Jaccob Slavin has played his entire career with the Carolina Hurricanes, and the elite defensive defenseman doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon — despite entering the final season of his contract in 2024-25.
The Hurricanes have already begun contract discussions with Slavin's agent Kurt Overhardt, The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta reported on Wednesday.
“Slavin, 30, is entering the final year of his contract and while talks are in the beginning stages, he is a priority for the Hurricanes,” confirmed Pagnotta.
He added: “The Hurricanes could have a retooled blueline next season if they cannot get pending unrestricted free agents Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei locked up to new deals. Both players have expressed their desires to stay in Raleigh, and discussions have also just started on their fronts, but the conversations will need a serious uptick from last summer and the beginning of this season.”
Although the futures of both Pesce and Skjei are up in the air, that doesn't look to be the case for Slavin, who was selected in the fourth round by the team in the 2012 NHL Draft.
Slavin made it clear he wants to stay in Raleigh, but a contract extension will have to make sense for all parties.
“It’s going to [have to] be fair for both sides,” said the alternate captain in May. “Obviously, I love it here. I don’t want to go anywhere. We’ll see what happens.”
Interim general manager Eric Tulsky is certainly going to have his hands full this summer after longtime GM Don Waddell left the club to join the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team is looking at eight unrestricted free agents on July 1, with Pesce and Skjei at the top of the list but also including key forwards Jake Guentzel, Jordan Martinook and Teuvo Teravainen.
“Most of those guys deserve to make more money,” Slavin said recently regarding his pending UFA teammates. “They’ve all played really, really well in their time here. I hope we can bring them all back, but it’s a bummer [they could move on].”
The Hurricanes are an excellent team, but they continue failing to meet expectations in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Jaccob Slavin, Hurricanes fell short again in 2024
Despite another terrific regular-season, in which the Canes challenged the New York Rangers for the President's Trophy, they were unable to defeat their Metropolitan Division rivals in the playoffs.
Carolina bowed out in six games in New York after defeating the New York Islanders in Round 1 for the second straight time. Even with the addition of Guentzel at the deadline, they were unable to get over the hump.
It'll be interesting to see what moves Tulsky makes this offseason, and which UFA's are prioritized. Martin Necas, who is an RFA and reportedly wants out of Raleigh, is also an obstacle.
The 2024-25 iteration of the Hurricanes could look a lot different, especially if Tulsky and the front office decide to part with most of their unrestricted free agents.
What's becoming more and more clear is that Slavin remains part of the long-term strategy, and it should be only a matter of time before the Colorado native gets a new contract.
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