According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Carolina Hurricanes and forward Jack Drury have reached a two-year contract agreement, avoiding an arbitration hearing. The contract includes a $1.77 million salary for the 2024-25 season and $1.67 million for the 2025-26 season, with an average annual value of $1.72 million.
Drury, 24, played 74 games for the Hurricanes last season, scoring eight goals and totaling 27 points. He also contributed five points in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games. This was essentially Drury’s first full NHL season with Carolina, where he achieved career highs in games played, goals, assists, points, and penalty minutes.
Drafted by the Hurricanes in the second round of the 2018 draft, Drury has played 114 NHL games. The Harvard University graduate has established himself in a defensive role, primarily playing among the bottom six forwards and is expected to compete for the third-line center position in training camp this September.
The New York, NY native averaged just over 12 minutes of ice time per game last season and participated in both the power play and penalty kill units. Drury won 55.2% of his faceoffs, and his strong two-way play may lead to more opportunities in Carolina. Once his new contract expires, he will remain a restricted free agent for one more season.
The Hurricanes have been active recently, notably terminating Evgeny Kuznetsov’s contract, which frees up approximately $6 million in cap space. Drury’s new contract will take up a small portion of the team’s finances, leaving the Hurricanes with about $13.8 million in cap space. General Manager Eric Tulsky will now focus on re-signing restricted free agents Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis.
