Bill Peters resigns as coach of Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters has resigned, the team announced Friday.

Peters, 51, went 137-138-53 in his four seasons with the Hurricanes, whomissed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the ninth consecutive season -- the longest drought in the NHL.

"I have a lot of respect for Bill as a person and coach," owner Tom Dundon said in a statement. "We thank him for his time with the Hurricanes and wish him success in whatever comes next."

The Hurricanes also are without a general manager after Dundon, who took control of the Hurricanes in January after buying a majority stake in the franchise from longtime owner Peter Karmanos Jr., reassigned Ron Francis to a new role as president of hockey operations in March.

"I want to thank Tom Dundon, Peter Karmanos and Ron Francis for the trust they put in me to lead the team," Peters said in a statement. "I feel the incoming general manager should have the ability to hire his own head coach."

This is the fourth head-coaching vacancy in the NHL this offseason. Earlier this week, the Calgary Flames fired Glen Gulutzan. The New York Rangers fired Alain Vigneault after their season and Dallas Stars coach Ken Hitchcock announced his retirement.

It is expected that Peters will pursue one of those vacancies.

Earlier in the week, the Hurricanes named Paul Krepelka as their new vice president of hockey operations, and a large part of Krepelka's role will be negotiating contracts. Krepelka spent 20 years as a sports agent, including 13 years as a co-founder and partner in the Orr Hockey Group.