The Carolina Hurricanes have re-signed restricted free agent Trevor van Riemsdyk to a two-year contract worth $4.6 million, or $2.3 million per season AAV. This contract expires at the end of the 2019-20 season.
Canes, van Riemsdyk agree on two-year $4.6 million contract.
— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) July 5, 2018
Trevor van Riemsdyk Re-Signs with the Hurricanes
Originally an undrafted defenseman, Trevor van Riemsdyk just wrapped up his third full season at the NHL level. Prior to 2017-18, he only suited up for the Chicago Blackhawks. Then at the Expansion Draft last summer, the Vegas Golden Knights selected him off Chicago’s roster and immediately flipped him a day later to Carolina in exchange for a 2017 2nd round draft pick.
Van Riemsdyk, 26, finished the year with three goals and 13 assists across 79 games. Most nights he partnered with youngster Noah Hanifin, who is still coming into his own too. Although those offensive numbers didn’t show much growth, he suffered from a career-low shooting percentage (2.7 percent) after posting a career-high the year before (6.8 percent). If last season turns out to be an outlier rather than the norm, his goal total will undoubtedly increase. At 6.8 percent, he would have potted almost three times as many goals.
Although his ice time dipped a bit in 2017-18 (just 17:01 per night, after 18:25 to 19:59 on average the previous two seasons), Van Riemsdyk improved in advanced statistics. His possessions metrics strengthened, with a relative Corsi-for of +0.7 and the best relative Fenwick numbers of his career. This may have something to do with the fact that nearly two-thirds of his zone starts occurred in the offensive zone, but still the increase is a good sign for the third-pair defenseman.
Next Season for van Riemsdyk
While his offensive capabilities didn’t take a step forward, van Riemsdyk continued growing in other aspects of the game. His reliability is much improved, and he should see a lot more even split in zone starts moving forward.
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