This year’s deadline to sign former draft picks has passed and the Carolina Hurricanes opted not to offer a contract to forward prospect Luke Henman, giving up the rights to him in the process.
Barring any last minute signings still in the queue at the NHL Central Registry, 38 of the 43 players on our list whose exclusive rights were set to expire today, were not signed to an Entry Level contract prior to the 5:00pm ET deadline.https://t.co/nXfmDT1fO4pic.twitter.com/yDRThlU42f
Henman was selected by the Hurricanes at the beginning of the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft and has spent the last three seasons with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL. This season, he scored 25 goals and 74 points in 63 games.
It’s not necessarily surprising that Henman wasn’t offered a contract but it is an interesting move. The Hurricanes have just 28 contracts on the books for next season of the 50 they’re allowed and still just 34 contracts after you factor in their NHL free agents that will need to be re-signed or replaced. I don’t think they’ll really regret not signing Henman, but they certainly did have the room to add another contract.
Check back tomorrow for another article previewing the Hurricanes/Rangers series, which will look at each team’s defense.
***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Hurricanes Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_Canes for updates on articles, Hurricanes news, etc. We're starting right from scratch, so any followers would be appreciated!***
Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Do you wish the Hurricanes had signed Luke Henman?
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»