The Carolina Hurricanes have signed defenseman Matt Tennyson to a one-year, two-way contract, according to the team. Tennyson had spent the first five seasons of his professional hockey career with the San Jose Sharks organization.
The deal will pay Tennyson $675,000 in the NHL and $275,000 in the AHL.
[NEWS] #Canes agree to terms with defenseman Matt Tennyson (@Tenner_7). More: https://t.co/xz1EalfxM1pic.twitter.com/MtF6EyEMji
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) July 3, 2016
The 26 year old skated in 29 games last season with the Sharks, logging three assists and four points with a plus-1 rating. He posted a 47.13 Corsi-for percentage in the NHL last year.
He appeared in five regular-season games and one playoff game with San Jose’s AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. He didn’t have any points.
Over 60 career NHL games, Tennyson has netted 14 total points. He made his NHL debut during the 2012-13 season.
What Matt Tennyson means for the Hurricanes
Tennyson is likely now in line to replace Michal Jordan as the club’s seventh defenseman. Jordan is currently an unrestricted free agent.
His track record shows that he is capable of handling that role. He’s a reliable two-way player with good size at 6 feet 2 inches, 205 pounds.
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Being that he is a right-handed defenseman, he may give Ryan Murphy a run for the sixth defenseman role.
He will join a lengthy group of defensemen looking for NHL jobs next year. Tennyson, Haydn Fleury and Trevor Carrick are amongst the group of blueliners vying for spots in Carolina and will need to surpass the likes of Murphy and Ron Hainsey to do so.