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Hurricanes Sign Joel Nystrom To Entry-Level Deal

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The Hurricanes have signed defense prospect Joel Nyström to a two-year, entry-level contract, per a team announcement Tuesday night. The 21-year-old Swede will earn a $832.5K base salary and $80K AHL salary for both seasons, with a $92.5K signing bonus each year for a $925K cap hit.

Selected with the sixth-to-last pick in the 2021 draft, the right-shot Nyström has been a promising offensive talent over his three full seasons with Färjestad BK in the Swedish Hockey League. He had his best campaign yet in 2023-24, totaling eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points in 51 games with a +12 rating.

That made him the highest-scoring defender for the SHL’s best regular-season squad, an impressive feat for a player still so early on in his development. He wasn’t deployed in terribly difficult minutes and rarely played more than 20 minutes in a game, but he was still an incredibly important contributor in a second and third-pairing role at even strength while seeing significant power-play usage.

Nyström fell into the Hurricanes’ laps in his draft year. Some public rankings, including Elite Prospects, had him tabbed as a late second-round talent. Early on, the last few picks of the 2021 draft mostly look to be gems. Nyström’s teammate with Färjestad this season, goaltender Carl Lindbom, was selected by the Golden Knights with the 222nd overall pick and is on track to have an NHL future after logging a solid .911 SV% in 26 SHL appearances this season. Utah forward prospect Sam Lipkin and Lightning right wing prospect Niko Huuhtanen were the final two picks after Lindbom and have also both exceeded the normal development curve of a seventh-rounder.

Nyström’s ELC contains a European assignment clause, per CapFriendly, so he’ll likely be loaned back to Färjestad next season instead of suiting up for AHL Chicago. Another strong season in Sweden should put him in consideration for NHL duties as soon as 2025-26. The Karlstad native will be a restricted free agent upon expiry and becomes the 27th player under contract for Carolina next season.

Hurricanes Scratch Evgeny Kuznetsov For Game 2

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  • Luke DeCock of The News & Observer tweeted that the Carolina Hurricanes made Evgeny Kuznetsov a healthy scratch for game 2 of their second-round series against the New York Rangers. Max Comtois will make his NHL playoff debut, skating in Kuznetsov’s place. Carolina dropped the first game of the series on Sunday and have been receiving offensive contributions from Kuznetsov, despite him playing predominantly in a fourth-line role with limited power play time. The 31-year-old struggled in the regular season but has been good offensively in the playoffs, posting two goals and two assists in six games.

Hurricanes Sign Charles-Alexis Legault To ELC

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The Carolina Hurricanes have signed defenseman Charles-Alexis Legault to a three-year entry-level contract (via CapFriendly). The Hurricanes selected Legault with their 2023 fifth-round pick and he went on to lead the NCAA in plus/minus with a +36 while tallying nine goals and 15 assists in 39 games. Legault’s numbers were a massive improvement from his freshman season when he posted just two goals and seven assists in 40 games and were a big reason his Quinnipiac team won the NCAA Championship this season.

The 20-year-old will receive $775K in 2024-25, $832,500 in 2025-26 and $855K, in 2026-27 if he plays in the NHL, and his AHL salary would be $82,500 (per season) for all three years. He will also receive a $285,000 signing bonus spread out in three increments of $95K to be distributed each year of the contract.

The Hurricanes have done tremendous work over the last decade finding defensemen in the later rounds of the NHL entry draft and developing them into stars. Brett Pesce was a third-round pick (66th overall) while Jaccob Slavin was selected in the fourth round (120th overall). More recently Scott Morrow was selected in the second round and looks to be on his way to becoming the next great blueliner for the Hurricanes. If Carolina’s defensive development continues, Legault could pair up with Morrow soon as the Hurricanes might find themselves losing several defensemen to free agency over the next two summers.

NHL Announces 2024 Selke Trophy Finalists

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The NHL has announced the finalists for the 2024 Selke Trophy, awarded annually to the forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game. Boston Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron took home the trophy last season, marking his sixth time winning the award.

