The Carolina Hurricanes enter the offseason with a decent amount of cap space but also several players in need of new contracts.
Among the notable unrestricted free agents are Nino Niederreiter, Ian Cole and Max Domi, while restricted free agents include Tony DeAngelo, Martin Necas and Ethan Bear. The most notable UFA heading into the offseason, however, is Vincent Trocheck.
Trocheck has been with the Hurricanes since the 2020 trade deadline, when he was acquired from the Florida Panthers. Since then, he’s brought huge value down the middle as a second-line center and over his time with the Hurricanes, he’s scored at a pace of 24 goals and 58 points per 82 games.
While his free agent status won’t bring the same buzz as Dougie Hamilton did last year, he remains an important piece for the team and would leave a sizeable hole in the forward group if he were to leave.
General Manager Don Waddell has said he’s hoping to have Trocheck back (along with Nino Niederreiter) but we also know Trocheck’s extension isn’t likely to come cheap. While Carolina does have cap space to work with, Trocheck will turn 29 years old next month, meaning a decline is likely at some point later in the contract. With the Hurricanes’ window to compete likely to be open for quite a long time, the organization has to consider not only what re-signing Trocheck would mean in the next year or two, but also for many years down the road.
Looking at a possible term for an extension, Trocheck is probably set for a six-year deal. He isn’t really the caliber of player that can get a maximum-term contract at his age without taking a much lower cap hit but you also know if the Hurricanes won’t offer at least a five or six-year contract, someone else will.
In terms of money, comparables would put him close to $6.5 million per year with that term. It would be a pretty reasonable price if management thinks he can keep up his production for the next few years but it could still mean the last couple years of the deal don’t look quite as great.
Waddell doesn’t have a history of giving many long-term contracts to pending unrestricted free agents, as seen in the cases of Jeff Skinner, Justin Faulk and Dougie Hamilton. I also don’t think it’s an absolute necessity that Trocheck is brought back, but if he isn’t, there obviously has to be a pretty clear plan to bring in a second-line center.
Trocheck is able to play on both the power play and penalty kill but his impact at even strength does mostly come in the offensive zone. He can certainly score goals and has good agility with the puck but he’s pretty average defensively and while he does have a decent top speed, he doesn’t use it a ton and his acceleration isn’t great.
With over $19 million in cap space even including Jake Gardiner’s contract (according to CapFriendly) and DeAngelo and Trocheck as the most notable free agents, the Hurricanes do have the cap space to bring back the center. However, it would likely come at the expense of losing a different player like Nino Niederreiter and it also depends on whether the Hurricanes believe the deal can bring value for more than just a couple of years.
After multiple years as a key member of the forward group, it’s tough to say whether Trocheck has played his final game with the Hurricanes.
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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