Once again, the Carolina Hurricanes stay busy as they lock up another young core player to the roster long-term. Late Thursday night (July 24), the Hurricanes announced that they gave forward Jackson Blake an eight-year, $45 million extension. The deal doesn’t start until the 2026-27 season, which means the Hurricanes have the 22-year-old Fargo, ND native for the next nine seasons. What does it mean for Blake and the Hurricanes?
Blake is Here to Stay
The average annual value (AAV) per the team release was $5.625 million per season. However, Elliotte Friedman posted that the AAV will be closer to $5.1 million per season due to deferred money. Deferred money will be outlawed in the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which doesn’t begin until Fall 2026, hence why the deal was done now. Essentially, the Hurricanes keep Blake within the organization for the next nine seasons, including the last year of his entry-level contract (ELC) for the 2025-26 season. The last year of his ELC will pay Blake $905,833 before the $5.1 million begins next summer. Overall, a shrewd move by general manager Eric Tulsky and the Hurricanes to keep Blake until he is 31 years old when the extension ends.
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“Jackson had an outstanding rookie season, and we think he is just scratching the surface of the player he can be,” said Tulsky. “His tenaciousness on the puck and competitiveness match our team’s culture, and we’re excited about his future with our club.” After putting up 17 goals and 34 points in his rookie season, it is no wonder the Hurricanes wanted to keep the 109th pick in the 2021 NHL Draft for the next several seasons. He played well for the Hurricanes, spending time everywhere in the lineup and both power play units.
Blake’s rookie season saw him finish first for the Hurricanes with six game-winning goals, second in plus/minus with a plus-10 rating, and seventh in goals (17). He even tied the record for most game-winning goals in team history. Not bad for the Hobey Baker finalist when playing for North Dakota in the NCAA. While there is much left to his ceiling, it seems the Hurricanes are banking on his trajectory and development with the team.
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After finishing in the top 10 for goals and points for rookies, the Hurricanes are investing in Blake to become a solid top-six forward for the next nine seasons. He will be joining the likes of Logan Stankoven, Seth Jarvis, Alexander Nikishin, and others as the young core will keep the Hurricanes, hopefully, within contention for the next decade or more.
Another Core Player Signed Long-Term
Blake’s deal will end at the same time as Stankoven’s, meaning the Hurricanes will have a core of those two, Jarvis, and probably Nikishin for the next decade or more. Tulsky and the Hurricanes are going all in on the next core of young players to keep the team within striking distance of winning the franchise’s second Stanley Cup. With Sebastian Aho, Pyotr Kochetkov, Andrei Svechnikov, and others within their age group, the Hurricanes could be one of the youngest teams to bolster multiple runs of a core that will just roll over time. It’ll be interesting to see how the Blake deal plays out, but it is an exciting time for the Hurricanes and the fanbase as another young, talented player will keep his talents in Raleigh.
