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Hurricanes Sign Josiah Slavin

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The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Josiah Slavin to a two-year, two-way contract (Twitter link). The deal will carry a league-minimum $775K cap hit at the NHL level, and pay out $150K at the AHL level – though $450K is guaranteed.

Slavin was originally drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the seventh round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He transitioned to Colorado College two seasons later, then turned pro following the end of his sophomore season in 2020-21. He posted seven points through his first 15 games with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, setting him up well for a strong rookie season the following year.

Slavin took advantage of the chance, netting 18 goals and 32 points in 49 games in 2021-22. That scoring earned him his NHL debut midway through the year, though an assist in his debut would be Slavin’s only scoring through 15 games with Chicago. The tepid start in the NHL earned Slavin a move back to minor leagues, where he’s been ever since. He spent the 2023-24 season with the Toronto Marlies, where he posted 10 goals and 24 points across 70 games.

It seems Slavin will be destined for the minor leagues once again on his new deal with the Hurricanes, though he’ll get a boost of motivation by joining an organization led in part by brother Jaccob Slavin. Jaccob has carved out a proud, top-line role in Carolina over the last nine seasons, earning plenty of praise for his two-way reliability and leadership along the way. Jaccob’s “gentlemanly conduct” was recognized this season with his second Lady Byng Trophy in the last four years – placing him among a rare list of repeat winners, including Anze Kopitar, Martin St. Louis, and Pavel Datsyuk.

Carolina Hurricanes Pursuing Nikolaj Ehlers

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One of the storylines heading into the 2024 offseason was the number of players on the trading block. Although a few players have already been moved to new clubs, Nikolaj Ehlers of the Winnipeg Jets has still not found a new home. Hoping to change that, Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News reported yesterday that the Carolina Hurricanes are pushing heavily for Ehlers’ services.

Carolina’s interest comes as no surprise with the team losing Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, and Stefan Noesen on the free-agent market in only a week. Acquiring a player of Ehlers caliber could help soften the blow for the Hurricanes as they look to continue their dominance in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division during the regular season. Carolina would also present a natural trade partner for Winnipeg as they have a change-of-scenery candidate, as well.

The likelihood of Carolina moving on from forward Martin Necas has certainly dissipated over the last several days as the Hurricanes may be better served by signing the restricted free agent to contract with the amount of depth they lost up front. However, if Carolina is still looking to trade Necas, a one-for-one swap with the Jets might make the most sense. Assuming that both players are willing to discuss an extension as a part of the deal — a trade involving Ehlers for Necas might be the easiest path forward for both sides.

Ehlers style of play would fit seamlessly in Carolina as he has one of the better possession games in the league. Throughout his tenure in Winnipeg dating back to the 2015-16 NHL season, Ehlers has scored 201 goals and 457 points in 605 games while averaging a CorsiFor% of 57.6% over that stretch. The biggest criticism of Ehlers’ game, and simultaneously for the Hurricanes, is his lack of performance during the postseason as he’s only scored four goals and 14 points in 37 playoff contests.

Jets Acquire Dylan Coghlan From Hurricanes

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Saturday: The deal is now official, per an announcement from the Hurricanes.  The official return is future considerations.

Friday: The Jets are set to acquire the signing rights to RFA defenseman Dylan Coghlan from the Hurricanes, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Winnipeg is sending a conditional seventh-round pick to Carolina in return, per Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey.

Coghlan, 26, went undrafted but got his start back in 2017 when the Golden Knights signed him to an entry-level contract. Coghlan developed well in Vegas, spending another year back in juniors and another two in the AHL before jumping to a taxi squad role for the 2020-21 season. He avoided any minor league assignments with the Knights after that, recording 19 points in 88 games during the following two seasons while primarily serving as their extra defenseman. His time in Nevada came to an end when he was sent to Carolina as a sweetener to take the final season of Max Pacioretty’s deal in the summer of 2022.

The right-shot blue liner struggled to find a role with the Canes, though. He spent most of the 2022-23 season in the press box, only appearing in 17 games (three assists, -1 rating, 12:43 ATOI). He also had two goals and an assist in five games on a conditioning loan to AHL Chicago in December.

