The Carolina Hurricanes hired former captain and current assistant Rod Brind’Amour as their coach Tuesday Thomas Rawls Jersey Jets , hoping the ”greatest leader” in franchise history can end a nine-year playoff drought.

The team also announced that club president Don Waddell will become the full-time general manager after serving as acting GM.

The team scheduled a news conference for Wednesday to discuss the moves.

Waddell said a number of coaching candidates were discussed, but ”our conversations with staff and players consistently returned to the same person.”

One of the team’s most decorated players, Brind’Amour captained the Hurricanes’ only Stanley Cup championship team in 2006.

”Rod is the greatest leader in the history of this franchise, and has earned the opportunity to take charge of our locker room,” Waddell said in a statement.

The two-time Selke Award winner as the NHL’s best defensive forward retired in 2010 and ranks third in club history in assists (299), fourth in points (473) and fifth in games played (694).

He replaces Bill Peters, who opted out of his contract last month following his fourth year and subsequently was hired by the Calgary Flames. He becomes the Hurricanes’ third straight first-time NHL head coach, after Kirk Muller and Peters.

Brind’Amour has been a Carolina assistant since 2011. He spent half his 20-season NHL career with the Hurricanes, leading them to the Stanley Cup finals in 2002 and again four years later.

But Carolina has made the playoffs only once in the 12 years since Brind’Amour hoisted the Cup, and the Hurricanes’ nine-year absence from the postseason is one of the longest stretches in NHL history.

That has led to a busy five months for the Hurricanes, with Dallas businessman Tom Dundon buying a majority interest in the team from longtime owner Peter Karmanos Jr. in January.

A month later Andrew Miller Jersey , Hall of Fame player and general manager Ron Francis – who, like Brind’Amour, has his jersey number hanging from the PNC Arena rafters – was reassigned to another front-office position, and his contract was terminated last week.

In between, Peters – who was hired by Francis in 2014 – exercised the out clause in his contract, saying the incoming general manager should be able to pick his own coach.

Turns out, that job fell to Waddell – the former general manager and president of the Atlanta Thrashers who had been part of the Hurricanes’ front office since 2014 and had been filling in since Francis’ demotion and subsequent exit.

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The Minnesota Vikings have finalized their trade with the Denver Broncos for quarterback Trevor Siemian to be the backup to free agent prize Kirk Cousins.

Though Siemian started 24 games for the Broncos over the past two seasons, he didn’t balk at his unquestioned place as the second-stringer on the depth chart.

”I’m here for Kirk. I’m here for these guys, and I want to win a bunch of games here,” Siemian said.

The Vikings announced the deal, which was agreed to last week Cheap Saquon Barkley Jersey , on Monday. They sent a 2019 fifth-round draft pick to the Broncos for Siemian and a seventh-round choice this year, after signing Cousins to a three-year, $84 million fully guaranteed contract.

Kyle Sloter, who was in training camp with Denver last summer, will be the third quarterback if all goes according to plan.

The Vikings let Case Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater become free agents. Keenum, coincidentally, signed with the Broncos.

Siemian went 13-11 as a starter, as the Broncos moved forward with a combination of him, Paxton Lynch and Brock Osweiler after the retirement of Peyton Manning. For his career, Siemian has 30 touchdowns and 24 interceptions with a 59.3 percent completion rate. Vikings general manager Rick Spielman lauded Siemian’s quick decision-making Tremaine Edmunds Jersey , but there’s plenty of improvement that can be made.

”That’s the fun part of this game too, right?” Siemian said. ”There’s so many dimensions you can grow as a player, and that’s what keeps it exciting.”

He struggled at times and hurt his shoulder, which he had surgery on almost three months ago. For a seventh-round selection out of Northwestern, though, Siemian has carved out a decent career. When he found out about the trade, he was vacationing in Mexico with his fiancee, and the news was warmly welcomed.

”There’s a lot of places you could go. For me to be here with an organization that’s knocking on the door of some really, really great things,” Siemian said, ”I think there’s a lot of people who would kill to be in this situation.”

Siemian said he’s on track with his shoulder rehabilitation from the procedure Youth Vinny Curry Jersey , about 11 weeks into the process.

”Everything’s gone smoothly thus far, so I’m staying on top of it and feeling really good right now,” he said on a conference call with Minnesota reporters.

The Vikings made a big splash by signing Cousins and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson last week, so the rest of their offseason moves will likely be minor in nature. They had to release valuable slot receiver Jarius Wright and cut running back Latavius Murray’s pay to maintain a flexible amount of space under the salary cap, with needs remaining on the offensive line and in the secondary. Of their own players who became free agents, kicker Kai Forbath, punt returner Marcus Sherels and cornerback Terence Newman are the top unsigned priorities.

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