Shortly after inking Jake Chelios -- yes, the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios -- the Carolina Hurricanes announced they signed forward Joakim Nordstrom to a two-year, $2.55 million extension, one that carries a $1.275M average annual cap hit.
“Joakim took a major step forward in his career last season,” said GM Ron Francis in a release. “We expect him to continue to grow as both a player and a leader on our team.”
Nordstrom, acquired along with Kris Versteeg from Chicago in September, enjoyed his greatest NHL success in 2015-16. The 24-year-old posted career highs in games played (71), goals (10), assists (14) and points (24) and was a valuable member of Bill Peters’ penalty killing unit, which finished sixth in the league.
Very quietly, Francis has done a nice job of scooping these types of players away from other organizations, getting them to produce, then signing them to reasonable, low-cost extensions.
Andrej Nestrasil, claimed off waivers from Detroit, signed a two-year, $1.825 million extension last summer.
Eddie Lack, acquired from Vancouver for a third- and seventh-round pick, inked a two-year, $5.5M extension just prior to the start of the regular season.