The Hurricanes Re-Signed Nicolas Deslauriers Onstage in the Middle of Their Stanley Cup Parade
The Carolina Hurricanes had won the Stanley Cup, the city of Raleigh was throwing them a parade, and general manager Eric Tulsky decided that was the perfect moment to announce a contract extension. So that is what he did.
Tulsky walked on stage during Saturday’s championship parade and announced that the Hurricanes had re-signed forward Nicolas Deslauriers to a two-year deal. The crowd ate it up. Deslauriers, fresh off the win and clearly enjoying every second of the day, immediately high-fived a teammate and shouted to the fans: “Two more years!”
It was the kind of moment that only happens in sports, and only at moments when a franchise has the room to play around like this. Carolina just won its first Stanley Cup since the 2006 team did it, and the energy in Raleigh is exactly where you would expect it to be.
The deal itself is structured well. Deslauriers, who turns 35 in February, signed for two years at $1.75 million total with an annual average value of $875,000. That is fourth-line money on a roster that just won everything, and it keeps a player around who fits the room and provides a physical element off the bench.
“Nic has fit in with our locker room and culture from day one when he got to Raleigh,” Tulsky said in a press release. “He provides a veteran presence and adds a physical element to our roster.”
That is what Deslauriers does. He has been doing it for six different NHL teams across 708 regular season games, racking up 53 goals and 53 assists along the way. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the third round in 2009 and built his career on the kind of role that does not show up in highlight packages but matters in a playoff dressing room.
Carolina acquired Deslauriers from the Philadelphia Flyers in March, and the timing was perfect. He played 31 regular season games for the Hurricanes after the trade and made one appearance in the playoffs during the championship run. His role was small. The fact that the franchise is bringing him back tells you everything about how Carolina values the right type of veteran presence.
This is the post-Cup playbook. You bring back the depth pieces, you keep the locker room intact, and you give yourself the best possible chance to defend the title next year. The Hurricanes have the core. They have Sebastian Aho, they have Andrei Svechnikov, they have a deep blue line, and they have a coach in Rod Brind’Amour who has built one of the most respected programs in the league.
Deslauriers does not move the needle on his own. He never has. But on a roster that just won a championship, the smartest move is to keep the room exactly the way it was for as long as you can. Two more years from a willing fourth-liner who fits the culture is exactly the kind of signing that contenders make.
The parade itself was the moment though. Imagine being Deslauriers, riding the wave of a championship celebration, when your general manager grabs the mic and tells the entire city that you are coming back. The video of his reaction is the kind of clip the Hurricanes will keep replaying for years.
Carolina is now officially in title-defense mode. The free agency window opens July 1, and the Hurricanes have already locked in one of the role players that helped them get over the top. That is a productive start to an offseason that should be a celebration as much as a planning session.
Two more years. Deslauriers is going to make every one of them count.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
