Sean Walker has inked a five-year, $18 million deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, strengthening their blue line as per Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic.
A day that began with the Carolina Hurricanes re-signing Jaccob Slavin and losing both Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce to free agency concluded with them securing a deal with Sean Walker.
The 29-year-old split last season between the Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Avalanche. In 81 games, Walker tallied 10 goals and 29 points while averaging 19:14 of ice time.
Strengthening an already strong Hurricane defense line
Carolina's defense has become one of the NHL's top units in recent seasons. However, reports indicated that changes could occur in the offseason, given that Pesce and Skjei were set to become unrestricted free agents.
With Brett Pesce departing for New Jersey Devils in free agency earlier today, Walker will have an opportunity to step in and assume a bigger role next season—potentially even larger than he had last season.
Pesce signed with the Devils, while Skjei joined the Nashville Predators, who also signed Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault.
Since making his debut with Los Angeles in the 2018-19 season, he has accumulated 96 points (26 goals, 70 assists) and 436 blocked shots while averaging 17:31 of ice time per game in 313 career NHL appearances with the Kings, Flyers, and Avalanche.
The Hurricanes' acquisition of Walker is a logical move, they have brought him in to help fill the void left by Pesce in their top four defensemen. Additionally, Walker is expected to contribute on both special teams units due to his versatile playing style.
Sean Walker before he joined the Carolina Hurricanes
Walker's circumstances have seen significant changes in the past year. Originally included in a salary dump to the Flyers, the 29-year-old quickly found success with his new team. He emerged as one of the premier rental defensemen available, resulting in the Flyers acquiring a first-round pick from Colorado (along with Ryan Johansen) in exchange for Walker at the trade deadline.
During his time with the Avs, Walker wasn't expected to play in as high a lineup position, yet he still averaged nearly 18 minutes per game. He contributed four goals and three assists in 18 games down the stretch. However, he was unable to register any points in 11 playoff appearances with a -5 rating, concluding his campaign on a somewhat disappointing note.
Nevertheless, Walker emerged as one of the top right-shot defensemen available in the offseason market, leading to a salary increase of nearly $1 million per season and the longest contract of his career. This represents a significant turnaround for someone who was a journeyman, and essentially traded for salary reasons just a year ago.
Walker played four seasons of college hockey at Bowling Green State University from 2013 to 2017. During this time, he tallied 80 points (22 goals, 58 assists) in 160 games and served as captain of the Falcons for two seasons (2015-17).
He also contributed to Canada's gold medal win at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, registering two assists in 10 tournament games. He initially joined the Kings as an undrafted free agent on July 2, 2018.
Slavin, who has won the Lady Byng Trophy twice, has committed to staying with the team that drafted him. He signed an eight-year contract worth $6.461 million per season, starting from the 2025-26 season. The 30-year-old Slavin, originally had one year left on his current deal, which paid him $5.3 million annually.
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