The Hurricanes announced Thursday night that they’ve signed winger Jackson Blake to an eight-year, $45MM extension that will kick in for the 2026-27. While that would normally mean an average annual value and cap hit of $5.625MM, the actual cap hit of the contract will fall in the $5.1MM range due to deferred compensation, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The contract buys out the extent of Blake’s RFA eligibility and will make him a UFA following the 2033-34 season.
Blake’s stock has been on the rise since immediately after Carolina selected him in the fourth round in 2021. He was a USHL All-Star in his post-draft season with the Chicago Steel before making the jump to NCAA hockey with North Dakota, where he totaled 102 points in 79 games in two seasons – earning a Hobey Baker finalist nod in his sophomore year. He signed his entry-level contract with the Hurricanes in April 2024 and joined them for the brief remainder of the regular season.
In his first full pro season, Blake hit the ground running. He made the Canes out of camp and had five points through his first nine games despite seeing less than 12 minutes of ice time per night. That offense didn’t quite hold up the rest of the way, though.
While he ended up seeing significant deployment alongside Sebastian Aho at even strength, he ended up finishing the year with a 17-17–34 scoring line in 80 games, finishing ninth on the team in scoring and ninth in Calder Trophy voting as the league’s Rookie of the Year. That’s fine production, especially considering he averaged under 14 minutes per game on the year. He’ll need to build on it to justify that cap hit, though, especially with so much risk attached to a max-term deal.
The good news is that Blake has another year left on his entry-level contract to continue his development before he’ll need to start justifying that cap hit. The son of former NHLer Jason Blake turns 22 next month, yet with this deal, he’s guaranteed to surpass his dad’s career earnings.
Carolina has historically opted to sign their young players for as long and as early as possible, a trend that continues here. Sometimes, it’s paid off – their eight-year, $59.4MM commitment to Seth Jarvis last offseason looks like a steal after he put up a repeat 67-point performance in 2024-25. There’s also the glaring example of where that strategy has failed regarding center Jesperi Kotkaniemi, whose $4.82MM cap hit looks more stomachable now with a rising ceiling but is still well above his market value four years into the deal. The jury is still out on newly-acquired Logan Stankoven, who they inked to an eight-year, $48MM extension at the beginning of the month.
Blake’s deal will be one of the last of its kind. It contains two elements – deferred compensation and an eight-year term – that will be outlawed when the new CBA Memorandum of Understanding takes effect on Sep. 15, 2026. If he waited until reaching RFA status next summer to sign, a lengthy negotiation could have lost him that eighth year if the two sides didn’t come to terms until the beginning of training camp.
With the salary cap’s Upper Limit projected to reach $104MM in 2026-27, the Hurricanes have around $16MM in projected space with Blake’s and Stankoven’s deals taken care of. While they’re projected to be Carolina’s 11th and 12th highest-paid forwards on their opening night roster this season, they’ll be their fifth and sixth-highest paid forwards in 2026-27.
Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.
Wow, definately betting on his upside here.
Carolina GM Eric Tulsky really screwed up the Rantanen trade last season, And this may be another big swing, And a miss, Time will tell.
How can you say he screwed up the rantanen trade? He took a swing trading a player that weren’t going to keep long term. Rantanen didn’t want to stay and they turned him into stankoven. That’s really not bad considering they basically couldn’t give away Necas the year before.
They traded for a guy who didn’t want to be there. Brind’Amour himself said it, “maybe that’s something we should have known beforehand”. If they’re contenders, what on earth are they doing adding two firsts at the deadline?
You’re not going to get a straight answer before a trade. Colorado probably would’ve balked. Sometimes you have to roll the dice. It’s not like they watched him walk for nothing.
Yeah… screwed it up.
Take Rantenan out of the equation.
Canes moved Drury and Necas for a good return. Necas was one foot out the door already.
The only consideration regarding Rantenan is how he moped and loafed in his brief tenure with the Canes.
Show me another GM that is on a contending team that adds two firsts at the deadline. You move picks out when you go for it, not add. Tulsky made some nice moves for a team that is building for the future, not going for a Cup… screwed it up.
This is very short sighted. He set himself up to add for this year and in the future. They have a long window and they made the most of a bad situation. He didn’t screw up anything. Sometimes things don’t work out the way you hope.
Again, who was the last team that won a Cup by adding firsts at the deadline? Is that the GMs job, when you’re in a weak division and may never have an easier path to the championship you need to make sure you’re planning for the future? You just said it yourself, “made the most of a bad situation”. How did they get in a bad situation?
I don’t understand the Canes fans who have to pretend these guys never screw up. I assume having a guy they were trying to sign walk away and describe dealing with Carolina as “exhausting” was the right move. I’m sure having your top player sign an offer sheet is smart business. I’ll bet that KK sheet was both hilarious and shrewd. Whatever.
By the way… Dallas got a straight answer before they traded for Rantanen. But again… whatever.
