The Carolina Hurricanes are officially done with preseason games. After their 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday, Oct. 5 in the Music City, their sights have turned to opening night on Friday, Oct. 11 versus the Tampa Bay Lightning. They have to focus on trimming down the training camp roster from almost 50 players to a 23-man roster. However, before they started to make their roster cuts, they went and made a signing after the game versus the Predators.
Skyler Brind’Amour, son of Hurricanes legend and head coach Rod, joined the Hurricanes on a professional tryout (PTO) after mutually agreeing to terminate his two-year contract with the Charlotte Checkers. The 2023 NCAA Champion with Quinnipiac University went into camp looking to keep his pro career going and in the end, he got a deal to keep him in the organization that he grew up with as one of Raleigh’s own.
Another Brind’Amour in the System
The Hurricanes signed Brind’Amour to a one-year, $775,000 deal that sees him stay with the organization for the 2024-25 season. It is a two-way deal that will see him become a restricted free agent (RFA) at the end of the season when he is 25 years old. This comes after he played 54 games with the Checkers last season tallying three goals and eight points. Over the 2023-24 season in Charlotte, he became a shutdown fourth-line center and someone the Checkers used heavily on the penalty kill. He has slowly over time shown flashes of being a defensive faceoff player and can play a really heavy defensive game as a center. Does that sound familiar to Canes fans?
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During his final season in college while winning a National Championship, Brind’Amour was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Best Defensive Forward and to the ECAC Third All-Star Team with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) in 41 games. He certainly resembles the playstyle his father Rod has shown over his time with the Hurricanes. What he has done so far in his career and the 2024 training camp and preseason caught the eye of the front office.
General manager Eric Tulsky stated after the team signed Brind’Amour, “We were impressed with Skyler’s defensive awareness last season in the AHL, and he followed that up with a strong preseason showing,” said Tulsky. “We’re excited to have him join our organization.”
Brind’Amour will add some key depth to the center position that looks slim in the American Hockey League (AHL) when you look past the main NHL roster. Currently, the Chicago Wolves would have Ryan Suzuki and Josiah Slavin as true centermen even after the team tried Felix Unger-Sorum at the position throughout training camp and the preseason. Adding Brind’Amour gives them at least three centers that head coach Cam Abbott can rely on for the 2024-25 AHL season which begins on Oct. 12 against the Milwaukee Admirals. Overall, this deal is a great low-risk depth move by the organization to see what can become of the oldest Brind’Amour as he stays with the organization that his dad is the face of.
That was not the only signing of the weekend as the Hurricanes weren’t finished making moves.
Sign Right Here, Bryce Montgomery
The Hurricanes were off Sunday, Oct. 6 after their last two preseason games and took the day to make some much-needed roster cuts. During the news of players being reassigned to the AHL or released, they signed defenseman Bryce Montgomery to an entry-level contract (ELC). The ELC will carry through the 2026-27 season where he will be an RFA at 24 years old. The Washington D.C. native will have a cap hit of $855,000 for the next three seasons ($2.56 million total). His AHL salary is set at $55,000 but the contract also holds $1 million in performance bonuses. The performance bonus gives a good indicator that the 6-foot-5 defenseman might be on the opening night roster for the Hurricanes. However, there are still moves to be made to get it down to 23 players by Monday night.
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Tulsky when asked about the signing of Montgomery stated, “Bryce is a big defenseman who skates well…We look forward to seeing him continue to develop in our system.”
Montgomery has played well over the preseason and it’ll be interesting to see how the Hurricanes will go about either keeping him in Carolina or reassigning him to Chicago. If he stays up, he could be the eighth defenseman behind the six players that are set in stone, and maybe Joakim Ryan as the seventh guy. It would not be a surprise if fans see a move of him going to the Wolves to get proper minutes and develop with Abbott and his staff.
Either way, it’s a great signing by the Hurricanes to lock up the tall and physical Montgomery who was drafted 170th overall in 2021 by the team. It will be fun to watch him grow over the next three seasons no matter where he plays within the organization.
What’s Next for Brind’Amour and Montgomery?
Currently, the Hurricanes have trimmed their roster down to 25 players as of Sunday afternoon (Oct. 6) during the signing news of Montgomery. Brind’Amour was one of the 14 players who were reassigned to the Wolves of the AHL. He will most likely be the third- or fourth-line center for the team. Montgomery as of now is still with the 25-man roster in Raleigh with still more cuts to come before 5 pm ET on Monday. It’ll be interesting to see what the Hurricanes will do, however, it is good to know that moves are being made and we are closer to opening night later this week. Is it Friday yet?
