Hurricanes land Dzingel on 2-year, $6.75M deal

The Carolina Hurricanes have plucked of one of the last significant unrestricted free agents available.

The Canes have agreed to terms with forward Ryan Dzingel on a two-year contract with an average annual value of $3.375 million, the team announced Friday.

Dzingel is fresh off a career year. The 27-year-old tallied 26 goals and 56 points over 78 games in 2018-19, splitting time between the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets.

He was thriving in a top-line role with the Sens, scoring 22 goals in 57 games with Ottawa. His production cratered upon joining the Jackets at the trade deadline, however, as he found twine just four times in 21 tilts while his ice time dipped by over three minutes per game.

Dzingel's cap hit compares favorably to other UFA wingers who have inked deals since July 1, coming in below Micheal Ferland ($3.5M), Marcus Johansson ($4.5M), Brett Connolly ($3.5M), Brandon Tanev ($3.5M), Joonas Donskoi ($3.9M), and Wayne Simmonds ($5M). Dzingel had more goals and points than all those players.

The Hurricanes still have $10.4 million in projected cap space with 18 players signed, according to CapFriendly, giving the club plenty of room to bring back Justin Williams if the 37-year-old captain decides he wants to play another season.

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