Hurricanes Sign Zach Sawchenko To Two-Way Deal

The Hurricanes have signed goaltender Zachary Sawchenko to a two-way deal, per a team announcement. He’ll earn the league-minimum NHL salary of $850K this season with a $150K AHL salary and a $190K guarantee.

Sawchenko, 28, has a very limited NHL track record. He made three starts and another four relief appearances for the Sharks back in 2021-22 and hasn’t seen any action since. He put up a good .901 SV%, 3.35 GAA, and a 1-2-1 record in that brief action, though.

The undrafted netminder has spent the last several seasons as a journeyman on two-way deals. He hasn’t had a multi-year contract since signing his two-year entry-level pact with San Jose at the beginning of the decade. He had a previous stint in the Canes organization after being non-tendered by San Jose in 2022, starting a career-high 41 games for AHL Chicago the following year with a .895 SV%. Sawchenko then spent 2023-24 in the Canucks system before playing out the last two years with AHL Cleveland while under contract with the Blue Jackets.

In the minors, Sawchenko has had some high highs and low lows. The Calgary native has been dominant for brief stretches but is prone to some stinker seasons, including an .880 SV% and 3.05 GAA with a 14-10-3 record in 29 appearances for Cleveland last year. With Columbus signing veteran third-stringer Pheonix Copley at the beginning of free agency, plus 22-year-old Nolan Lalonde looking to make the jump to Cleveland after a strong rookie season in the ECHL last year, there wasn’t room to bring Sawchenko back.

For Carolina, Sawchenko now stands as their third-stringer behind Brandon Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov entering training camp. The more experienced Cayden Primeau is without a contract for next season, but his rights are still tied to the Canes as a restricted free agent, so that could change. Also in the depth mix this year is Ruslan Khazheyev, who spent almost all of last season in the ECHL after making 20 AHL starts as a rookie in 2024-25.