The Erie Otters and coach Robbie Ftorek have reached an agreement in principle on a new three-year contract, Sherry Bassin, managing partner/general manager, said Wednesday. The deal includes a yearly out clause that allows Ftorek to accept a contract from a professional club before an August deadline.
“I owe it to him like I would for anybody else,” Bassin said of the clause.
Bassin said it was important to finish the deal before the OHL Priority Selection on Saturday. He wanted to have a coach in place for the club’s draft picks. “He’s a premier coach in the world,” Bassin said.
Ftorek was hired Oct. 28, 2007, to replace current assistant coach Peter Sidorkiewicz. Ftorek posted a 15-34-2-2 record in 53 games this season, his first in the OHL. His deal expired after the Otters completed the season with an 18-46-2-2 record. The club missed the playoffs for a third straight season.
Ftorek, 56, a Needham, Mass., native, has two decades of NHL and AHL head coaching experience, including the 1995-96 AHL championship with Albany. He has a 229-157-44-13 record in 443 NHL games. He has not coached professionally since ending a three-year stint with Albany.
Bassin has said he wouldn’t begin discussing next season with Sidorkiewicz and fellow assistant coach Mike Stapleton after the draft. Both have one year left on their current three-year contracts.

– Victor Fernandes