at odds throughout. According to the report, new coach Brock Sheahan was instructed to not worry about playing a winning team, unlike Warsofsky, who left the Wolves after being hired as an Assistant Coach for the San Jose Sharks.

Hurricanes lose their AHL affiliate for next season

The Chicago Wolves announced that they would become an independent AHL franchise for the 2023-24 season, leaving Carolina without their top minor league affiliate. The Wolves hired longtime assistant and former player Bob Nardella as their next Head Coach, with Sheahan joining Notre Dame as an Assistant. The Wolves also added a large amount of new players with their newfound independence, including former NHLers Keith Kinkaid, Austin Strand & Cory Conacher, with almost the entire team being new, now without the influence of Carolina's depth.

According to the report, GM Young says that the Wolves have spoken to NHL clubs about taking players on loan from other franchises. Just yesterday, the Hurricanes ECHL affiliate, Norfolk, announced that they will be partnering with the Winnipeg Jets, meaning the Hurricanes are without both an AHL and ECHL affiliate for 2023-24, a severe blow to their development. Likely, the Hurricanes will have to either loan out prospective AHLers to other teams or out of North America entirely, more likely for Europeans. There have been no announced plans for the Hurricanes development future for next season.