The Canes liked him enough to qualify and re-sign him on a one-way, $850K deal last summer, leading most to believe he’d be on their opening night roster. That wasn’t the case, though, as he failed to crack the team out of camp and was waived in October. Without a dedicated AHL affiliate last season, the Hurricanes found a home for him on loan to the Springfield Thunderbirds, the Blues’ primary affiliate.

Coghlan earned a couple of recalls throughout the season that resulted in a lone appearance for Carolina, but he otherwise played with a chip on his shoulder in Springfield as he looked to give himself another NHL chance. The British Columbia-born defender suited up in 61 games for the T-Birds, earning an All-Star Game appearance and leading all AHL defensemen in goals with 16. He added 25 assists for 41 points, breaking his previous career high of 40 set in his first pro season.

He’ll look to leverage that shot and his 6’2″, 207-lb frame into a roster spot with the Jets in the fall, assuming he signs a new deal. Winnipeg is looking for added defensive depth after losing Brenden Dillon to the Devils in free agency and buying out Nate Schmidt. They’ve already made one acquisition in veteran Colin Miller, who will be Coghlan’s chief competitor for minutes as a fellow right-shooting D-man. They’ll likely rotate in bottom-pairing minutes behind Dylan DeMelo and Neal Pionk.

Martin Necas, Jack Drury File For Arbitration

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Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and originally produced by the National Hockey Leaguer Players’ Association, 14 players have elected for salary arbitration this summer. The deadline for team-elected arbitration is tomorrow. Friedman also notes the arbitration hearings will happen between July 20th and August 4th. To add context, not every one of these players will appear for a hearing with their respective teams as they may continue to negotiate on a new contract. However, each player who elects for salary arbitration is now prohibited from negotiating with other teams or signing an offer sheet. Here is a list of the players that have elected for arbitration:

F Beck Malenstyn (Buffalo Sabres)
G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Buffalo Sabres)
F Martin Necas (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Jack Drury (Carolina Hurricanes)
D Jake Christiansen (Columbus Blue Jackets)
G Jet Greaves (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Kirill Marchenko (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Joe Veleno (Detroit Red Wings)
D Spencer Stastney (Nashville Predators)
F Oliver Wahlstrom (New York Islanders)
D Ryan Lindgren (New York Rangers)
D Ty Emberson (San Jose Sharks)
D J.J. Moser (Tampa Bay Lightning)
F Connor Dewar (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Hurricanes Sign Jack Roslovic

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July 4: It’s a one-year, $2.8MM deal for Roslovic, the Canes confirmed Thursday morning.

July 3: The Carolina Hurricanes are making strides in repairing their forward core as several players recently left the team on the free-agent market. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the organization will be signing forward Jack Roslovic although no financial terms of the deal have been confirmed.

The Columbus, OH native was originally brought to the NHL after being selected with the 25th overall pick of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Winnipeg Jets organization. Roslovic spent one year at the Miami University (Ohio) before turning professional for the 2016-17 season. Roslovic broke into the organization with 13 goals and 48 points in 65 games as a rookie for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.

After another impressive start to the season in the AHL, Roslovic became a full-time member of the Jets partway through the 2017-18 season. Over 180 games in Winnipeg, Roslovic scored 26 goals and 67 points while playing in a middle-six role before the team moved his signing rights to his hometown Columbus Blue Jackets in the deal that brought Pierre-Luc Dubois to Winnipeg.

Moving into a second-line role with the Blue Jackets, Roslovic experienced the most productivity in his career up to this point. In three and a half seasons for the Blue Jackets, Roslovic scored 51 goals and 146 points in 206 regular season games. The team failed to make the playoffs throughout his entire tenure in Columbus and decided to part ways with him this past year by shipping him to the New York Rangers in exchange for a conditional fourth-round selection in 2026.

Returning to the Stanley Cup playoffs after four years, Roslovic provided solid play for the Rangers as the team ended their season in the Eastern Conference Finals. While averaging 13:51 of ice time over 16 games, Roslovic scored two goals and eight points during New York’s postseason run. Due to the major loss of talent in Carolina over the last several days, Roslovic should find a spot in the team’s middle-six on the reported contract.

