The Carolina Hurricanes have added some speed and scoring to their lineup, as they’ve inked forward Ryan Dzingel to a reasonable two-year, $6.75 million contract.
“Ryan has proven that he can be an impact player offensively, putting up bigger numbers over each of his three full-time NHL seasons,” Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell said in a release. “His speed, skill and vision make him an excellent fit for our forward group and our style of play. At 27, he’s just entering his prime and certainly had options coming off a 26-goal season, so we’re happy he’s chosen to be a part of the Carolina Hurricanes.”
The 27-year-old split last season between the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets. He had 22 goals and 22 assists in 57 games with the Sens and he added four goals and 12 points in 21 games with the Jackets after the trade deadline.
[ProHockeyTalk’s 2019 NHL free agency tracker]
Dzingel struggled to adjust to his new team after the trade and he also served as a healthy scratch in the playoffs on a couple of occasions. The Hurricanes are banking on him fitting in to their young, fast lineup. The question is whether or not they can get another couple of 25-goal seasons out of him before this contract expires.
Carolina has already lost Micheal Ferland to Vancouver in free agency and Justin Williams remains unsigned, so it’s unclear if he’ll be returning to the team at this point. That means that Dzingel will play a significant role on this team going forward.
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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.