Carolina Hurricanes threatened to fire former AHL affiliate's head coach over goalie dispute

By Sukanya Banerjee

Modified Aug 26, 2023 20:26 GMT

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The Carolina Hurricanes have found themselves at the center of a dispute revolving around struggle for control over player decisions.

If the franchise didn't agree to the Hurricanes' requests to play their prospect goaltender, Pyotr Kochetkov, over Alex Lyon, the Carolina Hurricanes allegedly threatened to terminate the contract with AHL affiliate team Chicago Wolves' former head coach, Ryan Warsofsky.

Wendell Young, the present GM of the Chicago Wolves, told insideAHL.com of the circumstances that led to the decision to break away and form an independent team, the Lone Wolves, for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

Young said:

"The year we won [2022]? We were super competitive and everything fell into place. The next year [2023] - totally different philosophy. Our coach was told: 'don't worry about winning this year'. Our coach was being dictated on who to play in goal. Lineups had to go through Carolina."

The AHL affiliate partnership saw a Calder Cup victory in 2022. The relationship with Carolina Hurricanes broke down due to Hurricanes' change in player development approach and philosophy. The GM added:

"We were trying to correct it all year. We didn't sign up for this. We didn't sign up to not be competitive. It's not [a] good [look] for anyone. It's not good for the Chicago Wolves. It's not good for Carolina, for the AHL, the NHL.”

Young blamed the Carolina Hurricanes for the separation between the teams. He said:

"We didn't make this decision. Carolina did by their actions."

This event brought attention to the Hurricanes' growing meddling in the Wolves' operational choices. Young claims the Hurricanes' strategy drastically changed in 2023 when they adopted a stance that valued potential and development above immediate competitive success in the AHL.

The connection having been formally terminated, the Wolves will now play in the AHL without having a direct NHL affiliation. Young is still willing to engage with other NHL clubs to find specific loan arrangements for their players, though. Although unorthodox, this special strategy could provide NHL teams another avenue for their prospects' growth.

Are the Blackhawks trying to trade Carolina Hurricanes goalies?

With three great goaltenders on their roster, Frederik Andersen, Antti Raanta, and Pyotr Kochetkov, the Carolina Hurricanes find themselves in an interesting scenario with the upcoming hockey season drawing near.

Given the position depth and the talented 24-year-old prospect Kochetkov, trade rumors have surfaced. The Chicago Blackhawks might look into trade options involving either Raanta or Andersen because the Hurricanes appear certain to keep Kochetkov, improving their own AHL goalie position.