Hurricanes not concerned about relocation rumours

RALEIGH, N.C. — Carolina Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis believes the team’s future is secure in North Carolina.

Francis on Thursday became the latest high-ranking person to rebut reports the team is a candidate for relocation — currently the NHL is weighing its options for possible expansion.

“From Day 1, everybody’s said the same thing,” Francis said. “We like this market, we’ve got a great lease with the arena here and we believe in this market.”

Organization officials have maintained that the Hurricanes aren’t going anywhere, but they’ve still had to spend much of an exasperating off-season shooting down the possibility.

In a meeting with media members to discuss the NHL draft, Francis was asked about the reports and said, “It’s been going on forever, and despite everything we say to the contrary, it doesn’t seem to go away.”

He said he’s had “zero contact from (people in the) league who would tell me anything differently” about the team’s future.

The main off-the-ice item on the NHL’s agenda is whether to expand to Las Vegas and/or Quebec City, with a decision to be finalized June 22 when the league’s board of governors meets.

The options include putting a new club or clubs in place for the 2017-18 season, declining to expand or deferring to a later date.

A city bypassed for expansion could try to court an existing team.

Peter Karmanos Jr., the team’s 73-year-old owner, announced his desire two years ago to find a local buyer who will take on part or all of his majority interest, but he wants to remain in charge as part of what he called his “succession plan.”

“The fact of the matter is, that franchise has been in good hands, remains in good hands and we don’t see that changing in the near future,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said.