Hurricanes Sign William Carrier To Six-Year Deal

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July 3: Carolina has now confirmed the terms of Carrier’s contract.

July 1: The Hurricanes have pried longtime Golden Knight William Carrier away from Vegas. The checking winger is joining Carolina on a six-year deal worth $2MM per season, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports.

Carrier, 29, provides solid checking depth for a Carolina squad that lost a lot of key pieces today on the open market. Seven of his eight NHL seasons have come in Vegas, where he accumulated 99 points, 183 PIMs and 1,116 hits in 372 games. He won the Cup with them one year ago, providing some crucial depth point production with six points in 18 games.

The deal is indicative of a recent trend for physical, two-way responsible checking wingers – long-term agreements are becoming closer to the norm. Miles Wood is a notable recent example – he received a six-year, $2.5MM AAV deal from the Avalanche last summer.

Carrier will fill a lot of the duties Jordan Martinook has for the Canes in the past few seasons. Martinook is sticking around, inking a three-year deal today, but the loss of forwards Jake Guentzel and Teuvo Teräväinen without any real replacement means he’ll be relied upon for point production higher up in the lineup. Carrier routinely averages around 11 minutes per game and will be best suited to continue in a fourth-line role.

Hurricanes Sign Riley Stillman To Two-Way Deal

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The Hurricanes have signed left-shot defenseman Riley Stillman to a two-way deal, per a team release. The blue liner will earn $775K at the NHL level and $150K at the AHL level next season with a $350K guarantee.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for the 26-year-old, whose father, Cory Stillman, suited up in parts of four seasons for Carolina and was a part of their Stanley Cup-winning squad in 2006. The defender is coming off a highly disappointing 2023-24 season. After participating in his first training camp with the Sabres, who acquired him from the Canucks in February 2023 trade, he didn’t crack the NHL roster and was unclaimed on waivers. He struggled on assignment to AHL Rochester, limited to six points and a -4 rating in 47 games before lower-body surgery ended his season in early April. Stillman is a penalty-kill specialist first and foremost, though, so his lack of offense wasn’t overly shocking.

Prior to 2023-24, Stillman made 158 NHL appearances from 2018-19 to 2022-23, skating for the Blackhawks and Panthers in addition to his time in Buffalo and Vancouver. He’s accumulated four goals, 22 assists and 26 points in his career, laying the body well with 318 hits but failing to control possession at even strength. He’s controlled 46.3% of shot attempts and 46.0% of expected goals.

The Hurricanes have been focused on replenishing their defensive depth since free agency opened Monday, dishing out multi-year deals to Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Walker. Stillman should provide them with an NHL-experienced call-up option if needed but will likely hit waivers again in the fall and start the season on assignment to AHL Chicago. Carolina lost Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei to the open market this week and also lost some minor league defensive depth when they non-tendered Griffin Mendel.

Metro Notes: Tarasenko, Perreault, Hurricanes

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have made a contract offer to free agent forward Vladimir Tarasenko. Fresh off the second Stanley Cup of his career and his first with the Florida Panthers, Tarasenko passed through the first day of free agency unsigned. It’s familiar territory for the 32-year-old as he didn’t sign a contract last summer until July 27th.

Tarasenko is no longer a perennial 30-goal scorer, but he remains a solid option on the wing, particularly for the Penguins who are looking for short-term options to play alongside Sidney Crosby. Tarasenko had a good year for Ottawa and Florida, tallying 23 goals and 32 assists in 76 regular season games.

