Hurricanes GM faces balancing act in offsetting free agent losses, while locking up Slavin long term

Disappointing as it was losing several key players in free agency on Monday, Eric Tulsky insisted he is retooling and not rebuilding Carolina’s roster in his new role as the Hurricanes’ general manager.

Knowing Jaccob Slavin will be around for the long term helped ease his concerns after opening the day by signing the star defenseman to an eight-year, $51.69 million contract extension.

“Today is not the only day of the offseason. We’re continuing to look at other ways to work our way through this,” Tulsky said. “But we do need to find ways to keep getting better without hampering ourselves or handcuffing ourselves for the long term.”

Tulsky placed part of the emphasis on Carolina’s prospect pool to help offset the losses.

“Ultimately, it’s a balancing act,” said Tulsky, who was promoted last month after Don Waddell left to take over the Columbus Blue Jackets. “We aren’t gonna rebuild. We aren’t turning things over completely to the kids.”

The departures, however, very much outweighed the additions for a franchise that’s topped 110 points in each of its past three seasons, and reached the Eastern Conference finals twice since 2019.

A day after giving up on re-signing forward Jake Guentzel by trading his rights to Florida, the Hurricanes watched a parade of talent head elsewhere. Defenseman Brett Pesce and forward Stefan Noesen signed with New Jersey. Brady Skjei left for Nashville and forward Teuvo Teravainen signed with Chicago.

Carolina countered by adding six players on mid- to low-end deals, topped by defenseman Sean Walker, who signed a five-year, $18 million contract. Carolina also signed forwards William Carrier, Tyson Jost, Eric Robinson and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who rejoins the ’Canes after scoring 10 goals and 56 points with Detroit last season.

And forward Jordan Martinook isn’t leaving after signing a three-year deal.

“It’s tough to see players leave. These are players that have been important for us,” Tulsky said, noting he made offers to each of his pending unrestricted free agents. “It’s our job to figure out how to react to that, and how to keep taking steps forward.”

The next challenge is focusing on Carolina’s restricted free agents, starting with forward Martin Necas, who has topped 20 goals in each of his last two years. Tulsky said discussions have been ongoing, but his first priority was free agency.

Getting Slavin signed was significant. He’s a two-time Lady Byng Trophy winner, who has averaged 22-plus minutes of ice time per game over his nine seasons in Carolina.

“Jaccob might be the best defender in the NHL, and he has already cemented himself as one of the best players to ever put on a Hurricanes uniform,” Tulsky said. “He is a crucial leader for our team, both on and off the ice, and keeping him in Carolina long term was a top priority.”

Slavin formally signed his contract while opening a news conference alongside his wife and two children earlier in the day. He remains part of a Hurricanes core that includes Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and captain Jordan Staal.

“It’s never fun to see guys leave that you’ve been a teammate with for a long time,” Slavin said of the players leaving in free agency. “I don’t see this as a step back, losing those guys. It’s just different personnel. But it’s all the same culture, same identity and same confidence moving forward.”

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl