Via NHL.com
The Carolina Hurricanes have signed former Winnipeg Jets center, Paul Stastny to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million. Stastny is coming off a season where he recorded 45 points in 71 games with the Jets. The 36 year old is coming into his 17th NHL season with a very strong chance to finally win the Stanley Cup that has been alluding him his whole career.
Stastny has played for the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, and the Jets over the course of his career. Stastny joins Brent Burns and Jordan Staal as the only Hurricanes to play at least 1,000 games. During Stastny’s time in Vegas, he developed very good chemistry with recent Canes acquisition Max Pacioretty.
Stastny has the chance to play pretty much anywhere in the middle-six. Although his natural position is center, he may be moved to the wing to play with fellow defensive guru Jordan Staal. Paul could also play as high as second line center and act as a stop-gap before Jesperi Kotkaneimi takes on the role full-time.
This move adds not only a 20-goal scorer to the lineup, but also more veteran presence. It will be interesting to see how this team performs at full strength once Max Pacioretty returns from injury. The two-way center should slot in quite nicely to the Hurricanes lineup, and despite his age, still has some gas left in the tank.
The Scoring Touch 