The Penguins have just $3.5MM in available cap space (as per CapFriendly) at the moment but could bury salary in the AHL to open up room should they decide to do so. They also have a stockpile of fourth-line options and could presumably trade Lars Eller or Noel Acciari to open up room for Tarasenko.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today tweeted that New York Rangers forward prospect Gabe Perreault will be going back to Boston College for his sophomore season in the NCAA. The Rangers’ 2023 first-round pick (23rd overall) isn’t sure what direction he will go after the season but given his numbers last year in the NCAA (19 goals and 41 assists in 36 games) it’s fair to wonder if he’ll turn pro. Perreault is the son of former NHLer Yanic Perreault and shares many of the same on-ice traits as his father, right down to their height at 5’11”. He has yet to sign his entry-level contract but at this point, it doesn’t appear to be an issue that is bothering Rangers management.
  • David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period tweeted that the Carolina Hurricanes will be hiring a new president for the organization with an announcement coming in the coming weeks. Former president and general manager Don Waddell resigned back in May and his GM duties were eventually handed off to Eric Tulsky. Waddell oversaw the Hurricanes’ business operations for nearly ten years after he was hired back on July 1st, 2014. There are no indications as to who the Hurricanes new president could be, and it will add another layer of change to an organization that has seen quite a bit of it over the past six weeks. Carolina was busy in the first two days of free agency as they looked to replace the losses of Brett Pesce and Jake Guentzel who both signed elsewhere.

Hurricanes Agree To Three-Year Deal With Shayne Gostisbehere

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The Hurricanes are close to a three-year deal worth around $10MM for UFA defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. It would be his second stint with the club. The deal isn’t finalized, Pierre LeBrun of TSN says, but they’ve agreed to terms on a three-year deal worth $3.2MM per season. Carolina later officially announced the terms of the deal, confirming the $3.2MM AAV and $9.6MM total value.

Gostisbehere alone may singlehandedly replace the offense Carolina lost when Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei both found new homes on the open market today. The 31-year-old flourished in Detroit last season in sheltered even-strength minutes while seeing top power-play time, recording 10 goals and 56 points in 81 games – his most since his career-high 65 points set in 2017-18.

He last suited up in Carolina in 2022-23 after a deadline deal sent him from Phoenix to Raleigh. He fit right in to end the season, posting 10 points in 23 games in bottom-pairing minutes, but ended up finding a bigger role with the Wings.

With the increased stability that comes with a three-year deal, Gostisbehere is well-positioned to take on the third-pairing, first-unit power-play role that suited him so well in Detroit. While he can play both sides, he’s a natural lefty and will likely sit behind Jaccob Slavin and Dmitry Orlov on the depth chart.

Carolina’s defense is likely completely filled out for next season, with Gostisbehere and Sean Walker serving as much cheaper replacements for Pesce and Skjei. They still have upward of $10MM in projected cap space for next season to make adds on offense as the week goes on, although the market is quickly dwindling as most of the top-flight UFAs have already signed.

Hurricanes Sign Sean Walker To Five-Year Contract

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Earlier today, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated that the Carolina Hurricanes were closing in on a contract with free-agent defenseman Sean Walker. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun confirms the news by reporting Walker has signed a five-year, $18MM contract with the Hurricanes.

A lot has changed for Walker over the past 12 months.  After being part of a salary dump to the Flyers, the 29-year-old turned things around with his new team.  He picked up 22 points in 63 games with Philadelphia while logging nearly 20 minutes a night.  As a result, he was one of the best rental defensemen available, resulting in the Flyers picking up a first-round pick from Colorado (along with Ryan Johansen) in exchange for Walker’s services at the trade deadline.

With the Avs, Walker wasn’t counted on to play as high up the lineup although he still averaged nearly 18 minutes a game while picking up four goals and three assists in 18 games down the stretch.  However, he was held off the scoresheet in 11 playoff appearances, ending his campaign on somewhat of a lower note.

Even so, Walker was one of the better right-shot defenders on the open market this summer, helping secure him a raise of nearly $1MM per season along with the longest contract of his career.  That’s a pretty good outcome for someone who was effectively moved for salary purposes just a year ago.

With Brett Pesce moving on to New Jersey in free agency earlier today, Walker will have a chance to step in and play a big role next season, perhaps a bigger one than he had last season even.  And with Brent Burns only having one year left on his contract, Walker could be their top right-shot option this time next summer.  If he can play at a similar level with the extra responsibilities, this could wind up being one of the better-value contracts handed out today.

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