The Carolina Hurricanes solidified their situation down the middle with the addition of veteran center Paul Stastny on a one-year, $1.5M deal. With the departure of Vincent Trocheck to the New York Rangers, the Hurricanes’ center corps is relatively unsettled. Armed with an eight-year, $4.82M 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 is 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.
Now, for some other notes regarding offseason news across hockey:
More must-reads:
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