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Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour hinted he's starting to focus on next year with this season's status up in the air.

"We're kind of looking at it a little differently, I think our management and owners kind of right away told us this was going to be something a little more long term so we kind of looked at it as our offseason," Brind'Amour said in a video conference call Friday, according to NHL.com's Adam Kimelman. "So we're kind of preparing actually for the draft a little bit, looking at stuff like that."

At the time of the pause on March 12, the Hurricanes occupied the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Brind'Amour understands his team will need to ramp-up fast if play were to resume.

"Make sure our guys are staying safe first and then if we get any inkling that maybe we’re coming back on the horizon soon, I think we’ll change gears," Brind'Amour added. "Right now, we’re kind of preparing for next year in a lot of ways."

Brind'Amour also took time to thank the frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 crisis and hopes fans continue to do their part.

"I think No. 1, it shouldn't take a crisis like this to kind of realize how important certain people are in the world - our medical staff, just a real shoutout to them and all they're doing," Brind'Amour added. "Hopefully we'll get this behind us soon but we've all got to do our part, that's the key. So stay safe to everyone and let's get hockey back soon and safe."

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