If you want to get a look into how poorly the Carolina Hurricanes rank in terms of national exposure, read some of the reactions from fans around the league after Jaccob Slavin signed a seven-year, $37.1MM extension with the team this morning. The question of “who?” popped up quite a few times despite Slavin’s growing reputation as one of the top young defensemen in the league. Playing in relative obscurity, he’s developed into a true top-pairing player who is now being paid ahead of similarly aged players like Morgan Rielly and Hampus Lindholm.
Writers and analysts were less confused by the deal, immediately marking it as a potential steal for the Hurricanes going forward. If Slavin’s development continues at the same rate he’ll be criminally underpaid by the time he hits the free agent years he gave away today. Here are some reactions from around the league.
- Gord Miller of TSN calls Slavin one of the best young players in the game, noting that he’s still one of the least talked about. E.J. Hradek of the NHL Network agrees, saying he’s a “core D man” and that it’ll likely turn out to be a bargain contract.
- Mike Kelly points out Slavin’s excellent first pass ability, saying that he’s among the league leaders in terms of successfully sending it out of his own end. Slavin’s ability to exit the zone with possession, either on his own stick or a teammate’s is one of the best parts of his game.
- Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy calls him a “diamond in the rough” and agrees with Fansided’s Cardiac Canes blog reaction to the deal, comparing him to Aaron Ekblad without the reputation.
- Chip Alexander of the News & Observer passes along a quote from GM Ron Francis, who called his own defensive group “one of the best young defense corps in the game, if not the best” and saying Slavin still has “tremendous upside.” If he still has more to give, he’ll certainly be a bargain for the Hurricanes in a few seasons.
- Finally, Ken Campbell of the Hockey News puts it all together into a simple idea: Slavin is a steal. He finishes his piece with the same idea many are thinking about with regards to the Hurricanes roster going forward. Francis is giving the fan base every excuse to believe that their team can get back to the winning ways they saw more than ten years ago, when a surprisingly good team took home the Stanley Cup in 2006. As Campbell puts it “Nothing will bring the fans back in Carolina like winning will and the way GM Ron Francis is operating these days, the Hurricanes are giving themselves every chance to do just that.”