The Carolina Hurricanes were able to ink young Swedish forward and up and coming star Elias Lindholm to a two-year contract extension on Thursday, a deal that will kick in following the 2015-2016 season.
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The Canes were able to get Lindholm at an incredibly good value at $2.7 million AAV. This signing will do nothing but help the Hurricanes as they look to lock down their captain Eric Staal.
Like Lindholm, the oldest Staal brother is set to be a free agent next summer. The differences between the two, however, are quite extensive. Lindholm is 20 and was on track to be a restricted free agent. He also wasn’t demanding the money that Staal likely is. Staal is an established star in the NHL at the age of 30 and is set to be an unrestricted free agent in July.
Now that Lindy is under wraps, the focus shifts to Eric Staal and Cam Ward.
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Eric Staal has been in contract talks with the Hurricanes since the start of the offseason, but the two sides haven’t been rumored to be getting any closer to a potential deal.
The fact that Elias Lindholm signed for so cheap is a big deal. With more cap room, the Hurricanes will be more likely to reach Staal’s money demands, which are presumably pretty high.
It is safe to say that Staal will get at least 4-5 years at $7.5+ million per season on the open market, but the Canes will hope that a home-town discount could be had here.
Despite a drop off in his number over the past couple seasons, Eric Staal is still worth big money on the free agent market. He is, undoubtedly still a top-line center in the NHL according to his possession numbers and his statistics.
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Eric Staal’s HERO chart says that not only is he still a good player, but he has been a high-end top line center over the past three seasons, and with a good supporting cast, he could even be better than that.
Carolina Hurricanes
Players like Staal are very unique, and his size and type of play suggests that he can be effective into his mid-30’s and maybe even longer, which makes him worth a longer term deal in the neighborhood of 4-6 years.
The question that the Hurricanes have to answer now is how much he is actually worth, and if it is worth it to keep him on board long term and let him absorb a big cap hit.
If the Canes deal Staal prior to this year’s trade deadline, they could get a very good return, one which would likely include several prospects and a first round pick.
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Say the Hurricanes move Staal and get a 2016 first rounder, that would mean they’d have 3 selections in the top 30 for next June’s draft, which is an incredibly good thing to have for their rebuild. Adding 3 first round quality players to the organization would be hugely beneficial.
Whether or not the Carolina Hurricanes deal their long-time cornerstone, it is undeniable that Lindholm’s contract not only will help the future of the team, but it will also give the club options as they near a potential contract extension with Eric Staal.
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