Welcome to another edition of NHL Rumours! The anticipation is here, as the Stanley Cup Finals begin Saturday. As the best trophy in all of sports is waiting to be hoisted, the offseason is in swing for the other 30 teams. Today’s NHL Rumours swirl around the Carolina Hurricanes and their laundry list of free agents.
NHL Rumours
Rumour: David Pagnotta from The Fourth Period discusses Jaccob Slavin and extension talks
Don Waddell is no longer part of the front office, but business continues as usual. The Hurricanes managed to keep head coach Rod Brind’Amour in the fold, which is great for the future. Also, they still have key pieces locked up with star centre Sebastian Aho and winger Andrei Svechnikov. However, this offseason comes with a mountain of key decisions to make.
There is a laundry list of pending free agent for the Hurricanes. The most notable are Jake Guentzel, Seth Jarvis, Brett Pesce, and Brady Skjei. In addition, Martin Necas is part of this group but has been a hot commodity in the rumour mill for trade talks. The biggest key is identifying which pieces are going to be in place heading into the 2024-25 season. Among those is a name that isn’t a free agent, but is due a contract extension. Per Pagnotta, the Hurricanes have begun extension talks with Slavin.
Slavin is a Key Building Block
This latest NHL Rumours surrounding the Hurricanes is a big one. Extending Slavin would be huge and would have an immediate impact. Slavin is a top pair defenceman who thrives in a shutdown role. You can argue that he is underrated and is one of the best defensive defenceman in the league today.
With the potential retool that the Hurricanes blue line is going to have, having Slavin anchor it is huge. He has shown what he is capable of and can play in key situations. Slavin has also expressed his desire to want to say and continue his career in Raleigh, North Carolina.
“Obviously, I love it here,” he added. “I don’t want to go anywhere. We’ll see what happens.”
Slavin is entering the final year of a deal where he is making $5.3 million per season. Safe to say, he is due a significant raise.
Main Photo: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