This year’s Selke Trophy finalists are Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov, and Carolina Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal.

Barkov is the only former winner of the group, having taken home the Selke in 2021 after not missing a beat during the shortened COVID-19 season. Barkov’s 200-foot impact has been clear throughout his career, with his style rooted in an elite ability to play with more speed, strength, and skill than any of his opponents. Barkov posted a 71.95 Corsi-For per-60 (CF/60) and a 1.99 expected-goals-against per-60 (xGA/60) while cruising to 23 goals and 80 points this season.

While Barkov may be the favorite, Matthews’ nomination may be the most impressive. He had a historic season on the opposite side of the puck, becoming the first player to reach 69 goals since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. Matthews led all Maple Leafs in scoring with a career-high 107 points in 81 games. But his effort didn’t stop in his own zone, with Matthews still showing a sixth sense for how to get in the way of opponents and steal away possession. While he posted the fewest hits and worst CF/60 and xGA/60 of the bunch, Matthews did record 85 takeaways on the season – more than Staal and Barkov combined, per Evolving Hockey. His ability to consistently make things happen in all three zones could be enough to earn him the edge over the rest.

Staal is the only nominee who didn’t play on his team’s top line this season – instead comfortably manning Carolina’s middle six, averaging 15:23 in ice time through 80 appearances. He proved incredibly stout in the role, serving as the safety net behind flashy wingers Teuvo Teravainen and Seth Jarvis. Staal posted the best statline of the three nominees, with a 76.67 CF/60 and 1.90 xGA/60 – showing just how well he controlled possession and limited opponents’ scoring chances. This nomination marks just the second time in Staal’s 18 year career that he’s been a Selke finalist – despite receiving votes for the award in 15 seasons. His last time as a finalist led to a third-place finish in the 2009-10 season.

The award will be announced at the NHL Awards this summer. That event is still pending a time and location.

Pesce To Miss First Two Games, DeAngelo Cleared To Play

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  • While the Hurricanes are hopeful that defenseman Brett Pesce (lower body) will return at some point in the second round, it won’t be at the beginning of the series. Team reporter Walt Ruff relays (Twitter link) that the 29-year-old won’t be accompanying the team to New York and has been ruled out of the first two games of the series.  However, Tony DeAngelo, who took a slash to the arm in Carolina’s last game, has been cleared to play and should continue to suit up in Pesce’s absence.

NHL Announces Finalists For 2024 Lady Byng Trophy

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The NHL continues to announce the finalists for their end-of-season awards.  Today, they revealed the three contenders for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, given annually to “the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability”.  The finalists are Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, Canucks center Elias Pettersson, and Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin.

This is the third time that Matthews is up for the award, having finished second in voting in 2019-20 and third in 2020-21.  The 26-year-old led the NHL in goals for the third time in four years this season, notching a career-best 69 along with 107 points, also a new personal best, helping lead Toronto to their eighth straight playoff appearance.  He had 20 penalty minutes this season despite having the seventh-most ice time among all NHL forwards; that PIM total was the lowest among the NHL’s top-15 scorers.

Pettersson, meanwhile, is up for the award for the first time and is the first Canucks nominee in franchise history.  While the 25-year-old saw his numbers dip this year compared to last season, he still managed to finish third on Vancouver in goals (34), assists (55), and points (89).  Pettersson took just six minor penalties this season and finished 19th in total ice time for forwards.

As for Slavin, he’s a finalist for the Lady Byng for the third time.  He won in 2020-21 and finished second in voting the following year.  The 30-year-old has yet to reach the 20-PIM mark in a single season in his nine-year career and was assessed just four minors this season for the second straight year.  Slavin logged just shy of 21 minutes a night on the back end for the Hurricanes, one of the top defensive units in the NHL this season.  His penalty minute total is the lowest among players who logged at least 1,600 minutes of ice time this season.

The award was voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association at the end of the regular season.  The winner will be revealed next month.

