The Carolina Hurricanes have signed defenseman Ethan Bear to a one-year contract extension, according to a report by PuckPedia.
Bear’s new one-way contract carries a $2.2 million cap hit. The 5’11”, 197-pound right-handed defenseman scored five goals and 14 points while averaging 16:05 in 58 games with the Hurricanes during the 2021–22 regular season.
The Hurricanes were scheduled to head to salary arbitration with Bear on August 8. Bear did not accept his one-year, two-way qualifying offer from the Hurricanes that would have paid him $2.4 million in the NHL but significantly less in the American Hockey League.
The Edmonton Oilers originally selected Bear in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft. The Regina, Saskatchewan product made his Oilers debut in 2017–18 and spent parts of three seasons with the team, topping out at 21 points in 71 games during the 2018–19 campaign.
Last July, the Oilers traded Bear to the Hurricanes in exchange for winger Warren Foegele. Bear found himself in and out of the lineup down the stretch in 2021–22 and did not dress for the team during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In 190 career regular-season games with Edmonton and Carolina, Bear has scored 13 goals and 47 points. The Hurricanes now have nine experienced NHL defensemen under contract for the 2022–23 season: Jaccob Slavin, Brent Burns, Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, Bear, Dylan Coghlan, Jalen Chatfield, William Lagesson, and Jake Gardiner.
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