CAROLINA HURRICANES NEWS CLIPPINGS • January 27, 2021 Jordan Staal off NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list, joins Canes for team practice By Chip Alexander Sebastian Aho centered a top line with Andrei Svechnikov and Brock McGinn on the wings. Staal’s line had Ryan The Carolina Hurricanes were back on the ice for a team Dzingel and Steven Lorentz on the wings, and Vincent practice Tuesday and Jordan Staal was with them. Trocheck centered Nino Niederreiter and Martin Necas. Staal, the Canes’ captain, was the first of six Carolina Morgan Geekie was at center with Max McCormick and players to be placed on the NHL COVID-19 protocol list on Joakim Ryan, a D-man filling in on the wing, on the fourth Jan. 15. That came the day after the Canes opened the line, season on the road with a 3-0 win over the Detroit Red With Slavin out, Brady Skjei moved up to pair with Dougie Wings. Hamilton defensively. Jake Gardiner was with Brett Pesce Staal was later joined on the protocol list by defenseman and Haydn Fleury with Jake Bean, who will move into the Jaccob Slavin and forwards Teuvo Teravainen, Jordan lineup. Martinook, Warren Foegele and then Jesper Fast. All but Aho said he tried to speak to the players in quarantine and Staal remain in the COVID protocol as the Canes, who have that Teravainen, while not having serious COVID symptoms, had their past four games postponed and rescheduled, was a “little sick” and will miss some games. prepared to host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. “Obviously it’s a bummer. He’s a huge player for us,” Aho Staal said he’s not sure how he contracted the virus after said on the media call. “Hopefully he gets back soon. First of retracing his steps, and that the symptoms were mild for him: all he needs to get healthy, that’s the No. 1 thing. I’m sure 24 hours of having chills but “nothing crazy.” When told he when he comes back he’ll be ready. had tested positive for coronavirus, he jokingly said he yelled “No-ooooo!” at head trainer Doug Bennett. Despite attention “It’s just bad luck. It could have happened to any of us.” to all the coronavirus protocols, he had caught the virus and it spread through the team. Missing so many players “This really makes it real, obviously,” Staal said on a media Brind’Amour said missing so many regulars in the lineup is call. “No one wants to be ‘that guy’ and clearly that was me “devastating” and the conditioning level “goes right out the for the most part bringing it in the room. It was trying to be window” when a team is unable to skate. safe and it’s unfortunate. I feel bad for the guys that are “You’ve got to deal with it,” he said on the media call. “The sitting in hotel rooms right now. It’s not fun. excuse jar is full. Nobody cares and you have to figure it out. “Everyone has been careful but now taking it even more That’s the approach we have to have. serious. We don’t want to lose any more man-games and “It’s all unknown. We’re living in that world right now. Our lose guys going forward. It’s not easy sitting there for long approach is what can we do today? I don’t know tomorrow. and jumping back into it.. We’ve got to make sure we’re on Let’s don’t get too far of ourselves. This is our group, let’s go. top of it.” That’s how we’re approaching it.” Staal said when he was quarantined in Detroit he felt “like a Bracco on unconditional waivers leper for a little while.” Once out of quarantine and cleared, he said, “You’re a free man.” The others remain in The Canes on Tuesday placed forward Jeremy Bracco, who quarantine and Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Tuesday signed a one-year, two-way contract with Carolina in he was not sure when they would return. October, on unconditional waivers in order to terminate his contract. Reshuffling the lines In the practice Tuesday at PNC Arena, Brind’Amour did a lot of reshuffling of his lines and D pairs as players from the taxi squad were filtered into the lineup. CAROLINA HURRICANES NEWS CLIPPINGS • January 27, 2021 Former Hurricanes broadcaster John Forslund lands with expansion franchise By Luke DeCock position ahead of the abbreviated 2021 season, with Abby Labar taking over for Maniscalco as reporter and John Forslund wasn’t without an NHL team for long. Cut intermission/pregame/postgame host. loose by the Carolina Hurricanes this summer after 25 years in their television booth, the broadcaster will call all of the It all made for a very awkward conclusion