Paul Stastny Reportedly "Took Less Money" To Sign In Carolina
The Carolina Hurricanes solidified their situation down the middle with the addition of veteran center Paul Stastny on a one-year, $1.5MM deal. With the departure of Vincent Trocheck to the New York Rangers, the Hurricanes’ center corps is relatively unsettled. Armed with an eight-year, $4.82MM AAV contract, 2018 third-overall pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi will likely receive the first crack at replacing Trocheck as the Hurricanes’ second-line center. But if Kotkaniemi struggles in that role, look for Stastny to fill in and provide his usual steady production. With that possibility in mind, it seems this Stastny signing, while for a relatively cheap cap number, is actually quite important to the Hurricanes’ success next season.
It appears that Stastny understands that reality as well. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports on his 32 Thoughts Podcast that Stastny “took less money” than he was being offered from elsewhere in order to sign in Carolina. One possible suitor for Stastny that was presumably offering more money that Friedman specifically names is the Vegas Golden Knights. Stastny’s fit with the Golden Knights is less obvious, as the team already has Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, and Nicolas Roy entrenched as the top-three centers, and Chandler Stephenson waiting in the wings to play center in case of an injury. So, based on this reporting, it seems Stastny prioritized fit over maximizing his contract’s value as a free agent, which indicates how important he could be to the Hurricanes if Kotkaniemi fails to take a step forward in his development.
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Paul Stastny
8:17 pm: According to PuckPedia, Stastny’s contract carries a no-trade clause, as well as a $500K performance bonus for winning the Stanley Cup, per CapFriendly.
11:18 am: The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Paul Stastny to a one-year, $1.5MM contract, taking one of the best free agent centers remaining off the market.
Team president and general manager Don Waddell spoke on the deal:
Paul is an extremely reliable veteran who has been effective at both ends of the ice for his entire career. He adds even more experience and leadership to our forward group, and we are excited to have him in Carolina.
He’s right about Stastny being effective at both ends of the ice. The veteran of over 1000 games is solid defensively in his own right but also excels in the faceoff circle. Turning 37 in December, Stastny still managed over 20 goals and 45 points in 71 games for the Winnipeg Jets last season.
Where Stastny actually fits into the Carolina lineup remains to be seen. Stastny still consistently plays top-six minutes and holds his own doing so, but no one can be sure when age will finally catch up to him in that regard. There’s a big question mark at the second-line center spot for Carolina, and it’ll likely be an open-season competition between Stastny, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Martin Necas to see who fits that role best.
For Stastny, joining the Hurricanes provides him with a pretty solid opportunity to hoist a Stanley Cup over his head for the first time in his 16-season career. They’re still extremely scary on paper now, and they’ll be getting an in-house trade deadline acquisition as Max Pacioretty returns to health after the All-Star break. A revamped defense including Brent Burns, Dylan Coghlan, and a healthy Jake Gardiner should be fun to watch, and with the continued development of players like Kotkaniemi, Necas, and Seth Jarvis, the Hurricanes again seem like a strong threat to come out of the East.
Carolina Hurricanes Name Brock Sheahan AHL Head Coach
Per a team release, the Carolina Hurricanes have named Brock Sheahan the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.
Sheahan, 38, becomes a professional hockey coach for the first time. He got his coaching start with Notre Dame in 2013-14 as an assistant coach, serving just one season. For four seasons from 2014 to 2018, he spent time as an assistant and associate coach for the College of the Holy Cross before getting a job with the USHL’s Chicago Steel for 2018-19.
The Steel promoted him to their head coaching role during the 2019-20 season and he never looked back. Sheahan guided the 2020-21 Chicago Steel to a Clark Cup championship, working with current NHL prospects such as Sean Farrell, Matt Coronato, Mackie Samoskevich, and Josh Doan.
The Wolves themselves are coming off a Calder Cup-winning season, spearheaded by high-end veteran firepower and elite goaltending. It was enough to get their previous head coach, Ryan Warsofsky, an assistant job with the San Jose Sharks. Sheahan will need to keep the team’s structure intact after an offseason that’s seen a lot of turnover at all spots in the Hurricanes organization.
Carolina Hurricanes Extend ECHL Affiliation
The Carolina Hurricanes have extended their affiliation with the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals through the 2022-23 season, keeping the two organizations together for a second season. Huricanes general manager Don Wadell released a brief statement:
We’re thrilled to continue this partnership, which has been mutually beneficial. The Admirals are a first-class organization and they provide a great environment for our prospects to develop.
