Hurricanes sign veteran forward Lee Stempniak to 2-year deal

Lee Stempniak saw a lot of the Carolina Hurricanes this season, first playing with the New Jersey Devils, then after a trade with the Boston Bruins.

He also heard a lot about them.

“I was impressed by their team,” Stempniak said Friday. “It’s young, skilled, well-coached. Good, young defensemen. Skilled forwards.”

Stempniak became a member of the Canes on Friday, agreeing to a two-year, free-agent contract that will pay him $2.5 million a year. He was one of two veteran forwards signed by the Canes, joining Viktor Stalberg, who was given a one-year, $1.5 million deal.

Stalberg’s signing came first, about 75 minutes into NHL free agency, which began at noon and resulted in a quick blitz of big-money deals being announced.

Kyle Okposo to the Buffalo Sabres: seven years, $42 million.

David Backes to the Bruins: five years, $30 million.

Milan Lucic to the Edmonton Oilers: seven years, $42 million.

So it went. While not making a big splash or pursuing any of the high-end forwards, Canes general manager Ron Francis liked adding Stempniak and Stalberg to a team that has added forwards Teuvo Teravainen and Bryan Bickell – who won Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks – since season’s end, a team excited about the arrival of forward Sebastian Aho from Finland next season.

“I think we’re pleased with today,” Francis said. “We talked at the end of the season about trying to add some skill into our lineup, we talked about trying to add some size, we talked about adding some leadership.

“We think where we are today versus where we were at the end of the season, with the addition of Teravainen, Stempniak and the possibility of Aho making our lineup, with Bickell and Stalberg, we brought some leadership, we brought some Cups into the room.”

A year ago, Stempniak was an unsigned free agent and without a team going into September. He earned a professional tryout with the Devils, made the roster, then had an offensive resurgence.

Stempniak, 33, had 16 goals and 25 assists in 63 games with New Jersey before being dealt to the Bruins, finishing with 19 goals and 51 points in 82 games. That was one point shy of his career high set in 2006-07 with St. Louis, in his second year in the league.

In 19 games with the Bruins, Stempniak was teammates with John-Michael Liles, a veteran defenseman the Canes moved to Boston at the trade deadline. That’s where Stempniak got an earful.

“Liles raved about the Hurricanes organization, the team and (coach) Bill Peters,” Stempniak said. “What he said was appealing to me. I felt it was a hockey team getting better, maybe one I could complement and be a part of that.”

The Canes need more scoring, whether at even strength, on the power play or in three-on-three overtimes. Francis said this week he was hoping to land a top-six or top-nine forward that could produce points, and Stempniak hopes to be that guy.

“I want to contribute offensively and try and earn a spot in the top six,” he said. “At the same time, I can kill penalties and play a complete game.”

Stalberg, 30, was with the New York Rangers last season and has more than 400 games of NHL experience. The Swede was a member of Chicago’s 2013 Stanley Cup champions with Bickell and brings good size at 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds.

While addressing the need for forwards, Francis said the Canes’ focus may not be on acquiring a defenseman. Carolina on Thursday bought out the final year of the contract of defenseman James Wisniewski, who missed all but 47 seconds last season because of a knee injury.

“We’re looking at some possibilities but I don’t know that we’ll be running out and signing anybody the next few days,” Francis said. “We have a lot of time between now and October.”

Francis said Wisniewski didn’t appear to be a good fit in the third pairing on a defensive corps that will have Noah Hanifin, Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce all beginning their second seasons in the league. Francis didn’t rule out Ryan Murphy being that sixth D-man, but said management would continue to assess the back end.

Stempniak, who has played more than 800 regular-season and playoff games in the NHL, signed a one-year contract with the Rangers in 2014 but was left without a team after the 2014-15 season. He changed up his offseason conditioning regimen, saying he had smarter, more efficient workouts under the guidance of Matt Nichol, a former Toronto Maple Leafs strength coach.

“I felt like I skated better, was more fluid on the ice,” he said. “I just felt better. I felt healthy.”

It showed in his play. The Devils signed him for $850,000, which proved to be a bargain.

“I always kept that confidence,” Stempniak said. “I always kept that belief in myself as a player.”

This story was originally published July 1, 2016 at 8:09 PM with the headline "Hurricanes sign veteran forward Lee Stempniak to 2-year deal."