to Forslund’s long firsts for the new Seattle Kraken. tenure with the franchise, similar in some ways to the departure of Hall of Fame radio broadcaster Chuck Kaiton The NHL expansion team announced Forslund’s hiring as its after 39 years in that role two summers earlier after Dundon play-by-play announcer for games on rightsholder Root bought the team from Peter Karmanos. Sports NW with a Twitter video on Tuesday. Forslund will continue to work national games for NBC, as he did while he “I always will have a huge place in my heart for the fans was with the Hurricanes. The Kraken is scheduled to start there, the Caniacs,” Forslund said. play next season. Staying in the national spotlight “This is an unbelievable opportunity to get a second chance to call a franchise from, really, Day 1, because I consider Since leaving the Hurricanes, he has continued to work a Hartford and Carolina different things,” Forslund told The heavy national schedule with NBC, where he is seen as a News & Observer Tuesday. “To call it from Day 1, that’s possible replacement for Mike “Doc” Emrick as that something that doesn’t come a broadcaster’s way very often, network’s primary hockey voice. Forslund called the Eastern if at all.” Conference finals for NBC for the first time last season and was on location in Edmonton if needed during the Stanley In Seattle, Forslund will join Hurricanes legend Ron Francis, Cup finals, but the network has yet to formally anoint a the general manager entrusted with building the Kraken from successor to Emrick and the network’s deal with the NHL scratch, as well as several former members of the expires after this season, creating some uncertainty there -- Hurricanes’ scouting staff who followed Francis to Seattle and perhaps opportunity. after he was fired as Hurricanes general manager by new owner Tom Dundon in 2018. Forslund did not follow through on the opening with the Tampa Bay Lightning this summer created by Rick Contract dispute with Hurricanes Peckham’s retirement, in part because he wanted to continue his work with NBC, but there was also appeal in Forslund, named the 2019 North Carolina Sportscaster of the starting from scratch with the Kraken. That franchise was Year by the National Sports Media Association, became willing to work around any of his national commitments, as available when the Hurricanes let his contract expire this the Hurricanes did. summer and would only negotiate a new contract structured around the number of games played and whether there were “I’m very lucky that this has happened,” Forslund said. “My fans in the building. His longtime broadcast partner, analyst goal has always been to have that connection with a team Tripp Tracy, accepted a similar deal but Forslund would not. and a fan base and also do my national work. They will welcome that.” Former sideline reporter Mike Maniscalco took over play-by- play duties on FS Carolinas during the delayed 2020 playoffs in August on an interim basis and was given the permanent LeBrun: NHL GMs share insight into their team’s COVID-19 delays By Pierre LeBrun — agreed to join me on a group email to discuss the challenges they’ve faced. Everyone knew entering this unique 2020-21 season that playing through a pandemic would have its challenges, but Here is our conversation. it’s affected a handful of teams in particular. Response edited for style and clarity. The Central Division has been hit hard out of the gates with COVID-19 issues delaying the start of the season for the Thank you for taking part in this. I’m curious how all of you Stars, pausing the Hurricanes’ season and altering the view the challenges of navigating what’s already been schedule for the Panthers, Lightning and Predators as a thrown at you and what’s ahead. result. Let’s start with Jim Nill. The GMs of those five teams — Jim Nill of the Stars, Don Jim, your team dealt with it right out of the gates in camp, Waddell of the Hurricanes, Bill Zito of the Panthers, David which delayed the start of your season. What kind of Poile of the Predators and Julien BriseBois of the Lightning challenges did it present for your team? And moving forward, CAROLINA HURRICANES NEWS CLIPPINGS • January 27, 2021 how do you balance finding practice time during such a fault, we will now have a very tough schedule in the compressed schedule? upcoming weeks. Mentally and physically, we will deal the best we can with what’s in front of us.’ Nill: Hi Pierre, Let’s check in with Bill Zito now.