While the ECHL isn’t a proving ground for top prospects, it does provide a place for raw draft picks to play big minutes instead of struggling in the AHL. For instance, the Hurricanes sent Blake Murray, a sixth-round pick from 2019 to the Admirals this season, where he racked up 14 goals and 35 points in 64 games. The young forward, who is signed to an entry-level contract, will now try to work his way up through the system after getting a full season of professional hockey under his belt.
Norfolk specifically has plenty of experience with prospect development, given they were an AHL franchise for 15 years.
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Anttoni Honka
The Carolina Hurricanes have inked prospect Anttoni Honka to a three-year, entry-level contract. The young defenseman was selected in the third round of the 2019 draft and has spent the last several seasons playing at the highest level in Finland.
General manager Don Waddell released a short statement:
Anttoni is a puck-moving, right-shot defenseman. He has produced at a high level in Finland and we believe he will continue to grow in North America.
The statement suggests that Honka will be coming over to play for the Chicago Wolves this season after racking up an impressive 37 points in 57 games during the 2021-22 campaign.
While still not ready for NHL action, Honka – who is the younger brother of former Dallas Stars prospect Julius Honka – has electrifying offensive ability and could quickly grow into an important role for the AHL squad.
There are also some opportunities coming on the Carolina blueline, where Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, and Jalen Chatfield are all scheduled for unrestricted free agency following the 2023-24 season. Jake Gardiner, who has deemed himself healthy to resume his career, is only signed through this year, while Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns only have three years left on their respective deals.
For young defensemen like Honka, a little patience and practice in the minor leagues may quickly lead to a chance in the NHL, should their development continue.
Derek Stepan Signs Professional Tryout
The Carolina Hurricanes are bringing Derek Stepan back but not on an NHL contract (yet). According to CapFriendly, the veteran forward has agreed to a professional tryout with the Hurricanes, where he spent last season.
Stepan is still only 32, but now has 12 full seasons and more than 800 regular season games under his belt. The 2008 second-round pick quickly made it to the NHL with the New York Rangers and was a dynamic two-way center from day one, scoring 21 goals and 45 points as a rookie. While his production has declined in recent years, he was still rather effective for the Hurricanes this season. Despite averaging fewer than 11 minutes a night, he scored nine goals and 19 points in 58 games, while offering an outstanding 56% faceoff rate, easily the best of his career.
None of those points came on the powerplay, and even in his limited minutes the team didn’t shelter Stepan with easy deployment. With that in mind, it was surprising to see him passed over when free agency started, as there’s obviously still some value in the veteran forward even after so many years.
Still, perhaps he wants to give Carolina every chance to sign him, and since the team is currently over the cap ceiling they have an agreement worked out for down the road. Once the season begins (or in the days just prior), the Hurricanes can place Max Pacioretty on long-term injured reserve to free up some cap flexibility and then ink Stepan to a new deal.
We’ve seen similar things happen in the past, though there is no guarantee it happens in this case. A camp invitation at least will allow Stepan to show the league that he’s healthy and ready to go for his 13th season, wherever that may be.
Waddell: Hurricanes Won't Buy Out Gardiner
Carolina’s second buyout window opened up yesterday but while some wondered if they might take advantage of that to buy out the final year of Jake Gardiner’s deal, Hurricanes GM Don Waddell told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer that they won’t do so. Gardiner missed all of last season due to hip and back surgeries and cleared waivers the year before that so the opportunity to clear a big chunk of his $4.05MM AAV off their books had to be considered. However, with Max Pacioretty set to miss at least the first half of the season due to a torn Achilles, the need to free up short-term cap space isn’t as high so Gardiner will now try to earn a spot at the back of Carolina’s roster next month in training camp.
Max Pacioretty To Undergo Surgery
Max Pacioretty‘s debut with the Hurricanes is going to have to wait a while. The team announced today that the veteran winger is set to undergo surgery to repair a torn Achilles on Wednesday and will be out for six months.
The 33-year-old was acquired from Vegas last month along with defenseman Dylan Coghlan in exchange for future considerations in a trade that was solely done to free up cap space. Pacioretty is coming off an injury-plagued year that saw him miss time due to four separate injuries but when he was in the lineup, he was quite productive, notching 19 goals and 18 assists in just 37 games.
