Hurricanes winger Jordan Martinook is set to hit the open market this summer but he’s hoping it doesn’t come to that. In his end-of-season media availability (video link), the 28-year-old made it clear that he’s hoping to remain with Carolina:
I want to see it through. I think we’re right there. We’re so close. If I were to go somewhere else, it’d be tough to see if they were to win here because I feel like I was a big part of it.
At the end of the day, it’s obviously a business. I want to stay here, but I have a family. I just had a baby girl, so I have to look out for myself and my family. I want to be a Hurricane, so hopefully we can make that happen.
If he wants to stay with the Hurricanes, Martinook is probably looking at a dip in salary. He carried a $2MM cap hit this season but managed just 13 points in 44 games and while he’s valuable on the defensive side of things, teams will be looking to save on bottom-six players to give themselves some extra flexibility. That’s likely to be the case here as well.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Fresh off being named MVP at the Worlds, Flames winger Andrew Mangiapane indicated in a recent appearance on Sportsnet 960 (audio link) that he would be interested in signing a long-term extension with the team. 2021-22 is the final year of his two-year, $4.85MM contract so he will be eligible to sign a new deal when free agency opens next month. Mangiapane had 32 points this season (the second straight year with that total) so while he may want to stick around for the long haul, he’s probably going to be better off waiting to see how next season goes in the hopes of improving his negotiating leverage heading into those discussions.
- Mike Reilly fit in quite well with the Bruins after being brought in at the trade deadline, logging over 21 minutes a game down the stretch and in the playoffs. In his end-of-season availability Friday (video link), the pending unrestricted free agent expressed a desire to remain with Boston. The 27-year-old has bounced around a bit as of late but with 27 assists in 55 games this season and how his year finished, he should garner considerable interest on the open market next month.