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Carolina Hurricanes Add Elite Defenseman

By Christian Candeloro

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 15: Jake Gardiner #51 of the Toronto Maple Leafs warms up prior to action against the Boston Bruins in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on April 15, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Bruins 3-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 15: Jake Gardiner #51 of the Toronto Maple Leafs warms up prior to action against the Boston Bruins in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on April 15, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Bruins 3-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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The Carolina Hurricanes continue to add to an already talented roster

The Carolina Hurricanes wasted no time in reallocating the cap space previously reserved for Justin Williams. The Canes signed free agent defenseman Jake Gardiner to a four-year, $16.2 million dollar contract on Friday, adding another weapon to an already stacked lineup of defenseman.

Gardiner played in 62 games for the Maple Leafs last season, registering three goals and 30 total points. And while Gardiner missed significant time due to injury, his history is fairly clean (he played 82 games each of the previous two seasons) and the Hurricanes could be getting a fairly consistent player for the next few years.

TORONTO, ON – APRIL 21: Jake Gardiner #51 of the Toronto Maple Leafs warms up prior to action against the Boston Bruins in Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on April 21, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 4-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – APRIL 21: Jake Gardiner #51 of the Toronto Maple Leafs warms up prior to action against the Boston Bruins in Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on April 21, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 4-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

SportingNews ranked Gardiner the 12th best free agent in the class and getting him this late into free agency allowed the Hurricanes to get more favorable terms on his deal. The Canucks signed Tyler Myers (ranked 11th on the same list) to a five-year, $30 million deal and the Lightning signed Anton Stralman to a three-year, $16.3 million deal this offseason.

The Hurricanes blue line is now an embarrassment of riches. Led by returners Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Dougie Hamilton and Justin Faulk, the Hurricanes blue line will have no shortage of talent. This significantly reduces the chances that Haydn Fleury, Jake Bean or Gustav Forsling can make this roster and it will up the competition between the youngsters to carve out a role on the roster.

The Hurricanes are likely done for the offseason (although I feel like a broken record saying that and then being wrong). The only RFA left for the Canes to sign is Saku Maenalanen and we’ll see if he nows signs since Justin Williams is not returning.

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