The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to sign forward Eric Robinson to a one-year deal with a cap hit just below $1M, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Robinson spent last season with the Buffalo Sabres, where he recorded nine points across 40 games.
Buffalo acquired Robinson in December, dealing a conditional 2025 seventh-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets – though Columbus would only receive the pick if Robinson played in 45 games. He fell just shy of that mark and is now moving on from Buffalo.
Columbus originally signed Robinson as an undrafted free agent in 2018, following the end of his tenure at Princeton University. He spent the 2018-19 season with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, where he scored an evenly split 24 points in 45 games. The strong AHL year was enough to earn Robinson 13 appearances in the NHL that year, though he’d go without a point. Still, he caught the eye of someone in Columbus, and would earn a consistent role as the team’s extra forward in 2019-20. Robinson served that role proudly, and even managed a career-high of 10 goals and 27 points in the 2021-22 campaign.
Robinson couldn’t hang onto his modest scoring in Buffalo, as he faced hefty pressure for his role on the team’s fourth line. He should receive some relief with the Hurricanes, who sit three forward spots shy of a full roster with $23.874M in cap space. Carolina still needs to re-sign or replace restricted free agents Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis and Jack Drury – with the latter offering the most competition for Robinson’s spot on the bottom line.
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