Carolina Hurricanes agree to 8-year deal with Svechnikov

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes have agreed to terms with star forward Andrei Svechnikov on an eight-year contract, which is set to keep the No. 2 overall draft pick from 2018 with the franchise through the 2028-29 season.

The team said Thursday the deal will pay the 21-year-old Svechnikov an average annual value of $7.75 million per season. The team has scheduled an online news conference for Svechnikov with team president and general manager Don Waddell for Thursday afternoon.

“Andrei is one of the cornerstones of this organization, and we are thrilled to reach a long-term commitment to keep him here,” said Waddell. “He is one of the brightest rising stars in our sport, and will play a key role in our efforts to bring the Stanley Cup to the Triangle this decade.”

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Svechnikov has been a fixture and physical presence on Carolina’s top line alongside Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen.

He was a restricted free agent and the team had long been in extension talks with him, though Waddell had floated the possibility of a shorter-term “bridge” type deal to ensure getting something done if a long-term deal couldn’t be reached.

Svechnikov’s arrival has coincided with the team ending a nine-season playoff drought and reaching the postseason for three consecutive years.

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He had 15 goals and 27 assists in 55 regular-season games for the Hurricanes last year, which saw the Hurricanes win a division championship for the first time in 15 years. He also had two goals and six assists in 11 playoff games before the Hurricanes lost to eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay in the second round.

The previous year, he posted the first postseason hat trick in franchise history against the New York Rangers in a Stanley Cup qualifier series in the Toronto bubble following the NHL’s restart amid the COVID-19 pandemic.