Canes’ Lack: ‘I feel more secure’

Eddie Lack couldn’t resist the one-liner. That’s not his nature.

Asked Monday about signing a two-year, $5.5 million extension with the Carolina Hurricanes, Lack laughed when told that would buy a lot of tacos, which happen to be his favorite foodstuff.

“I know I’m not going to go hungry,” the Swedish goalie said.

Lack came to the Canes in the June trade with the Vancouver Canucks and has quickly become comfortable with his new team. He handled his job on the ice well, in training camp and in preseason games, while becoming a gravitational kind of guy in the locker room.

“I’ve always wanted security in my life and I wanted to get it done here before the season started,” Lack said Monday. “It’s about knowing where I’ll be the next two years, but obviously the money is the best I’ve had so far in my career. I feel more secure going into this season.

“Obviously, I get along good with everyone in the locker room and it feels good to get it done. I feel like we have something good going on here and it’s something I wanted to be a part of.”

Lack, 27, had one year remaining on his existing contract, paying him $1.3 million this season. He played three preseason games for the Canes, then signed the extension Saturday, leading to another quip: “I must have played really good, right?”

Lack said contract talks began soon after the trade and continued through the summer, saying negotiations “ramped up” in the last week.

“I wanted to come here and get a feel for everything first, but we’re really getting along so far,” he said.

With franchise goalie Cam Ward entering the final year of his contract, an extension for Lack gives general manager Ron Francis some leeway. If the Canes and Ward can’t agree on a new contract extension, there’s the assurance Lack is under contract for two more years.

Canes coach Bill Peters has said Ward would start the season opener Thursday against the Nashville Predators. But Lack will continue to push Ward for the No. 1 job. He took over as the Canucks’ No. 1 goalie last season when Ryan Miller was injured and kept Vancouver in playoff position through the end of the regular season.

“We knew he was good before we ever got him,” Peters said Monday. “Then getting him in the room and among our guys, he’s a real good personality, real good goaltender.

“He’s got upside. He’s young, as far as it goes to play that position and has experience. As he gains more experience and gets more comfortable in the way we play, the way we play in the defensive zone, I expect real good things from him.”

This story was originally published October 5, 2015 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Canes’ Lack: ‘I feel more secure’."