A bad situation because rantanen wasn’t a fit and didn’t want to stay. They couldn’t be sure of that before trading for him. There’s is no way any of this was a mistake. They took a swing. Sure they could have kept him for the playoffs, but the guy wasn’t really playing well anyway. They cashed him in and still went on a run. They weren’t going any further than they did by keeping him and now they have something to show for it. I actually applaud them for having the balls to trade him.
Rantanen was being a child and it wasn’t an easy discussion for Dallas either.
“There is no way any of this was a mistake”.
Well, that says it all.
Wow what an odd signing. I get Blake wanting that 8th year but with his potential ceiling he shoulda bet on himself and signed a bridge deal. And for Carolina if he doesn’t pan out this is gonna look ugly. If he doesn’t hit his ceiling they will look like geniuses.
If he does hit his ceiling*
Blake is gonna get scam if he end up being really good player
Always figure out what a young players’ absolute peak future ceiling might be and then pay them as if they have already reached it even when they have 34 career points.
Savvy GM’ing by the Moneypucker right there.
Buyout before 24 candidate
Will still need to see the structure, but it’s hard to believe someone isn’t going to end up regretting this contract… anybodys guess who though.
Now that the structure is out it’s pretty clear it’s Blake that’s gonna regret it. He gets $3m, $3.5m and then basically $4.5m until the final season when he gets just $1m. The following July (2034) he gets $15m.
He’s locking in to bottom six to fourth line money for eight years. Talk about betting against yourself. But that front end signing bonus that he’s deferring will get to grow in Dundon’s bank account and Blake will get a nice fat federal tax bill on the $15m when he gets it all at once.
I have a hard time seeing how this contract does not become a sore spot one way or the other.
As much as a person can regret becoming a multimillionaire, of course.
Great contract for Carolina.
In the later years of the deal his AAV will be under the league average.
Bananas. Makes zero sense.
Do the Canes go and get Carter Hart now?
Carter Hart was a very good goalie when he was playing, but hasn’t played in years. Is he the same goalie now? Low dollars/years with performance bonuses would be the only way.
Please no
I won’t lie and say I have a take on the overall tag but I just really didn’t think he was a max extension type of guy regardless of the price. Could be great or terrible but the 8 years just doesn’t make sense to me.
Great move by the Canes and a fair contract for both parties.
I personally think Blake left a pile of cash on the table as I do believe in 3-4 years he’ll be a consistent 70 point guy.
You are more likely right than any of the naysayers calling it a bad deal for the Canes.
I think it’s much more likely to be a “win” for the Canes. I don’t think it’ll do much to burnish their reputation with the players when it comes to their view on the way they do business. I heard Bill Armstrong the other day talking about signing guys to fair deals, but in Carolina, every deal has to be a “win”. Good luck with that.
Half of the geniuses think Blake got screwed.
The other half think the Canes screwed themselves.
Any attorney will tell you that is a great contract, when both parties get screwed.
Then there are the dufuses who think the Canes can do nothing right, based on not following the Canes but clinging to old legends.
Blake has insured himself against career-ending injury.
The Canes have locked him in through the finish of his developmental years.
If he becomes a star, he will be 29 when it is time for his second contract. He will cash in hugely.
If he fails to become a star, he will have a fine bankroll.
I just want to watch the kid play hockey.
Development years? I agree with the attorney take, the problem is this deal is so long and based on so little that it has real potential to end up not being a “both sides” deal but a heavily one sided deal… but I still think the who is up in the air.
LOL
Anyone actually paying attention to the Canes hoped they would be making the playoffs after all the roster changes including players lost in free agency that they would be lucky to make the playoffs in 24/25. Even RBA was pleasantly surprised with the perfomance.
Even the Rantenan trade was a move for the future with hopes for a burst this season. Who knew how much he would dog it and pout in Raleigh? IF the Canes had been allowed to talk to him, maybe he and his agent would have been a bit more cdompliant in Colorado?
Who is uninformed enough to believe Necas was a long term asset in Raleigh? Getting Stankoven, who actually loves it here is an improvement, even if Necas puts more points on the board.
On balance, the outcome makes the Canes stronger for the near future and long term. Nothing wrong with that. They are in it for the long haul.
I’m looking forward to next season, with Ehlers and Miller on board.
And, $10 million in cap space that will be spent before the trade deadline.
I agree wholeheartedly… they are in it for the long haul. I also agree they should have been expected to take a step back and they didn’t. I think that demonstrates just how much of this team’s success is a product of Brind’Amour.
I think Canes fans should expect next season to look like last season… and the season before… and the season before – and that’s the point. This team will always be keeping an eye on the future, and that’s great, but I think – and that’s not really worth much – they are going to continue being an “also ran” in the playoffs. Ehlers is a nice player and Miller is fine, but those players won’t put them over the top in the grind and it’s hard to believe they’ll go “all in” at the deadline… maybe.
The Panthers traded away 100+ point player to put them over the top. What is Tulsky willing to do?