The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Paul Stastny to a one-year contract, the club announced Tuesday.
Stastny, 36, scored 21 goals and 45 points in 71 games with the Winnipeg Jets during the 2021–22 regular season. His new deal with the Hurricanes carries a $1.5 million cap hit.
Stastny is a 6′0", 193-pound natural center who is also capable of playing on the wing. He has scored 284 goals and 800 points in 1,072 career NHL regular-season games with the Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche.
The Avs originally selected Stastny in the second round (No. 44 overall) of the 2005 NHL Draft, and he debuted with the team in 2006–07 after a successful two-year tenure at the University of Denver.
Stastny surpassed 70 points three times with the Avalanche but never got past the second round of the playoffs with the team. He joined the Blues as a UFA in 2014.
Despite never reaching the 50-point plateau in St. Louis, Stastny helped the team reach the Western Conference Final in 2016. He did the same after being traded to the Jets at the 2018 trade deadline.
Stastny left Winnipeg that summer to sign with the Vegas Golden Knights. After two more productive seasons in Vegas, including another Western Conference Final appearance, Stastny returned to Winnipeg in 2020.
With Stastny in the fold, the Hurricanes have another skilled offensive player to pick up some of the slack while Max Pacioretty is injured. Stastny also gives the Hurricanes some insurance if Jesperi Kotkaniemi is unable to live up to his $4.8 million-AAV contract, which takes effect this coming season.
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