Playoff Notebook: Updates From The Desk of Don Waddell

RALEIGH, NC. - The Carolina Hurricanes' roster was rewarded with a day off on Wednesday after closing out their Round 1 series against the New York Islanders the night before.

For Don Waddell though, it was another day of hard work.

With no shortage of things to discuss, the team's President & General Manager took questions from the media on a variety of topics.

No Concern For DeAngelo, Pesce Making Progress...

With Brett Pesce already on the shelf due to a lower-body injury suffered in Game 2's win, the Canes nearly took another blow to their blue line in Game 5.

Late during Tuesday's third period, Tony DeAngelo received a heavy slash from Islanders forward Pierre Engvall, sending the defenseman down the tunnel and rendering him out for the final five minutes.

Rod Brind'Amour said post-game that there was a concern, however, after getting x-rays done post-game, Waddell shared that all came back negative and the defender was feeling much better on Wednesday.

"That shouldn't be an issue at all," he said of #77's status moving forward.

Brind'Amour praised DeAngelo's ability to into Pesce's role earlier this week, impressed by his ability to jump right into postseason games after having a limited role during the regular season.

While DeAngelo's services will be needed for at least Game 1 of Round 2, Waddell continued on to say that it is entirely possible we see Pesce back at some point in the next series.

"Brett is out of his walking boot.  If everything goes as expected, he should be playing games in this round," Waddell offered.  "Maybe not right off the start, but he'll play games in this round."

Fast To Be Re-Evaluated In Two Weeks...

Elsewhere on the injury front, Waddell also shared more insight on Jesper Fast's situation.

It's been a bit of a roller coaster since the veteran forward lost an edge and went into the boards hard in Columbus on April 16, suffering what is now known as a neck injury.  At first, it was said that Fast "would only miss a matter of days", but then ahead of last Thursday's Game 3 on Long Island Rod Brind'Amour surprisingly revealed that he'd likely be out for the entire postseason.

While that timeline didn't waiver today, Waddell said that #71 has been in a neck brace for over a week and will need to be for at least two more after multiple CT scans and MRIs revealed an injury to the muscle in his neck, one of the most important muscles in the entire body.

After two more weeks, in the ballpark of May 15, he'll be checked out again.

"When it comes to these types of decisions, this isn't a Rod or Don decision.  This is purely a doctor's (decision)," Waddell said.  "We're not going to take a chance with somebody, especially when you're talking about the neck area."

Brind'Amour Contract Talks...

Roster aside, one of the hottest topics over the last few days has become the expiring contract of the man behind the bench.

With the Seattle Kraken relieving Dave Hakstol of his duties, and Ron Francis being the General Manager of the organization, naturally, Brind'Amour's name has been brought up.

Waddell was quick to put out that fire today though.

"We talk daily about it.  I feel confident, as I've said before, that this deal will get done," the longtime hockey executive responded.  "Rod wants to be a Hurricane for life.  To me, when you're dealing with contracts, there's always two sides.  Rod's been great to deal with and there's going to be a solution here very quickly, I feel."

In six seasons at the helm, the Canes have produced a regular season win percentage of .664 (278-130-44) under Brind'Amour, second-best among all NHL teams since the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

He has led the team to a postseason series win in each of his first six seasons behind the bench, joining Pat Burns as the second coach in league history to accomplish the feat.

American Hockey League Affiliation News Soon?

Inking another prospect earlier in the day in goaltender Ruslan Khazheyev, Waddell was also asked about where things stand with an AHL affiliation for the 2024-25 season.

Dating back to the breakup with the Chicago Wolves at the end of the 2022-23 season, Waddell has said countless times that securing a partner for next season is "a must."

Albeit nothing appears done at this time, it sounds like something may drop sooner rather than later.

"Daily, we are working on it. I have another call today. I feel that in a very quick timeline, we're going to have a deal to be able to announce," Waddell spoke on the subject. "We've been signing these prospects knowing that we were able to reach a deal, it's just getting some of the finer points negotiated out. I feel very confident that we're going to have a place for all of our prospects to play."

The Canes puzzle pieced things together this postseason, having contracts on four different AHL clubs and having a bunch of European players play in leagues closer to home.

To this point, no specific team has been referenced by Waddell when discussing next season's hopes and plans.

Round 2 Details...

Although it was not discussed during today's availability with Waddell, we couldn't close out today's piece without sharing what we know about potential Round 2 dates and times.

In short, we don't know a lot, but here's what is available publicly.

To start, historically, the NHL does not usually reveal Round 2 info until Round 1 is wrapped up, or at minimum before information on potential Round 1, Game 7s are shared.

Right now, a few series still have the potential to go the distance.

If necessary, Game 7 of Dallas/Vegas, Nashville/Vancouver, and Edmonton/Los Angeles would all be on Sunday, May 5.

While it remains to be seen how many of those series, if any, make it to the whole way, that will likely play a factor in when Round 2 starts.

Also, building availability is a big thing this time of year.  The New York Knicks, who also play at Madison Square Garden are in a playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Game 6 of that series is set for tomorrow, Thursday, May 2. If Philadelphia wins, a Game 7 would be needed at MSG on Saturday, May 4. Worth keeping in mind.

If you'd like to lock in your Game 3 & 4 tickets before the dates are revealed, you can do so now though. Click here to view the available inventory.

The Canes are scheduled to practice on Thursday at 11 a.m.

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