When Justin Williams signed with the Hurricanes back in 2017, the belief was that the winger would announce his retirement at the end of his contract which wraps up this season. However, he has wound up playing an integral role in their top six and has been a big part of their turnaround this season. Clearly, he can still play at the top level and he admitted to Ken Campbell of The Hockey News that he’s now uncertain about whether or not he’ll play next season:
“I have no idea what the future holds and I like that. At the end of the season, whenever that may be, I’ll just decompress and see where life takes me.”
Considering his long-standing connection with the franchise, Campbell notes that it’s likely that if Williams does indeed decide to play in 2019-20, it would likely only be with the Hurricanes who would be willing to offer a one-year deal. As he’s over 35, Carolina would be able to offer him an incentive-based contract as long as the term is just for a single season.
The 37-year-old sits third on the team in scoring with 23 goals and 29 assists in 80 games. It’s the third time in the last four years that he has reached the 50-point plateau so he will certainly have some leverage in contract talks. His current contract carries an AAV of $4.5MM and while a bonus-laden deal would allow Carolina to offer a lower base salary, his next contract, if there is one, could surpass that once the incentives are factored in. Between that and the improvement the Hurricanes have shown this season, that might be enough to convince Williams to hold up on hanging up his skates for a little while longer.