No announcement on Maurice yet

While it would be hard to imagine Paul Maurice not getting a new contract and continuing to coach the Carolina Hurricanes, general manager Jim Rutherford said today that it may be a week to 10 days before a final decision and an announcement is made. Rutherford said he would first conduct exit interviews with the players and coaches, then meet with team owner Peter Karmanos Jr. to discuss the plans for next season and beyond. "Paul and the whole coaching staff did a very good job in helping us recover from an average start to having a very good second half to getting to the (Eastern) conference finals," Rutherford said. "Paul did an extremely good job, did everything he was asked to do." Maurice was named coach Dec. 3 after Peter Laviolette was fired. The Canes reached the playoffs for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006, and the franchise finished in the black financially after reaching the conference finals. "We had a lot of good t...