Carolina Hurricanes hire Ulf Samuelsson to coach AHL team

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes have hired former NHL defenseman Ulf Samuelsson to coach their AHL affiliate in Charlotte.

General manager Ron Francis announced Samuelsson's hiring Monday.

Samuelsson, 52, and Francis were NHL teammates in Hartford, and were traded together to Pittsburgh and helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 1991 and '92.

Samuelsson played in 1,080 games during a 16-year NHL career that also included stints with Detroit, Philadelphia and the New York Rangers. He spent the past three seasons as an assistant with the Rangers.

Francis says Samuelsson "has a proven history of helping to develop young players" and understands the "organizational culture that we are building."

He replaces Mark Morris, who left after one season earlier this month to take the job at St. Lawrence University.