Fast has spent his entire career with the New York Rangers, playing parts of seven seasons with the team. This past season, he had 12 goals and 29 points in 69 games, a pace of 14 goals and 34 points per 82 games. Here’s what his goals and points per 82 games average looks like over each of the last five seasons:
2015-16: 10 G/82 and 31 P/82
2016-17: 7G/82 and 25 P/82
2017-18: 15G/82 and 38 P/82
2018-19: 10G/82 and 25 P/82
2019-20: 14G/82 and 34 P/82
Essentially, the Hurricanes can count on Fast for 10-15 goals and 25-35 points per year. He won’t fill a top-six role but could be an excellent addition for the third line. This all but confirms that a winger will be moved, likely being Ryan Dzingel, to make space for Fast in the top-nine.
I really like this deal for Carolina. Fast is still just 28 years old, so a three-year deal is a great length, plus at $2 million per season, he'll provide excellent value. Assuming they do move Dzingel, they’ll not only get an asset in that trade but they’ll also be replacing him with a player who has two extra years on his deal and costs nearly $1.5 million less.
While this signing doesn’t fill the hole in Carolina’s top-six, it is a very cap-friendly deal that sets the team up to keep their depth when they need to extend Dougie Hamilton and Andrei Svechnikov next summer. Fast is a great addition for the Hurricanes and this was a really smart signing by Don Waddell.
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Here's today's poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Are you happy about the Hurricanes signing Jesper Fast?
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