Snapshots: Smith, Schenn, Second Round, DiPietro

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Forward Cole Smith was held out of Friday night’s Game 6 lineup due to a lower-body injury, per the team (Twitter link). Smith was replaced by Juuso Parssinen making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut. Parssinen took on a larger role than Smith’s received, stepping into the team’s second line and bumping Mark Jankowski down the lineup. Only three Predators forwards, including Smith, have failed to record at least one point through their first five playoff games. Parssinen will need to quickly join that list, with Nashville down 3-2 in the series.

The Predators also welcomed Luke Schenn back to the lineup, after he missed Game 5 with illness, shares The Athletic’s Thomas Drance (Twitter link). Schenn’s absence made way for Tyson Barrie to return to the lineup. Barrie brought speed and tempo to the lineup, even recording an assist in Nashville’s eventual 2-1 win. But with elimination so close, the Predators opted for the more physical and defensive presence of Schenn.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The NHL has announced the start times for the Second Round’s Eastern Conference matchups. The round will begin with Game 1 between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers on Sunday, while the Florida Panthers will take on the winner of Toronto versus Boston on Monday. Start times for each of these games haven’t yet been announced. This schedule marks a quick turnaround for Boston or Toronto, while each of Carolina, New York, and Florida will have at least five days off.
  • The Boston Bruins have returned goaltender Michael DiPietro to the minor leagues, per NHL.com’s Mark Divver (Twitter link). DiPietro has served as Boston’s emergency third-string goalie for a handful of playoff games, though he’s yet to play his first game as a Boston Bruin. He instead spent all season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, where he recorded 18 wins and a .918 save percentage in 30 appearances. He’ll now return to a prime role for Providence, as they prepare to take on one of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Charlotte, or Hartford in the Atlantic Division’s Semifinals.

Hurricanes Place Alexander Pashin On Unconditional Waivers

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Right wing prospect Alexander Pashin was placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination by the Hurricanes today, the team’s Walt Ruff reports.

Carolina selected Pashin, now 21, in the seventh round of the 2020 draft and signed him to a three-year entry-level contract in May 2022. The Russian forward came to North America immediately, spending 2022-23 with AHL Chicago where he recorded four goals, 10 points and a -12 rating in 47 games. It was a difficult adjustment for the agile but undersized winger, who had put up strong numbers in the junior and second-tier professional ranks in Russia but couldn’t break through a deep forward prospect pool in Carolina.

Without an affiliation agreement in place with Chicago this season, the Hurricanes loaned Pashin to Spartak Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League for the 2023-24 season. He provided solid depth scoring in a depth role there, posting 10 goals and nine assists in 60 games with a +3 rating. He was one of nine double-digit goal-scorers on Spartak’s roster and finished tied for 11th on the club in points. Spartak was eliminated in the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the KHL postseason, falling to eventual champion Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

Prior to coming to North America in 2022, Pashin logged his first full professional season with Toros Neftekamsk of the second-tier VHL. In 34 appearances for them in 2021-22, he was among their top scorers with 17 goals and 30 points.

If Pashin clears waivers tomorrow, he will become an unrestricted free agent and is free to sign with any NHL, AHL or overseas club. With his 5’8″, 154-lb frame already proving difficult in his adjustment to the AHL a season ago, he’s unlikely to receive any NHL offers and will likely remain in Russia. The move opens up an additional contract slot for the Canes this summer, who now only have 25 of the maximum 50 standard player contracts signed for 2024-25.

Hurricanes Confirm AHL Affiliation Agreement With Chicago Wolves

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As reported yesterday, the Hurricanes have now officially agreed on a three-year affiliation agreement with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves to once again become their top minor-league affiliate.

Carolina spent the 2023-24 season without an AHL affiliate after the Wolves’ ownership and management group opted to try operating independently. Results for both clubs this season proved it was a decisively lose-lose choice.

The Wolves, who had gone independent to have full control of their hockey operations department without oversight or influence from the Hurricanes’ staff, struggled without the presence of NHL-affiliated prospects. They only received a select few players on loan from the Hurricanes throughout the season and iced a roster of players solely on minor-league contracts.

