Former Belfast Giants coach Dave Whistle is happy in Cardiff

The club said discussions were at an advanced stage with Whistle about replacing Tony Hand, who is returning to the Edinburgh Capitals.

But Whistle said on Tuesday that he is looking forward to another season with the Cardiff Devils.

"I have really enjoyed it in Cardiff and right now I am happy here," said the Canadian.

Whistle won the Superleague title and play-off crown and also guided the Giants to the Continental Cup finals during his three years in charge before taking over as coach of German side Iserlohn Roosters prior to his move to Cardiff.

He is already working on team recruitmewnt with Ed Patterson, who will be Cardiff's player-coach next season.

"Ed will be the player-coach next season and I will be a co-coach or a general manager," added Whistle.

"We are talking pretty much every second day about what players to look out for and we are excited about putting a team together for the new season."

Meanwhile, Hand is "relishing the challenge" of coaching the Capitals in the Elite League next season.

The 37-year-old had been linked with a return ever since the Capitals announced they were rejoining the top-flight last month.

Hand left Edinburgh, where he spent the first 12 seasons of his illustrious career, last summer to take over in Belfast, steering them to a second-place finish.

But following talks with Belfast over a possible return to the Odyssey, Hand admitted he had to put his family first.

I was away from my wife and children for seven months, they missed me and I missed them," he said.

"I really enjoyed my time in Belfast and it was a really tough decision to make, but my family was a big factor.

"I am looking forward to building a team up which can compete at this level.

"It is exciting times for the city of Edinburgh to have the best players coming here and playing at the highest level in Britain."