Carolina Hurricanes sign defenseman Jake Gardiner

On Friday, the Carolina Hurricanes bolstered their defense by adding defenseman Jake Gardiner on a four-year deal worth $16.2 million.

The rich have gotten richer, as the Carolina Hurricanes have added free-agent defenseman Jake Gardiner to a four-year deal worth $16.2 million, the team announced on Friday.

Carolina is coming off a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Final, thanks in large part to their deep blue line. Adding a slick puck-moving rearguard and capable power-play quarterback strengthens a defensive core that includes Dougie Hamilton, Justin Faulk, and Jaccob Slavin.

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Gardiner was expected to be one of the most sought-after free agents this year, but it took two months for him to finally land with a new team. Perhaps his frustrating play in the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins affected Gardiner’s market.

Although he’s mistake-prone in his own end, Gardiner makes up for it with his strong offensive skills. The 29-year-old tallied 30 points in 62 games for the Maple Leafs last season. He’s only two years removed from a career-high 52 points. Gardiner has hit the 30-point mark six times throughout his career.

The Hurricanes have made a handful of big-time splashes this offseason. They acquired Erik Haula from the Vegas Golden Knights in a salary-dumping move and two-time 20-goal scorer Ryan Dzingel was signed in free agency. The team is set up nicely to build off of last season’s run to the final four.

Gardiner, Hamilton, Faulk, Slavin, Brett Pesce, and Haydn Fleury form arguably the league’s best blue line right now. Scoring shouldn’t be an issue, but there are questions about the Petr Mrazek–James Reimer goaltending tandem.

Still, these two will get plenty of support from a tremendous group of defensemen, so they shouldn’t have to worry about being overworked.

Carolina added Gardiner and Dzingel at reasonable prices, and Haula is capable of producing 20-plus goals. With that, the Hurricanes can offset the loss of Micheal Ferland as well as the possible retirement of Justin Wililams. They have all the makings to be a playoff team and Stanley Cup contender once again in 2020.