Canes agree to contract with Svechnikov

*Photo from NHL.com*

   The Carolina Hurricanes have locked up a big offensive weapon for a long time. The Hurricanes and RW Andrei Svechnikov have agreed to an 8 year, $62 million contract, with a $7.75 million AAV, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. The Hurricanes have confirmed the deal. 

   Svechnikov was not in the fold yet for the Hurricanes entering the 2021-2022 season, as he was an RFA who had not yet agreed to a new contract with the Hurricanes. But now, the team gets a big jolt in offensive production back for 8 more seasons at a reasonable cap hit for his value. The last 4 years of his deal have a modified no trade clause, according to Cap Friendly.

   Hurricanes GM Don Waddell said "From Day One when we started negotiations, we've always been talking about a long-term deal. So that was the good part, that we were both on the same page of finding the right number for eight years. We've been talking for a few months but the last three weeks probably almost daily."

   In his 3rd season in the NHL last year, Svechnikov posted 15 goals and 27 assists, with a +1 plus/minus in an ATOI of 17:32, suiting up for 55 of the 56 regular season games played by the Hurricanes. He scored two goals and dished out 6 assists in 11 playoff games, when the Hurricanes lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round.

   In the 3 seasons Svechnikov has spent in the NHL, he has 59 goals and 81 assists so far, with a +10 plus/minus in an ATOI of 16:07, playing in 205 regular season games. In 26 career playoff games, Svechnikov has 9 goals and 11 assists split between 3 different seasons as well. 

   Svechnikov said of agreeing to the contract that "It's actually an easy decision for me. I want to be a Hurricane. We've got a great team here and great coaches. I thought we can win the Stanley cup last year, but we didn't and I was a little bit frustrated. But I thought it was us or Tampa, and if we would defeat Tampa, we would go farther. So we've got a great team, great coaches and we've got to make it happen."

   In addition to re-signing Svechnikov, the Hurricanes have brought in Antti Raanta, Frederik Andersen, Derek Stepan, Josh Leivo, Tony DeAngelo, Brendan Smith, and Ian Cole, and re-signed Jordan Martinook.