Hurricanes hire former Penguins goalie coach Mike Bales

The Carolina Hurricanes have hired Mike Bales to be the team's new goalie coach, general manager Ron Francis announced.

Bales spent the past four seasons in the same position with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and thus brings a winning pedigree along with him.

"Mike has a proven history of success as a goaltending coach with the Penguins, winning back-to-back Stanley Cups," said Francis. "Based on our research, we are confident that he is someone our goalies and coaching staff will enjoy working with, and we're thrilled to have him in our organization."

Pittsburgh's goalie situation has been a hot topic as of late, and Bales' hiring is noteworthy on a couple of levels.

Prior to serving as Pittsburgh's goalie coach, Bales was the team's goaltending development coach and scout from 2011-13. In that role, he was instrumental in drafting and developing Matt Murray, who backstopped the Penguins to those two Cup wins.

Bales is also credited with bringing new life to Marc-Andre Fleury's game during his tenure.

The Hurricanes are seen as a team on the rise and recently acquired Scott Darling to be their starting goalie moving forward. Cam Ward and Eddie Lack also remain under contract for the time being, and Bales will now be charged with getting the most out of this position.