As such, they finished second-to-last in the league with a 23-35-7-7 record and 60 points, only one ahead of last-place Bridgeport. It was a disappointing result for a club that won a Calder Cup championship while under an affiliation agreement with Carolina in 2022.

The lack of a full-time affiliate didn’t affect the Hurricanes’ record this season in the slightest, but it did have a marked effect on some of their prospects. 2019 second-round pick Jamieson Rees was coming off a breakout season with Chicago in 2022-23, posting career-highs across the board with 14 goals and 42 points in 65 games. Without an agreement in place with the Wolves, the Hurricanes found a home for the center with Springfield, the primary affiliate of the Blues, where he failed to score a goal and mustered just three assists in 30 games. He’s no longer in the Carolina organization after being traded to the Senators in March.

Returning to a full-time affiliation with the Wolves gives a degree of certainty to many Hurricanes prospects who have recently signed entry-level contracts. 2023 first-round pick Bradly Nadeau, defense prospect Scott Morrow, and 2024 Hobey Baker Award finalist Jackson Blake are all expected to log big minutes in the AHL next season and will do so in a more traditionally controlled environment geared toward prospect development.

In their statement today, the Hurricanes confirmed that they will have oversight over the Wolves’ hockey operations decisions as part of the affiliation agreement.

Latest On Rod Brind’Amour

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May 2: Talks between Brind’Amour and the Hurricanes have advanced since yesterday’s report, Dreger said in a follow-up Thursday. The two sides have had additional contract talks in the last 24 hours while Carolina preps for its second-round series against the Rangers, and signs are “encouraging” that an extension will get across the finish line.

May 1: The Hurricanes have pulled an extension offer previously on the table for head coach Rod Brind’Amour, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports Wednesday.

Brind’Amour’s current deal expires after this season. There have been extension talks throughout the year, but they did not discuss the framework of a deal last summer, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and TSN reported in September. Other reporting over the past few months indicated Brind’Amour was waiting until extensions were also in place for assistants Jeff Daniels and Tim Gleason before putting pen to paper on his own deal, but it’s unclear whether that’s the reason the offer has been taken off the table.

After eliminating the Islanders last night, the Hurricanes have now won a series in all six years of the 53-year-old’s tenure behind the bench. Brind’Amour is the second head coach in NHL history to have a career-opening six-year playoff series win streak, joining three-time Jack Adams Award winner Pat Burns.

Since replacing Bill Peters behind the Carolina bench ahead of the 2018-19 season, Brind’Amour has accumulated a 278-130-44 record, good enough for a .664 points percentage. He’s already second in wins in Hurricanes/Whalers franchise history, trailing Paul Maurice’s 384 in 920 games coached.

The 2021 Jack Adams winner has been a part of the Hurricanes organization for 24 years as both a player and coach. He racked up 473 points in 694 games for the Canes after they picked him up from the Flyers in a blockbuster 2000 trade, with Keith Primeau headed the other way. His Carolina tenure included collecting back-to-back Selke Trophies in 2006 and 2007 and captaining the team to its only Stanley Cup in 2006.

Immediately upon retiring in the 2010 offseason, Brind’Amour joined the Hurricanes’ front office as their director of player development. He was named an assistant coach ahead of the 2011-12 campaign and remained there until his promotion in 2018.

If Brind’Amour and the Canes’ extension talks continue to fall apart, he would immediately become the top coaching candidate available. Six teams – the Blues, Devils, Kings, Kraken Senators and Sharks – do not have a full-time head coach in place for 2024-25. The Sabres were the seventh team on the list after firing Don Granato last month but promptly replaced him with franchise wins leader Lindy Ruff for his second go-around with the club.

Before Dreger’s report Wednesday, Carolina general manager Don Waddell told reporters that Brind’Amour “wants to be a Hurricane for life” and that “there’s going to be a solution here very quickly” (via the team’s Walt Ruff). Whether that solution involves the Canes making a more acceptable offer to Brind’Amour or extending his assistants remains to be seen.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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