Hurricanes sign Fleury, Forsling to one-year deals

Get pumped for another year of breathless speculation about when Haydn Fleury will score his first NHL goal.

The Carolina Hurricanes and the restricted free agent defenseman agreed Tuesday to a new one-year contract. Fleury, coming off his entry-level deal, will receive a one-way salary of $850,000. He will be eligible for arbitration next summer, and will require clearing waivers to be assigned to the AHL this season.

Shortly thereafter, the Hurricanes also announced that defenseman Gustav Forsling has signed his qualifying offer, a two-way contract which will pay him $874,125 in the NHL and $70,000 in the AHL. Like Fleury, Forsling will require waivers to be sent to Charlotte, and qualifies for arbitration in 2020.

The Hurricanes’ first-round pick, 7th overall, in the 2014 NHL Draft, Fleury has struggled to stake a claim to a full-time NHL roster spot. He played in 20 games with the Hurricanes last year, recording one assist, and added two goals and 10 points in 28 games with the Charlotte Checkers.

In the final season of his waiver exemption, Fleury was assigned to the AHL seven times over the course of the 2018-2019 season (coming back up at some point after each assignment), and spent a brief stint on the injured reserve list after suffering a concussion in November. However, he took on a larger role in the playoffs, as the seventh defenseman who took the place of Calvin de Haan and Trevor van Riemsdyk while those players were out of the lineup through injury. Fleury had no points in nine NHL playoff games, but contributed six points in 11 Calder Cup playoff games after being sent back to Charlotte following the Hurricanes’ playoff elimination.

Despite playing in 87 career NHL games, Fleury is still waiting for his first NHL goal. He is second among active players, behind Victor Mete of the Montreal Canadiens (120 games), in games played without a goal, and is 68 games away from tying former Hurricane Steve Halko’s NHL record of 155.

Forsling was acquired on June 24, along with goaltender Anton Forsberg, in the trade that sent Calvin de Haan and Aleksi Saarela to the Chicago Blackhawks. He was a fifth-round pick in the 2014 draft, and has played in 122 games in parts of three seasons with Chicago, scoring eight goals and 19 assists.

The Hurricanes still have five unsigned restricted free agents. Brock McGinn and Forsberg have filed for arbitration, with McGinn’s hearing scheduled for Saturday, and Saku Maenalanen, Trevor Carrick and Roland McKeown also remain unsigned.

The releases for both deals from the team are below.

CANES RE-SIGN HAYDN FLEURY TO ONE-YEAR DEAL
Defenseman has registered nine assists in 87 career NHL games

Don Waddell, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has re-signed defenseman Haydn Fleury to a one-year, one-way contract for the 2019-20 season worth $850,000.

“Haydn has taken strides during each of his three professional seasons in our organization,” said Waddell. “We’ve been encouraged by his development and our hope is that he becomes a fixture in our lineup.”

Fleury, 23, skated in 20 NHL regular-season games for the Hurricanes in 2018-19, posting one assist. He also registered 10 points (2g, 8a) in 28 AHL regular-season games with the Checkers last season. Fleury tallied six points (2g, 4a) in 11 AHL playoff games with Charlotte and appeared in nine NHL playoff games with Carolina in 2019. The 6’3”, 208-pound defenseman has posted nine assists in 87 career NHL regular-season games and has recorded 39 points (11g, 28a) in 101 career AHL regular-season games. The Carlyle, Sask., native was drafted by the Hurricanes in the first round, seventh overall, of the 2014 NHL Draft.

CANES RE-SIGN GUSTAV FORSLING TO ONE-YEAR DEAL
Defenseman posted nine points in 43 games with Chicago last season

Don Waddell, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has re-signed defenseman Gustav Forsling to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2019-20 season. The deal will pay Forsling $874,125 at the NHL level and $70,000 at the AHL level.

“Gustav is a skilled, young defenseman,” said Waddell. “He has shown promise throughout his time in the NHL and we expect him to continue to develop.”

Forsling, 23, tallied nine points (3g, 6a) in 43 NHL games with the Blackhawks last season. He also skated in five games with Rockford (AHL) in 2018-19, posting two assists. The 6’0”, 186-pound defenseman has recorded 27 points (8g, 19a) in 122 career NHL games and has registered 15 points (3g, 12a) in 53 career AHL games. The Linkoping, Sweden, native was selected by the Canucks in the fifth round, 126th overall, of the 2014 NHL Draft. Forsling was acquired by the Hurricanes from the Blackhawks along with goaltender Anton Forsberg in exchange for defenseman Calvin de Haan and forward Aleksi Saarela on June 24th.