The Carolina Hurricanes are ensuring a little depth for next season.
On Monday, the team announced they have signed forward Brendan Lemieux to a one-year contract extension, with a $775,000 cap hit.
It is a small pay decrease for Lemieux, as he is currently making $800,000 on a one-year deal that he agreed to with Carolina last July. It is a far cry from when he signed a two-year deal with an AAV of $1.55 million with the New York Rangers in Nov. 2020.
Lemieux had just been put on waivers on March 7, cleared the following day, but then was almost immediately recalled by the Hurricanes.
The former Los Angeles King has been in and out of the lineup through the 2023-24 season, having played just 25 games thus far, registering two goals and an assist. Lemieux did reach a milestone on Sunday, playing in the 300th game of his NHL career, which saw the Canes beat the Calgary Flames 7-2. The 27-year-old got into a fight to celebrate the occasion.
In his seven years in the NHL, Lemieux has scored 35 goals and 37 assists, and one goal in eight playoff games with the Kings. The Denver native came to Raleigh after finishing last season with the Philadelphia Flyers, who acquired him before last season’s trade deadline. The former Buffalo Sabres draft pick started his tenure in the league with the Winnipeg Jets during the 2017-18 season.
The Hurricanes (39-19-6) are comfortably in a playoff spot. With 18 games to go, they are second in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind the New York Rangers for first, and 10 ahead of the third-place Philadelphia Flyers.
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