Hurricanes' Rutherford gets new contract

RALEIGH, N.C., April 17 (UPI) -- Team President and General Manager Jim Rutherford signed a new five-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, the NHL announced Tuesday.

Rutherford is the league's second-longest tenured general manager and has been with the franchise since before it moved from Hartford, Conn., in 1997.

The team won the Stanley Cup in 2006 but failed to qualify for the playoffs this season, becoming the first NHL champion to miss the playoffs since the New Jersey Devils in 1995-96.

Still, the hurricanes are considered a solid franchise because of Rutherford's strategy of building a roster largely through the draft and adding veterans through trades and free agency. He has been the team's general manager for 13 seasons.

"Jim has been the face of the Hurricanes since the team's arrival in North Carolina," team owner Peter Karmanos said. "The franchise has seen continued growth and success under his leadership, and he has been regularly recognized as one of the best in the business."