Takeaways From Day 1 of Hurricanes Exit Interviews

When asked about the possibility of staying in Carolina, Guentzel stated, “I’ve loved my experience here. I’ve loved it here. It’s a great place to play. I don’t think you realize behind the scenes how good it is. The guys make it good too. We’ll see what happens… This team for sure can win a Stanley Cup. I think it’s right there… I want to win more than anything and that’s all I care about.”

Time and time again it’s been proven that the culture in Carolina and the area is a place players love to be around even for 27 games or multiple seasons. It is something that is always mentioned and it’s a reason why players like Burns waived their no-trade clauses to come to the Hurricanes. The culture is the way it is because of Brind’Amour. He has been the face of the franchise for so long, and his leadership in taking care of his guys and his coaching style go a long way. Furthermore, the leadership of Staal, Slavin, Sebastian Aho, and Jordan Martinook helps get the group to be as close as they are. It will be a big hurdle for the Hurricanes to get over if they want to keep Guentzel long-term after getting him as a rental in the hopes of making a Stanley Cup run during the 2024 NHL Playoffs.

He can play anywhere in the top six and the powerplay which is a big need for the team with other UFAs and restricted fee agents (RFAs) possibly coming off the books this summer. It’ll be interesting to see what the Hurricanes can do to keep Guentzel but you know they will take a run at it.

Brady Skjei

Another big piece that the Hurricanes hope to keep is Skjei who they traded for back in February 2020 from the Rangers. The 30-year-old Lakeville, MN native just came off his best season with Carolina. In 80 games, he tallied 13 goals and 47 points with nine points in 11 games in the playoffs. The 47 points was a career-high for him in a contract season. He is finishing up the six-year, $31.5 million deal he signed with the Rangers in July 2018. Skjei’s AAV was $5.25 million per season and could be looking for a pay raise. According to Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts, he stated that the Hurricanes offered Skjei “creative deals” that were near Dmitry Orlov’s short-term, higher AAV money but nothing came of them. He is set to become a UFA this off-season.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Skjei could be looking for something around $6 to $6.5 million per season with some term (possibly five or six years). When asked about contract talks with the team, Skjei said he wants to get something done while also seeking a fair deal while also stating, “There hasn’t been a ton [of talks]. We’ve done a good job of focusing on the season this year and I didn’t really think about it that much. (Talks) will probably pick up now before July 1.  It’s an unbelievable place, a great place here – coaching staff, players, medical, everything.  It’s an unbelievable place and we’ll see what happens in the next month or so.”

The 2024 NHL Playoffs was the best of Skjei’s career and he came up clutch in Game 4 of the second round versus the Rangers where he got the game-winning goal on the powerplay. At that point, Carolina was 0-for-16 in the series and it came in a big moment at home to force a Game 5 after being down 3-0 in the series. It seemed moving Skjei up to PP1 sparked the struggling group that kicked off an epic run that saw the series go to Game 6. Skjei has been a solid top-four defenseman on the second defensive pair for the Hurricanes and he is one the team hopes to keep. Speaking of the second defensive pair, his partner is also an upcoming UFA who hopes to stay in Carolina as well.

Brett Pesce

The Hurricanes’ 66th overall pick back in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft in Pesce is now officially a UFA. The 29-year-old Tarrytown, NY native is finishing up his second deal with the team that drafted him over 11 years ago. His most recent deal was a six-year, $24.15 million contract with an AAV of $4.025 million per season. The 2023-24 season was not the best for Pesce who in 70 games only had three goals and 13 points. However, he is mainly known for his defense, and overall in that aspect, he did fairly well. He finished with a plus-10 while averaging over 20 minutes a game. He has been paired with Skjei since the trade with the Rangers and the two have been inseparable. Hurricanes fans have gotten used to 22 (Pesce) and 76 (Skjei) alongside each other in the lineup game in and game out.

When asked about playing with Skjei, Pesce stated, “We don’t want our story to end. We both want to be back.” That statement hit home for a lot of fans on social media who are hoping both guys stay with the Hurricanes. Like Slavin, Pesce has been a Hurricanes player his whole career after making his debut in 2015-16 as a 21-year-old. Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts Podcast said that Pesce was offered a five-year, $25 million deal from the Hurricanes last season but nothing came of it. He could be looking for a pay raise as well which could be in the ballpark of $5.5 to $6 million. However, the Hurricanes need to bring other guys back along with having some flexibility. A five-year, $5 million AAV contract is a slight raise but a deal that could benefit both sides and help build more to the roster.

When asked about being a UFA for the first time and working on a deal with the Hurricanes, Pesce stated, “I’m hopeful we can work something out here. Everyone knows I love it here. I love the guys, I love the core, and I still think we can get it done.” Fans and Pesce are hoping to finish the story of winning a Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes after going through the tough years in Carolina before Brind’Amour took over. For that to be possible, there has to be an understanding that while a raise is warranted, flexibility and building the team around the main core is a priority as well.

There’s a fair amount of guys who will be UFAs and RFAs who need to get possible extensions plus free agency which starts on July 1. While it takes two to get a deal done, the hope is that both sides can work something out to keep Pesce, and hopefully Skjei, in Carolina for a few more seasons to finish the story and win the franchise’s second championship.

Day 2 of Exit Interviews on Sunday

The final day of the two-day exit interview event at PNC Arena will take place on Sunday, May 19. By process of elimination according to team reporter Walt Ruff, the last few players to meet with the media are Sebastian Aho, Jalen Chatfield, Jack Drury, Jesper Fast, Seth Jarvis, Pyotr Kochetkov, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Brendan Lemieux, Jordan Martinook, Stefan Noesen, and Andrei Svechnikov. Those will be interesting interviews with some of the guys on the list who will be looking for contracts this offseason mainly Chatfield, Noesen, Martinook, etc. It’ll be something to keep an eye on as Sunday goes on and in the weeks to come.

As always, The Hockey Writers will be covering it all.