His addition was expected to help offset some of their losses up front with Vincent Trocheck going to the Rangers in free agency while Nino Niederreiter landed with the Predators. Instead, Carolina won’t have Pacioretty in their lineup until sometime in February which is close to the trade deadline. He would have been a capable veteran to help youngsters Seth Jarvis, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Martin Necas but now, those three will have a little more pressure to produce on their shoulders as things stand.
In the short term, this news eliminates Carolina’s cap problems for most of the season. When Necas signed earlier today, that put them more than $1MM over the $82.5MM Upper Limit of the salary cap and with defenseman Jake Gardiner cleared to return, they weren’t going to have the ability to put him on LTIR. Now, Pacioretty will go there, allowing the Hurricanes to spend up to his $7MM AAV over the cap. The fact that he’ll return later in the season will make it difficult for them to go out and acquire a replacement but at a minimum, they won’t have any compliance issues for the first few months and will be able to carry a full-sized roster without any concerns.
Of course, that’s only a small consolation as they’d much rather have Pacioretty, a player who has produced at nearly a point per game pace over the past three seasons with 154 points in 158 games. But now, they’ll have to wait more than half of the season before their top offseason acquisition up front will be able to make his debut. And with Pacioretty entering a contract year, missing 50 games or more won’t help his market value next summer when he goes in search of his next deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Carolina Hurricanes Re-Sign Martin Necas
Per a team release, the Carolina Hurricanes have re-signed forward Martin Necas to a two-year contract worth $6MM, or $3MM per season. Necas will earn $2.5MM in 2022-23 and $3.5MM in 2023-24.
Speaking on the transaction, Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell called Necas a “dynamic young playmaker,” saying “he has an elite combination of speed and skill and we think he’ll only continue to improve.”
After a career-best season in 2020-21, Necas wasn’t able to maintain his level of production and consistency in 2021-22. Necas finished the year with 14 goals and 40 points in 78 games, while he had similar production in just 56 games the season prior. The concern with Necas, though, is what role he’ll actually have with the team next season. With the team acquiring Max Pacioretty and youngster Seth Jarvis earning a good deal of minutes last season, Necas may lose out on a top-six spot if he doesn’t outperform Jarvis in training camp.
$3MM is still somewhat of a discount for a player who’s received top-six minutes in each of the last two seasons and boasts 40+ point upside. It was a necessary one for Carolina, though, as CapFriendly now projects the Hurricanes as being roughly $1.1MM over the $82.5MM Upper Limit. With defenseman Jake Gardiner likely healthy for next season, Carolina will need to make a trade to clear cap space prior to next season.
When Necas’ contract expires in 2024, he’ll remain a restricted free agent (with arbitration rights) and will be due a $3.5MM qualifying offer, per PuckPedia. He will have two years of RFA eligibility remaining at that time.
Hurricanes Re-Sign Maxime Lajoie
The Hurricanes have reached an agreement with their final arbitration-eligible player as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve signed defenseman Maxime Lajoie to a one-year, two-way deal. The contract will pay $750K in the NHL, $125K in the AHL, and has a total guarantee of $200K.
The 24-year-old saw plenty of NHL action with Ottawa back in 2018-19 but has predominantly been in the minors since then. Last season, Lajoie played in 60 games with AHL Chicago, scoring four goals along with 29 assists. He also got into five games with Carolina where he was held off the scoresheet while averaging 12:32 per contest.
Looking ahead to next season, it’s likely that Lajoie will have a similar role with Carolina, one that sees him start in the minors (as long as he clears waivers in training camp) and then is recalled when injuries arise. He will need to play in 13 NHL games in 2022-23 for the Hurricanes to retain his RFA rights; if he plays fewer games than that, he’ll be eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency.
Once Carolina officially announces the deal, the clock will begin to tick on their second buyout window which will open up three days after the deal is made official and last for 48 hours. The Hurricanes have roughly $1.8MM in cap space per CapFriendly and still need to re-sign Martin Necas who didn’t file for arbitration last month. Necas will undoubtedly make more than that which will create a bit of a cap crunch for the team so that window could be of interest to them. A player needs to make $4MM and have been in the organization at the trade deadline to be eligible to be bought out this route. Worth noting, defenseman Jake Gardiner – who missed all of last season with back and hip issues – makes $4.05MM and has been medically cleared to return for next season. On the surface, he could be a potential candidate to be bought out of the final year of his deal once the buyout window reopens for them.